I think Steve should give me a free iPod Shuffle (http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/) or something. (Do not eat the iPod Shuffle)

With the announcement today of the Mac mini (http://www.apple.com/macmini/), I have another switcher in my life. :crying: It's such a beautiful thing. (deliver the most Mac for the least dinero) (OK, I admit, I started working on her a few days ago... Shhhh it was a secret.)

I'm on the verge of the major "switcher" I've been working on forever but I don't think he'd actually switch, he'd just merely, "add to his existing collection." ;)

Adrienne

I saw this today on TV. I have been thinking of getting a Mac for several years now. Perhaps this is the year for change....

None of the software I spend my time using works on a Mac. Solves that issue for me, really. I started out Mac and switched to PC.

You should never switch to Mac... unless you're looking for a superior product.

I saw this today on TV. I have been thinking of getting a Mac for several years now. Perhaps this is the year for change....

You might be able to use hardware you already have: monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer. It will come with iLife which is an outstanding package for processing digital pictures & video.

They're not bundling iWork (http://www.apple.com/iwork/) that I can tell, unfortunately, but for 79 bucks you can have a program that's compatible with MS Word in case you have to still share documents with others who don't have superior Operating Systems. And it looks like it creates .pdf's too.

Adrienne
Counting the days until Doc's new iMac...

Edited to add iWork link

FYI, OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/) is an absolutely free office suite, which imports and exports MS-Office compatible files and creates PDFs as well, for Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X.

I only point that out because Adrienne mentioned the lack of Apple iWork on the new Mini Mac.

Does anyone else think Steve should have had Verne Troyer introduce the Mini Mac?

That iPod Shuffle is too cute. I may have to get one to go with my iPod. It'd be great for working out.

As was pointed out by a true Mac geek....second on the list of footnotes...

dont't EAT the iPod shuffle ............makes you go hmmmmmm doesn't it?

Does anyone else think Steve should have had Verne Troyer introduce the Mini Mac?

After watching Surreal Life 4- No.

Before Surreal Life 4, though, it would've been really really funny if he had him wear a little black moc turtleneck and jeans on stage.

Adrienne

First, my history: I was first and foremost a Mac user/advocate. I bought my first in 1995 and scoffed at all the "Mac wannabes" buying Windows95. I still own that original Mac, although the monitor is breaking because my son decided it would be fun to stand on it. I've upgraded the RAM, CD-ROM, hard drive and it still runs just fine. It's still using an old OS (7.5.3) and there isn't much it can do but play a few of our kids' games and access the internet (very slowly), but I don't regret the purchase.

In 2000 I built my own PC because I wanted to get that experience, I use PCs at work and I'm very familiar with them. I even worked help desk support for Windows98/NT for a while. So you could say I made the switch to PCs, but I still like Macs. I've got nothing against them.

Unfortunately, when price is a concern, I really can't see the advantage to switching back to Macs. "Superior Operating System." Pffff... ;) Yeah, the new OS X uses an old Linux kernel which does make it "superior" to Windows, only because Linux is superior. I'll agree to that. OS X is easier to use than Linux, but I can't say it's really easier to use than Windows anymore. That definitely was the case years ago. Not so much now. Viruses, spyware, etc. Windows is vunerable because of some security issues that come up occasionally, but MS is good at getting out updates before it really becomes a problem, as long as you regularly update. OS X isn't vulnerable simply because it's not a widely used OS, hackers don't bother with it.

Now, back to price, because this Mini Mac truly does look much more affordable. Let's see what you get...

In order to really "future proof" this thing I'm going to completely trick it out. I'd hate to not get everything and then end up regretting it later as technology moves on leaving me in the dust and either not able to upgrade or pay a higher price.

So I'll take:

The 1.42GHz, 80 GB HD model for $599.
1 GB of RAM, add $425!! Hello! A $75 cost to upgrade to 512 MB, but $425 to upgrade to 1 GB? That's steep!
Super Drive, add $100. (Not too bad.)
Internal Blue Tooth and Airport Extreme, add $129. (Not bad.)
Let's get the wireless keyboard and mouse, add $99.
For a grand total of $1399...without a monitor, speakers, or extended warranty.

Most of that cost is that really expensive RAM.

Let's compare it to Dell (because Dell builds great computers and has a great customer support):

Dimension 8400 (using Windows XP Home)
Pentium 4, 3.20GHz with HT
128MB Radeon X300 PCI video card
1 GB RAM (Free upgrade)
160 GB HD
16X DVD-ROM drive
16X DVD+/-RW drive
Sound Card, Speakers
17" flat panel monitor (Free upgrade)
2 year warranty and tech support
For a grand total of $1299.

For someone who knows Windows and knows how to work with Windows safely to avoid spyware and viruses and doesn't consider Windows all that difficult to use, I can't see spending $100 more for inferior (and less) hardware. And you can do all the same things on the Dell as you can on the Mac plus some. It's much more upgradable.

Yeah, the Mini Mac is smaller and perdier, but the OS isn't worth that extra $100+.

Well Doc said last night: I'm not the market for this computer. And I don't think you are, either, Bill. Which I mean with respect, of course, and you know that.

I've now spoken to two people offline who see this computer as meeting their needs well. I definitely think there's a market for this computer.

Adrienne

Well Doc said last night: I'm not the market for this computer. And I don't think you are, either, Bill.
Actually, if it wasn't for that hefty $425 RAM upgrade I'd seriously be considering buying this computer. I'm still choking from the gasp I had when I saw that price.

It seems that the Mini Mac is not user-upgradeable. I had thought that modern Macs used standard SDRAM--which may still be the case--but apparently this particular model is not meant to be opened at home. That's a real minus for me.

From another board:

"the spec is abysmally low (40GB HD, 256MB RAM, DVD/CDRW....if you don't buy bluetooth you've got to use up all the USB ports for a mouse & keyboard.....if upgraded using the recommended bits will cost over £900 (1700USD) and it would still need a monitor"

My reply

-----

With this, and the preceeding iMac, Apple is hoping "consumers", not "junkies" will notice.
When that PC bites it, Apple is thinking that many will look at all the stuff on and under their desk, look at a 6.5" X 6.5" X 2" box, and take the plunge

If you use a Mac keyboard, the mouse plugs into either of the 2 usb ports on it; that leaves 2 spares (one on the keyboard, one on the box).
For years, I ran an external CD burner, scanner, printer, keyboard, mouse and other periodic peripherals on my G3's two "sorely lacking" ports.

Add $100 for the 80gig HD, $100 for the CD/DVD Superdrive, and less than $200 (don't buy Apple memory) if you pulled the existing memory and added a gig of RAM.
I'll even toss in the keyboard and opitcal mouse, $30 each
I don't know about you, but I don't toss my monitor with each computer change.
We're now looking at about $950 (500GBP).

-----
Most people do a little word processing, a little internet, tweak a photo, or burn an occasional CD.
Out of the box, at $499, this little bugger will do fine for them.

Here's a concept:
Have a monitor, keyboard and mouse at home.
Have a monitor, keyboard and mouse at work.
Carry a 6.5" x 6.5" x 2' box between the two.
Don't transport your data, transport your computer!

and less than $200 (don't buy Apple memory) if you pulled the existing memory and added a gig of RAM.
Is this seriously do-able by the consumer or will it void the warranty? It's my understanding that unless you pay the $50 cost to have someone at an Apple store do it, and unless it's hardware Apple approves of, you lose the warranty.

I'm also now inclined to think that there is only one memory slot.
Therefore 1 gig it is.
I have found that for $275.
I think even most techies can get by with 512.

A quick cautionary tale...

I recently decided to switch from PC to mac. I bought a brand new iBook G4 and waited for it to arrive. When it arrived (next day), I opened it up, set it up and spent the next few weeks learning how to use MacOS X.

Skip to a month later, and the hard disc in it fails, for no aparent reason. The machine just randomly locked up, and the hardware test CD gave me a cryptic message, which I later learn means that the hard disc is completly dead. Great. And of course, as sods law would have it, I was due to back it up the next day.

Fair enough, I thought, these things happen from time to time. I ring Apple's customer support line (which is very expensive), and arrange for it to be sent back to be repaired under warranty. A week later it returns, all shiney and working. I spend the next week reconfiguring it and reinstalling my software, files and other stuff.

A week after it returned to me (to the day!), it fails again. I pop the hardware test disc in the drive, and lo and behold, the same fault. Another dead disc. I ring Apple's support line again, they say that because it's only the second failure, they can only repair it. I send it to them again. Two weeks later, I get a phone call from my parents to say a parcel has arrived from Apple, which is odd because I asked it to be delivered to the office, as I was working away from home at the time. I ring apple and they say they will arrange for it to be collected and redelivered, this time to me. A month later, they still haven't done this, so I ring them again, starting to lose my temper. Eventually, they arrange a courier to collect it and deliver it to me.

So, second new hard disc, and I begin reinstalling MacOS X onto it. Halfway through the install, the machine locks up. The progress bar seems to have been sat at 45% for the last half an hour, and it's doing nothing. I pop the hardware test disc in, and it gives me the same code again. So that would be the third dead hard disc.

To cut a long story short, I spent the next week complaining to them, and finally arrange for it to be collected and a refund given. £50 of phone calls later (from beginning to end), I have my £980 that I paid for it back. I then decided that it wasn't worth bothering with another Apple machine as the experience with their support staff was far too off-putting, so I bought an Acer TravelMate C320Mxi, which is working fine :)

Take from that what you will, but don't say I didn't warn you...

On the other hand, I did rather like MacOS X as an OS. It's not as good as RISC OS IMHO, but it is very nice to use.

acp. :geek:

Sounds like you got a lemon.

I've had 7 Macs, and an iPod; never once had any hardware issues.

My friend has owned Macs for ever (since the 80's).
His latest, a G4 tower, came with a bad HD (high pitched "whine").
An hour on the phone, trying this and that, and they authorized him to take in in for a replacement HD.
No problem since.

I fought the computer bug as long as I could.
When I finally talked myself into buying my first real computer, I really debated PC vs Mac.
Ironically, Microsoft sold me on Mac.

It was about the time of the Windoze 95 talk.
I caught a clip of an MS guy doing the pitch for it.
His words still dance in my head.
"It's almost like Macintosh!"
At that point I was sold; I went for the real thing!

I spent 3 years, 8 hours a day, in front of a PC (Windows NT) remote testing data circuits at SBC.
I really enjoyed it.
But then again, we had tech support, on prem. :D

Does anyone else out there remember the infamous IBM PCjr? This was IBM's answer to competitors like Commodore and Atari that owned the bulk of the home market in the 1980s. IBM's solution was to try and match the pricing of those lower cost models by creating an underpowered, non-expandable model. The assumption was that the home market would quickly switch over to the PCjr now that there was finally an IBM computer available in their price range. The PCjr ended up being an enormous flop, though, as customers continued to stick with the more established non-IBM computers that simply offered more for the price. Many people look at the PCjr as the starting point of IBM's downward slide in the microcomputer market.

This "mini-mac" really reminds me of the PCjr. Here is a model that offers a lot less than most other computers in the same price range, with the only potential advantage really being that it runs an OS that, quite frankly, still only is of interest to a limited portion of the market. I certainly don't see this product inspiring very many people to switch platforms when you can get considerably more powerful and expandable Windows systems for less money.

The MacOS really is always going to remain a limited, niche product as long as Apple continues to try to maintain their exclusivity on the hardware side. The dominance of the Windows platform is largely a result of the competition among hardware manufacturers that has allowed the system configurations to meet such a wide range of needs.

-Jeff

Sounds like you got a lemon.

I'm not so sure about that, I know someone else who has been through at least 5 different iBooks with problems like this...

I'm not so sure about that, I know someone else who has been through at least 5 different iBooks with problems like this...
You know, if I had been through 2 iBooks with problems like that, I wouldn't go through a 3rd, let alone 3 more! :eek:

If I knew someone who had gone through 5 iBooks with problems like that, I wouldn't have bought my first.
These aren't anecdotal reasons for a switch!;)

You know, if I had been through 2 iBooks with problems like that, I wouldn't go through a 3rd, let alone 3 more! :eek:

If I knew someone who had gone through 5 iBooks with problems like that, I wouldn't have bought my first.
These aren't anecdotal reasons for a switch!;)
Yes, I went through my issues with apple stuff first, then the other guy had a go.

All that said though, the MacMini looks fairly nice.. although I'm going to wait and see how it performs (someone I know has one on order) before I look at it a second time...

The MacOS really is always going to remain a limited, niche product as long as Apple continues to try to maintain their exclusivity on the hardware side.
In the late '90s Apple tried opening things up to "clone" vendors but it just became a mess. Suddenly, the MacOS wasn't as stable or reliable anymore and things really went downhill fast for the company. Almost to the point of bankruptcy.

I'm convinced that apple's success comes strictly from people thinking thier products are 'pretty'.

I'm convinced that apple's success comes strictly from people thinking thier products are 'pretty'.

That's right. After trying to edit movies on a PC (aka piece of you know) and got tired of it crashing, I tried a Mac, and haven't had any problems since.

But the only reason I stayed so loyal for so many years is because my computer is prettier than yours. You're exactly right. :rolleyes: