News New iBook and Mac mini

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/07/27/new_ibook_mac_mini/

 

About time apple started to get their act together, but I don't think it's enough to tempt me

 

good news but a shame they miss the graphics boats as usual. plus they will cost the earth again.

When we get intel iBooks things will start to get interesting. I suspect in a negative way.

 

Worst updates yet. The ibook update wasn't bad but the mini didnt get updated it got its price rise and 512mb of ram put in.

The new model is just a version of a bto one before just without the modem.

The mini has been crying out for a decent graphics solution and 5400rpm drive. Apple have done neither, and a lot of people aren't going to buy one as a result (me included).

If they could get a new graphics chip in a ibook they sure as hell can in a mini.

To call the mini new is an insult to their customers.

To sum up I was sat here with my credit card waiting for the updates to buy a fully spec'd one but I now won't I will wait till the intel version it's going to be far better than this pos "update".

/rant over

 

IF i had the cash, Id wait for the intel versions so I can install XP on em aswell.

 

Ali: check the prices. Considering the software bundle, they ain't bad IMO.

Gordy: 2 questions. 1) What do you want to run on your Mini that requires more than a 9550? And 2) AFAIK there's nothing to stop you putting a 7200rpm drive in there, if you wanted to. Other than you're "forced" to pay for the crappy one that comes bundled.

 

To be fully tiger compatible, you need a chip that suppports all the fancy effects like the ripples on the dashboard.

 

Well Tiger runs just fine on my Mini - I don't miss the affects, as I don't use widgets on it.

However, The Pope is correct on the HDD front. You can get a big speed increase by replacing the 2.5" laptop drive that the Mini's ship with with a normal 7200 3.5" HDD, if you're willing to mod the Mini and have the HDD external to the case.

That or you can buy an external firewire based HDD, like I did, as you can boot from the firewire drive. (Whilst I don't do this, I have seen performance increase in iMovie, when files and projects are on that drive).

 

Honestly....I hate to say this, but mac hardware is NEVER a bargain price. I don't even have anything against mac, but to say that any of this makes them more tempting is like saying a root canal is more tempting than getting the tooth smashed out with a chisel and no painkillers. I mean, yeah, it is, but you have to really need it before you'd consider either option. I'd rather opt for a mac desktop any day...that's more like just a routine visit to the dentist (unpleasant and expensive, but it gets you somewhere you need to be).

 

1. As stated above the 9000 32mb card doesnt support all of os x's features for starters and has problems with supplying certain monitors with a proper signal.

2. Why should I have to buy another hdd, it doesn't make sense

3. I don't mind paying over the odds for mac stuff but when the technology is years old and they can't be bothered to upgrade the mini properly why should I get one , I will save the money and use it for something more useful.

 

As GOO says, he doesn't miss the effects, so I just wondered. It's not like you need the power for gaming, for example.

As for the hard drive, you buy if if you *need* it. The mini is an entry-level system for people who want a lower-cost entry to "easy" computing via Mac. Apple aren't going to condem those price-sensitive users to a more expensive hard drive option if it isn't a necessity.

Actually, that word "option" is the key - if you could customise your mini at an Apple Store, then you wouldn't have to pay for the crap drive.

GOO: I was actually thinking of just using a 2.5" 7200rpm drive, like the one in my notebook, but yes - external options exist too - didn't think of that!

And while I'm replying to everyone in this thread, Dego, I never said it was a "bargain". However, if you're someone who doesn't just pirate all software for free, the Mini *does* represent decent value. People will argue that you can build a decent PC for the same money (though never one as compact and schpanky-looking), but consider for a moment that OS X is easily as good or better than Windows XP, and that XP will not come with your self-built system.

Take the Mini's £359 inc vat price, and subtract either £54 or £94 for XP Home or Pro OEM (or £170 / £249 (!!!!) for retail) and things start getting interesting. It's hard to put a dollar value on iLife but you're getting industry leading music making / video editing / DVD creating software and your equivalent PC has to do the same and be now be costing less than £265-£305.

I'm no Mac fanboy like some of the staff, but there's no arguing with those numbers.

 

Ok, pope. I do see your point there. Sorry, I read bargain when the word used was value, and that does change things.

However, I can go buy an e-machines for $299 with a P4 2.8-3.0 processor, 512mb of memory, a 15" TFT, bundled software, and winXP. So, let's compare apples with apples, because a pre-built system is a pre-built.

And Mac OS being better than windows is completely subjective, so it's not a point that can be contended in a value argument. The fact that the mini has an OS is one thing, but to say more value is introduced due to the quality of said OS takes the argument outside of quantifiable parameters.

 

[TROLLING]No - OS X is just plain better - not subject to subjectiveness. No viruses, no signifigant security leaks, more stability, more features, better networking, better memory management..... Etc....
[/TROLLING]



Oh - and to those who say that it wasn't an upgrade -
While the 1.4g mini lost its modem, it also gained 256mb more ram and bluetooth and 802.11g standard for the same $599 price. Nice upgrade.

Also, they've removed speeds from the specs page, probably because people were complaining, but when they did publish them the 40gb hard drive in the 1.25g mini was a 5400rpm and 1.42 mini was a 4200rpm

 

Oooh, I may have missed the wireless additions. That part IS a nice upgrade, particularly for an SFF system.

And the reason mac doesn't have virii (which isn't entirely true) is because simply there is not the user base to make it worth writing one. Honestly, why would you write a virus for something that 5% of the population uses when you can write one for something 90-95% of the population uses?

Same thing with Unix/Linux/Sun/etc. It's safety by obscurity, and that's all. Give 90% of the people of the computer-using world free macs, and you'll see viruses, trojans, etc spring up all over the place within months.

 

Has anyone considered that putting a better graphics chip and HDD in may just push the price above the market they are trying to appeal to?

 

They can put one in the ibook , so why not the mini

 

The ibook costs twice as much as the mini......

 

And that cost is mostly due to the monitor keyboard and form factor not the graphics card The chip itself costs a couple of $'s no more

 

Out of curiosity, is Apple losing money w/ the mini, or are they breaking even / scoring a profit?

 

Actually, I don't think it is. True, certain users will have a personal preference for one over the other, but I believe that would largely be based on previous experience / familiarity rather than objective opinion.

AFAIK the marginal superiority of OSX over XP is an industry-wide belief, which is why I mentioned it - it isn't based purely on my personal opinion. In fact, because I have used Windows exclusively in my career, I do have a preference for Wintel over Mac; I could never run both like some people do - the tiny differences would drive me bananas.

In any case, it is widely believed, by people who bother to care about such things, that OSX Tiger is superior to Win XP. And I believe the next version, Leopard, will increase the gap even further. I will apparently debut around the same time as Longhorn, or rather "Windows Vista", which should be interesting, since Microsoft are doing stuff like transparent windowing <yawn> that Apple are already capable of doing.