[Swordmaker]

HMMMMM.

Even though I have a Mac G5, I was thinking of buying a Mac Mini to use with my new 26" LCD HDTV I got for our bedroom which is being remodeled to use as a DVD player and for computing from bed.

[Swordmaker]

Mac Mini PING!

iFlicks anyone?

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, please Freepmail me.

[mental]

THAT's when we'll get the real story on what this thing is for.



I don't download music or movies. I'll be using one to trade stocks online. It should pay for itself in about two minutes.

[BunnySlippers]

Robert X. Cringely is always fun to read.

[CheneyChick]

Interesting ideas. He could be on to something....

[tubebender]

I wondered if the Mini was some gateway to a iPod type video recorder so Apple could sell movies ala iTunes. Too bad my 20" Sharp Aquos on my desk is not HD...

[JerseyHighlander]

South Korean and some Scandinavian cities are the only residential broadband last mile networks capable of transmitting (as in streaming) any HD movie over the net. Americans and the rest of the world have to download it first.

The layout of last mile broadband capable of this in the US is a niche super-high-end developer market, catered to by miniscule niche players like Eagle Broadband Inc.

We're talking ~5GB of data for each hour of HD-DVD video, and ~5GB for each 45 minutes of Blu video. That is a longer time then driving to Blockbuster and much longer than video on demand. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy HD-DVD would fill the Mac Mini's harddrive.

Apple would need to develop a proprietary distributed media network like Valve's Steam to make it work.

Possible. One heck of a project, and one where Walmart Blockbuster and Netflix are already investing.

It will come down to the film studio's anti-piracy lobbyists and lawyers.

[SunkenCiv]

Mac in the kitchen

Show of hands? ;')