I have a Mac Mini that I bought in late 2007 as a holdover until I bought a newer more powerful Mac. It is rev. A Intel Mini with 1.66 Core Duo and Superdrive that I bought refurbished. I wanted to get a mid-range tower and was a huge proponent of The Cause, as I wanted to hook it to a sleek and sexy Cinema Display. I wanted a desktop, not a notebook/display/keyboard/mouse/externaldrives/batterykilling setup. And the Mac Pro was overkill, and high $$. Now in the wake of recent announcements, the MacBook/MacBook Pro and new Cinema is a nice system, especially with integrated power. But I still prefer a desktop. My 2nd choice to a mid-range tower and Cinema Display was an Aluminum iMac. Well, last summer obviously I got the later. And I could not be more please with my 24" desktop. It is sleek, sexy, space saving, and fast. At first I was dismayed that the 27" HD rumors didn't surface, but once I began using it at home I realized that 24" was perfect and a larger screen wasn't necessary. So I still have the Mini, which goes unused with 2GB RAM, and a Newertech v2 miniStack with a 500GB Seagate drive and wireless I/O. I thought about selling it, and really can't get much for it. I would love to sell the system and get some $$ to put towards a new MacBook since I do like the idea of a notebook as a 2nd machine. But I will most likely give it to a family member to use.
Now quite a few folks are clamoring about the now again rumored EOL of the Mac Mini and it's underspec'd overpriced entry level blah blah blah. And I can see that there might be arguments for this, but first consider this.
1. You want a cheaper Mac - sorry but Apple makes complete systems designed to run OS X and you pay for the OS and the design and the specs. And Apple won't change this to make them more competitive. You can compare them to Dells, complain about the newest CPUs and GPUs not being in whatever machine yet. But Apple makes integrated systems. Things aren't slapped together.
2. You want better specs in a Mini - again, it's entry level, and so it's not about making it as cheap as a low end PC so that they gain customers, it's about offering a lower priced Mac for a taste of the Apple Kool-Aid. They don't have to make it cutting edge.
3. You want a mid-range tower - well Apple makes a kick ass machine in the iMac and an even more powerful machine in the Mac Pro. The truth is that the iMac has all the expandability you need. Add RAM, add external drives. The CPU and GPU are fairly well matched and as one becomes less powerful relative to the latest and greatest, so does the other. You will be in the market for a new machine in 2-6 years depending on your usage and upgrade cycle and so getting into the machine and upgrading it is not a flaw for the iMac. The Mac Pro is quite cost effective if you plan on changing cards and screens, adding crazy amounts of RAM.
4. You want to use your own screen - Screens a disposable, thrown into the deal by Dell for nothing. Panels are ridiculously cheap. What would you save buying an iMac if it was headless and came without a screen, nothing. And then you complain that it isn't matte. Have you seen and used an iMac. Or a glossy notebook. The glass and glossy package looks great. At this point you are just looking for something to complain about.
The Mac Mini. It is what it is or it was what it was. And wanting it to be a MacBook or an iMac without a screen, with more RAM and a full size hard drive, well all those things is just telling Apple that you are a young punk, never worked too hard for anything and want more for less, especially when someone else is probably buying it for you. It's a computer and will do what you need it to. If you don't like that, get something else. Don't compare it to what Dell sells, Dells don't run OS X. Need it for gaming, get something more powerful, or maybe, well you know a 360 or a PS3. But my guess is you will continue whining because you just don't get it.
This is my petition to get all whiners to shut up about the Mac Mini not being what they want and for cheap enough.
Now quite a few folks are clamoring about the now again rumored EOL of the Mac Mini and it's underspec'd overpriced entry level blah blah blah. And I can see that there might be arguments for this, but first consider this.
1. You want a cheaper Mac - sorry but Apple makes complete systems designed to run OS X and you pay for the OS and the design and the specs. And Apple won't change this to make them more competitive. You can compare them to Dells, complain about the newest CPUs and GPUs not being in whatever machine yet. But Apple makes integrated systems. Things aren't slapped together.
2. You want better specs in a Mini - again, it's entry level, and so it's not about making it as cheap as a low end PC so that they gain customers, it's about offering a lower priced Mac for a taste of the Apple Kool-Aid. They don't have to make it cutting edge.
3. You want a mid-range tower - well Apple makes a kick ass machine in the iMac and an even more powerful machine in the Mac Pro. The truth is that the iMac has all the expandability you need. Add RAM, add external drives. The CPU and GPU are fairly well matched and as one becomes less powerful relative to the latest and greatest, so does the other. You will be in the market for a new machine in 2-6 years depending on your usage and upgrade cycle and so getting into the machine and upgrading it is not a flaw for the iMac. The Mac Pro is quite cost effective if you plan on changing cards and screens, adding crazy amounts of RAM.
4. You want to use your own screen - Screens a disposable, thrown into the deal by Dell for nothing. Panels are ridiculously cheap. What would you save buying an iMac if it was headless and came without a screen, nothing. And then you complain that it isn't matte. Have you seen and used an iMac. Or a glossy notebook. The glass and glossy package looks great. At this point you are just looking for something to complain about.
The Mac Mini. It is what it is or it was what it was. And wanting it to be a MacBook or an iMac without a screen, with more RAM and a full size hard drive, well all those things is just telling Apple that you are a young punk, never worked too hard for anything and want more for less, especially when someone else is probably buying it for you. It's a computer and will do what you need it to. If you don't like that, get something else. Don't compare it to what Dell sells, Dells don't run OS X. Need it for gaming, get something more powerful, or maybe, well you know a 360 or a PS3. But my guess is you will continue whining because you just don't get it.
This is my petition to get all whiners to shut up about the Mac Mini not being what they want and for cheap enough.