"I wonder what keeps people from buying the mini."
Probably the fact that it "doesn't look like a real computer"....
If Apple would just put this into a more "PC-like" enclosure, I'll bet more folks would buy it, just for appearance's sake.
I think the Mini case should be a bit larger, but for different reasons:
- Cooling - more air in, more heat out.
- Accessibility - easy access to the drive bays. All it would take is 4 screws and a removable top plate. The product would make adding/replacing the hard drive easy, without having to disassemble the entire computer (and risk damaging the fragile motherboard connectors).
Having said that, I expect to buy a 2012 Mini when they get released, to replace my 2004-vintage PowerMac g4 MDD. The old tower has served me well for more than eight years, but I suspect the Mini will be 'way faster, and a WHOLE lot more quiet!