if we can no longer buy mac minis, what in the world will we use in our lower storage compartment???? Is The Mac Mini Dead?: Apple Stops Mac Mini Shipments to Retailers, Says to Expect No More Apple Stops Mac Mini Shipments to Retailers, Says to Expect No More The Mac mini may be pronounced dead as soon as today's Apple earnings conference call, as two major retailers in Europe have confirmed to me that they can't order any more of the little computers. While this could signal an updated model coming in, they have been told by Apple to expect no more of it. Their impression is that—once again—the Mac Mini may be dead dead DEAD for real, even while you can still order it at the Apple Store. It would be weird to see it go in this time of crisis, but being their worst-selling computer, I'm not surprised. The Mac mini was first introduced in January 2005 at the Macworld Conference & Expo. Labeled by Steve Jobs as the "most affordable Mac ever" it was well received by the critic and public. Apple positioned it as a cheap alternative to the Mac Pro for every PC user who wanted to switch to the Mac without having to buy new peripherals. However, the son of the Apple Cube failed to grab traction, just like its predecesor. As the iMac and MacBooks kept being the number one sellers for the Cupertino company, the Mac mini kept receding into the background, even while receiving six hardware updates since its introduction. The last one was in November 2007, and it's quite outdated compared to the current hardware: Unlike the rest of the Mac hardware, it lacks 802.11n support, uses the older 667 MHz front side bus and 945GM chipset, which is two generations behind everything else. If the termination of the Mac mini is finally confirmed, it will be sad to see it go. Hopefully, this may mean that a new update is in the works or that it will get replaced by something else, but seeing how most people don't seem to give a damn about the Apple Tax, judging from the MacBooks selling like hot cakes at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, I won't count on it.
That's too bad. I always liked the idea of those. Never bought one, though. What Apple Tax? It's the same as the 'hybrid premium' myth. If you compare machines of similar quality and spec, and include the ongoing maintenance costs, there's no real difference.
when i got my mini (intel) i bought the discontinued (g4) apple care plan for $99 and it worked. i used it like 3 times to get new motherboards, a new hard disk, and a keyboard and a mouse, hahaha yeah mac mini's arent meant for 24/7 seti@home use, hahah i also got a new bluetooth module for it, because i always had a problem with the bluetooth reception being weak. there was some early reports that the mac mini's bluetooth module was heat sensitive and would occasionally drop out.
Oh no. Not this argument again. I've argued this til I'm blue in the face - so if you want to believe the equal price myth go ahead.
What? You're giving up on another argument? Could we agree that it depends on the value placed on the intangibles?
Just trying to do my part to keep peace in the world! Anyway, if you are comparing spec to spec you can almost certainly do better pricewise with a PC. But I agree - Apple makes a nice product and if you like the OS better or even just the brand for as you say, an intangible reason, then I have no problem with that.
Do you consider quality and reliability to be "intangible"? I do not. You can get excellent quality from some independent shops. But the cheap brands like Dell cut prices by cutting quality. The specs of speed and size of memory may be the same, but reliability is a very tangible thing, and is worth money. Apple is the Toyota of computers. If GM came out with a car that got the same mileage and acceleration and speed as the Prius and the same interior space for the same price, would you buy the GM? I think not, because you'd know that the Toyota product is better quality and that makes it better value for the money. Same thing if you compare Apple to the cheaper computer brands.
Peace is good, Tim. I prefer that too. As for intangibles, I'm thinking of things like Apple's excellent phone and warranty support, not having to purchase and update virus software, that sort of thing. Yes, issues can be made of these things as well, but in the 'pick any two' of price, quality, and service, my experience has been that any initial 'premium' is more than compensated for in the long run. Like with the Prius, right?
