How would you change Apple's HDMI-equipped Mac mini?
By Darren Murph 
posted August 13th 2010 11:00PM
posted August 13th 2010 11:00PM
posted August 13th 2010 11:00PM
Apple Mac OS X Lion
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@TastyWheat
Well, for the whole HTPC thing the mini definitely needs a video card that does full h264. Although I don't know that MacOS gets any mileage out of the newer nv320. The nv320 ads accelerated divx decoding and I don't think Apple even supports that. Besides, it's easy enough to do in software.The same goes for the MPEG2 acceleration in the nv9400.
In general, MacOS seems unecessarily hostile toward "legacy" systems of all sorts. It could be USB or DOS/Windows/Linux. It just doesn't like to play nice with other people's stuff and it makes the product more complex than necessary to deal with.
There really isn't any good reason that MacOS can't boot from a disk with a BIOS partition table.
In general, Linux and Windows will probably exploit the hardware better than MacOS does.
@jedi
You are aware that Apple has been using EFI (BIOS successor which is expected to become standard) for years now, right? In order for it to boot a BIOS/MBR disk they'd have to implement an EFI module for it which ultimately doesn't make much sense. EFI and GUID partition tables are the future and Windows 7 supports most of it and of course Linux. There is no need to backtrack and support legacy boot disks when they are being phased out anyway, and of course Mac OS X is the expected OS for their computers so why should they complicate their EFI implementation when their own Bootcamp routine works around it well enough.
i would put a xfi chip on that so it would sound better :D
How about a docking station for the mac mini. I find myself using my mini as a HTPC in my living room and also at my desk. it's a pain to have to unplug all the cables when I want to take it from my desk to my living room and vice versa. I would love to have 2 docking stations, 1 at my desk and then 1 at my TV so I can easily use it in both locations. This way I don't have to connect and disconnect cables every time I want to change where I use it. Also the SD card on the back is not a good location. The front or side would have been a better choice.
Take the apple off the top. Which would reduce the price 150+.
i bought one, and its everything that i need. I think its brilliant
Offer colors and then throw it in the lake
Infrared keyboard, Projected display, beefier CPU, two interfaces regular OS and other like Apple T.V. or a separate icon for Apple T.V.
I've had a mac mini since the first one, although I upgraded to the Intel version. It runs windows xp exclusively, and runs it fine. I tried OSX but it locked up on applications just as much as windows did, and didn't have near as many available, so what was the point? But as a nice small quiet windows machine, its fine.
Remove the apple logo, drop the price 100 dollars, put decent ram in it and a better hard drive.
I just changed the internal HD to a 256BG SSD disk to my already very expensive MAC. Now its kinda super fast......
A i7 intel CPU would be on my wish list as well as a blu-ray reader.
The mini mac with a SSD disk would probably would sell for > $2000, good luck with that.
1. Make it $599
2. Core i3 at least
3. 4GB RAM standard
4. Easy access to HDD
I was waiting to upgrade mine, but at the current price with those specs, hell no. In a sense, an entry level iMac would be a better bargain. I think Apple doesn't really care about the Mac Mini.
@designtech
What's up with all the price demands? Do you know this is Apple we are talking about? Maybe it's because I had some spare change laying around but to me the Mac Mini isn't out of control in its pricing. I did pay $600 for a refurbished... My one complaint is the HD size. If Apple is not going to but in a BR player then they should at least put in a 1TB HD. The processor is outdated but the same as the Mac Book and Macbook 13" which are all Entry level notebooks for their priced categories. I wouldn't doubt if Apple's next generation Mini has the Intel core 2 duo as the base and the i3 as the server/upgrade. The core 2 duo will then be dropped to $599 and the i3 priced at $700/750. The processors have never really been the issue for the Mini's and they always had a meager processor.
@jrasero
Basically the Mac Mini isn't a good buy in terms of price/performance relative to the iMac or any PC. If you buy an Apple KB/Mouse and an IPS monitor, it comes out to be more than the entry level iMac. And it has a smaller HDD, inferior graphics, less memory, and less features to boot. Compared to a PC, you can get a Dell with a Core i3 with 4GB RAM for $499.
This is suppose to be an entry level Mac, it should be priced better relative to the other Macs. It's fine if you think it's a fair price, but I think most here disagree. I certainly won't buy it at this price.
1) swap the HDMI connector for a DVI connector - drive 2 monitors
2) price it at $499
3) go back to the older, better form factor (this one wastes more desk)
4) integrate a real graphics subsystem
...oh, and if they ever want this to be taken seriously in the living room... it has to have bluray and do 1080p efficiently. Period. End of story. Jobs has his head up his HDMI port on this one. On the other hand, if it's a *computer* they're selling, it doesn't need bluray *or* HDMI.
I'd ditch the slot loading DVD drive. They look cool, but really suck when a disc gets stuck.
@aikiwolfie
The best selling console this generation (Wii) has a slot loading drive, and having discs stuck isn't an issue I've heard and it's certainly not a common problem. Plus it's not just about looking nice, it allows for a much smaller form factor. Less moving parts is always nice too, I don't want a spring tray on a portable computer like this.
They should just ditch the optical drive altogether, who actually uses them nowadays? Very few with flash drives today aside from rare occasions, and for those that do USB optical drives are cheap enough.
- Have an option to exclude optical drive for non-server version, and perhaps an additional HDD instead (flash drives make these nearly obsolete, and USB optical drives are available)
- Include a SATA3 hard drive, fully compatible with this Mini yet they use an older SATA2
- Take advantage of HDMI 1.4 which has been available for over a year now. (Only supports 1.3)
- Come equipped with at least 4GB on base model like rest of lineup, 2GB isn't ideal
- A processor refresh wouldn't have hurt (Core "i" series)
- Include an Apple Remote
- Include Mini Displayport->DVI converter instead of HDMI->DVI
The price was a little steep, but I don't regret my purchase and I'm overall pleased but a few of their decisions don't make much sense to me.
The current hardware is overkill for many HTPC and desktop purposes. If they had a bare-bones model for $499, and allowed me to pick and choose the upgrades I want, I might put one in charge of my living room. At the current price, I'm not interested.
Also, the card slot in the back is absolutely useless. I can understand the price point as a strategic decision, but the card slot is just plain bad design.
I love Mac, but this is kind pricey for what it is. No knock on the design, just the price. As for a HTPC, I just built one for under $100 and it plays anything. Took a old AMD single core mobo/cpu, popped a updated GPU and PSU in there and have it hooked to a 46in Toshiba with 5.1 surround. It runs Win7 very well. An HTPC doesn't need much.
To be fair to the price point, this model has considerably more features than the original $499 mini (BT, wifi, FW800, additional USB ports, SD, dual display outputs, better CPU and GPU, aluminum unibody case, etc) and has the lowest percentage profit of any Mac (not that that says much). Additionally, though it doesn't give you the same bang for your buck as the typical PC tower, it's comparably priced to most micro form factor PCs.
Having written all that, I agree with the suggestions to lower the price... The good news for me is that the Apple store provided an EDU discount of $150 instead of $50, making it $549 (and I got a free-after-rebate wifi printer). At that price, it's a decent deal for a living room PC/media center.
I'd want to move the wires elsewhere. If you filled up all 12 connections on the back of the device, it would be a total disaster. There should be some sort of "all-in-one" cable which would move the ports somewhere the mess can be concealed.
I'm a bit surprised that no-one has released something like this as an add-on, something that plugs into the back of the unit, makes it looks nice and then makes the ports available elsewhere like a docking station. Then you can hook up the HDMI, USB, power, etc... all behind some furniture.
Apple needs to add additional USB ports in the front of the case. It's a huge pain in the ass to plug in devices from behind. Sexual Reference Dually Noted.
Put a kick stand on the back and put a edge to edge capacitive touchscreen on the front
And $100s cheaper
Wireless Streaming
1TB HD
i3 Processor would be nice but not really required
4GB RAM Standard
Dual HDMI
Redesign Front Row to be more of the main UI
Apple needs transition into the unlimited streaming per month like Netflix and Hulu. The a la cart is getting old and pricey.