SillyDog701

[DJGM]

The recent rumours were true. Apple have introduced "Mac mini" the smallest Macintosh computer.

Live the digital life in stylish simplicity. At just 16.5 cm wide and just over 5 cm
tall, Mac mini provides what you need to have more fun with your music, photos
and movies — right out of the box. And it boasts a miniscule price to match

The modular design of Mac mini lets you upgrade your current system to
the elegance, simplicity and reliability of Macintosh. If you already own a
monitor, keyboard and mouse, you can get up and running in minutes. Or
choose any combination of new devices to meet your individual situation.

And yes, Mac mini will take advantage of your two-button USB mouse
with scroll-wheel and your favorite USB keyboard. Just plug them in.

The prices for the new Mac mini are:

UK - £339
USA - $499
Canada - $629
Australia - $799

IMO, it's quite reasonably priced too, which is (sadly) quite rare for Apple products.
Eitherway, I think I might just bag myself a brand new "Mac mini" later this year!

Post status changed from Announcement to Sticky, Admin 30 Jan 2005
Change post type from Sticky to Normal, Admin 30.3.2005

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[MarkJMK]

That's pretty neat, definitely a good price for a Apple product.

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[Andrew T.]

This news confirms the rumor of such a computer reported earlier.

It certainly is tiny. The topmost photo really shows how it is proportioned in relation to the CD-ROM sticking out of it.

Otherwise, there aren't too many surprises.
It is so small, however, that I imagine it might be difficult to place the case under a computer monitor, as is usually done with a desktop (horizontal) case. The 17" CRT I'm using right now, for example, has a 20x23 cm swivel base that would stick out in all directions if I placed it on top of this Mac.

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[Antony]

from Apple releases Mac mini, everybody can afford one

The recent rumours were true.

The website and people would leaked out this news will be in big trouble. They destroyed the excitement completely.

Some basic specification about Mac mini:
Mac mini is 5 cm tall, 16.51 cm square anodised aluminium enclosure, Mac mini houses a 1.25 or 1.42GHz G4 processor, 40GB or 80GB hard drive, a slot-loading CD-R/DVD-ROM optical drive, 256MB (up to 1GB) DDR SDRAM and ATI Radeon 9200 graphics chip with 32MB DDR SDRAM, and very quiet.

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[Al]

I'll get this tiny Mac instead of a iMac, it's still a mac no matter what...
BTW does it use G4 or G5

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[Josh]

BTW does it use G4 or G5

It's a G4.

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[Al]

Thanks, I'll still get it.

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[Mandrake]

Cute.

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[Andrew T.]

The "Mac mini" now has its own product page up on Apple's website:

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

By default, the computer ships as-is, with no accessories. Chances are, if you're switching to this computer from an old one (Mac or PC), you'll already have a compatible video display to use. But you'll need a suitable keyboard and mouse to have a fuctional computer, and if you're switching from a typical PC you obviously won't be able to use your old serial, AT, or PS/2-connector keyboard and mouse with the Mac. Throw an Apple USB keyboard ($29 US) and a USB mouse (~$20-60) into your order, and the price will still be quite reasonable, although definately a little more than $499.

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[Antony]

Apple Mac mini is now even cheaper, with BTO (build-to-order) added ons.

Apple is now offering following savings
* Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme wireless option: US$99 (was $129), US$30 saving
* the 1GB DDR333 SDRAM upgrade for $325 (was $475), US$150 saving
* 80GB ultra ATA hard drive upgrade for $50 (was $80), US$30 saving
* 8x SuperDrive option instead of the previous 4x model for the same US$100 cost.

That's a saving of (up to) US$210 for the cheapest Mac available.

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[Roy]

I've been wanting to get an iMac for years, but just could reach that deep into my wallet, so it continued to remain on my wish list. At the starting price of $499, I definitely decided to go for it, especially since Apple was offering free shipping (I like free shipping!).

I thought the configuration would be fixed and that was fine, but as noted above Apple offers several additions at reasonable prices, so I added another 256MB of memory ($50) bringing it up to 512MB and upgraded to a writable DVD drive ($100). Since I was going to buy a CostCo Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse combo anyway, I decided I might as well go with the Apple combo instead ( $about the same, except I did have to add the internal BlueTooth at an extra cost I didn't expect).

So without the monitor (I already have it), the price came out at about $930 which I consider pretty good. They are even offering a year of their online service which include Virus protection for $70 instead of the standard $130 price. So I added that in too and came in at less than $1000 including taxes.

Looking forward to it's arrival.

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[Mandrake]

I've been wanting to get an iMac for years, but just could reach that deep into my wallet, so it continued to remain on my wish list. At the starting price of $499, I definitely decided to go for it, especially since Apple was offering free shipping (I like free shipping!).

I thought the configuration would be fixed and that was fine, but as noted above Apple offers several additions at reasonable prices, so I added another 256MB of memory ($50) bringing it up to 512MB and upgraded to a writable DVD drive ($100). Since I was going to buy a CostCo Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse combo anyway, I decided I might as well go with the Apple combo instead ( $about the same, except I did have to add the internal BlueTooth at an extra cost I didn't expect).

So without the monitor (I already have it), the price came out at about $930 which I consider pretty good. They are even offering a year of their online service which include Virus protection for $70 instead of the standard $130 price. So I added that in too and came in at less than $1000 including taxes.

Looking forward to it's arrival.

A friend of mine from the USA that purchased a Mac Mini pointed out it's just as cheap to buy a USB2 external 16X DVD Writer (and you still get to keep the internal combo drive) as it is to upgrade to Apple's slower 8X DVD Writer.

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[Antony]

A friend of mine from the USA that purchased a Mac Mini pointed out it's just as cheap to buy a USB2 external 16X DVD Writer (and you still get to keep the internal combo drive) as it is to upgrade to Apple's slower 8X DVD Writer.

Your friend must be a very PC person. Most Mac users don't complain the speed of Superdrive.

Plus, a number of applications won't work well with external DVD burners.

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[Antony]

Barefeats has posted Mac mini versus Cube versus iMac versus Power Mac

They compared following Macs:
iMac G4 1.25GHz, 1GB RAM
Cube G4 1.5GHz (note, third party upgraded), 1GB RAM
Mac mini 1.42GHz, 1GB RAM
Power Mac G4 1.42GHz, 1.25GB RAM
PowerBook G4 1.5GHz, 1GB RAM
iMac G5 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM

With a number of tests on iMovie rendering soft focus, Quake 3, Photoshop CS, and Cinebench...

The performance of Mac mini is very good, considering its compactness and multipurpose for the future...

However, Power Mac G4 1.42GHz is the winner of all categories!
Power Mac G4 1.42GHz (with 1GB RAM) outperforms iMac G5!

Antony is very happy now Antony has a PowerMac G4 dual 1.42GHz with 2GB RAM.

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[aMakUzr]

There's another strategy ... if you have multiple systems on your desk and they all have monitors and you don't want to have multiple keyboards 'n meeces, you should take a look at KMremoteControl from www.derman.com.

Simply put, KMremoteControl is a software keyboard/mouse switcher (i.e., KVM without the "M" part). I've been using KMremoteControl for quite some time (in a different setup) and it works really well. Hope this helps.

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