Mac Mini

Re: Mac Mini

i dont know, i looked too...

i mean if u wanna buy monitor, keyboard, etc, then ur right, but if ur already using a slick moniter and mouse u like, this SEEMs like the better deal

the exterternal hard drive u'll buy no matter what ur using so that doesnt factor in.

I'd get the superdrive and at least the minimal ram upgrade, which comes to $674, not bad, seems like a pretty good deal.
 
Re: Mac Mini

I think it is a smart move, but would I start all over again, I have invested in PC all the way and if I was spending another 500 dollars I would wait a bit more and get myself a cheap laptop for the dvrack etc deal. Yes if I had enough cash I would buy anything but my priority list is way to long to get a low end sweet peripheral that can just cope with my basic needs. And now . . .. would I start buying Mac software also! . . . can hardly afford the PC suites and their constant upgrades, like After effects . . . Audition . . . Flash . . . 3DS Max . . . Flash . . . Dreamweaver . . . etc

What I think this does is allow is for companies that use Macs to have a mac at every desk now.
 
Re: Mac Mini

yeah and you can still stick in any component you like . . . or plug in your ipod ;) which BTW did not make it that big here, I only know two friends that have one
 
Re: Mac Mini

I think apple wants people to buy this as a novelty initially. Lets face it, with OSX...apple is a pretty nice, user-friendly, highly stylized machine. It's culture computing at it's finest. It's not the fastest machine, it's not the most equipped, it's not the most powerful, but it's hard to get cooler then apple in terms of the general computing consciousness.

Everyone is saying that $500 is too much to drop on a machine on a whim, but I think that the people who are able to drop $500 on a whim are exactly the market apple wants to court. Lets face it, apple's aint cheap, but the people that fall in love with them become loyal customers.

Apple wants people with disposable income, people that think of themselves as hip, to be adopting this machine because it's the gateway to an iBook. G5's and Powerbooks are essentially directed only at graphics and media professionals, and that's a relatively small market in terms of scale.

If apple can get their iPod crowd (people who are already swearing by a $400 apple appliance) to buy into a $500 gimmick computer that works with some of the PC junk they already have...they will significantly increase their relevance.

I don’t think this is the sign of a shifting tide by any means, but I think we’re going to see a significant number of people getting these mini macs to toy around with, and there’s a really good chance that some of them are going to get hooked.

Even if apple loses money on each one sold, they’re probably going to end up making back that revenue relatively quickly through a significantly increased user base.
 
Re: Mac Mini

If you look at the specs, they're almost identical to the powerbook G4. So for the price they're selling them at, it's a real bargain (if you already have a monitor, which... if you're reading this now.... you... do?)

Someone said they're even coming from the same factory as the powerbooks.
 
Re: Mac Mini

[quote author=Taylor_Moore link=board=Offtopic;num=1105474256;start=15#27 date=01/12/05 at 06:02:40]Mathew, do you have any idea how much the Asus costs?[/quote]

On the $400 i think i saw right
 
Re: Mac Mini

The price is even more intriguing when you consider the form factor. Where will you find a similarly-sized and priced Windows machine?
 
Re: Mac Mini

It is a barebone . . . that means, if i understood right, you still need to buy a couple of components like cpu or hdd . . . so take that up another hundred bucks or so and recompare . . . but never the less . . . I would love that in my livingroom anyday . . . see my movies on the tv screen or check the dvx site whilst watching tv
 
Re: Mac Mini

[quote author=Cheesesailor77 link=board=Offtopic;num=1105474256;start=0#13 date=01/11/05 at 19:25:24]i could be wrong but i think there IS a lot of ppl out there that are on pcs because macs are too expensive, not just because of the software.
[/quote]
Exactly why I'm not on mac.
 
Re: Mac Mini

Matthew,

Here are the specs of the $499 Mac mini.

1.25GHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive
DVI or VGA video output
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth optional
 
Re: Mac Mini

It is really a system to start out on using iLife, web browsing etc. This machine will beat the pants off of any 500-700 dollar PC. The point is anyone spending under 1,000 for a machine is new to the market and is testing out using a computer period. PCs in this price range are slow and crash and have nothing but problems- Mac on the other hand will offer them right off iMovie iPhoto iDVD which respectivly are wonderful consumer programs for beginners. I have never ever crossed a PC bundled with useful software at any price range! This is a gateway for apple to catch the bottom end of the market that wastes money on 500 Dells and Hps which they hate anyway. I would put this miniMac up against most PCs priced at 1,500 plus.
 
Re: Mac Mini

I think this is a BRILLIANT move on Apple's part. And the box is so damn sexy.

Some of you are wondering who the intended market is for the Mac mini? Everyone who bought an iPod, that's who. (That would be about 10 million people and counting...) This system is a non-portable Phat iPod.

Take a look at the accessories for the thing. The two that jump out at me are the VGA-to-SVideo converter, good for exporting the computer display to your TV, and the TOSLink audio gadget that allows you to send Dolby 5.1 Surroundsound to your home stereo. Even the cheapest Mac mini then has the capability of being a kick-ass DVD player, if nothing else. But where it will really find a niche is as an iPod/Personal Video Recorder/Internet appliance for students and Mom.

It has OS X under the hood, so BitTorrent and other open source stuff is available for it. This is a big deal for DVX100 folks, because BitTorrent is our future, people. Its how we are going to get around the networks to cheaply distribute independent content. Think 'video blog'. And who is going to create the best content? Many of the talented people on this forum.

Ready, set, go! :o
 
Re: Mac Mini

it's pretty close to being ready as a set-top box also. I'm surprised that apple isn't offering a video/audio input card in the accessories. They've got a remote available...external drives are easy...no video input? Seems like it would be an instant PVR hit to me.
 
Re: Mac Mini

[quote author=speedbump link=board=Offtopic;num=1105474256;start=30#36 date=01/12/05 at 11:29:00]

Some of you are wondering who the intended market is for the Mac mini?  Everyone who bought an iPod, that's who.  (That would be about 10 million people and counting...)  This system is a non-portable Phat iPod.
[/quote]

I present to you for your consideration:

Exhibit A: 40 gig iPod. $400

Exhibit B: Mac Mini, base model with 40 gig. $500.

What a deal.
I'll still save up for my G5 tower (maybe 18 months to go still).
 
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