Mac mini (unibody) unboxing and hands-on
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 15th 2010 9:53AM
posted June 15th 2010 9:53AM
posted June 15th 2010 9:53AM
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I know this doesn't make sense here but it must be said.. Happy B-Day to Laura June!.... Who's birthday is.... *wait for it*.... in JUNE! Get it?? It's funny cuz her last name is the month... of her birth! aha... ahahahah... high five me!
......no?......
.......ok....... *sigh*
@skyblaze
*sound of crickets*
@skyblaze
Don't ever make a joke like that on an Apple related article again, are you looking for a death wish?
@skyblaze
(intentionally crappy joke aside, mine is coming up in ten days, yo... hopefully no celebrities die... my conscience is still pretty heavy from last year)
Why the HELL does Apple make their power cords so damn short?!? Super frustrating... from the iPod Touch right up to the desktops... hate it so much.
@VSpike915
meh, low ranked or not... just wanted Laura to know my appreciation for her and all that jazz
@Plazmic Flame You do know they put an extension cable in the box as well? The cable for my Apple laptops are only about six feet without the extension, but two or three times that when it's attached.
@Plazmic Flame
Thankfully, it seems like a standard figure-8 connector so you can easily buy a replacement for it.
@skyblaze waiting for someone to make a Cluster of these mac mini running xgrid.
@Plazmic Flame
They're obviously doing it to save money. Just one look at the Mac Mini retail box is enough to figure that out. It's that minimalist strategy. Save an inch here and there and it all adds up in dollar profits. As an Apple investor I don't argue about those things.
@admlshake
I thought your "sound of crickets" was for this article. I was about to vote your comment up then I realized it wasn't. I was sad.
@skyblaze Hey, it IS my birthday, so thanks! Now I must downrank you. JK.
@Laura June : happy birthday! the new Mac Mini design is DEFINITELY hot. It looks sweet. HDMI is a good enough reason to get one.
@skyblaze
If you'd just left it at Happy Birthday you'd have had so much more respect...
I'd bet even Laura was cringing by the end of your post.
@MosesusedaniPad
You've forgot the Environmental Impact.
@Laura June
I think I've had my fair share of that for the day, savvy?... But here's hoping yours is full of fun and adventure... and... things you like n' stuff :D
@FORDY
I knew the joke was terrible... I made it terrible on purpose (hence the neglected high five part). The point wasn't the joke itself... it was how much it sucked to the point that I was laughed at... or... something. Alas... it backfired. This is my fail for the day (and as far as fails go it could've been a lot worse so I'm quite relieved actually)
@Plazmic Flame
Because you don't need along cable.
The Jobs says so.
You WILL like it, and shut up about it.
@skyblaze
Gorgeous piece of shit
@blenderman345 HDMI is nice, but the fact that just adding the cheapest keyboard, mouse, and picking the 4GB ram option (who the heck would put only 2GB in anything more than a netbook in 2010) bumps the price up to $900 might give some pause.
Recession reschmession! *rolls up and smokes a benjamin*
@Plazmic Flame
dear god, the world is gonna implode Apple put hdmi on one of their macs!
@skyblaze
Looks nice, but what on earth were they thinking when they raised the price?! And still no 4GB RAM standard.
@skyblaze
hahahahaha!!!!!!!! Actually pretty funny
@Ducman69 That's why it's bring your own mouse and keyboard. I'd say "duh," but you are really lost right now.
It looks sexy
@MarcinK
I guess in the early 80s the scientists didn't really think of it that their CDs and DVDs would be way too big for a 2010 Mac mini. This thing would be half the size by now. ;-)
@MarcinK
I agree, I have the older model and this looks much nicer. One thing though - I always thought that the mac mini had to have a plastic top for the WiFi and Bluetooth to transmit properly, how does this new design work around that? I'd like to see perhaps a WiFi speed and distance comparison between the models.
@TC Its probably in the logo like the ipad
@TC
Figure 17 seems to suggest the aerial is on the bottom.
@MarcinK Too expensive still I think
@mark29 the black matte - is usually the material for the signal - like the iPhone 1G and the iPod Touches' black spot at the top left back. Like the iPad, the top black bar, is the signal thing...
wow that looks nice!
@TacticalTimbo
That's what she said.
@TacticalTimbo why did they raise the price?
@tu eres estupido
Aluminum costs more than plastic. Also...because they can.
@John52 Core2Duo ought to cost *a lot* less than 2008 though. I'm impressed Apple can keep finding those old-skool processors back at Intel's scrapyard, though.
@HPe I really don't mind the old processor and even the weak GPU, but to ask $900 for 4GB ram w/ the cheapest mouse and keyboard without even a bluray drive in 2010?
I guess they figure you can make just as much (if not more) money selling a few at really high profit margins than selling a million with low margins. Hey, whatever works.
This is what the Apple TV should've been.
@mbushnell
What, too expensive? :)
@in5ane
No, appletv is gonna be too expensive anyway.
@Stotherd
its supposed to be 99 bucks you friggin bum
@mbushnell
Actually Apple TV and Mac Mini should've been one product. This enclosure totally fits the profile.
Looks nice.
But I have no plans on getting a Mac until they add Blu-Rays to their Macs.
Of course once that happens the prices will go up even further and there will be no way I could afford it.
But we can dream can't we?
@Ninjakid4 Ain't going to happen. In case it escaped your attention, Apple are in the business of selling digital media including high definition video. That is the future they are pushing people towards.
@Ninjakid4
It has more to do with the OS. Making the OS "encrypt" end to end so that you can't pick off the stream mid way. New Drivers would be needed for video. Its the stupid DRM, making the format a "bag of hurt". MS suffered through this process with Vista. I think apple was waiting for video DRM to go the way of Audio DRM
@arammc More importantly it's SOMEBODY ELSE telling you that your system isn't DRM'd enough, and can revoke ALL your players if you don't do what they say.
Even Microsoft doesn't make the PLAYER for blu-ray.. you have to buy that from SOMEBODY ELSE and Microsoft doesn't certify the "tilt bit" for DRM on your hardware... your OEM has to do that. Dell, HP, etc put the boxes together and have all the "blame" and no control over the drives, the player software, or the OS.
@Ninjakid4 You can get an external BD drive and rip them with MakeMKV to a media server- a little time consuming, but well worth the effort, imo (but then again, I'm a geek, and for some sick reason I'd rather spend a weekend ripping and converting and scraping instead of walking over to the TV and changing a disc. :) )
So basically, it's an overpriced Dell Zino HD?
@Elranzer
if you assume OSX provides no additional value over Win7. Maybe that's how you feel, and that's fine. But you're paying for better design and a different OS.
@Elranzer except that the Zino's anemic array of Athlon CPU's couldn't hold a candle to Intel' C2D chips, plus the Zino still has the biggest flaw in the fact that it runs Windows.....
@TomSawyer
Do you really believe the benefits you get from OSX over Windows is worth several hundred $s/£s/€s? I mean, I don't see ANY computer manufacturer matching the case design or compact build any time soon, or being able to pack the power into the space used...but what is the monetary value of that?