Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"As someone who doesn't reside in the USA, I was wondering what would be the best way to get internet for my computer in the US for a couple of weeks? If it were Europe I know I'd look for some prepaid data. Is there anything similar offered by American carriers? A MiFi or a data SIM that I can tether from would work, but I'm trying to maintain a tight budget. Help!"
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?
@threedeuce5 I'm sorry, but if I wanted to hook a computer up to my TV, OSX would definitely not be my first choice....
@threedeuce5
Lol, Apple's one of few companies that can "refresh" a product with last generation tech and still millions by calling it new. I'm impressed.
@Elranzer
What! The Zino looks pretty good but it is way less powerful that this, both in terms of the CPU & GPU.
@threedeuce5 if you think windows is a flaw, best not go to any companies, you know they usualy use windows for there stuff. also id say that an os that cant make a new text file without using a program is fail (osx) i mean on windows, right click anywhere, create new txt. gee how much simpler mac is eh?
The sexy case is a plus, but the fact that it ships with Mac OS is a negative, in my opinion.
I'd like to see a Windows 7 option.
@TomSawyer
OS X is actually at a huge disadvantage....no flash hw acceleration (it's still in beta), boxee will run, but again -- NO hardware acceleration -- so good luck playing back any HD video formats that aren't quicktime encoded or that have lame ass DRM from the itunes store. It's cool to have nice hardware, but if no one can use it, then what's the fucking point? Windows on this exact same system would provide hardware acceleration for flash and HD video (divx, xvid, x264, whatever).
@threedeuce5
Not to mention the fact that the Zino HD is outright fugly and has over twice the volume of this Mac Mini. Someone is really comparing Apples to oranges when pitting a sexy machine like this against of parts held together by an ugly plastic box that is twice the size. Sure, a Zino HD is great if you don't care about esthetics and want to save money, but that's not the point for people who buy this.
When I saw the first pictures of this thing I was genuinely impressed, I think no-one can argue that this is not one of the nicest looking pieces of hardware available, and definitely the smallest form-factor specced like this.
But I already imagined the comments coming on tech blogs/sites like this and here we are: 'OMG it's so expensive'. 'No Core i3/i5/i7'.'I can build that for half the price'. 'No Blu-Ray drive'. 'Only 2 GB's of RAM'. 'Already outdated'. 'I would buy this immediately if it had feature x but it doesn't'.
I don't get it. If you don't like it, don't buy it, and just stfu. I don't buy an Audi, because I can't afford one, but you don't hear me denying they are damn good cars. Why do people always expect that every piece of tech on earth was specifically designed for *their* purposes and budget.
@drange
[[I don't buy an Audi, because I can't afford one,]]
LOL, I love the constant elitist implication by mac lovers that those who don't put value in the same thing as them just "can't afford" them.
@Tes It is subjective.
@DoctarPeppar
LOL. Way to get 'the Flash argument' into a discussion about a Mac Mini, this is really getting ridiculous, laughable and sad at the same time, what do you people actuallly do with your computers to be so fricking obssessed with Flash.
Anyway, I believe Boxee is based on XBMC, and XBMC has had HW acceleration on OS X in the daily snapshots for months, so I'd be surprised if you can't get HW acceleration in Boxee as well.
@Tes
Actually, yes, OS X is that much of a value over Windows that I'm glad to pay the premium. (Two Mac Pros and a 17" MacBook Pro and counting at home and work.)
Now, that's for me mind you. Not for everyone. I'm getting to be quite expert in writing Applescripts to make me more productive. For example, one thing I do at work is pull photos out of our DAM. Maybe several hundred a day at times. The biggest problem with our half million dollar DAM is that it doesn't embed metadata into the photos, and our library staff never figured out a workflow to embed the metadata into the images before importing them. But I need the metadata because I help produce textbooks.
Okay, so how do I do it? I export a zip file out of the DAM. I then copy the metadata out of the DAM's spreadsheet view of the metadata and paste it into a Numbers spreadsheet. Excel inserts four blank lines between each row of data because it can't handle pasting certain fields copy/paste. Numbers doesn't do that, thankfully, but I could use Applescript to fix that if I had to. Next I expoert a comma delimited file. I think import that into a Filemaker Pro database.
Now I fire up an Applescript I wrote. It looks at the folder where the files are. It finds the first TIF file and opens it in Photoshop. It then searches one Filemaker Pro database and determines if I already have the image in my Extensis Portfolio database. If it's there, it places it in a folder called "Alraedy have." Then it embeds the metadata into any files that I don't already have and places it in a Folder called "Processed files." If finds the next TIF file and repeats the process. Then it places all the original files in a folder called "Original Files."
The result is I have all my files with embedded metadata that would take hours to do by hand in Adobe Bridge, copy/pasting from the DAM. It takes the Applescript minutes to do it.
That's just one of the things I can do with Applescript to make me much more productive. Windows doesn't have a scripting language like that that can take multiple programs (Filemaker Pro + Photoshop + Finder) and turn them into meta applications to do things the individual programs can't do by themselves.
In the past year I can't count the hours it's saved me as I've processed close to 50,000 images. So yes, OS X offers me way much for my money than the differece between a Mac and a PC, OS X and Windows.
You asked. :-)
@everyone does
What's you're point because I don't get it? That different people have different idea's about price and value? If so, that's exactly my point, apparently people here don't care about anything but specs, but can't imagine someone else doesn't give a crap about specs, but happily spends more $$$ for something that looks nice and is small andeasy to to install and use.
Please enlighten me: what is 'elitist' about my comment about expensive cars and where did I say I assume people don't like this because they can't afford it? The fact that I can't afford buying an Audi only applies to myself you know, I'm not saying the typical engadget commenter dislikes the Mac Mini because they can't afford it. Just trying to draw a comparison between stuff that's nice but expensive, and stuff that's cheap but a lot less desirable, for whatever reason.
@Elranzer
I just really hope that people have enough common sense to NOT buy a product with THOSE specs at THIS price … !!!
@drange
Are you a moron? Flash is used on thousands of video content providers to stream HD video through a web browser...so NO hardware acceleration for any of that if you buy this overpriced piece of crap. BTW, don't engadget use Vimeo alot, which do not support HTML5 yet? Sucks :)
And where are you seeing that XMBC has hw acceleration for OS X?
It does but ONLY for H.264 -- no xvid or other codecs (Windows and Linux can do HD acceleration on just about every codec known to man with XMBC AND Boxee), and in order to even achieve this, the CPU is _still_ bogged down because it has to copy and converting the video frame from UYVY422 (VDADecoder’s native format) to YUV420P (XBMC’s internal format), so it's a half assed solution ANYWAYS.
Oh and also, Boxee is based on XBMC, but there is a huge lag -- the latest XMBC core in Boxee doesn't support the H.264 hw acceleration on OS X yet, and probably won't for a long time -- The XMBC version that supported this was only just released in May anyways.
@Leicaman
That's great. And as you said that's you. From the above guys commenting I doubt he's employed in as involved a job as you have.
But serious;y, we're talking about a Mac Mini...this is squarely aimed at the home user. Your example makes perfect sense. Over a year you'll save hundreds of man hours and therefore thousands of £/$'s in the process meaning OSX has paid for itself.
In the home though?
@Tes When it comes to the MB and MBP I would take Apple consumers, supporters and fanboys and say, whatever they want. However, spending this much extra on a device is a bit worse IMO, the main reason is the premium on a device that starts at $700 USD results in too high a percentage of cost versus the power and versatility it buys. Spending 1-300 extra on a device that cost $1500 is one thing, spending a similar premium on this which runs half of that is just beyond the pale.
Donwnrank me.
@DoctarPeppar
Who's calling who a moron dude, maybe you should chill out a little instead of insulting random people on the internet.
Flash DOES have HW acceleration in the beta's, and it works, but it doesn't even matter anyway since a C2D has no issues playing full-screen Flash video anyway. Also, Flash is totally irrelevant if your building an HTPC, since you don't typically play Flash video on it, do you? Last but not least no-one is stopping you from slapping Linux or Windows on it, if it's such a big problem. Really, you're completely out of your mind if you drag any kind of Flash argument in a discussion about Flash on a Mac Mini, since there is no fscking issue with Flash on a Mac Mini anyway.
@Tes The shuttle xs35 is pretty small although that's only an atom board.
@drange
"What do you people actuallly do with your computers to be so fricking obssessed with Flash."
Come on now, you know this site is full of kids pretending to be grown-ups, right? This crowd is *busy* playing games, watching bad network television and surfing porn. No flash means no *work* can get done...
I, on the other hand, do none of the above so flash is only an 'ad delivery mechanism' whose demise I welcome and whose presence I have blocked for some time.
@DoctarPeppar
are you sure about that?
i was at the apple store playing on an ipad, vimeo was the first site i went to, everything worked fine, without flash
@drange
It's not about flash -- it's about how open the OS and hardware are.
Who uses flash on an HTPC? Are you serious!?
You must be one of those people in flash denial...hate to tell you but there are still a lot of content sites that use flash for HD streaming -- and the last time I checked, Anand said the betas weren't working too well and still had significant cpu usage spikes when decoding HD video (sounds alot like the issue with XMBC where frames have to be converted, maybe it's just apple's hw acceleration solution is garbage to begin with all around).
@petebob796
Yeah, I've seen Atom based boxes even smaller, but again...no one is offering the POWER of this in the same form factor. Still too pricey for me. I have a BEHEMOTH of a Windows 7 box in the corner of my living room and I love her. She's called the Bitch and she's fierce.
@Leicaman Pity you can't use Photoshop 64bit though eh ?
@DoctarPeppar
http://vimeo.com/blog:268
@Leicaman To be honest I can't believe how much time you are wasting to do something relatively simple.
@threedeuce5
" plus the Zino still has the biggest flaw in the fact that it runs Windows....."
Umm the MacMini can also run Windows and I could have a Zino running OSX in an hour or two.
Windows Media Center makes Windows worth having Apple can't even touch it for function with several TV cards, TunerFree MCE and Media Browser, there is no better Media Center system on the planet, I know because I've tryed them all in the hope of escaping Microsoft.
@Tes To be honest I look at the xs35 as something silent to run XBMC under the tv.
@drange
I ran across someone's statement that this C2D 2.4 GHz Mac Mini is too underpowered to run HD 1080p without stuttering. Is that true? Isn't the graphics processor capable of doing that much?
I'd still buy one of these because of the terrific form factor but then I'd have to decide to buy the one with the faster processor.
@element4life3 Why? It's a very elegant media centre when running boxee.
@WaltJabsco
...more of the elitist nonsense.
Wasn't there a study referenced on here a while back about how most of the big name luxury vendors have websites that are hip deep in flash.
Perhaps someone wants to browse the Audi website or some such.
....as far as web video goes. Sure you will discount that for as long as it takes you to decide that all of the video in the iTunes store is something to crow about.
Most people aren't exactly launching sputnik with their desktop PCs.
@MosesusedaniPad
...assuming that you could get the nv320 to accelerate your stuff, it should be a snap. Dunno what the Apple specific limitations are. If you were running Windows or Linux, it would certainly be no problem.
The GPU is definitely up to it.
The fact that HD video can be a b*tch to decode is why you have video playback acceleration in GPUs. Brute force decode of HD-PVR recordings and BluRay rips and whatnot take a lot of that brute force.
The fact that your CPU is probably of no use for decoding heavy video is why the CPU is not such an important thing on an HTPC machine.
@LloydChiro
if you want such an unstable, hole-ridden os, then use, say it with me,
BOOT CAMP
@tobsmonster2
That is because Apple has brand loyalty in its fanboys.
@jedi
"...more of the elitist nonsense."
Really? That is what you took away from my comment?
It isn't elitist to have disdain for vapid children's opinions, inane brand battles and fanboy boosterism. That you think the most important thing to do with flash on the web is 'browse luxury items' and fantasize about buying an Audi makes me vomit. Consumerism at its finest.
You can argue about the merits of flash 'til you are blue in the face, however you will never make a compelling argument for its utility. Sorry, 90% of the interweb is just a huge time-sink and the faster everyone realizes that the better off we'll all be.
@threedeuce5 Windows7 has a much better integrated Media Center (not to mention WMC peripherals market) than any of the free software addons for OSX.
Many consider W7 to have eclipsed Snow Leopard's minor update, but when it comes to HTPC functionality, W7 is the clear superior product.
That then leaves you hardware differences. This is superior hardware to the Zino HD in terms of performance, but they are both the same footprint, and the Zino is more power efficient and offers more convenient front facing USB, SDHC, audio, BluRay, eSATA and a faster desktop harddrive up to 2TB capacity for storing movie and music collections (or in my case also a DVR) at a fraction of the price.
AMD Athlon X2 6850e, 4GB DDR2, 1TB 7200RPM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330, Blu-Ray/DVDRW Combo, WirelessN, Win7 HP - $559 @ MS Store
Also comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard.
On the Mini, upgrading to 4GB RAM, half the storage capacity, and a wireless mouse and keyboard bumps the price to $1040. If you check the AV Forums, you can see clearly the spec'ed Zino is more than fast enough for BluRay and Hulu and the like for HTPC duty, making it a better VALUE IMO, if not the better overall device for the purpose. =)
$560 w/ 1TB and BluRay vs $1040 w/ 500GB and DVD, and thats not counting the slick deals available when Dell outlet has their 15% off sales on refurbs.
Not all of us can afford to be wasteful with our money. =p
@Ducman69 And when it comes to CPU strength, remember that the Zino is running W7 which means flash is offloaded by the dedicated 512mb ATI GPU.
The Mini does NOT have hardware acceleration, meaning it will have to process everything on the CPU alone. Hulu, Youtube, and other sites are still often Flash today.
@Tes Shh, don't tell the folks at macminicolo or xservhosting or macminiworld...
@element4life3
....So... about connecting a computer to your TV..(???).... You wanna get urself a Dell Tower and then..
*facepalm
@Ducman69 have any of you ever actually used Front Row? It's been the best media interface that i've ever used.... but then again I'm a small business owner so I don't have a lot of time to sit around watching pirated movies so the "whole" experience might escape my grasp.