Other Sites
The Plasticsmith Releases New Line Of Sleek Mac mini Accessories
The Plasticsmith, makers of the Dome laptop stand, have been quick out of the blocks to release a cool new line of products designed exclusively to enhance Apple�s new Mac mini.
Apple warns against stacking anything on top of the mini's case, so the Plasticsmith mini Grand Stand gives the mini a protective covering while supporting the weight of an LCD or CRT monitor.
Available in clear acrylic or steel finished to complement the mini, they are both sleek and attractive as well as functional and space-saving.
For the more contemporary look, the acrylic model offers an elegant enclosure for the mini. It measures 11� wide by 9� deep by 2-1/2� high and is made of 3/8� acrylic with richly polished edges.
The steel model�s durable coating is designed to color complement the Mac mini. In addition to housing the mini, it can conceal a power brick , USB hub and excess cords. Measuring 11� wide by 9� deep by 2-3/8� high, it is made of 3/32� powder-coated steel.
Both models can safely support 60 lbs., have non-skid pads, add protection for the Mac mini and sell for $34.95.
Plasticsmith mini Tower
The Plasticsmith mini Tower is a custom made flame-polished acrylic enclosure that turns the mini on its side for a more dramatic presentation.
Slots provide full ventilation and DVD access whichever side it is turned on. Designed to be a functional art piece, it gives the mini a unique look and saves space at the same time It sells for $39.95.
Plasticsmith mini Skirt
The Plasticsmith mini Skirt is a 3/4� thick flame-polished acrylic pedestal the size of the mini that gives it an even classier look.
It, too, comes with non-skid pads and sells for $19.95.
All four products are sold exclusively on The Plasticsmith online store at:
http://www.plasticsmith.com
The Mini Apple Makes A Big Impact
Race Is On To Accessorize Mac mini
Bury the Megabyte Myth, a 1.25 GHz Mac mini with 512MB RAM--How Fast Is It?
Apple’s New Mac mini Now In The Philippines
Linux to Mac Mini [/url]
The Mini Apple Makes A Big Impact
earthtimes.org 's Alan Cross says:
"The small Apple Mini (more stress on Mini) is making a big impact in he computer world nowadays. The Mac Mini is seen as the cheapest way to fulfill ones dream of having a Macintosh machine on the desktop."
You can check it out at:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/1432.html
Race Is On To Accessorize Mac mini
CNET News.com's Ina Fried reports:
"As initial interest in Apple Computer's new Mac Mini surges, accessory makers are rushing to come up with a host of add-ons to the petite desktop PC.
"Accessorizing the Macintosh is a long-held tradition in the Apple market, and it's one that has flourished with the iPod. With little advance notice, companies hurry out with a line of gear, hoping to make a bundle before the next new thing, or a change in color schemes, renders their products out of date.
"The $499 Mac Mini is an ideal candidate for companion products. With so little on the inside, a lot of possibilities exist for beefing up the machine, including external hard drives and TV tuners.
"Among the first out of the gate with Mini-specific products is a tiny San Carlos, Calif.-based company called Plasticsmith. On Monday, it announced three stands for the computer."
For the full report visit here.
Bury the Megabyte Myth, a 1.25 GHz Mac mini with 512MB RAM--How Fast Is It?
MacsOnly says:
"Isn't 256MB RAM enough for the Mac mini? We think so, of course, for the Mac mini's intended market but why are so many saying/writing that it's not? Usually, the first thing out of their mouth when getting to the cons of the Mac mini is that the RAM needs to be upgraded from 256MB. None other than Bob "Dr. Mac" Levitus, the famous Mac Guru, said so in his segment on last week's The Mac Night Owl LIVE internet radio show. And Macworld Magazine, the icon of Mac media, wrote in the con list of their review, 'Doesn’t come with enough memory....'We even read a piece that claimed that using the Mac mini was no fun after switching back from 512MB to 256MB RAM. Finally, we got a few emails from readers following our initial 1.25GHz Mac mini speed test suggesting that we test our Mac mini with 512MB RAM to confirm our conclusions drawn from our earlier test of an upgraded G4 Cube. Okay, so we have done so and then some. Can we help bury the RAM megabyte myth?"
Find out at:
http://www.macsonly.com/index.html#311
Apple’s New Mac mini Now In The Philippines
mb.com's Edu H. Lopez reports:
"Users of personal computers (PCs) who haven’t tried Mac are the targets of the new Mac mini, another innovative product of Apple unveiled recently in the Philippines.
"While the market is dominated by PCs, Mac desktop has carved a niche especially in the graphics, education, animation or publishing sectors.
"With this new Mac mini pegged at an affordable price of R39,188, it would likely attract new users from the usual PC desktops."
For the full report visit here.
http://www.mb.com.ph/INFO2005020127581.html
Linux to Mac Mini
Analyst Weblog: Ian Fogg says:
"When the Mac Mini was announced I had long discussions with various friends on merits. Most interesting was one that in years past would not have considered a Mac, a developer, attracted by the unix underpinnings, quiet design and reliable UI on top. He wasn't thinking about defecting from Windows, but from Linux...
His reasons were:
I'm very interested in the Mac Mini, mostly from the perspective of wanting a Unix workstation style machine, rather than a media machine.
1) Unix is good
2) I want to run it on my desktop
3) Sysadminning is boring
4) A Unix where the hardware Just Works that is designed to require no admin is the way to go
5) Mac!
Well, he's now bought a Mini and then wrote up initial impressions:
In short, paraphrased:
- Very quiet
- Very small
- Easy to use, but UI could do with more printed documentation
- Easy set up (Internet, applications, printer)
- Needs more memory
- DVD playback good
For the full commentary visit here:
http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/fogg/archives/006253.html
Apple Posts Mac mini Service & Support Web Page
Mac mini, Windows Keyboard
DoubleCommand Keyboard Remapper
Mac Mini Q&A Forum[/url]
Apple Posts Mac mini Service & Support Web Page
Learn more about Mac mini
• Mac mini external ports and connectors
• Compatible Apple displays
• About the DVI to VGA Adapter
• Memory Specifications and Upgrades
• The power LED indicates the computer's status
• Learn about which kind of keyboard and mouse to use
• Positioning your Mac mini for best ventilation and wireless reception
• Connecting headphones or external speakers to your Mac mini
• Tips for cleaning the outer case of your Mac mini
• Macintosh: How to Use FireWire Target Disk Mode
Troubleshooting and compatibility information
• What to do if your Mac mini won't turn on
• What to do if your Mac mini won't display video
• The Apple logo on top of Mac mini does not light up
• How to Reset your Mac mini
• How to Reset the Power Management Unit (PMU)
• Don't use nonstandard-shaped discs in slot-loading CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drives
You can check it out at:
http://www.apple.com/support/macmini/
Mac mini, Windows Keyboard
Macworld's Dan Frakes has posted a tutorial on using Windows kwyboards with Mac minis.
"For years Apple has been trying to entice Windows users to check out the Mac platform, but with the introduction of the Mac mini, there’s finally a Mac priced low enough for budget-minded Windows users to consider. (It even seems to be attracting the disposable-income Mac-curious—I’ve talked to a number of people who are buying one as a second computer just to see what all the fuss is about.) If you’re one of these people, or if you have a friend who is, today’s column is for you.
Apple touts the Mac mini as being compatible with any USB keyboard, but there’s a catch: If your keyboard was designed for use with a Windows computer, it doesn’t have the Mac’s familiar command (a.k.a., “Apple”) or option keys. Instead, it has Alt and Windows keys. Although these keys are in the same block of space on a Windows keyboard as they are on a Mac keyboard, and they’re functionally and logically equivalent—Alt key acts as option, Windows key acts as Apple/command—their layout is backwards:
Windows keyboard:
control � � � Windows � � � Alt � � � SPACEBAR � � � Alt � � � Windows � � � control
Mac keyboard:
control � � � opt � � �command � � SPACEBAR � � � command � � opt � � � � control
In other words, when you use a Windows keyboard with a Mac, the option and command keys are switched.
"Enter the free DoubleCommand, a Mac OS X kernel extension that lets you swap the functionality of the Alt and Windows keys, thus making any Windows keyboard behave just like a Mac keyboard—useful not only for “switchers,” but also for current Mac users who’d like to be able to use any ol’ Windows keyboard they might find on sale. (You can even use a PS/2 keyboard with a Mac via an inexpensive PS/2-to-USB adapter.)"
For the full tutorialt visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macgems/2005/01/doublecommand/index.php
DoubleCommand Keyboard Remapper
DoubleCommand is software for Mac OS X (a kernel extension) that lets you remap keys, in other words change the way your keyboard works. Often used to make a PC keyboard more comfortable with a Mac, swapping the Alt (Option) and Windows (Command or Apple) keys, since they are in swapped positions on Mac and PC keyboards. DoubleCommand is a quick and easy way to fix this if you use a PC keyboard with your Mac. Called DoubleCommand because originally it was used to give the old PowerBooks a second Command key, where there was an enter key.
DoubleCommand started out as a hack of iJect, which was generously GPL'd by Christian Starkjohann. So go check out the great software he makes over at Objective Development [url=http://www.obdev.at]http://www.obdev.at[/url]
As a result, DoubleCommand is released under v2 of the GPL. Please read the file Licence.txt for more information.
DoubleCommand 1.5.3 released for Mac OS X 10.3, added support for Control + Home/End PC style and fixed a bug with Command -> Option mapping.
DoubleCommand Feature List
Value Feature
0 Disable DoubleCommand
1 Enter key acts as a Command key
2 Enter key acts as a Control key
4 Enter key acts as an Option key
8 Enter key acts as an fn key (partial support, cursor keys only)
16 Command key acts as an Option key
32 Command key acts as a Control key
64 Option key acts as a Command key
256 Control key acts as a Command key
512 Swaps Control key and Option key
2048 Capslock key acts as a Control key
4096 fn key acts as a Control key
8192 Swaps numpad . with numpad shift+.
16384 Shift + Delete acts as a Forward Delete
32768 Disable Command and Option
65536 PC style Home and End keys
131072 Backslash () acts as a Forward Delete
262144 Swap function key behaviour on new 'Books
524288 Disable Capslock
Any sensible combination of the above can be used
Preference pane (contributed by Christian Nadolle)
For more information, visit:
http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/
Mac Mini Q&A Forum
Washington Post Personal Technology Columnist Rob Pegoraro has posted a Q&A forum transcropt on the Mac mini.
"Rob Pegoraro: Good afternoon... I'm here to talk about Apple's new Mac mini (which I'm using to conduct this chat), along with any other tech topics you might be curious about."
You can check it out at:
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/tech_pegoraro013105.htm
Mac mini or Windows? Why not both?
Ultimate Computer Telephony Server: The $500 Mac mini
Turning a Mac Mini into a Mini PC[/url]
Mac mini or Windows? Why not both?
Mercury News's Mike Langberg says:
"Apple's new Mac mini computer, starting at $499, is an elegant and very affordable way for Windows users to jump the fence into what could be a greener pasture....
"I expect the Mac mini will reshape the long-running, quasi-religious Mac vs. Windows debate. Instead of having to take sides, you can now do both.
"Most Windows users can't easily switch to the Mac because of what I call the 'but one' rule: The Mac does everything you need, except for one thing. That one thing varies, yet it's almost always there......
"Mac purists will point to a program called Virtual PC that runs Windows programs on the Mac, but Virtual PC is expensive, slows Macs to a crawl and doesn't work easily with all Windows applications.
"Instead, you can now put a Mac mini next to your Windows machine. You can use the Mac for iLife and other applications you prefer, and go back to Windows for your 'but one' needs."
You can check it out at:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/10777504.htm
Ultimate Computer Telephony Server: The $500 Mac mini
Nerd Vittles says:
"If you’ve always wanted a complete Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) solution for your small business or home office but were put off by mega-thousand dollar sticker shock, there’s good news. Your clean living finally has paid off. Thanks to Apple’s introduction of the $499 Mac mini and Ovolab’s 2.0 release of their $150 Phlink telephony server, you now can build an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) call center and auto-attendant with complete messaging, voice mailing, call routing, data base lookuping, out-dialing, faxing, and email message forwarding for under $650 … in one afternoon. And, yes, I’ve done it so this isn’t a sales pitch......"
You can check it out at:
http://mundy.org/blog/index.php?p=19
Turning a Mac Mini into a Mini PC
Tony S. says:
"How much PC power can be put into the shell of a Mac Mini? Here is another example of someone tinkering with a perfectly good machine but this time there seems to be a valid reason behind it. Kevin Rose, of The Screen Savers fame, has taken it upon himself to do an extreme modification of the Mac Mini to see how much PC power per square inch can be put in its case. Of course, the first step would be to gut the Mac Mini and stuff it full of PC components. Using the parts list below Kevin walks us through the process.
Parts needed:
Nano-ITX Motherboard
Laptop IDE HD 2.5�? (any capacity)
40 to 44pin IDE converter
Motherboard risers
Sears Tap kit
You can check it out at:
http://tonytalkstech.com/2005/01/31/turning-a-mac-mini-into-a-mini-pc/
***
Charles W. Moore
Note: Letters to Mac mini Muse may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.
Opinions expressed in postings to Mac mini Muse are those of the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or Applelinks management.
If you would prefer that your message not appear in Mac mini Muse, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.
CM
Tags: Blogs ï Mac mini Muse ï
