Intel shows off concept for Mac mini knock-off

Hmmmm…this looks so very familiar…yeah, just picture a Mac mini in metallic silver and you've got a clear image of the Sleek Concept Entertainment PC that Intel demoed Wednesday at its Developer Forum in San Francisco. Intel tends to use its twice-yearly developer events to try and jump-start some creativity among computer makers, and apparently this year creativity means ripping off Apple's new concept in desktop computing. Only to differentiate its design Intel has gone out of its way to make this plastic model of the supposedly next-generation home entertainment PC scream "square" by marring its top surface with a maddeningly purposeless grid. Who wants a home entertainment system component that looks like graph paper?

[Timtom @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Yeah and what the hell is that yellowish and ugly chunk of cheeselike substance beneath the remote? Looks like a piece of adhesive. Did they forgot to remove it for the press photos or what?

[hihi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I think it's wrong to say that pc makers are ripping off mac mini style, because before mini there has been a wide bunch of booksize pc's, mostly based on Via epia's. Why doesn't anybody blame apple for ripping off those?

[Right @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Let's not pretend Apple invented the whole mini PC thing, please. People have been making small PC's forever, hell you could say Shuttle pioneered the whole thing before Mac did. All Mac did was a custom design whereas the shuttle was more or less generic so you could use store bought parts.

Hell, I remember people building custom acrylic cases for PC's so they could put them in their cars maybe 4 or 5 years ago.

[JA @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

it looks like a hot cross bun!!!


ummm hot cross buns.....

[Fred @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

the reason why its a rip off its becuase it has a silver casing and is almost the same size as the mac mini. yes there have been smaller pc's, but those were in bad plastic casings. Apple is also the first company to mass produce it. Before it was more for the do it yourself pc guy. AND apple also had the cube, so apple didn't rip anything off.

Right: bohooo

[Oceanplexian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

sure there were portable pc's before, but come on, did they have slot loading drives. Plus the mac mini is a bit smaller than the shuttle pc's, and the mac mini is MUCH more powerful....

good point, though #3, I hope nobody thinks Apple invented the small form factor computers

f*** intel, the pentium sucks, so that PC probably will too.

[ming @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Oh please!!!!

A Pentium 4 in a case that small would be a Fire Hazard.

[!Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Hey Ming,

What about P4's that are in laptops?

[David Crowe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

#2
apple didn't come up with the idea of having a small computer, but this intel design is pretty damn similar to the Mac mini.

[Sam @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

If it wasn't for companies like Apple, there would be NO innovation in the computing world.
There's a world of original ideas in the universe, but the PC world repeatedly chooses to steal Apple's designs.

The only reason there's PC cases in colors other than beige is because Apple created the iMac. The only reason there's a Windows "XP" is because there was a Mac OS "X". The only reason you can import and organize music with Windows Media Player is because Apple created iTunes. The only reason there's a Windows Movie Maker is because Apple created iMovie. The only reason there's slim lightweight Pentium M class laptops is because Apple created the PowerBook. And now, the only reason Intel is floating this mini PC is because Apple created the Mac mini.

Apple takes all the creative risks. Thank goodness for the innovations of companies like Apple, Google, and those Linux rebels. Or we'd all be using big beige boxes and Windows 95. (Heck! There wouldn't even be a Windows 95 if it wasn't for OS/2 and Geoworks!)

[Roy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Right,
Didn't Shuttle knock off the Apple Cube that came out 6 years ago? I remember the big hype behind the cube and about 1 year later shuttle introduced an XPC, basically a copy of the Cube. I owned 3 Shuttle XPC myself and no question it is a great system and big improvement from the Apple Cube design.

[010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

didn't the cube predate the shuttles? i've had both and i don't remember the shuttles even being around until 1-2 years after the cube. i don't even remember acrylic cases until post-cube either. not saying apple invented the small form factor computer... just offering an alternate timeline equally non-based on actual verifiable concrete evidence.

the VIA mini-itx stuff totally predated the mac mini though. but there is a big difference between a mac mini and a mini-itx machine. in that 95% of all mini-itx machines are build into toasters or an NES case or a Teddy Ruxpin or whatver else someone decided to stuff it into. that is... it is not mass-market in the slightest regardless of what gadget blog readers and the rest of the nerd herd wants you to believe. so in that regard apple really is the first *major* manufacturer to make a small form factor PC. not a kit. not a BTO at some funky site. but a real company.

this same discussion over timelines comes up all the time in automotive circles too in seems. sometimes people don't understand the difference between a real company like VW or GM vs. some guy making a kit car in his garage or a company like Panoz or TVR. mass market vs. heavily niched.

[Joshua Ochs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Personally, I'd rather the benchmark media PC match the VCR form factor, not the Mac mini or the full-size component. The mini is cute - and stands out because of it. The VCR form factor helps it blend in, but is "friendlier", just like their old VCR or Tivo.

If media centers are going to make it into the home, they have to be completely unobtrusive, and completely autoconfiguring (DHCP out of the box, use Rendezvous/"Bonjour", CD to autosetup PC's on the network, etc). Just plug it in and go - none of them are anywhere close to that yet.

[010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

oh. and before anyone brings up some market share number to say apple isn't mass market... not talking OS... i'm talking hardware here. and as a hardware manufacturer apple is up there with dell and hp.

[Eric W @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

...And Steve Jobs ripped off the Mac OS from Xerox Parc. Who cares. There were hard drive players out before the Ipod, Apple fans dont care. Mini-Itx systems were out(including slot loading dvd!) 2 years before the Mac-Mini, Apple fans don't care. Apple fan's probaly think the first home computer was an Apple. And you know what, I don't care.

[Joshua Ochs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

The innovation in an iPod wasn't a hard drive, knuckeheads, it was the integration, interface, and size (in that order).

With the Mac Mini there were small PC's before (ahem, G4 Cube, anyone?), but the Mac Mini is markedly smaller than even Nano-ITX and is available NOW. The innovative thing about the Mini is not that it's a "small PC", but that it's smaller than *any* PC (sans the Cappucino, which is twice the price and has worse performance) and offers a full computer that doesn't skimp anywhere - DVD burner, ATI Radeon graphics, Firewire/USB2/Ethernet.

It's the incredible contents of that small space that's remarkable, but just that it's small.

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

What's hilarious is that by copying apple so closely after the mini's big release they only cement apples value in the fickle mind of the consumer. They are supporting the apple design model by copying it, then cementing it by presenting an inferiorly design style to the product.

Seeing this picture only makes me want the actual apple mini even more.

Geeze what a bunch of knumbskulls.... It's great entertainment though.

[BIll @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

That's not a grid, that's where they have to put the grout in order to properly seal the tile...

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Mini itx motherboards are actually smaller, not to mention the Nano itx boards coming out. If you want to stand out, build your own shiny white box. #6, you said "sure there were portable pc's before, but come on, did they have slot loading drives." Yeah, actually they did. They do. And the will do. www.mini-itx.com (the hoojum cases are a million times better than any plasticy mac case- they are NOT innovative, just fashion victims.)

[kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"15. Posted Mar 3, 2005, 10:20 AM ET by Eric W

...And Steve Jobs ripped off the Mac OS from Xerox Parc. Who cares. There were hard drive players out before the Ipod, Apple fans dont care. Mini-Itx systems were out(including slot loading dvd!) 2 years before the Mac-Mini, Apple fans don't care. Apple fan's probaly think the first home computer was an Apple. And you know what, I don't care."

thats right you don't care since you haven't got any of your history right. apple paid xerox for a q and a with the people involved with that project and to look at the prototype. that was the seed of the inspiration. there was no engineering stolen and if you look at the first mac and the xerox prototype, their operating systems are vastly different in the most fundamental ways. its rather disturbing that you can be so callous in throwing out false arguments.

[cla @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

i think the best part about this, that people seem to be missing, is the fact that this is not a functioning computer - it's a concept, that intel hopes the pc makers will look at and turn into a real computer.

[Eric Pobirs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Apple's sole innovation in recent years has been the creation of a slavish audience that buys anything Apple puts out after the versions show by Taiwanese companies at Comdex five years earlier failed to attract any market. I've been seeing ultramicro PCs at trade shows since the late 80's. The technology changes but the lack of interest from the PC market doesn't. Likewise, numerous companies showed Toshiba PCMCIA Type II hard drives in little MP3 players well befor ethe iPOD appeared. Apple's primary innovation was committing to a national PR campaign at a time when the yuppie toy market was thought to be on hold.

Why anyone thinks the Mac Mini is a good value is baffling to me. Once you get done adding a functional amount of RAM and certain other necessities, the price is well into the territory of low-end PC laptops with better performance, better video, and a screen and keyboard as well.

Nothing has changed. If you want a Mac you're going to spend more.

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I see this as a clear demonstration of incompetence in Intel designers to come up with a derivative of the Mac mini design. I also want to mention that in minimalist case design, Hush PC is excellent, more so than the Macs. It unfortunately costs a quite a bit more than the Mac mini :(

[Sergio @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Personally, I think this prototype mockup looks like something a 1st year Industrial Design major would do. Terrible craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Totally unprofessional from a design standpoint when for a decent amount of money, you can have a resin SLA made directly from a 3D computer model.

[Dave Nadig @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I think the fun thing is how VIOLENTLY people have opinions about this stuff. I mean, come on people. Apple isn't going away, MSFT isn't going away. Apple's greatest resource is Jonathan Ive, who's designer pretty much every lustworthy object to come out of the "new Apple" in the last decade. The actual bits? It's all pros and cons folks, pros and cons.

I mean think about it, if it was so blatently obvious that macs we're unquestionably superior, than why wouldn't they have massive market share (OS). If they sucked and we're just toys for dilletante's, then why aren't they dead. The market gets what it wants. For the last decade, it's wanted stable, accessible standards based back office stuff - and it's ignored both Apple and MSFT for the most part.

The market decides.

Every time Apple makes a move, it immediately turns into a giant firestorm. Who cares people, we're just consumers. Buy what you like, or don't.

[IronChefMorimoto @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Uh -- #6 smokes something, 'cause I'm damned sure my Shuttle SK83G XPC running an Athlon64 3400+ is going to be MUCH faster than a Mac Mini. Hell my wife's XPC running an AthlonXP 1800+ is most likely faster than a Mac Mini.

It doesn't matter. Apple bitches are going to bitch about PC bitches. In the end, we're all just bitching computer bitches.

[Patrick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

To IronChefMorimoto,

Price of SK83G: $200 at newegg.com
Price of Athlon 3400: $192 at pricewatch.com
Price of EIDE 80 gig hard drive (same capacity as Mac Mini): $41 at pricewatch.com

If you can find absolutely everything else you'll need for that Shuttle to make it kick the Mini's ass for $67, then I'm converted. If not, point me to the Apple store.

[Eric Lampi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Apple...innovation..blah blah blah... Ripoff, PC's suck, Gates is an ass.. yadda yadda...

boring

[Peter Knapp @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Looks like a failed concept piece by an undergraduate design student (and that is being unfair to them!). The cross is obviously there to add that all important 'x' factor which is otherwise missing in this case.

I don't know about you, but I reckon it will sell by the bucket load. I can see the excited children now. 'Oh daddy, I wanna use that Windows XP Home Edition'...

[skid @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

what state/junior college design student did they accept this horrendous model from?

[Stephen Crosby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"If it wasn't for companies like Apple, there would be NO innovation in the computing world. "

Pardon me for a second........................................HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

sorry, i couldn't hold it in. People like you make me laugh.

[mac owners takes it up the A$$ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

You MAC lovers are such freaking idiots. PCs have dominated over your punk ass and will continue to do so. The entire embedded industry is based on some form of PC mini-platforms. various ATX platforms have small footprints. Stupid MAC users are end-users in life that have no clue how the world works... behind the pretty plastics and ad designs they do all day, they haven't got a clue how the world works to produce day-to-day product. God forbid they find out the world is not always "pretty" like their MACs. Freaking idiots.

[Nojopar @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Patrick (#27):

Looking at Newegg, I can make a comparable machine as the Mac Mini for roughly $25 more than the Mac Mini. There are a few differences - there's more video memory in the SFF machine (126 MB vs. 32 MB in the Mac). While the video card chipset is the same (ATI Radeon 9200), the SFF would have TV out, which the Mac Mini doesn't have. Clearly the SFF machine is a larger machine, but on the flip side, there's a little room for expandablity in the SFF. Admittedly only ONE card slot and ONE 3.5 bay... but some. The hard drive size would be the same (80 GB) and both would feature a CD-RW/DVD Combo drive. They both would have 256 MB of memory (although for a $20, you could double it in the SFF machine. The Mac mini would cost $75 more to double the memory.) Actually, if you already had the OS (or used Linux), then the SFF would be $75 less than the Mac Mini (assuming you bought XP Home as your OS). The CPU is slightly difficult to compare. The Mac comes with a 1.42 Power PC G4 ship. The SFF I priced had an AMD 2800+ Barton. Assuming the PowerPC performs twice as good as the AMD at comparable levels, then those two chips should be roughly equal. I'm not as certain about that as I admittedly don't have a good feel for how the PowerPC performs relative to AMD chips.

If you have the means and knowledge, the SFF is a better bargain for the money. However, that's the hitch and that's where Apple stands to make a bundle. Not a lot of people have the knowledge or resources to put a machine together. There the Mac Mini is the clear winner.

[Kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

In Eric Pobirs' world, successful products should provide plenty of value in raw performance and amount of RAM. It shouldn't really matter whether the industrial design of the product itself looks like a beige/gray/black abomination of something put together using plastic scraps. It doesn't matter whether the product itself is too embarassing (for the rest of us) to take it with on the road, or crippled by a user interface that takes years to master. Of course, it doesn't matter if the company does a half-assed job in promoting the product or finding the right consumers who desire the product, what matters is that the product is packed with transistors for a low low price. According to Eric, it's the market's fault that "good" products as such aren't recognized.

Fortunately, most of us don't live in Eric's world. Value comes from the elegance and simplicity of the product, so the product complements our lives, instead of dictating our lives. Eric tries to attribute success of good looking consumer products to "slavish audiences", as if he himself is some non-conforming maverick who can see right through the bull.

Eric does make a valiant effort to prove his "credentials" though, by peppering his post with tidbits to late 80's trade shows, or Comdex attendences. Heck, he even managed to cram "PCMCIA Type II" in his hate speech, a term which the association itself has officially abandoned years ago, in favor of "PC Card". Bravo Eric, for introducing obfuscated and expired terminology into your discussion. But we get you point, that you get a rise from flaunting your geekiness. But I should stop digressing into Eric's personal issues.

His obsession with comparing the Mac Mini's performance to other PCs is enough proof that he just doesn't "get it". While Eric can probably present his findings with a detailed TeX report of FLOPS per dollar per Mhz between the G4 and P4 (using MatLab, of course), the most of us simply do not care, because the Mac Mini runs snappy enough for most home user applications, and that's what it's for.

[Twizzle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Let's not get our panties in a bunch and talk about who invented the "mini" first, basically because you guys and your extensive knowledge of unusable-although quite interesting-trivia are boring me to death. We should all just make fun of the superficial side of this product.

For example, when has it been acceptable to use kitchen tiles for a "mini" PC case. Or... what, no racing stripes?

[Chris Norman @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

*cough* FUGLY *cough*

But then, they're selling to an audience that thinks that blue LEDs and neon tubing are the height of personal style...

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

You guys are missing the point:

Since when does a clunky Wintel Box not have the cutting edge 3.5" floppy drive?

Is the PC world catching up with Apple circa 1997!?

Now that's news! Welcome to the Internet, you unwashed masses.

[Nick Anderson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Following on from #18 & 35: it's clearly a gizmo for bathrooms in nightclubs (hence the "lighting"). Press that square button on the front & out pops a hand towel. It's at an angle so you can check your hair etc in the reflective surface. The thing to the right is the soap dish, it slipped off just before they took the shot.

[Royce Potter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Just get what makes you happy PC or a Mac. I am a Mac guy, but I believe if someone prefers a PC with Windows, more power to them.

JRP - Dallas

[Pierre Films @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"You MAC lovers are such freaking idiots. PCs have dominated over your punk ass and will continue to do so. The entire embedded industry is based on some form of PC mini-platforms. various ATX platforms have small footprints. Stupid MAC users are end-users in life that have no clue how the world works... behind the pretty plastics and ad designs they do all day, they haven't got a clue how the world works to produce day-to-day product. God forbid they find out the world is not always "pretty" like their MACs. Freaking idiots."

Well if it were not for us Mac users you wouldnt have half of new films out there today. If you ever happen to stay until the end of a film, you will notice that many of the films are made with Final Cut Pro HD. Yes, Windows PCs are the dominating computers...and this is only because in the mid 80's APPLE gave Microsoft CEO Bill Gates permission to use some of Apples GUI in exchange for making programs like Word and Excel for the Mac. And NO, the world isnt always pretty, but at least Apple doesnt try to make it look worse by putting mix matched computer parts into ill-fitting boxes. The reason Macs run so well is because Apple makes the hardware as well as the OS so they KNOW that everything will be compatible. Open up your PC and you will see parts made by dozens of different chinese manufacturers. Microsoft just makes the software (and they cant even make that well) and hopes that it works with the mix matched parts that make up your PC. Big buisnesses cannot afford to hope that it works...they NEED it to work.

Pierre Films

[tnkgrl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Actually Pierre, I opened my Mac mini to upgrade the Seagate hard drive with a faster Hitachi one and the Panasonic combo drive with a better Pioneer Superdrive...

So in fact, Apple also uses parts made by other manufacturers! Good thing because it allowed me to upgrade my Mac mini using standard parts :)

[xVariable @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Let me get this straight: When Microsoft rips off a smaller company (say, Apple) by stealing their innovative ideas, it is, rightly so, worthy of waging a holy war over. But when APPLE turns around and DOES THE EXACT SAME THING (ripping-off Shuttle), well... Let the equivocation BEGIN!

You guys are so fucking corrupt, you make me sick. Listen: if you are going to appeal to reason to argue a position (and, by definition, arguing something REQUIRES appealing to reason), then make damn sure your position is logically defensible. Otherwise you reveal yourself to be a complete and foolish idiot.

[me� obviously @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I have to respond to this No.33. The mac is designed to be USED as a 'toaster', an appliance. Why you believe mac users must therefore be complete luddites and ignoramuses eludes me. Using a tool does not have to mean slavishly maintaining it. Now of course i took your bait and got away from the fact that the basis for you accusations is obviously minimal since it is obvious you've never used an Apple computer for any extended period of time.

how's this for an analogy:
Apples: mercedes-benzes
Wintels: cut price ferraris

apple's are not Meant to be opened up but if you want to you can, and you can go as far down as you want.

thank you very much, tool.

[D Norris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Well someone needs to 'rip off Apple',
because their market share is so low,
no one would ever see their designs
if Apple was the only one selling them!

[Kevin Hartin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I don't know what all the fuss is all about, who cares who was first with a cube, slot loading optical drive or a mobile CPU on the desktop.

I happen to have a prototype Pandora and I reckon it is FANTASTIC !!!

Quiet, fast enough and a very positive sign of things to come next year.

Bring on Dual Core Pentium M is all I can say!!!