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My new Mac mini
Guest commentry by Joseph
Hello Charles,
Not too long ago, we had an interchange concerning the blurring of the laptop and desktop form factor. At the time, you wholeheartedly endorsed this miniaturization of the desktop. As I remember you weren't too hopeful that Apple would do it. We certainly live in interesting times!
Since I gave my Cube to my son, I have wanted a Mac that was silent, that I could put behind the cupboard door in my desk and not hear it. First I bought a Power Mac 933Ghz - boy was that a bad move! I could hear it in the next room. In the end, I got a 1.25Ghz Al, which I have used hooked up to a new Apple 17" LCD. I have used it for over a year (behind the door) for a very silent experience. After the Superdrive broke after 13 months of ownership, I needed a replacement while the Al was being fixed under Apple extended Care.
I had decided that the replacement would not have a Superdrive. With the double write DVD technology just taking off, I think it is prudent to use external DVD drives for the foreseeable future. So it looked like a 12" Al would be my next buy. After my experience with the Superdrive in the Al I will never have one in a portable again.
Then came the mini. I bought the 1.25Ghz model at 9:05 the first day they were sold at The Aspen Grove store in Colorado. Right away I hooked it up to my display and it was great. One third the price I would have spent on a 12" Powerbook. However the 256Mb RAM is REALLY not enough, even for an old retired guy like me.
So I cracked it open and put in 1Gb of memory from Memorytogo which I ordered the week before. It absolutely zipped along - very fast.
Working on the mini is interesting. Since I had stripped down clamshells, it wasn't much of a challenge. The first time I opened it, it was difficult. I think it and I were both a little stiff. Replacing the RAM was easy for me, since I didn't have Airport installed.
The great challenge is getting the cover back on properly. The plastic clips on the front and sides are easy to clip in. Any trouble, all you have to do is use the putty knife to pry the plastic clips while pushing the two halves together. At the rear, it is a different matter. Where the cover meets the rear I/O panel there are a row of thin meal clips which clip up behind the cover flange where it meets the I/O panel. They are tight and prone to bending while being forced onto the inside of the cover flange. I used the putty knife to press in so that they would engage. If one bends and is caught in the seam, there will be a small space between the cover and the panel. This causes the on/off button to be not well placed. The metal clips can be bent with needle nose pliers to make them fit. Personally, I think it is an over-design, because the plastic clips are plenty to keep the computer together. In fact you will probably see the metal clips bent out of the way by home computer mechanics in the future.
Indeed, except for safety, The cover is superfluous. With or without a cover you could hang it up alongside the wall calendar and it would work perfectly fine.
A few days ago I installed a new Travelstar 7K60 (7200rpm) from datamem.com. It is now as fast as my wife's Mac G5. It is very quiet.
There has been some comment in the press about the difficulty involved in replacing the HD. I think it it fairly simple. Use the Apple Service Manual. Three screws to remove the internal frame, two screws to remove the fan, and four screws to remove the drive. The only complication was introduced by the Apple Service Manual. They say you need an "angled" screwdriver for one of the interior screws of the HD. This is nonsense because there is a hole for the screwdriver opposite the drive screw. The hole is covered with klapton tape. The HD does not have any padding. It is simply suspended and clamped between two plastic flanges of the internal frame.
Also, I use ThermographX 1.2.5 to measure temperature. Evidently, the mini has no thermal sensors.
I know the mini is on your shortlist. Keep it at the top. You should start looking for an older display that has had a few years to vent off much of the allergenic fumes. The mini had a very strong computer smell for the first few days.
Hoping this finds you and your family in the best of health,
Joseph
Thanks Joseph.
Very interesting report and upgrade tutorial. Glad the mini suits your requirements so well.
Bad news for me about the smell, but not unexpected. I'm pretty much resigned to putting any new computer I get into an externally vented isolation case for the first year or two. By the way, after two years gassing off, I can finally use my iBook outside the isolation case without a respirator on without it making me ill.
At least the mini and a thin LCD monitor should fit nicely in one of my glass and wood vented cases.
Charles
What was the best thing at CES? Macworld!
Performance Increase In Replacing A mini's Hard Drive
Is Apple As Smart As Its Customers?
Apple's Mac mini, Product Of Marketing Genius?
Apple's Mac mini Arrives Two Decades Late
Mac mini: 'Can You Make It This Small?'
Is Apple "Dumbing Down" To Woo More Customers?
eWeek: Apple Cuts Pricing on Mac Mini Options[/url]
What was the best thing at CES? Macworld!
CBS's Daniel Dubno and Bob Bicknell say:
"....something was missing at CES, and a week later, at Macworld in San Francisco, we found it: the new Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle. Apple’s aggressive design celebrated the small and the smaller; and embraced a theme not usually associated with the artisans of Cupertino: CHEAP! Or at least, less expensive.
"We’re already tired of people complaining that it’s not a G5, that it only has 2 USB ports and one FireWire port, that it’s not really expandable and that it doesn’t come with a keyboard and mouse. The people doing the complaining just don’t get it. The Mac Mini is not meant to be a supercomputer. It’s meant to be a super way for folks to replace a clunky, outdated PC with a zippy, fresh new Mac with minimal trouble and expense. It’s also meant to be an affordable way for families to introduce themselves to Macintosh without buying a whole new system with keyboard and mouse, etc., if they already have those. To those people, we say this: Relax. It’s just a computer. A small, elegant, utilitarian, nifty and fun computer. OK? Good. Now, switch to decaf."
For the full commentary, visit:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/27/tech/digitaldan/main669664.shtml
Performance Increase In Replacing A mini's Hard Drive
Other World Computing's Jamie Dresser says:
"We received our first mini to test and one of the most asked questions has been - will a different hard drive increase performance? You bet it will!
"Compare the mini to an iBook and you're thinking along the right lines for performance. Long battery life and low cost is the name of the game with the iBook line and this is why Apple chose to use a 4200RPM drive in the mini - low cost. But most of us will run out of room in a 40GB drive in no time, so an upgrade is in order. We chose to test the largest and fastest 2.5" drives available, and they make quite the difference.
"Note: Installing these did not noticeably increase either noise or heat.
"Drives tested:
• Stock 40GB 4200RPM Seagate Momentus 42
• 60GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hitachi Travelstar
• 80GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache Hitachi Travelstar
• 80GB 5400RPM 16MB Cache Toshiba
• 100GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache Seagate Momentus 5400.2
You can check it out here.
Is Apple As Smart As Its Customers?
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's David Sheets says:
"The line outside Apple Computer Inc.’s new concept "mini" store curved from the front door down the concourse and back toward the store’s entrance. Every age group was represented; the very old waited patiently, if not groggily, with the very young. It was 8 a.m.....
"The line had formed last month in the Galleria shopping mall in St. Louis. But across America just last week, this same scene replayed at hundreds of Apple stores when the company unveiled its $499 Mac mini desktop computer and gum-pack-size iPod shuffle music player.
In fact, lines just like it also formed when Apple unveiled a redesigned iPod a year ago and a new iMac computer in 2003, as well as when Apple opened its first company-owned store in the St. Louis area at West County Center in 2002.
"....when a business like Apple that depends on brand loyalty starts hawking $499 computers to attract 'other' customers (read 'not as smart'), it raises the question: Is Apple playing dumb, or being dumb, just to raise its bottom line?
"The 'smarter customer' theory spawned from Nielsen/NetRatings’ research into Internet usage in late 2002. The California firm -- a partner of the same ACNielsen that monitors TV-viewing habits -- found then that only 8 percent of Web surfers used Macs to go online. Of that group, however, more than 70 percent had at least a college degree, compared with about 54 percent of all other Internet users.....
"The Mac mini offers Apple a chance to lift its computer fortunes the way iPods haven’t. The mini’s size -- only slightly wider than a DVD -- allows it to fit as easily in a backpack as on a desktop, yet its power and speed compare to Apple’s other discount device, the much bulkier, teardrop-shaped eMac.....
"If there’s a down side, and this one’s considerable, it’s the Mac mini’s actual cost..... The mini’s $499 base price sounds great, but all you get for that is a fancy box. Include the essential add-ons -- a viewing screen, keyboard, mouse and audio speakers -- and "smart" Mac mini buyers are looking at shelling out about $1,200....."
For the full report visit here.
Apple's Mac mini, Product Of Marketing Genius?
hardwareanalysis.com's Sander Sassen says
"A few days ago, shortly after the launch of the Mac mini, I.... attended a press briefing with a few fellow journalists and one of the marketing specialists of the company presenting their new products asked us what companies we feel will make an impact on personal computing this year. Three out of four journalists that were in this conversation replied with ‘Apple’. Obviously the marketing specialist asked why and again all journalists gave a somewhat similar reply. The launch of the Mac mini as a fashionable mini-PC, an iPod on steroids that can also be used to check email, surf the web or burn your iPod songs to DVD or CD is targeted at exactly the same audience that bought an iPod. This strategy, and the low price of the Mac mini, will likely create a demand much like we’ve seen with the iPod.
"I sat there baffled, quietly sipping my drink wondering whether I was the only one privy to that conversation that does not buy products because they’re cool and hip, but because they’re functional and of use to me. But then the ominous question was raised again, much like a few weeks ago; whether I own a Mac mini or would consider buying one? Again I replied that I don’t have use for it, but now being faced with different, questioning looks from my fellow journalists. Apparently this new Apple gadget was geeky enough for them to want to own one. Apparently something that was not cool, hip and fashionable before - a personal computer - has suddenly become just that and they had every intention to buy one to be able to identify themselves with the cool, hip and fashionable image Apple has been touting for the iPod and now the Mac mini.
"So has Apple got an ace up their sleeves with the Mac mini, and will they be promoting it in much the same way as the iPod? This will not bode well for all of the not-so-cool-looking computers that are now sold by manufacturers such as Dell...... much like there’s only one Gucci, there can only be one Apple."
For the full commentary, visit:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1776/
Apple's Mac mini Arrives Two Decades Late
The Associated Press's Matthew Fordahl says:
"When the original Macintosh computer was little more than a sketch, its creators envisioned the machine retailing for about $500. But when the first Mac finally rolled out in 1984, it carried a hefty price tag of $2,495.
"Apple Computer Inc. has never had a problem capturing consumers' hearts, though their wallets have been another story. Over the years, Apple's reputation for innovation, fashion-forward design and high prices rose while its market share dwindled.
"Now, it's finally selling a computer, called the Mac mini, for $499, the same price as one of its higher-end iPod music players.
"Though this compact little box won't have the same impact that a $500 Mac could have had 21 years ago, it just might be the right computer for our times."
For the full commentary, visit:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05028/449017.stm
Mac mini: 'Can You Make It This Small?'
Insanely Great Mac's Ron Carlson says:
"Had a nice conversation with the project lead for the mac mini this morning at the Apple Store in the Westfield mall. He said first day sales blew away any computer Apple's ever made, by a sizable margin, although the Shuffle blew the mini away for first day sales of any apple product ever. He said he was asked, can you make it this small? (10" square)... yes. Can you make it this small? (8-inch square)... yes. Can you make it this small? (7-inch square)... maybe. Can you make it this small? (6.5-inch square)... no. Okay, that's the size then.... oh crap!
"For those of you that don't work in the computer hardware biz, let me assure you that the above story is 100-percent believable. God knows why, but ideas often take on lives of their own for no apparent reason....."
You can check it out at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=4311
Is Apple "Dumbing Down" To Woo More Customers?
stltoday.com says
"Mac mini + iPod shuffle = long lines and more profits for Apple Computer.
"The company's two new products are the must-have technology for 2005, and online orders take weeks to deliver.
"Sounds like everything's coming up roses for Apple, the trendy alternative to personal computers and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows platforms. Apple's stock is soaring.
"But is the boom really a bust for the company's image? Apple's higher-priced technology attracts a certain demographic, one that's generally 'smarter' than the PC crowd, researchers say....
"This week, Tech Talk looks at Apple's bid for budget buyers and explains how fervent followers may think the company is "dumbing down" to reach more customers."
For the full report visit here.
eWeek: Apple Cuts Pricing on Mac Mini Options
"Just two weeks after the Mac mini's introduction, Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., has reduced the pricing on some of the build-to-order options on its Mac mini personal computer. These options are available when a customer orders a Mac mini directly from the online Apple Store.
The price of replacing the Mac mini's base 256 MB of RAM with 1 GB dropped from $470 to $325, and the price of adding a combination package of Bluetooth and Airport Extreme 802.11 wireless connectivity came down from $129 to $99."
Read more at:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,,1755428,00.asp
Ultimate Home Automation Server: The $500 Mac mini
Nerd Vittles reports:
"Our final installment in the HOW-TO Build a Home Automation Server series delves into the software that is available to make your home come to life. The first installment provided an overview of building such a system, and we covered much of the recommended hardware for such a system in the second installment. As mentioned previously, the brain of this system is a clever piece of software called Indigo.....
You can check it out at:
http://mundy.org/blog/index.php?p=17
***
Charles W. Moore
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