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OWC Drops Prices on Mac mini Storage Solution: NewerTech miniStack V2
Intel Mac mini Good At What It Does
Mac Mini's Graphics: Substandard to say the least. And Let's Thank Apple for the Mac Graphics Hardware Disaster
First Impressions: Mini Core Solo
Got A Yen For A Mac Mini Classic Bundle? Head to Costco
Mac mini 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo versus iMac Intel Core Duo 2GHz 20" - Performance, Reviews & Prices
OWC Drops Prices on Mac mini Storage Solution: NewerTech miniStack V2
Up to 500GB of High Performance with Space Saving FW/USB Hub
Named the Mac mini "Accessory of the Year" by 123Macmini.com, the miniStack dramatically expands the hard drive capacity and the number of FireWire and USB ports of the Mac mini.
"The combination of the new miniStack V2 and the new Intel Mac mini creates the ideal media center for any home," said Jennifer Soule, sales manager for NewerTech.
Matches the sleek Mac mini look
Unique Cooling system, including Smart Fan
2 FireWire and 3 USB ports available
Security slot and slots for internal cooling
High-Performance 3.5" ATA/6 7200RPM Drive with 2MB or 8MB data buffer doesn't just give you more storage, it also provides far better performance than any internal Mac mini hard drive option as well. Use the NewerTech miniStack as your Startup Drive for an instant performance boost!
The new Intel-based Mac mini is available in two configurations, one incorporating Intel's Core Solo chip and a 60 gigabyte (GB) hard drive and the other equipped with the faster Core Duo chip and an 80GB hard drive.
The miniStack V2 from NewerTech expands the hard drive capacity up to 500GB.
When paired with the Mac mini, the NewerTech miniStack V2 allows ergonomic USB and FireWire port access on the side of the media center. This allows extremely easy access to download photos, music, and video. As a stand alone, the Mac mini does not allow side access.
"Apple's Mac mini and NewerTech's miniStack serve the same purpose: to bring the latest and greatest technology to the home at an appealing price. Paired together the Mac mini and the minStack make the perfect home entertainment center. The mini provides the operation and the miniStack provides the muscle," said Larry O'Connor, president of NewerTech.
Fitting the same physical footprint and specifically designed to be aesthetically matched, the Mac mini and NewerTech miniStack V2 make a visually appealing, yet unobtrusive combination as a media center.
System Requirements
Mac Requirements:
FireWire 400 (1394a): Mac OS 9.2 or higher
USB 2.0: Mac OS 10.2 or higher
USB 1.1: Mac OS 9.2 or highe
Windows Requirements
FireWire 400 (1394a): Windows98SE/ME/2000/XP
USB 2.0: WinME/2000/XP
USB 1.1: WinME/2000/XP
The miniStackâ„¢V2
0GB 'Add Your Own HD' - $79.95
Models with Hard Drives:
80GB 7200RPM 2MB $129.00
160GB 7200RPM
8MB $159.00 250GB 7200RPM
8MB $189.00
320GB 7200RPM 8MB $219.00
400GB 7200RPM 8MB $309.00
500GB 7200RPM 8MB $439.00
Models with a pre-installed hard drive include:
Dantz Retrospect Express 6.0
Designed for safety and
security, Retrospect protects your desktop or notebook against loss due to viruses, newly installed software, user error, damaged hardware, hardware upgrades, hackers, and lost or stolen computers. Retrospect Express provides complete protection, ease of use, and fast backups with 100% accurate restores.
Intech Speed Tools logo Intech
Speed Tools
Intech Speed Tools consists of a suite of utilities managed by an application which controls the launching, documentation and version control of each individual component utility, such as Disk Defrag and QuickBack. An easy-to-use installation and removal application is provided to make installation a snap, yet powerful enough to allow you to customize which utility component set you would like to create.
For more information, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/
Intel Mac mini Good At What It Does
macsimumnews.com's Dennis Sellers says:
Nope, the first Intel Mac mini hasn’t added digital video recording capabilities (and, according to Apple’s Phil Schiller, may never), it’s still a good Mac at a decent price for those needing an entry-level system. Keep the phrase “entry level system” in mind when you read this review because it’s the key to putting everything in perspective. I’ve played around with the Core Duo version a bit, and where’s what I’ve found.
First, let me note that I have mixed feelings about the Intel Mac mini’s price point. On the one hand, the dual-core Mac mini’s US$799 price tag seems to be a bit steep. On the other hand, it does have a dual core processor, something pretty impressive in an entry-level system.
The Intel Mac mini is the first mini to utilize Intel integrated graphics versus the ATI Radeon graphics processor used in the previous Mac mini design. It sports an Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory. There’s quite a bit of debate about this, but it seems to me to be a step down from the previous PowerPC Mac minis.
For the full report, visit here.
http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/intel_mac_mini_good_at_what_it_does/
Mac Mini's Graphics: Substandard to say the least. And Let's Thank Apple for the Mac Graphics Hardware Disaster
macblast says:
Pathetic, even by pathetically low standards. Why don't they ask Apple's senior director of desktops, Tom Boger, if anyone should be interested in such marginal graphics ability. And soon enough ATI and already Nvidia will have hardware acceleration for mpeg4, so thats a wash as well. Sigh.
You know, if I see one more link to Macworld's 'breakdown' of the Mini's graphics abilities i'm going to go hurl- so many sites, including IMG has referenced it. Not to attack an established Mac entity, but the article once again just takes a nice easy glance over the true problem here (they tend to glance over a lot of things- no guts, no opinion). The original post on this topic was to address the greater situation of the entire mac graphics market. Attempting to be a gamer on your mac you learn really quick what you limitations are- and they outweigh the strengths by an order of magnitude. Limited performance is likely to change with the intel platform, but by how much? Again, we REALLY need to help Inside Mac Games get some traffic, there isn't a new game in sight on them pages. The benefit of no choices? You dont have to 'worry' about it. But what if I want to, huh Apple?
For the full commentary, visit here.
http://macblast.blogspot.com/2006/03/mac-minis-graphics-substandard-to-say_21.html
First Impressions: Mini Core Solo
macsupport.ca's Craig Reidel reports:
This past week I had the opportunity to check out the three new Intel Macs at the local Apple reseller, Carbon Computers. I’ve read all the reviews and interpretations of how Rosetta works but I wanted to see first hand what these new Intel chips have to offer.
First up the Mac Mini Core Solo. I really wanted to like this machine. I think its a fantastic size, and it’s so quiet, but the performance was really lacking. It’d played 720p video alright, but it just felt slow overall and hooked up to a 20" Apple Display didn’t help things. I owned a 1.42 Mac mini for over 8 months so I know what that machine had to offer. I found Rosettas performance to be really disappointing as Word bounced in the dock 10-15 times before finally opening. I really think that the value just isn’t there for the new intel minis. The main reason is that when you price out a mini with 1GB ram, you are really starting to get close to the price of the 17" iMac. If the Mini had some different features such as TV recording capabilities or something else to set it apart from the iMac so that the cost could be justified, then I could see a place for it.
For the full review visit here:
http://macsupport.ca/2006/03/20/first-impressions-mini-core-solo-imac-mac-book-pro/
Got A Yen For A Mac Mini Classic Bundle? Head to Costco
O'Reilly.net's Todd Ogasawara
Dropped by Costco on my way home tonight and noticed someone cabling a Mac mini to a shelf. If you want to get a Mac mini classic (G4) bundle, head to Costco. $700 gets you a mini, keyboard/mouse (wireless I think), and 3 year AppleCare.
For the full report, visit here.
Mac mini 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo versus iMac Intel Core Duo 2GHz 20" - Performance, Reviews & Prices
You can check it out at: MacSpeedZone's Mac Performance In The Raw:
http://macspeedzone.com/html/hardware/machine/performance_in_the_raw/06/3_22a.shtml
Charles W. Moore
Tags: Blogs ď Mac mini Muse ď
