Thread: New Mac Mini

Originally Posted by Machinehead

+1 and $500 is almost too much for that hardware.

If you want to put a mobile core 2 duo in you car it's a good price. You can put a computer in your car for less. But when comparing the equivalent hardware the mac premium is usually small.

What's hard to do with Apple is go cheap. But comparing "apples to apples" (ha), the premium is reasonable.

Originally Posted by dmiller

If you want to put a mobile core 2 duo in you car it's a good price. You can put a computer in your car for less. But when comparing the equivalent hardware the mac premium is usually small.

What's hard to do with Apple is go cheap. But comparing "apples to apples" (ha), the premium is reasonable.

It's one thing if you want to run OSX in the car then it's not like you have much a choice in the matter.

Originally Posted by Machinehead

It's one thing if you want to run OSX in the car then it's not like you have much a choice in the matter.

Well, you pay for OSX with the machine. Some people run just windows. But it runs both just fine.
I would love to have a great osx front end. But I've been there/done that. Not worth the pain. Win 7 is pretty cool. It's all good (except Vista)

Originally Posted by dmiller

Well, you pay for OSX with the machine. Some people run just windows. But it runs both just fine.
I would love to have a great osx front end. But I've been there/done that. Not worth the pain. Win 7 is pretty cool. It's all good (except Vista)

I think it all really depends on your situation and your person.

For me, the Mac Mini is the best solution. I want something that can be taken in and out at ease and used at home. I love the small footprint and all built in design.
Also I find I don't listen to varied music anymore simply because I don't make playlists on my current carPC whereas OSX frontends can read from iTunes (where all my playlist are). Also, as a Mac user I find it a lot easier to use than Windows.

And at the end of the day, after spending £500+ on a Mac and I do end up ditching the whole CarComputer idea. I have an excellent Media Centre ready to go.

The reason I currently have a CarPC is because it was cheaper and as a beginner I wanted practice and to pretty much test run having a CarComputer. Also I figured it was more compatible with stuff i.e. OBDII. But on my MacMini I will have BootCamp setup and Parallels running.

So for me, the Mac Mini is the best option.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

I'm a huge Mac fan, but it's waay too expensive and for...what? The 'classic' mini was a good hardware package - small form factor, low power, WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD burner for a good price.

$499 is an okay price for that package but $699 is too much. The only viable FE for the Mac is ICE3, which can run on a slower, cheaper Mini and if you want to run Linux or Windows on it, you can get cheaper packages for Intel boards.

I can't believe I just wrote this post.

So your not 100% corrupted by the dark side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or is Windows the dark side? Oh who knows!

You see what I mean though, Apple takes advantage of it popularity and inflates the price of their products. i will say the unit is very sexy, but not worth the price increase.

Originally Posted by dmiller

Well, you pay for OSX with the machine. Some people run just windows. But it runs both just fine.
I would love to have a great osx front end. But I've been there/done that. Not worth the pain. Win 7 is pretty cool. It's all good (except Vista)

It runs Windows okay but the boot times are awful (Win 7 is just terrible) which is less than ideal for a CarPC.

The boot time is the same as any other core 2 duo with a laptop drive. The mac mini is a upscale laptop without a screen. Little "nano" machines are less expensive but much less powerful. What compares to the mac mini?

But yeah, Win 7 even when tweaked isn't exactly a fast boot. Mines about 20 seconds on an i5 with an SSD. I've done a moderate amount of work speeding it up, but I'm sure I could do more.

Originally Posted by ZX1Cruizer

So your not 100% corrupted by the dark side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or is Windows the dark side? Oh who knows!

You see what I mean though, Apple takes advantage of it popularity and inflates the price of their products. i will say the unit is very sexy, but not worth the price increase.

Nah, I'm corrupted by the dark side. However, I'm not blind stupid. The Mini is overpriced and what used to be a reasonably good hardware package that let you run all major operating systems is too expensive IMHO.

I would point out though, that I disagree that apple takes 'advantage' of its popularity. People are willing to pay a premium for Apple products for one reason or another.

Certainly ten years ago or thereabouts, Apple was very unpopular and literally a bit player in the industry. You may recall the Wired magazine cover that said "Pray" and featured the Apple logo. Now, being so unpopular, they had nothing to take 'advantage' of to get out of that hole. They were written off as a historical footnote.

Yet here they are and if you read most of the criticisms by anti-Apple folks, it is entirely due to the stupidity of the everyday non-technical user. Which makes Apple quite special, actually. It would be the first company I'm aware of to avoid bankruptcy and liquidation because its customer were unintelligent. GM and Chrysler should be so lucky!

I, of course, think there's a different and simpler explanation but it doesn't fit most Apple-hater's world view so it is constantly rejected. I think Apple figured out how to build products that are easy to use by removing features and choices from them and keeping only the most important ones in the product. I could be wrong, of course, but the idea that you would buy an electronic music player or a cell phone from a COMPUTER company sounds kind of ludicrous. That the player and the phone would become industry leading juggernaut products sounds flat out like somebody made it up.

And so, the 'consumers are sheep' or 'people are stupid' or 'it's all marketing' lines persist. I'll agree that once you are in the lead, marketing can surely sell a lot of products (Aeropostale, anyone?) but it doesn't keep you in the lead. In the end, Apple has built several outstanding products and executed on a consumer electronics strategy with discipline and focus. And yes, marketing.

But you don't have to dislike them because you know better how to build a less expensive computer system, or have a more open phone OS. Give them their due -they created some great products that are very popular. But they also left the door open for innovation and imitation to provide competition. Which is great for all of us.

Just give it a second's thought. Until two months ago, you couldn't buy a small capacitive touchscreen display for your dash. Now you can - plus it comes with a built in iPod, movie player and an app store to improve its capabilities. Who would have known? Hate Apple? Don't worry, Android to the rescue! It's coming sometime in the near future. Very cool.

And it's okay to dislike Apple while recognizing that they reinvented several product categories and grew to prominence from the results. Hell, I don't like Microsoft but that doesn't mean I don't admire the way they became industry leaders. Smart bunch of folks there.

i like how Blue Hawk Solutions were the very first to mod the 2010 mac mini for the car... yet no mention of it on the front page article....