http://www.apple.com/macmini/

pretty slick for the size and price.

Another reason why Apple is the shit.

Innovation.

now that is awesome. too bad the steve jobs keynote is on delay, otherwise i would have known by now.

i don't know, it's cute, but once you add a display the price is what you'd pay for a dell anyway. i wonder what's preventing it from going the way of some other apple innovations...anyone remember this guy?

he has some fans still, but he never quite took off like i thought he would.

i was a big fan of the cube unit until it started breaking on people. we did a lot of testing and reviews of those at Gartner in 2000 and had some hilarious issues, particularly with Apple's support (at the time).

problems:
- cost is deceptive when you leave out keyboard/mouse and monitor. big time deceptive.
- i get that this is supposed to just integrate with your existing technologies, but...we're talking about a significant re-purposing of a client's existing os image - esp. if they're on a pc - which is a whole big can of worms if you're trying to convert users who made pc upgrades with the win2k upgrade (in 2001). that's a whole lot of data and messiness that average users won't know how to seemlessly transfer to another machine, let alone platform.
- would've better to make wireless integration part of the packaging, rather than an additional feature. they're doing this with the the most recent iMac, why can't they do it here? (seriously, BT functionality is actually pretty cheap on the production side)

i think it's a neat idea, i really do, but i don't think "save space!" is a killer app here.

KPH

They're going to sell a ton of those "Flashpods" as well...

yeah, i'm still waiting for the Newton to take off as well.

props on the flashpod though. it's cheaper than other flash units, but with a comparable capacity, and the design is pure iPod, which is a proven winner.

someone disagree with me about the mini me. i think it's cube2k5.

KPH

wait, the flashpod doesn't have a display?

KPH

For shits and giggles, Monsieur Haley, I will say that I think Apple actually learned a lot from their failures and are now loathe to put subpar product on the market. they have a rising reputation amongst the general public, and I don't think they would jeopardize that status with a cube 2K5 or a Newton Deuce or whatever.

(At least I really fucking hope not)

That's in no way innovative. These exist already and are cheaper. Yes, throw on an apple display and you're paying way more than a new dell.

I didn't see the flashpod, but god, it's gonna be sad to see all the people who can't afford an ipod but want one oh so bad.

(responding to gar)

ok, but how is this different than the cube unit, aside from (vertical) space saving? is this just a relaunch of that product concept, now that the iPod has provided an (re)entry point to the general consumer market?

KPH

the only people who are buying apple displays are people who buy g5s. no one that buys this is gonna put down the kind of money apple displays cost. i believe it has the right port for pc monitors, and monitors are dirt cheap, so if you dont have one already, you can buy whatever kind you want on the cheap.

Good call. Northern Soul makes a good point, though. Its meant as an easy transition piece. If you wanna change (who wouldn't) you can do so for $500 (plus tech support/Applecare)

I'm not going to buy one, my G3 iBook works fine most of the time. I just think they are more image/brand conscious now. And Yes, with the success of the iPod this makes perfect sense, for all the people that buy them, love them, but think the switch is too expensive. Pretty smart.

so lame, i know.

but monitors are big, bulky objects with a rather large footprint on desks. wouldn't a space conscious person want to have a display with a similar "space conscious-ness"? if you want to upgrade everything, why mis-match your cpu unit with a holdover from a Dell? (underlying point here is still that the minime is deceptively priced without a monitor's inclusion)

also, why is the damn flat panel iMac so bulky? if they are able to cram all of this into the minime's space, what's with the big size of the iMac?

KPH

wrong. this is apple's first attempt at a cafe style machine this size, so it is an innovation for them.

Huh? God if anyone is conscious of style and image it's Steve Jobs. True, this is a better attempt than the Next or Lisa price-wise, I don't think Apple is going to new heights anytime soon.

I'm proficient on both Mac and PC through my work at work and work at home. For most tasks from the most basic to more intense, I think in 2005 they are very similar if not mostly interchangeable. But, I'll take a PC anyday of the year. Period.

One reason Apple raises eyebrows is one reason that ultimately holds it back. Stylish and interesting to look at, it scares away most average computer users. It's too shiny, too foreign. People want a "cupholder" to put the cd-rom in. They want familiarity. They do not want to learn new tricks like dragging the cd into the trash to eject it or finding which key to press to make the tray slide out from the flat face in the first place.

Innovation for them? Pretty funny.

minime = G4
iMac = G5

I think

ahhh...now it's coming together. thanks for pointing that out DC.

KPH

I know. Crazy how they made the Ipod THE standard for MP3 players all over the world making it a marketable and viable source to play music at home/car/outdoors.

this might be fun to stick in my living room - would it be possible to make my television set work as the monitor using some sort of adapter? i have spare keyboards and mice, so . . .

This wouldn't work very well unless you've got a really high-res (HD) TV.

But, yeah, lot's of people here at work have TVs hooked up as 3rd monitors to preview video renders and stuff.

Exactly. Jobs is back. They are image conscious. You and I are the exact opposite. I'm proficient on both, but will take Mac any day of the week.PCs are slow and boring. Macs are fast and fun. (And EASY!!)