Is the Mini the future or is this..

[OhHaiThere]

It's the software. You're restricted on Android or ChromeOS. Unless you have all your data in the cloud which is impractical for bigger files. Same goes for file management, some people still like to have control over their music and photo library locally. Yes this could work in the future, I don't think the infrastructure is there yet, at least not for the rest of the world (see my previous post).

I'm not saying it can replace the Mini or another computer today, but the question was if this "is the new Mini [of] the future?" Hopefully my next comment will explain better.

I'm still not with you on this one, sorry.

I'll explain...

Why not just buy and use the $35 Raspberry Pi instead?

Certainly.


Sorry for the late reply, but better late than never, right?

Now, let me ask you guys: what is the difference between a monitor and an iMac? Not much besides some laptop hardware in it, right? What's the difference between the Mac Mini + Monitor vs. iMac? Technically nothing, besides the fact that one comes packaged as an all-in-one unit and the other relies on the monitor as a peripheral.

Well, why couldn't an HDMI dongle computer (like the Chromecast) BE that computer? Don't get hung up on the OS it's running... pretend it's iOS or even OS X compiled to run ARM hardware.

Computer components keep getting smaller, more powerful and cheaper. So can this be the mini of the future? Sure, why not. It's here today, just not as powerful as the Mac Mini. The mini of 5-years from now will look nothing like the Mini we have today.

Think about it like this: last year's Cortex A15 is faster than a Celeron processor in many respects. Just to give an indication of how x86 stacks up against ARM. With the rate of development in ARM architecture (compared to x86) - despite Haswell - do you really believe that in the next 5 years we couldn't have an HDMI stick be a "Mini" PC while the current Mini form factor would now be your server? Look at the size of the new Mac Pro.

I hope that more eloquently explains my position and why I said what I said.

 

[romik]

IMHO the future of a pc will be a mobile phone in conjunction with a TV. It's been steadily going in that direction since Nokia introduced that flip over phone.

I got a Mac Mini recently, but in all honesty, for our needs it will become obsolete as soon as we can have an MS office type program on a phone.

 

[OhHaiThere]

IMHO the future of a pc will be a mobile phone in conjunction with a TV. It's been steadily going in that direction since Nokia introduced that flip over phone.

I got a Mac Mini recently, but in all honesty, for our needs it will become obsolete as soon as we can have an MS office type program on a phone.

MS Office already exists for the Android, iOS and Windows mobile platforms.

 

[theluggage]

Yes, when people will be starting threads asking;

• "Do I absolutely need 128 gigs of memory?"
• "Is the i30 really worth it?"
• "Can I run Windows20 on it?"

Not to mention:
Has Apple totally abandoned the professional market? Making the new MacPro (early 2150) exist purely in hyperspace may appeal to trendy pro-sumers prepared to entrust their data to parallel universes, but no real professional would gamble their data security on the notion that at least one of the infinite alternative versions of themselves spread across the multiverse would have remembered to back up.

I still need to connect holographic storage crystals, matter replicators and nanoforges to my system - not to mention an antique Sony Vaio so that I can check my websites on IE6. What is the point of a computer that takes up literally zero desk space if you have to build a large hadron collider and create an artificial singularity just to connect a simple Thunderbolt 10 cable to your computer?
--
Howard Kanitbe,
Professional Avatar stylist, Karmic security and Digital Kirlean photography consultant.

 

[coachingguy]

iMac mini...

I had not been a fan of the Mini... Until my dad Powermac G5 essentially become unusable due to OS limitations. He already had 2 23" Mac Monitors a keyboard he loved etc... So, really the iMac wasn't needed. We picked him a Mini at Best Buy (Better price than Apple Store), I upgraded the RAM and had him set up in under 30 minutes... He loves it!

The salesguy at BB said they can't keep the base model stocked... They essentially sell out every week...

It was so easy, I set up my mother-in-law with the same set up when her iMac circa 2001 died... She's a complete non-techy, so I set her up with Google docs (I'd already gotten her a gmail), some games from the App store and now I get emails from her saying "I can't get over how fast this is..." She'd gotten so used to a lag on everything she did on her iMac that any improvement is very noticeable.

My dad was concerned about the lack of DVD/CD drive, but I asked him "When was the last time you used one?" Since he couldn't remember, he realized it wasn't a big deal.

The mac mini is a great little computer for those who already their own peripherals and want to as the OP said surf, email and light gaming.

Coachingguy