Mac Mini now Intel Based

[link|http://www.apple.com/macmini/|http://www.apple.com/macmini/]

Some interesting choices - optical and analog audio I/O, Gigabit ethernet, 4 USB 2.0 ports (4?), DVI, Bluetooth, 802.11g, and 1 Firewire port.

The video is onboard Intel and thus lame, but given that Logic Pro can offload processing to arbitrary machines on a network for realtime audio production - this is looking like a candidate for the mother of all home entertainment systems (Front Row and a remote control are bundled) and/or modular processor expansion unit for the pro audio world.

I'm intrigued.

Especially since they seem to have arranged it so that you can stream any content anywhere in your house - IOW, one can be the audio server but you can pull audio anywhere, ditto video and Apple now sells movies and such via iTunes.

OTOH, the ipod speaker system they launched has "flop" written all over it. Hey, they can't all be gems.

What's missing? Disk farm solution. Not yet in sight. Definitely a key piece of the puzzle. Also - cheapish large format displays.

I would have to say that Steve Jobs has soundly beaten Bill Gates in the home market at this point. MS is totally locked out of entertainment content and will never be a player.

I wonder when the pro machines will convert?

Post #246,449 by tuberculosis 3/1/06 2:05:47 AM 8/21/07 5:57:14 AM Reply	Mac Mini now Intel Based [link\|http://www.apple.com/macmini/\|http://www.apple.com/macmini/] Some interesting choices - optical and analog audio I/O, Gigabit ethernet, 4 USB 2.0 ports (4?), DVI, Bluetooth, 802.11g, and 1 Firewire port. The video is onboard Intel and thus lame, but given that Logic Pro can offload processing to arbitrary machines on a network for realtime audio production - this is looking like a candidate for the mother of all home entertainment systems (Front Row and a remote control are bundled) and/or modular processor expansion unit for the pro audio world. I'm intrigued. Especially since they seem to have arranged it so that you can stream any content anywhere in your house - IOW, one can be the audio server but you can pull audio anywhere, ditto video and Apple now sells movies and such via iTunes. OTOH, the ipod speaker system they launched has "flop" written all over it. Hey, they can't all be gems. What's missing? Disk farm solution. Not yet in sight. Definitely a key piece of the puzzle. Also - cheapish large format displays. I would have to say that Steve Jobs has soundly beaten Bill Gates in the home market at this point. MS is totally locked out of entertainment content and will never be a player. I wonder when the pro machines will convert? "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 05:57:14 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #246,450 by pwhysall 3/1/06 2:21:54 AM Reply	Re: Mac Mini now Intel Based I wonder when the pro machines will convert? I'm hoping for summer releases of the Intel-based towers so that by the end of the year, when I'll be in the market for a new machine, the second rev will be out. Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #246,457 by Meerkat 3/1/06 6:11:57 AM Reply	If no-one else has claimed the name yet, I propose we rename the iPod Hi-Fi to the iPod Ho-Hum... My guess is that college/uni students are the target market - but the price doesn't really reflect that. Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.

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