Don't give Apple any more ideas! But I am more optimistic about the new mac mini. I think the 5400 will be gone; the SSD will be soldered, along with everything else.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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I really don't get this. If you want a mini today with an SSD, buy a mini with an SSD. Apple is not forcing people to buy Macs with HDDs.
I know that. But I am predicting the end of the 5400 for Apple next year. My precautions are occasionally almost certainly correct.
If Apple didn't charge so much more than say OWC or Crucial for additional memory or bigger SSD, I would not overmuch mind soldered components if the options provided by Apple are reasonable. That said, I really see no good reason for Apple to solder these things in. The marginal cost-to-build between solder-in and using standard connectors cannot be all that great (well covered by the Apple Tax), so all I see is either greed on Apple's part or hubris driven by a fashion-over-function mindset.
So, you want Apple to force everyone to buy SSDs even if they don't want one?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, people were using Minis for all sorts of crazy purposes. As HTPCs, as computing devices embedded into automobiles, as rack-mounted server units... Not every application requires an SSD.
But yeah, I guess those days are long gone now. If you don't fit into the specific user profile Apple is aiming towards, sorry, you're out of luck.
One thing is clear. No matter what Apple does with the mini, some people will not like it.
The incremental cost of a 500GB SSD over a 500GB HDD is continuing to decline. If you bundled in a 250GB SSD Apple could offer it at the same $499 target price.So, you want Apple to force everyone to buy SSDs even if they don't want one?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, people were using Minis for all sorts of crazy purposes. As HTPCs, as computing devices embedded into automobiles, as rack-mounted server units... Not every application requires an SSD.
But yeah, I guess those days are long gone now. If you don't fit into the specific user profile Apple is aiming towards, sorry, you're out of luck.
I just upgraded my Mini 2014 to SSD from HDD - I thought the system was crippled with a HDD (spoiled I guess). If they remove the space and use a physically smaller SSD the case can shrink too.
So restricting consumer choice even more than Apple does already is the right move. Gotcha.
I've gotta admit, having moved back into a world of desktop machines where I myself get to choose each and every component of the system myself, all this hand-wringing over what Apple will or will not allow customers to use seems awfully silly...
That's called an iPad. Most posting here want a computer.
May not be the right move, but Apple is moving more and more into making their systems like an appliance.So restricting consumer choice even more than Apple does already is the right move. Gotcha.
I've gotta admit, having moved back into a world of desktop machines where I myself get to choose each and every component of the system myself, all this hand-wringing over what Apple will or will not allow customers to use seems awfully silly...
When I started building PCs in the dark ages, DIMMs didn’t exist and I would hand populate each memory bank, chip by chip. Even the BIOS was socketed as were many other motherboard chips. Time was taken to diagnose and fix a problem...nowadays motherboards are pretty much throwaway.
The spinner does not belong inside this computer. Too slow and screws up the entire computing experience. Unfortunately, people are too stupid to know this. Then they end up returning them. A TOTAL waste of everyone's time and energy. If you want a spinner, plug in an external USB drive. End of story.So restricting consumer choice even more than Apple does already is the right move. Gotcha.
I've gotta admit, having moved back into a world of desktop machines where I myself get to choose each and every component of the system myself, all this hand-wringing over what Apple will or will not allow customers to use seems awfully silly...
FYI my next computer will be a build it myself and I choose each part. Noctua fans all the way baby!
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It really is ridiculous, if you increase the RAM to 16gb on the base 2014 Mini, it costs $300 more. The memory to upgrade my base 2012 mini to 16gb cost $65 at Best Buy.
And the disk options are bizarre, you can't even order a base 2014 mini with a ssd, you have to go with the 2.6 ghz model and then your only option is 256gb (for an extra $200). If you want a 512gb or 1tb ssd, then you have to get the 2.8 or 3.0ghz mini. And then you're talking about real money.
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Would that include the computing experience of a machine being used as a router and e-mail server? Or a machine being used to hold streaming media? Or a machine sitting on a rack managing web content or providing cloud services? There are plenty of tasks that do not require an SSD.
For you, sitting at your desk, running your tasks, an SSD is an obvious advantage. But considering all the other flaws of this machine -- the ancient, mobile-oriented CPU; the lack of RAM; the weak integrated GPU... I don't really understand your insistence on "computing experience" here.
If someone really wants a machine that runs high-end software at maximum speed, they are not going to be buying a mini.
Good point re: router. My Untangle appliance uses a (massively overkill) 1 TB HDD because it does a lot of logging. It is actually recommended not to use a SSD in this case.
yeah I have a m700 with 32gb and an i7 6700t with a 500 gb ssd it pretty much does all that I want and mines 60 cents
worth of btc each day. Just using the cpu on a lower setting. I may get the newer model as it would mine another 75 cents a day. which is 1.35 a day. using 20 cents worth of power I would net more then 1 dollar a day.
I speak for those souls who want a Mac, first time, and see a $500 computer. Knowing they can use their keyboard/monitor etc, they snap it up. WHOOPS! They are instantly disappointed and do not know why. It is because Apple INSISTS on selling those antiquated machines at retail. DUMB. For others, like yourself, sure, custom order one with what you need.
The reason why, of course, is that they bought a $500 Mac. Your solution to them would be to purchase a more expensive Mac.
Doesn't that negate the point of the exercise? If they wanted a high-end Mac, they would have purchased a high-end Mac. If they only have $500 to spend, well, they can get this, or not bother with Apple hardware at all.
Again, I don't really understand your argument. So far as I can tell, you are trying to convince everyone that expensive hardware provides a better experience than cheap hardware, and therefore cheap hardware should not exist.
I'm pretty sure that if a customer buys the very cheapest option among a wide range of choices, and then finds the performance to be sub-par, they will most likely realize it is due to them choosing the cheapest option. I don't think you need to make heroic efforts to point this out to customers.
I want a machine that is simple to use with minimal hassle, and easily transportable on the odd occasion, not an iPad to tote from office to class to cheeky cafe. When I am away from my desk I am off-line, which is what I prefer. Like most here, I want a computer.
For many here who like to be on-line at all time, Macs make it easy for all their devices to be on the same page.
When the Mac Mini first arrived on the scene in 2005 it fitted my needs so I got one. My basic needs have not changed greatly since then, other than now being on-line (mobile broadband in 2008 and fibre since 2014) and getting into digital photography (2012). The humble Mac Mini and macOS / OS X remains a good fit for my humble needs.
If I was tech savvy and into mucking around with computer hardware, operating systems, and apps I would be happy to tinker with Windows, Linux or whatever on some discounted offering or a home built machine. But I am not, so Mac remains a cost effective (from my point of view) fit for an average Joe like me.
And it comes with complimentary hockey sticks!
Or a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
Well look at what Apple did on the laptop side.... the MacBook Air is their cheapest laptop, has a SSD is pretty snappy. Then a couple years ago, they bumped the entry level model to 8gb of RAM. This did not require any re-tooling or new technology, just changing the price and the default options. They could do the same kind of thing with the Mini... if they wanted to. But obviously they don't.
And the minimum price of this "cheapest" laptop is... $999. Is that a good thing? Is there no market for a mobile Apple device below $1000?
The point is... the MBA is Apple's cheapest laptop and the Mini is their cheapest desktop. This is an Apple forum, although many of you seem to have forgotten that.
Oh, but the question here has been on whether or not Apple should even offer lower-cost components in their hardware! Apple allows you to buy a mini with cheap drives. Apple does not allow you to buy an Air with cheap drives. The upside for the Air is that it has superior hardware; the downside is that it is more expensive.
Given that folks on this forum seem to be ignoring one side of this argument, I'm guessing a lot of people here are well-heeled...
More precisely, "Mini is their cheapest desktop, utilizing laptop components" (i.e. strictly speaking Mini is a "laptop without screen", and in that sense is not exactly a "desktop").The point is... the MBA is Apple's cheapest laptop and the Mini is their cheapest desktop. This is an Apple forum, although many of you seem to have forgotten that.
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If fusion drives were still 128GB SSD with a 1TB HDD for storage there would be less impetus to move to completely solid state storage. A so-configured fusion would probably suit most people better than an expensive, space limited SSD while offering most of the benefits of flash (faster startup of the computer and most-used programmes). Hopefully Apple will go all-in on fusion at the very least.