iMac, Mac mini supplies growing thin, refresh expected soon
By Nilay Patel 
posted September 29th 2009 12:44PM
posted September 29th 2009 12:44PM
P.S.- Doesn't that seem like a lot of updates to dish out at once? The savvy rumor connoisseur would be expecting a couple random analysts to mouth off at this point, followed by whispers of an impending event and its cancellation due to "last minute issues." Gene Munster swirls his glass and predicts the MacBook will feature CableCARD slots and function as a DVR. Spring follows winter, winter follows fall.
CableCARD? In a Macbook? Yeah... right.
Yeah, I made a took a quick peek at my calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st. RANDOM!
i MAY have believed it if they said the mini, but macbook? not a chance
Anyone who thinks Apple would turn any of their devices into a DVR has rocks in their head. A device like that would make iTunes television downloads pointless.
may it come with a camera and GPS... yeah right... hahaha
@Hey Ya
EyeTV is sold in the Apple Stores (and has been for years), providing that EXACT functionality. Try harder.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/TS588LL/A
That's cute, but it's not built into a Macbook, and it's not manufactured by Apple.
Keep trying.
Having cablecard wouldn't fit with their policy of having the same machine the world over, since (I think) cablecard is a US thing.
But yet the quality and standards adhere to the OSX API which makes it better then chai yin fung DTV adapter with AM radio for Windows and its accompanying USB driver.
@Hey Ya
That's what she said. Also...
Your point: Apple wouldn't do such a thing because it would cut into iTunes sales.
My point: A peripheral is sold by Apple in the Apple Stores that allows this functionality.
Your point(less comment): Apple doesn't make it.
^I'll be waiting on a valid point, thank you very much.
If that product was made by Apple, what exactly would change? Nothing.
How many people do you know who own an Eye TV? I'm guessing zero.
How many people do you know who own a Macbook? Probably a lot more than own an Eye TV.
Honestly, I don't know why I even have to prove anything. Apple's not going to add DVR functionality to any of their computers. Judging by the comments here, you're the only numb-skull who doesn't seem to understand why.
@Hey Ya
Getting personal/asking for my own personal experience is just a desperate attempt at attaining validity through inefficient and meaningless methods. Your point just flew out the window, and you sure as heck can't seem to come up with another one. I've been waiting on anything based on objective, unbiased, factual evidence to support your claims, and you have come up with nothing!
I'll give you one more chance at making any valid point (meaning you have some actual evidence backing it).
If they can't even find space for a real ExpressCard port, where the heck will they find room for a CableCard?
That guy must've been swirling his glass the wrong way.
It's called the iCard, and it just works. You don't need any more of an explanation than that.
/sarcasm
Obviously it will come as a really fancy dongle! Just for only 59.99!
lol ya a cablecard in a macbook as soon as i can open the unit up and repair it myself or upgrade parts without voiding a warranty. keep on moving nothing to see here.
Voiding the warranty by opening up and modifying the machine, what like every other product on the market....
What parts in a macbook are you upgrading that voids the warranty?
Laptops really only make it possible to upgrade ram/hd, which does not void applecare.
Swapping out optical drive, then yes . . but how many people do that?
Who even uses an optical drive anymore . . .
Betafrog, you're trying to apply rational thought to someone who writes like that? It's a 15-year-old kid who thinks he's the smartest person in the world, and Japan's culture is better than stupid American culture in every way. And you wouldn't know all the great shows he watches, they're all anime. I bet you haven't even heard of anime. U R lame lol
Anybody who uses their laptop to watch DVDs (or with pcs, the modern world, blu rays) uses an optical drive. Anybody who wants to install software without doing it slowly over a network attached to another computer with an optical drive, because hey obviously the drive is still needed. Anybody who wants to burn dvds, or cds, either for media or data storage. Anybody who buys real cds in the store and imports them to their computer for actually quality sound, not crappy itunes quality.
no one cares about the mac mini
more people care about the Mac Mini than they do about you
A lot of people would if they'd slap ION and HDMI in it.
Were it not for the Mac mini, I might still be one of the unwashed masses (PC-only nerdbuckets).
More people who want to wast $600 on a squircle-sized version of fail you mean.
um.... ION would be a downgrade for the mac mini. it already has the nvidia 9400 and a core 2 duo.
@Hey Ya
The mac mini already has the Nvidia 9400m . .
and you can buy a $9 mini displayport -> hdmi adapter from monoprice.
The Mini has an NVIDIA 9400M in it....the same chip behind ION. And it has DVI, so getting HDMI is pretty easy. What are you talking about?
Sorry guys. I'm not up on my Mac Mini specs.
@Dale
You are such an elitist. How am I a PC nerdbucket, because I don't own a Mac? I'm soooo sorry I didn't see the light Dale.
I hate people like you
I just mean no one cares about it because with the current specs, you might as well buy a macbook for a little more.. apple should just make it a mini tower.. same footprint but twice as thick with twice the specs.. All in all it's a cool product and I have nothing against it except for the weak specs
@darbear5610, I really feel sorry for you. It seems you can't even afford a sense of humour, and they're free. ;)
And we all need to be thankful apple will let us buy their products!
Jobs Be Praised.
Thanks, Apple.
If I ever choose to take advantage of this, you'll be the first to know about it.
"Gene Munster swirls his glass and predicts the MacBook will feature CableCARD slots and function as a DVR."
I think you meant to write, after Gene Munster's 8th glass of burboun he boldly declared the MacBook will feature CableCARD slots and function as a DVR. I despise logic and common sense spouted Gene as he rode away on his magic unicorn to visit magic mountain.
candy mountain... *sighs*
Hey Charrrrliiiiiiee....
What I really want is a Macbook Air refresh. 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD. C'mon Apple, how hard is it to make this thing useful as more than just a toy?
Or they might be giving the mini the axe. I'd hope not, but I wouldn't rule it out.
I don't think they would discontinue the mini, even after the 2007 refresh, they didnt kill it. even though they left it for an incredibly long time.
......at least, ax the price.
I've wanted to get a MAC for many many years. But, I will not pay
that kinda money for that sparse of a feature set. Won't do it !!
Gimme respectable spec'd hardware and price it accordingly,
and i'd purchase one immediatly.
Obviously, the suits must be content with the profit obtained
from the sales of that mp3 player thangy they got.
I would agree with you at first, but Mac OS X doesn't necessarily need all the extra horsepower in a windows machine. It is much better at handling multitasking (which most users do a lot of). And it is also better at "spending" your specs so you don't need that high clocked of a CPU, granted, it is nice : )
@Chilly - Don't forget you have to compare with small form-factor PCs, not with full-size ones; it's all laptop parts (...and not netbook parts), so it costs more.
Still expensive, but not quite as ridiculous as it might first seem.
Also bear in mind that it can't run games (unless you boot into Windows and what's the point of getting a Mac if you're going to boot into Windows) so you really don't need that much power. My mini (and it's an older one with the shitty integrated graphics) is perfectly fast enough.
So anyway, yes it's still more expensive than a similar PC, but (because of the OS) it's a nice machine.
Before I upgrade mine, I'd be hoping for a mini with Blu-ray move playback (yes, I know, world of hurt etc) and SSD. And a fanless design would be awesome - I don't think this last part is possible right now without a major drop in processing power, though. Somehow I don't think this refresh will meet any of my requirements! It'll probably just be a processor bump or something...
will it finally do audio via displayport? :D
They would have to rename it to audiodisplayport
And MiniAudioDisplayPort just seems way too long
First glance;
iMac, Mac mini going thin, refresh expected soon.
in his defence, have you ever tried upgrading a mac mini.... they got stuff packed in there TIGHT! :) not your average desktop upgrades.
Supplies running low?!?! Then there will be nothing left for me to poop on!!