mac mini? hmmmmmmm.....

[kcrusher]

Yeah possibly. But not half as retarded as slobbering all over every new gimmick apple decide to bring out. If you bought one of these, by the time you'd bought a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and upgraded it sufficiently it would probably cost more than a new imac G5. Which is even smaller and less obtrusive than a mini-mac any way. This is nothing but a corporate gimmick, and a joke, designed to send people like you into a buying frenzy.

That's what I meant by crap.

17" flat panel monitor - $150 (CRT's from $50)
Keyboard - $15
Mouse - $15
Mac Mini - $499
512mb RAM - $85 (1gb is $225)
---------------------------------
Total $750 (or $905 with 1gb)

Imac G5's start at $1299 with 256mb RAM

Hmm - somehow your numbers aren't adding up there. Sounds like you're blowin' smoke.

[choke3d]

I run PT LE on a MUCH slower computer and although I don't use many plug-ins, I'm able to work off of 16-20 tracks at 24/48. The mini is about 3 times faster than my machine. The downsides are really that I'm sure you can't add pci cards, the ram issue mentioned previously (although a gig of ram is more than enough if you spring for the big chip), and the fact that as of yet no one has reported on whether these things are quiet or not.
All in all, for a dedicated machine for PT LE or Logic in a "project studio" environment, this is a pretty smokin' deal if you've already got a monitor and keyboard. While the graphics maybe aren't all that wonderful for gaming (which I admittedly don't know much about) they are plenty up to spec for print and web design (it's how I make my money to blow on recording gear!).
This machine, as well as the new little iPod thingy for $99, are smart marketing from the folks at apple. Plenty of bang for the buck, and they get you in the "family". If this bothers somebody, it's just because of the apple-shaped chip on their shoulder....

[sonikbliss]

Yeah possibly. But not half as retarded as slobbering all over every new gimmick apple decide to bring out. If you bought one of these, by the time you'd bought a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and upgraded it sufficiently it would probably cost more than a new imac G5. Which is even smaller and less obtrusive than a mini-mac any way. This is nothing but a corporate gimmick, and a joke, designed to send people like you into a buying frenzy.

That's what I meant by crap.

17" flat panel monitor - $150 (CRT's from $50)
Keyboard - $15
Mouse - $15
Mac Mini - $499
512mb RAM - $85 (1gb is $225)
---------------------------------
Total $750 (or $905 with 1gb)

Imac G5's start at $1299 with 256mb RAM

Hmm - somehow your numbers aren't adding up there. Sounds like you're blowin' smoke.

just curious, where did you find 1G RAM for so cheap? I not sure but I think the RAM is not "user installable" unless you want to void your warranty, you can take it to an apple authorized tech but I wonder what that will cost.

[high tek]

just curious, where did you find 1G RAM for so cheap? I not sure but I think the RAM is not "user installable" unless you want to void your warranty, you can take it to an apple authorized tech but I wonder what that will cost.

http://www.macseek.com/pc/index.php

[high tek]

Yeah possibly. But not half as retarded as slobbering all over every new gimmick apple decide to bring out. If you bought one of these, by the time you'd bought a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and upgraded it sufficiently it would probably cost more than a new imac G5. Which is even smaller and less obtrusive than a mini-mac any way. This is nothing but a corporate gimmick, and a joke, designed to send people like you into a buying frenzy.

That's what I meant by crap.

17" flat panel monitor - $150 (CRT's from $50)
Keyboard - $15
Mouse - $15
Mac Mini - $499
512mb RAM - $85 (1gb is $225)
---------------------------------
Total $750 (or $905 with 1gb)

Imac G5's start at $1299 with 256mb RAM

Hmm - somehow your numbers aren't adding up there. Sounds like you're blowin' smoke.

dont you love when people go off shooting their mouths off with nonsense, then get shut down with solid proof/numbers.

i know i do.

[drliebs]

If you are going to spend 900 bucks on this box, you can afford a more robust machine, that will have more to offer in the long run. That is all I am saying. I can run all these apps on my powerbook but I wouldn't buy a powerbook for handling my recording duties.

Personally, if I have to go on the cheap I go with PC's but a lot of people have had bad experiences with PC's and won't have anything to do with it.

I can get a smoking PC for $500. And contrary to popular belief, PC's are good machines, it's not OS X but it isn't win 9x anymore either.

Smart marketing...yes! It is only means good things for all of us if Apple starts taking some of the market place back, because eventually Macs wil become more affordable and both camps will have to bust ass to stay on top of the curve.

Then there is the whole linux camp, and that is gaining momentum too. But this thread is about oppinions on the mini Mac. for 500 bucks it is a nice Mac...nice...not outstanding...that will cost another $1500

[sonikbliss]

I don't think PC hardware is bad I just think that Windows and all the millions of viruses and spyware that come with the platform suck pretty bad. Oh yeah and Bill Gates is an arse.

[kcrusher]

I can get a smoking PC for $500. And contrary to popular belief, PC's are good machines, it's not OS X but it isn't win 9x anymore either.

No on said PC's aren't good, but you have to admit they certainly do require more maintenance and can have far more painful installations or OS issues than what you get on a Mac. There's also the virus/spyware/malware issues.

[lancebug]

At its price point it seems like a great option for someone looking for a reasonably quick machine that will run the mac os and who dont need to do a lot of tweaky upgrades. I personally have never been a big fan of having the processor tied permanently to the screen (the processor did infact outlive the monitor on one of my imacs), but continue to be amazed by the functionality of my now outdated imacs. If I was in the market for a new sub-professional machine or a second/household/office machine that would run alot of software that I already own it is a great choice. If youre not already somewhat of a mac nuetral/positive bias then why even waste your time reading this thread?

[markee2004]

Yeah possibly. But not half as retarded as slobbering all over every new gimmick apple decide to bring out. If you bought one of these, by the time you'd bought a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and upgraded it sufficiently it would probably cost more than a new imac G5. Which is even smaller and less obtrusive than a mini-mac any way. This is nothing but a corporate gimmick, and a joke, designed to send people like you into a buying frenzy.

That's what I meant by crap.

17" flat panel monitor - $150 (CRT's from $50)
Keyboard - $15
Mouse - $15
Mac Mini - $499
512mb RAM - $85 (1gb is $225)
---------------------------------
Total $750 (or $905 with 1gb)

Imac G5's start at $1299 with 256mb RAM

Hmm - somehow your numbers aren't adding up there. Sounds like you're blowin' smoke.

That CRT monitor is ugly as hell I was obviously basing my statements on the idea of getting all mac own brand Peripherals, then it would be about the same price as a new imac g5. so Ha.

Any way the emac would be a hell of alot better value than this mini mac piece of crap. There really is no need for this mini mac excressence.

[high tek]

That CRT monitor is ugly as hell I was obviously basing my statements on the idea of getting all mac own brand Peripherals, then it would be about the same price as a new imac g5. so Ha.

Any way the emac would be a hell of alot better value than this mini mac piece of crap. There really is no need for this mini mac excressence.

sometimes its jsut better to admit you are/were wrong than to keep trying to justify your mistake.

youre starting to sound like ashly simpson

[Tim Casey]

"youre starting to sound like ashly simpson"

You mean he's not REALLY typing his replies in real time?

[earl parameter]

hey bombastique, where did you find a 17" flat panel for $150 ?????

and guys do macs have serious enough issues to care about the warranty? the first thing i do with anything i buy is open it up and i have never given the warranty any consideration.

oh and i have always loved and embraced the fact that i HAD to learn how to fix my ibm clones if something broke and in the early days with macs all you could do was reboot and cross your fingers. i just couldn't take not being able to fix something right then so i went to the clones. but there are now just too many apps i want to run that are only available on macs. like custom standalone max\msp stuff. so im probably going to buy one of these in the next few days. but it'll be used more as an instrument then my main mutlitrack.

[Rigsby]

"youre starting to sound like ashly simpson"

You mean he's not REALLY typing his replies in real time?

[sonikbliss]

That CRT monitor is ugly as hell I was obviously basing my statements on the idea of getting all mac own brand Peripherals, then it would be about the same price as a new imac g5. so Ha.

Any way the emac would be a hell of alot better value than this mini mac piece of crap. There really is no need for this mini mac excressence.

sometimes its jsut better to admit you are/were wrong than to keep trying to justify your mistake.

youre starting to sound like ashly simpson

Or maybe George Bush.