Posted on 01/11/2005 10:49:21 AM PST by 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.
I just built my first computer 2 weeks ago, and in the future, I will no longer be buying already-assembled computers. It's really not that hard to do, plus you can watch for the Newegg.com daily specials and pick up some good deals.
For an additional $115.05 (including shipping), you can buy a Maxtor 200 gig hard drive (IDE Ultra ATA 133) from Newegg.com (of course, you would have to install it yourself, but you can put it in as a second hard drive and still use the original).
In the case (pun not intended) of the mouse pointer and monitor for the Mac Mini, this should not be a problem since 1) most Microsoft and Logitech mice come with USB connectors, which plug into a small PS/2 adapter for PC-compatible machines, and 2) VGA/DVI connectors are common on most monitors out there. However, finding a USB to PS/2 keyboard adapter is quite something, else, though.
I do think that Apple may offer a 120 GB version of the Mac Mini by the end of this year as the new 120 GB hard drive from Toshiba intended for the iPod becomes widely available.
By the way, because most printers have pretty much ditched parallel port connections in favor of USB connections, these printers will also with with the Mac Mini, too.
Absolutely! Why pay an extra 100 or 200 bucks to get someone else to build a machine, when you can put it together yourself?
The machine I'm putting together is designed to be upgradeable. I've got four memory slots, and I'll start with 256 in two of those slots, then upgrade as I have money. I'm waiting for a good deal on a hard drive and dvd-burner. Common sense and a tiny bit of computer knowledge is all you need.
It depends on your needs, Kwasi.
Mini Mac Ping! Apple announces new Macintosh computer...
If you want to be on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
but your dell will get spyware, viruses and crash regularly.
I still cannot get OS X to run on my Dell at work. iLife won't install either.
Not that there is anything with that, or for working for MSFT (or a satellite) for that matter, I'm just curious.
LOL. Good one.
tigers coming out in the next few months
You got a USB keyboard? How about a USB Mouse? They'll work.
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. But due to pure GHz, the Celery may, just may, have a slight performance edge on the Mac, whose G4 processor actually does more work per clock cycle than the Celery. And in this market, we're not really looking for pure speed anyway. Verdict: Dell wins, barely.
RAM: 256MB vs. 512MB, but this is a current promotion for Dell. Verdict, Dell wins, for right now.
Hard Drive: Same for both. Verdict: Tie.
Video: Slow Intel chipset on the Dell that they only rate for 2D gaming vs. the ATI Radeon 9200 on the Mac. Verdict: Mac wins easily.
Optical drive: CD for the Dell vs. DVD combo drive for the Mac. Verdict: Mac wins easily.
Connectors: Mac adds DVI and Firewire, expanding your monitor and connectivity options (especially if you have a DV camera). Verdict: Mac wins if you need these, otherwise Tie.
Operating system: Windows XP Home is no match for OS X. Verdict: Mac wins easily.
Software: Mac comes with more useful bundled software. Verdict: Mac wins, but only if you need this.
Quality: Dell's low-end sytems are notoriously bad quality. Mac desktops are notoriously good quality. Verdict: Mac wins.
Form factor: Mac takes up far less deskspace and uses less energy. Verdict: Mac wins if you're running out of deskspace, otherwise, Tie.
Monitor/Keyboard: Dell comes with a monitor worth about $150 and keyboard/mouse worth almost nothing, Mac none. Verdict: Dell wins easily, if you need that stuff.
Total verdict: I see the Mac edging ahead, but it depends on what you want, as both have their strengths and weaknesses and play to different consumers. But the important thing is that Apple is now viably in this market.
I believe their target is the millions of iPod owners who would love to get a Mac to expand the great experience they've had with their iPod, but they can't afford $1,200+ for an iMac.
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