Mac Mini a good deal? - Page 13

BobbyFett · Jan 14th, 2005, 03:10 PM

I just ordered my mini.

I got a superdrive, 512mb and Airport in it.

Wish I'd done it yesterday, the shipping date just shifted two weeks to the 14th Feb. Gah!

stargurl · Jan 14th, 2005, 03:45 PM

I ordered yesterday and I'm also kicking myself for waiting!

This will be the first time I've used a Mac since 2001!

BobbyFett · Jan 14th, 2005, 04:20 PM

I can't wait! Aside from what I've worked on AT work (ie G4 Powermac), my only other domestic mac was my iBook 600, which I bought in Spring 2002. Just opening the thing was a pleasure.

Macaholic · Jan 14th, 2005, 09:58 PM

Hey guys.

Been away all day. All I will say further to the Mac Media Center thing is that OBVIOUSLY I know that there are several ways for a savvy mac user to kludge together a Mac Media Center. What I have consistently been talking about is what The Mothership has been doing about it. In this Neo-Jobs era, the efforts on THEIR PART have been really nil. I don't care what Apple did before he came back, an neither does Jobs. 20th Anniversary Macs, Mac TV etc. were forward-thinking devices, but pale in comparison of what's being attempted in this day and age. Not to take away from those early attempts, but it IS a different age than those times.

Urban_Legend · Jan 14th, 2005, 10:35 PM

Macaholic,

I think we need to look at what the definition of a Mac Media Centre would be to us Mac users?

What does a Mac Media Centre have? What sort of technology or advances or ease of use would it bring us Mac users what we can't already do with our Macs now? Take a look at the G5 towers, then the portables and of course the mini, what is it that would make a Mac Media Centre blow right out of Cupertino and be revolutionary and sell like the iPod?

Microsoft's Media Centre Windows XP version is like what we call iLife Suite, Final Cut Pro perhaps, however FCP is over the edge. I forgot to mention also we have .Mac and iDisk technology along with iSync. That is more powerful then Microsoft's Media Centre. Wow, now Windows users can burn movies to a DVD with ease. Welcome to us Mac users, PC users. That is what I am getting at, the MS Media Centre is what we Mac users have been enjoying for years. It's called integration of suites and ease of use.

Sure they have the TV side built into it, but who really cares about that option? There are 3rd party apps that we could use for the time being.

The point is, we need to look at what Microsoft has done with the Media Centre, go take a look at their web site. Then look at us Mac users as a whole and decide where we stand against the MS Media Centre. Are we behind? Ahead? The same with regards to technology and how we can organize our photos? burn our photos to CD and DVD? Make slide shows of photos? All that is being hyped on with regards to MS Media Centre. The same goes with videos. We can do the same with wireless and a network of Macs in our homes, instead of a bunch of networked Media Centers from Microsoft.

The Media Centre from Microsoft is about integration of apps and how easy it is to do things. I say, we have been doing that for quite some time and I don't see a difference except for the TV thing.

So, please lets talk about what breakthrough, or advanced technology could Apple produce that is beyond what we use now? and is beyond Microsoft's all in one integration of apps called the Media Centre? Once Apple has figured that out, then we will see something on the horizon.

MacNutt · Jan 15th, 2005, 04:47 AM

Personally, I think this little monster is going to sell like iPods. We are going to see all sorts of fence sitters take the cheap plunge into the Mac world via the mini. They'll love the OS and tell others. Just like all the rest of us do. Millions of new Mac converts will make software cheaper and more available for all the rest of us. It's a big win-win all around, as far as I'm concerned. Our favorite computer company is on a serious roll these days.

No wonder Apple stock is going through the roof.

Macaholic · Jan 15th, 2005, 10:43 AM

As I mentioned in my first post, Urban Legend, Apple's tack on "Media Center" is diffferent than Microsoft's. Trust me when I say I know of Apple's excellent integration acorss apps and the web; it's the major bragging point I use when telling people about iLife. But iLife is all about creating your own media.

These two companies are CURRENTLY definitely going in different directions. Apple is more geared towards YOU creating media; MS is geared towards consuming mass media. MS is going after TiVo functionality, andd then dumping it onto your cel phone. I'm not even going to go into whether watching a TV show on a cel phone is a good idea or not; I'm only trying to ilustrate that MS is trying for a FULL suite of media consumptoin solutions. Yes, there is also a little bit of creation functionality built into Media Center, as there is media consumption built into Apple's overall offerings (yes, I knoww about iTunes on motorola cel phones). The EXTENT of these, however, hints at where these two company's heads are at, and they're different.

Lawrence · Jan 15th, 2005, 11:05 AM

It's not exactly the PlayStation/Mac that I had hoped to see and it may be a disappointment for some that think it is.
Maybe Apple should have taken a more entertainment style approach and gone the full nine
yards with the Mac Mini, It couldn't have hurt to add an extra capability to this thing, Might
have even been neat to play some hybrid Mac/Sony games on your T.V. with this thing.

Oh well...

Dave

Rob · Jan 15th, 2005, 11:10 AM

Here's a link that has some pretty good reasons why a Mini is an attractive machine.
http://homepage.mac.com/metroxing/ib...610/index.html

I think they're right on the mark. The mini is at the price point the cube should have been. I can't see how this won't be a winner since even I am seriously considering one (I've only ever purchased used computers, PC or Mac).

I won't be jumping in right away however. I think it would be wise to wait till Tiger is released (so I don't have to buy an OS upgrade in a few months). I'd also like to wait till the second generation comes out so they have time to work out the initial bugs. Later this year seems the right time to make the jump.

Macaholic · Jan 17th, 2005, 11:10 AM

Further to this conceit that Apple IS doing media center stuff (which I obviously don't agree with), here are fresh comments from Jobs that shows that he too knows they're not doing media center functionality... for the time being:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/te...tml?oref=login

Quotes:

" if Mr. Jobs is thinking about a future role for the quirky computer maker in entertainment beyond digital music, he is holding his cards very close to his chest."

Hmm... sounds like we're NOT in the media center frame of mind at this time.

"That did not stop speculation that, with a minimum of modification, the Mac Mini would make a compelling interactive television set-top box, placing Apple squarely in competition with TiVo and Windows Media Center from Microsoft."

LOL! I'll say!

"In an interview after his presentation, Mr. Jobs demurred. The problem, he suggested, was not that Mac TV was not a good idea, but that the cable companies are monopolies. But he did not close the door entirely."

Great!

Cause for hope -- and I too am hoping. But iLife/DVD Player/.Mac/EyeTV/WHATEVER aint mass media consumption a la Media Center/TiVO. Yes, WE can cobble it all together, and iLife is without peer for CREATING your own media, but Apple aint waving its magic wand over the Mac Mini to make the TiVo killer just yet...