Apple announces $499 Macintosh

AppleInsider ^ | January 11, 2005

[HAL9000]

Preliminary info from MacWorld Expo -

Jobs introduces Mac mini. New member of Mac family including a slot-load Combo optical drive, FireWire, ethernet, USB 2.o, both DVI/VGA output. It plays DVDs, burn CDs, and is very quiet and tiny. Its height is half the size of an iPod mini. Jobs calls it "BYODKM" -- Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, Mouse. Will come in two models: 1.25GHz 256MB/40GB for $499. A second model with a 1.4GHz, more memory and larger hard drive will sell for $599. Mac mini will ship on January 22. Ships in a box smaller than the regular iPod box.

[dalight]

most portables have zero room for expansion and yet they are popular. This is the old tension between upgrade and replace.. The only real faults I see in this machine are:

*Single RAM slot forces you to purchase 256MB upgrade on purchase from Apple.. rather than 3rd party ..

*no audio-in jack (minor gripe - almost meaningless, as I almost never use this)

Thats it.. can't complain about anything else.. frankly its more powerful than any box other than a G5 unless you need to add expansion cards or multiple HD's and monitors.. in which case this machine is not your huckleberry.

Frankly, until Jobs allows apple to offer a two button mouse.. the lack of mouse and keyboard for this system is a good thing not a bad.. cause you get the price break to buy your own.. which means I can use my Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard and optical two button mouse with scroll wheelie instead.. gees.. how horrible.

[Bulwark]

That is one reason I do not care for prepackaged computer systems. The integrated chipset, the software modems, and chintzy audio cards are the reasons why computers are cheap.

I did that with my current computer, went and got one of those Shuttle kits. It's small, and quiet. It's not as small as a macmini, but it's got an AGP and PCI slot, which is enough for a good video card and a good sound card. Anything else can/should be USB/Firewire.

[general_re]

you do what you are asked by the client if it is not on its face unreasonable.

That's fine, but it hardly makes sense to complain about the OS when you know, right from the get-go, that your hardware is outdated. Somewhere around here I have an Pentium-66 board, complete with 4 ISA slots and a VLB slot for graphics, that I could probably get Win2k to install on, but is it really the fault of the OS when the hardware has old-school funkiness about it?

If it doesn't do it correctly and you get a conflict, Intel support will tell you to do just exactly what I said I had to do.. shuffle the boards until you get a workable combination.

Used to be that Intel mobos had a system configuration utility you could download to assign lines manually, assuming you found the one perverse case that broke assignments. Did you ask about that?

[KwasiOwusu]

"but your dell will get spyware, viruses and crash regularly"

Rubbish.
It should read::

"but your Dell will run the biggest number of vital needed home and business applications in history at the most cost effective price"

Plus you avoid all those exploding computers that CRAPPLE was selling not that long ago.

[KwasiOwusu]

"but your dell will get spyware, viruses and crash regularly"

Are all you CRAPPLE fanatics the same?
You keep repeating the same talking points from Mac daily or wherever you get your nonsense from.

# 1, I'd back the stability of XP against any Mac any day.

And # 2, Microsoft has already released a free Spyware removal software only this week, with a free virus removal software to follow.

And # 3, CRAPPLE's market share is too tiny at only 2% for the serious virus and spyware writers to waste too much time on Macs, but even so there is plenty of spyware for Macs too.

[KwasiOwusu]

"I still cannot get OS X to run on my Dell at work. iLife won't install either."

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Why don't you go cry to mama?
Poor guy.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Do you work for MSFT? I am not trying to start anything, just asking an honest question. I have followed some of your prior threads and they all seem to be amazingly pro-MSFT. "

No I don't.
I own Microsoft stock though, something I have already disclosed several times on this board. But of course all my postings have been entirely impartial. *wink :)

[HAL9000]

But of course all my postings have been entirely impartial.

Your postings are descending into gibberish.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Price: Same, but the Dell is currently on a $50 rebate. Verdict: Dell wins, for right now.

Processor: That's a Celeron. Celerons are way slower than Pentium 4s at the same clock speed"

Umm.. this Dell Dimension 3000 Budget I am talking about, uses a very solid Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at a scorching 2.80GHz, 533 FSB!!

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_desktop1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Your CRAPPLE? An underwhelming 1.25GHZ

So sorry.
Dell wins yet again. :)

[KwasiOwusu]

"kinda like KIA and ferrari right?"

If you think CRAPPLE is Ferrari, I want some of what you smoking.
But wait!
On second thoughts, I don't think I do.

[N3WBI3]

# 1, I'd back the stability of XP against any Mac any day.

Good for you, I'll Take that bet... My wifes mac has *NEVER* crashed in two years, my XP box goes aboutonce every two months. also adding to uptime is the # of times I have to reboot for windows updates..

# 2, Microsoft has already released a free Spyware removal software only this week, with a free virus removal software to follow.

Yea I love that business model relaease crap software that put too much stuff into kernel land allowing spyware to spread like a fire, and then when people finally get pissed enough buy a company and release a service (I thought the beta was free but they are charging for the service later).

3, CRAPPLE's market share is too tiny at only 2% for the serious virus and spyware writers to waste too much time on Macs, but even so there is plenty of spyware for Macs too.

Again the drumbeat of the windows knee padders is that good architecture does not matter, only market share...

[KwasiOwusu]

"If it came with a CRT, you'd probably be complaining that it wasn't an LCD wouldn't you?"

I wouldn't. Because I'd never buy a Mac.
Its down to its last 2% market share.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Users of OS X have grown steadily since its introduction, and continue to rise"

To what share?
Still 2%.
So sorry.

"I bet this little thing will double the number of users in less than a year if Apple can keep the supply lines full (with which they historically have a problem)."

Been hearing that refrain for 4 years at least.
CRAPPLE's share still hasn't gone anywhere.
They said the same thing about the iMac back in 1998.

[KwasiOwusu]

"Users of OS X have grown steadily since its introduction, and continue to rise"

To what share?
Still 2%.
So sorry.

"I bet this little thing will double the number of users in less than a year if Apple can keep the supply lines full (with which they historically have a problem)."

Been hearing that refrain for 4 years at least.
CRAPPLE's share still hasn't gone anywhere.
They said the same thing about the iMac back in 1998.

[N3WBI3]

Your CRAPPLE? An underwhelming 1.25GHZ

Last time Im going to point this out to you Pentium=CISK, G4=RISK. Those are not only two different processor architectures those are two completely different design methodology.. so to compare the two based on clock speed is like comparing the safety of two cars based on color...

[KwasiOwusu]

"Pentium=CISK, G4=RISK. Those are not only two different processor architectures those are two completely different design methodology.. "

Yes they are different architectures, same as an F-22 and a Mig fighter are different, but we can still compare raw performance.
I'd back the performance of a 2.8GHZ Pentium IV PC over this 1.25 GHZ Mac any day.

[KwasiOwusu]

"My wifes mac has *NEVER* crashed in two years, my XP box goes aboutonce every two months"

MY XP machine hasn't crashed in over 2 1/2 years. Its been humming along like a dream since I bought it..

"Yea I love that business model relaease crap software that put too much stuff into kernel land allowing spyware to spread like a fire, and then when people finally get pissed enough buy a company and release a service (I thought the beta was free but they are charging for the service later)."

Nonsense.
Every OS has spyware, unless its too tiny for anyone to have heard about it , or has a market share that is too tiny (like the Mac) for serious spyware writers to bother with them.

Plus Microsoft anti-spyware is free and will remain free.
Microsoft virus remover will be free and be updated every month.
A second more potent version will possibly involve some money exchanged.
You are still getting both a spyware remover and a virus remover for free.


"Again the drumbeat of the windows knee padders is that good architecture does not matter, only market share..."

Again the CRAPPLE jihadists, who have watched a previously solid market share disappear right before their eyes, now insist that market share does not matter, and comfort themselves talking about something called "architecture" which by the way they borrowed from Unix.
Again, I'll back XP's very modern NT based architecture against your Unix based ancient architecture any day.

[antiRepublicrat]

To what share? Still 2%. So sorry.

More like 5%, thanks to things like that original much-copied iMac, which was the hottest selling computer that year. This is including any Dell models, as the iMac (one specific model from one specific manufacturer) captured 10% of the whole PC market. Apple's new lower-priced models have a habit of selling fast.

[antiRepublicrat]

Umm.. this Dell Dimension 3000 Budget I am talking about, uses a very solid Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at a scorching 2.80GHz, 533 FSB!!

Wow, you're right, when did they upgrade it? Last time I checked, the low-end was still Celery. Anyway, this isn't the performance market. While this one does go to Dell, it's not important in this market. As long as people can do what they need (surf, email, Office, music, video), they're probably paying too much for that processing power that they don't need. And don't talk about games, because the Dell's video can't handle any games that could use the faster processor.

[N3WBI3]

but we can still compare raw performance.

But not by clock speed, its not a relevant measure of performance in cross architecture comparisons...