Mac Mini replacement

[tshort]

A friend of mine and I were discussing the potential replacement of the Mac Mini might be and came up with... naturally... the Mac Nano!

Case: about the size of a TV, no space for an optical drive.
Processor: Core Duo, or low-end Core 2 Duo, 1.8 - 2.0 GHz
Memory: 1 GB, or 1.5 GB, not upgradable
Optical Drive: none
Storage: 20 - 30 GB Flash
Ports: USB, Power, mini-DVI, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in/out, Mac Nano Stack connector
Wireless: BlueTooth and Wi-Fi 802.11n
Display: None

No moving parts! No fan, no optical drive, no hard disk, no firewire. All solid state.

So, what's the "Mac Nano Stack connector"? It is a special connector on the bottom of the Mac Nano that can be used to stack it with devices below it. These devices would be similar to the Mac Mini add-ons sold by 3rd parties that added hard drives, etc. The connector is on the bottom to permit stacking.

The stack connector includes 2 (or more) USB 2.0 channels and extra power. This would permit a cable-less connection between the Mac Nano and the stack accessories. Apple would offer an external CD-ROM, DVD+/-RW, and hard disks. Third parties could offer similar accessories. Stack accessories would have a connector on the top to mate with the Mac Nano, and a connector on the bottom to mate with other accessories. Of course, the Mac Nano would have the clean on top.

Thoughts?

 

[theheyes]

Nice idea but youre going to run into implementation problems.

For a start, 20-30GB of flash storage is going to cost a fortune.

Also, as brilliant as the Core chips are, they still run warm. They'd more than likely overheat in a fanless enclosure as small as you're suggesting.

Finally, I'd question the need for something smaller than a Mac Mini. Far be it from me to stand in the way of progress, but slimming down an already tiny computer doesn't produce enough gains to justify it in my opinion.

But, like I said, nice ideas. I'm sure we'll see something like it a few years in the future.

 

[netdog]

Where is the C2D SR (for the enhanced graphics primarily) Mini?!?

I really hope that Apple don't let the Mini die. Previous rumours of the Mini's death, however, don't seem overly premature. Sad if that is true.

 

[tshort]

This sounds like the MBA!

Did I predict the MacBook Air? There are a lot of things in this "Mac Nano" that are similar to the MBA!

 

[godslabrat]

The only problem I see with this scenario is that, without the optical drive, there isn't much separating your "mac nano" from an AppleTV. It pushes the "Nano" into a weird middle category that makes it too complicated for ATV users, and not flexible for Mini users. We're seeing a little bit of this with the MBA, but it's not a deal-breaker (IMO) because the MBA is not intended to be anyone's primary computer.

If your "Nano" is intended to be a primary computer, I don't think it'll take off. JMHO.