The Mac Mini, what a great oppotunity

[K20]

I agree with everyone else who has mentioned the price point and the fact that the Mac Mini plugs a gap in Apple's computer line-up.


I just wish that future versions of the Mac Mini would get rid of the Intel integrated graphics and step up a little bit to an integrated GeForce 6100/6150 solution

 

[Shadow]

So...

To access > 80GB of space on a Mac I need 4 processors to do it?

Talk about bloatware

No....the Mac Mini can have a 120GB HD (I think, I can't check because the servers are getting hammered because of the sale), and anyway, what about the iMac?

 

[TyPod]

The Mac Mini is a great entry level mac...I can't wait until I get mine!

 

[Macmadant]

A dedicated graphics card nothing special perhaps a radeon mobility X1400 or lower even, or at the very least upgrade it with a x3000 intel one soon

 

[SMM]

The initial post reminded me of an anecdote from Annie Hall. It was two retired ladies at a nursing home complaining about the food. The first lady says, The food here is absolutely uneatable"! The other responds, "You are right Mabel, and the portions are far too small".

Calling the product "Crap", but then basing it on wanting more, has a certain irony to it. However, reading through the posts, once again we end up discussing the need for an intermediate sized, user-configurable workstation, which is not an iMac. I wonder how large this market really is? Apple has surely done considerable research on this.

I wonder what effect of having this type of offering would have on iMac sales? I doubt if anyone would see any incentive in just redistributing the sales you already have. No, a new product line would have to increase net sales to justify creating it.

I am never sure if I am straying off-topic, so I will quickly summarize. Building a customized product assembly plant is an expensive proposition (I have many years of manufacturing experience). A new product, such is often debated here, would be a major undertaking for Apple. If done right, it could very well be what is needed to punch through the 10% MS barrier.

 

[balamw]

A new product, such is often debated here, would be a major undertaking for Apple. If done right, it could very well be what is needed to punch through the 10% MS barrier.

Not if done "right" just like the eMac used to use the same logic board as the iBook (IIRC). The only thing I want is the logic board of an 24" iMac in a pizza box style (or other vertical) enclosure, so the only thing that would require any custom manufacture is the case. Everything else (optical drive, HDD, memory) is a standard module made by someone else.

B

 

[Chef Medeski]

Not if done "right" just like the eMac used to use the same logic board as the iBook (IIRC). The only thing I want is the logic board of an 24" iMac in a pizza box style (or other vertical) enclosure, so the only thing that would require any custom manufacture is the case. Everything else (optical drive, HDD, memory) is a standard module made by someone else.

B

Marketing, distributing, and managing a separate product line costs money. More complexity = more cost. Yet, Apple should really swallow some cost at this point to pay off some loyal customers after this transition. I mean they are the ones who stuck it through the last ten years....

 

[balamw]

Marketing, distributing, and managing a separate product line costs money.

True, but those costs, as well as the R&D costs, are usually built into the pricing of the product.

It all depends on if the business case makes sense.

B

 

[FadeToBlack]

As others have said, the Mac mini is perfect for what it is - a low-end desktop Mac. It's quick enough for what I do, has a small form factor, which is perfect for me, since I don't have much desk space, and is virtually silent. I love mine!

 

[pr3cisi0n]

how much do you think a mac mini would go for if it had...

how much do you think a mac mini would go for if it had core 2 duo(2.15ghz) 1X1gb of memory upgraded? I'm going to "enhance" mine soon...

 

[APPLENEWBIE]

My first mac (purchased 15 months ago) was a 1.42 g4. I have bought three more new and one used macs since then for family/business. Although the intel machines (macbook / imac) are no doubt faster, the g4 is plenty fast for normal use and is stable as a rock. I think I actually am more impressed with the G4 ibook and mini than the intel machines, which don't seem to be quite as stable (my perception anyway... ) I think apple would be wise to keep the price low on the mini as a 'gateway drug' for mac switchers. I felt comfortable switching with a mini basically because it was cheap and I figured that if I later felt it was a mistake to go mac... not a lot invested/lost to find out.

 

[danny_w]

My first mac (purchased 15 months ago) was a 1.42 g4. I have bought three more new and one used macs since then for family/business. Although the intel machines (macbook / imac) are no doubt faster, the g4 is plenty fast for normal use and is stable as a rock. I think I actually am more impressed with the G4 ibook and mini than the intel machines, which don't seem to be quite as stable (my perception anyway... ) I think apple would be wise to keep the price low on the mini as a 'gateway drug' for mac switchers. I felt comfortable switching with a mini basically because it was cheap and I figured that if I later felt it was a mistake to go mac... not a lot invested/lost to find out.

My story exactly, and I agree with you completely. I would have never switched if the mini had not been available.

 

[crazycat]

Sometimes i like to to imagine i am a giant and my mac mini (which i dont use anymore) is a mac pro.

The size factor cant be very important for many people.

 

[SMM]

Not if done "right" just like the eMac used to use the same logic board as the iBook (IIRC). The only thing I want is the logic board of an 24" iMac in a pizza box style (or other vertical) enclosure, so the only thing that would require any custom manufacture is the case. Everything else (optical drive, HDD, memory) is a standard module made by someone else.

B

So, all you are changing is the case, not any custom configuration other than what is offered in choice A, B & C?

 

[VoodooDaddy]

I think the minis price is dangerously close to going off the cliff.

What did the original minis go for? There were 2 models, was it 399 and 499 or was it 499 and 599? Can't remember. I do know at the time I was seriously interested in getting one because the investment was relatively cheap. I wanted to play around with a mac because I had never used one and wanted to see what it was all about. But before the minis the investment to just "play" with a mac was out of the question.

Now fast forward to today. I spent 799 on mine in june. I had to have the superdrive so the 599 model was not an option. My last windows box was about 3.5yrs old and it needed replaced. Up to that point I had built my own stuff but I just didn't want to take the time to research my hardware options, order from 5 different stores to get all the parts, then put it all together and have to troubleshoot in case there was a problem.

Since the intel macs were out this was a very big selling point. But I gotta tell you, 799, for no more than you get, was almost enough to turn me away and back to another windows machine. In fact I walked out of the apple store after going in to buy the thing. I started thinking "799 can build a heck of a powerful computer" since there were things I could still use from my old machine.

I did end up at Frys about a week later and just decided to go for it. The more I thought about it the less likely I was to buy it. And fortunately my salesman had been a mac user for years.

I'm happy with my mini, and I'd buy it again. But I think 799 is at the upper limit on the price point. I'd like to see about 100 slashed off the price.

 

[EM87]

VoodooDaddy,

I'm starting to feel the same way as you except I have not got my Mac yet. With $1500AUD (iMac price) I could build myself a Core 2 Duo machine with a nVidia 7600GT graphics card, 1.5Gb RAM, a 500Gb HDD, 16x duel layer DVD burner and have some money spare for other little extra's like card reader etc. where for that much I can get a basic iMac with Core 2 Duo CPU, Intel graphics (we all know how good they are ), 512Mb RAM, a 160Gb HDD and a 24x combo drive. The only reason why I would get a mac is for OS X, the hardware prices of them is horrible when it comes to value for money. If I didn't dislike Windows and Linux there would be no way in hell I would get a Mac.

 

[countach]

VoodooDaddy,

I'm starting to feel the same way as you except I have not got my Mac yet. With $1500AUD (iMac price) I could build myself a Core 2 Duo machine with a nVidia 7600GT graphics card, 1.5Gb RAM, a 500Gb HDD, 16x duel layer DVD burner and have some money spare for other little extra's like card reader etc. where for that much I can get a basic iMac with Core 2 Duo CPU, Intel graphics (we all know how good they are), 512Mb RAM, a 160Gb HDD and a 24x combo drive. The only reason why I would get a mac is for OS X, the hardware prices of them is horrible when it comes to value for money. If I didn't dislike Windows and Linux there would be no way in hell I would get a Mac.

Ok we all know that the Intel graphics is nothing special, but what are you folks doing on your Mac minis where you are thinking "This 3D rendering is not fast enough"?

 

[bradallen]

Some people must be very picky when it comes down to speed.
i can have my itunes running and playing music, call of duty 2 running, and adium running and not have a bit of lag.

and ill still have free ram left over (i have a gig) and i'm running a 1.66ghz core duo 2.

i also do a lot of photoshop work and use macromedia software. i usually have dreamweaver, freehand, flash, and CS2 open all at once and only experince lag when saving, but at that point in not too worried about it.

 

[QCassidy352]

I agree with the OP. The mini is by far the worst value in apple's line up right now. I really want to like it, but what you get compared to what you pay is just horrible. Drop the price, or make the specs competitive.

 

[MacManTexas56]

What do you all think of the mac mini at the moment,

cheap computer
small
nice looking

but CRAP.


Really who agrees with me here, there is a great market for the Mac Mini. What apple needs to do is make it better. not 2 GB's of memory, but 3 like the MBP. Bigger HD. 120 is not enough for a desktop really i have an iBook G4 30 GB HD and its not big enough. i have an external hard drive, 250 GB, 10 GB left.

They need to make the Mac mini better really more memory and more HD space.

They also need to upgrade from 1.83 GHZ to 2<.

Really i think that the Mac Mini is a great idea but apple need to improve on it greatly!

What are your idea's?

the audience it focuses on isn't someone that needs huge hard drive space or a blazing fast computer. it's meant as an entry level to learning mac or just a desktop you casually surf on. If you need speed and space get an imac or get some externals. it's basically a laptop without a display. i have a mini and an imac but i only have my mini to hook up to my tv i don't have it for all my desktop needs....that's why i got an imac bc it had better options. the mini is basic.....if u start adding crazy specs on it it willl be the same as the imac but no display included. I think the mini specs are fine for what it is used for.

 

[Yvan256]

So, all you are changing is the case, not any custom configuration other than what is offered in choice A, B & C?

If you take all the internal components of the iMac and put them inside a different case without the screen, you're offering the "headless iMac" at a lower price. Imagine the specs of the 24" iMac but at the price of the GMA950 17" iMac.

I'd buy that! I already have a monitor, mouse and keyboard from my PC, which I now use with my Mac mini, which I could continue to use with that "headless iMac". Steve presented the Mac mini as a "keep your current peripherals and switch to Mac", but now Mac mini users are kinda stuck with Mac mini or Mac Pro as upgrade choices.

Of course, there's always the fact that a keyboard and mouse don't cost that much, that our current monitor can become the 2nd display for the iMac, and all other peripherals will just continue to work... Maybe put the Mac mini in the living room...

The more I think about it, the more I think Steve could very well announce a software package to convert a Mac mini into an "iTV" in january...

 

[Sam*]

It Just needs to be a lot cheaper

 

[colema01]

Mac Mini Rocks

The Mini is a dream come true ever since the switch to Intel. You can buy the computer for cheap (especially refrub) and swap all the internal parts. You can upgrade to a 2.33 Core 2 Duo (mine is a 2.16) in a matter of minutes and pick up some RAM from Crucial. Slap on a 500GB LaCie Mini HD, Belkin DVI to HDMI cable (to the 60'' Sony Grand Wega ), and a set of Bose Companion 5's and you got yourself a sweet little setup.

 

[rneglia]

don't talk smack about the mini mac!

I just got a mac mini. i'm making music and movies on it and the thing is ruling. don't get caught up in the tech stuff, people.

make your movie!!!

 

[MacPanda]

Macpanda

Hey i have had a a macmini for a while and i have to say it is a really cool little machine - i used it for all my stuff even run cinema 4d on it (+ all design work for college) and do some high level renderings it works really well and sure it may not be the fastest thing on the market it sure is well worth the cash and really affordable for whats it worth and a good entrance into the mac space - and it will live under my tv to play videos now if only i could get rid on the flatron crt and get a nice lcd.