Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Switchers, Mac mini
Mac mini Core Solo: Not a good switcher machine
I'm
getting a lot of comments on last night's
review of the Mac mini Core Solo, and a lot of Mac faithful are saying that the review is too harsh, that I'm being
too negative, and that the majority of the problems would appear to be software glitches, not hardware. They wonder why
I am currently panning the device in my review.Allow me to offer a very simple rebuttal that I think justifies my negative review. The Mac mini, since its introduction, has been the machine most clearly aimed at switchers. It's a small, supposedly inexpensive computer, sans keyboard, mouse, and screen, that any Windows user can buy as their starter Mac. Now, let's overlook for a moment that in Windows land, $600 for a 1.5Ghz processor and a 80GB hard drive is by no means a steal. If you were a first time Mac user, who had long heard the marvels of Mac, the stability of OS X, and had finally gone to purchase one, hearing from all your friends that it would be a paradise of no crashes, no bugs, that it would just work compared to your crashtastic Windows machine, wouldn't you be inclined to return it if you encountered all the little glitches I've encountered over the past 24 hours?
I honestly think that if a substantial number of other Mac mini users are encountering the same problems that I have been encountering, that releasing the machine at this price point and with these problems could in the long run prove to be a huge marketing mistake on Apple's part.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jim of Davao said 8:48AM on 3-06-2006
$600 might indeed be just too pricey for some to switch. Apple should've kept the $499 price tag on a basic Intel Mac mini.
With the glitches that you encountered, I too might have second thoughts if I were a switcher.
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Bill said 8:48AM on 3-06-2006
I'm not going to disagree with you, I just wanted to say that I've always had something of a problem with the mini being placed in this "Switcher's Role."
I've always thought the computer that made more sense on that "front line" was the iMac. The iMac embodies everything Apple currently stands for: sleek design, "it just works," less to think about, etc. The mini, if it is indeed your first computer (or first computer in a few years) will require at least the purchase of a new keyboard and mouse (no PS/2 ports). And if you truly want the machine to maintain some auora of it's heritage, you'll need to buy a new monitor as well (and presumably if you're already in an Apple Store, you'll pay the Apple premium so all your things match). Once you do all that, it makes more sense to buy an iMac.
If you ask me, the mini is a great marketing tool ("Look, we have a cheap Mac!"), but when you get down to it, the best deal Apple offers is still the iMac. The mini really serves its purpose for people with spare income or Mac zealots who have to own all that Apple releases. At least that's just what I think.
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C.K. Sample, III said 8:56AM on 3-06-2006
Bill, agreed. The iMac is the best switcher machine. My 17-inch Core Duo is great.
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starwxrwx said 9:14AM on 3-06-2006
I recently read 'Infinite Loop' about the early days of Apple, and the new Mac mini seems right out of those pages! A great product idea that somehow doesn't meet its price point or functionality due to a mix of decisions, yet will still sell and make a buck. Lets hope it funds those few future ace products that make this whole journey worthwhile...
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Jer said 9:40AM on 3-06-2006
Could you better enumerate the problems you are having? I've read your review a couple of times and am unsure what the issue(s) really is. It sounds like you didn't like what a couple dialogs said and that some of your (non-itms) videos might not be streaming properly over the brand-new bonjour streaming?
Did you try the hints that folks passed on? Sounded reasonable suggestions.
Out of curiosity why do you think this has anything to do with switchers? A couple text dialogs aren't going to make them wish they hadn't switched. And, seriously, how many first time Mac users are going to be using bonjour video streaming right out of the box.
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Stephen Antonucci said 9:48AM on 3-06-2006
Great review. I have had nothing but problems with my PPC Mac mini. It has had a bad video card from day one that after being on for awhile will freeze and the video would tear. Two trips to an Apple Store did no good as Apple has no drop off service and would NOT test it for more than a few minutes, never seeing the problem. Now it is so bad the video now dies in the first few minutes. Even with AppleCare, they will not allow me to mail it to them to fix it! They gave me four Apple Reseller repair places in my area in NJ, which three of them are OUT of Business! So now I am expected to take this to an Apple Store and wait a few more hours, not exactly good service.
I was considering replacing my lemon PPC Mac mini with a new Intel one. But after reading your review, I will NOT but it! Apple quality control is in serious doubt now and their AppleCare program plain stinks.
I am a longtime user, a member of the Apple Consultants Network, and a member of the Apple Developers Connection. I am having serious doubts recommending Macs to people now-a-days!
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fishpatrol said 10:13AM on 3-06-2006
$600 can buy a lot in the PC world, but what can you get in this form factor? I know Apple's not offering a Core Duo model in a big beige box for $700, but you aren't helping your case much to compare apples to oranges.
I definitely agree that that $499 price point looks great on paper. Scores real well on the Spousal Acceptance Factor. I bought the model without WiFi and wish I hadn't. I know forcing prospective buyers to "upgrade" doesn't sit very well with lots of people, but Apple seems to go through cycles of adding and trimming down the models available in a single line of machines, and this is a spot where they're cutting back.
I just don't see any qualitative measures comparing this machine to any other on price-per-performance or anything else. If you don't like the machine and want to take it back, go for it. It's your machine, your cash. If you're warning me off it, a System Profiler screen and software that doesn't have the features you want seem like really arbitrary measures.
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Mike Shaffer said 10:15AM on 3-06-2006
OK, let's look at this objectively.
Let's compare a comparible Wintel to the Mactel mini. I chose the Dell Dimension B110. With a Celeron D 325/512MB RAM/80GB HD/no monitor/CDRW+DVD it's $429 minus a $50 rebate. Reasonably comparible to the mini. Maybe the Core Solo performs better than the Celeron, don't really know, but let's give the edge (albeit probably slight) to the newer CPU. The Dell has integrated sound, graphics and wired networking and they throw in a keyboard & mouse. The mini has 802.11g, bluetooth plus wired networking, graphics and sound. Maybe the Firewire port has some value to you, but probably not if you're looking at the Dell Celeron. The Mini is $599 or $220 more expensive. What's an 802.11g card/USB dongle cost these days? From NewEgg: XTERASYS XN-3134G USB 2.0 Wireless LAN Adapter - Retail $17.99 Bluetooth? -- BLUETAKE BT009SI Bluetooth USB Adapter - Retail $15.00. So you add $33 back into the Dell, so now the Mini is $187 more expensive. So the extra cost to have an Apple branded computer with a slightly(maybe) faster CPU, with the great and glorious Mac OS X plus iLife is about $187.
I'm not going to say which one is "better", but let's at least compare things accurately and fairly. There has always been a premium to use the Macintosh...it's been there since 1984 and is likely always to be there and it's foolish to think that it isn't that way. But it's also equally as foolish to think that bashing someone because they will pay that is enough to convince them to do otherwise. My experience is that there are two kinds of Mac buyers: ones that are informed and have decided to buy Mac...period. They appreciate a good value, but they are willing to pay the Jobs "tax". The other buyers are the recent "switchers"...intrigued by Apple's UNIX, maybe tired of the Windows Experience, wanting something different, whatever.
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applekoolaid said 10:18AM on 3-06-2006
i couldn't be happier with my coreduo mac mini. it fits perfectly into the niche i was looking for, digital hub. i load my pictures, rip cds and edit dv all on a box smaller than my playstation. i've had no trouble watching videos taken from my dvd collection. i'm also remote controling the mac mini to play music through an airport express via a powerbook. i really enjoy using the machine in the living room. it's also the fatest mac in my house, smoking my 1.5 ghz powerbook.
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jmhandy said 10:46AM on 3-06-2006
Another opinion bites the dust.
(this article)
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GmanMac said 11:14AM on 3-06-2006
You haven't really addresed the contention of many that these problems are software not hardware related.
However, your broader complaint, recommending a glitchy Mac to switchers is valid. I have a reputation as a resident Windows how to guy on a sports and politics internet board I've long been a member of. I've been talking Macs up every chance I get since I started switching over. Another board member, unbeknownst to me, bought an iMac last month or so not long thereafter ran right into one of many iPhoto 5 to 6 upgrade glitch’s and thought he lost dozens of family pictures.
He complained bitterly and rightfully so. I don’t know if Apple is rushing new product releases out without fully testing them, but intellectually, knowing Macs aren’t perfect, it makes it really tough to tout how great they are then have a someone that relied on your advice run smack dab into a really bad glitch like thinking his “perfect” Mac just lost his family photos.
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Dave said 11:22AM on 3-06-2006
I disagree with the notion that the Mini is supposed to be a switcher machine. The Mini's role in switching is to get the potential buyer in the store, but then the buyer does the math: $699 (Mini) + $99 (Keyboard & mouse) + $200 (LCD) = $998 at which point you might as well just buy the 17 inch iMac. Sure, you could go with a kvm switch, but I think in the long term that's just a hassle.
I think the Mini really was intended for two purposes: 1) it's the TRUE video iPod intended to sit on top of your TV in conjunction with some kind of movie download service 2) the computer you'd buy for your mom. A third has evolved with all the modders.
The problems you ran into aren't the problems a switcher is going to encounter, at least not right away. A switcher isn't going to know what Saft is. And a switcher is going to be too busy trying to figure out how to install applications to be bothered with streaming video.
I had a bad Mini experience. I bought one of the rev a's last April. Used it for about six hours until I put it into pretty much my normal working situation: mail open, browser running, Word open, and iTunes running. It did OK but was a little too pokey for my tastes so it went right back to the store.
However...
I found myself missing OS X.
Last fall I was waiting around for Apple to label the stealth upgraded Minis properly. I figured I'd get one to see if I really could switch and then get a rev B Intel iMac next year. Went into the store and found the rev B PPC iMac for $999, did the same math I did above, and walked out of the store with it. Fell in love but regretted my decision to purchase a model without a DVD burner in it, so went back and traded it in on an iSight iMac, $1299.
Four or five months down the line I consider myself well and truly switched. And I plan on getting a rev B Intel Mini for on top of the TV.
I guess I look at it this way -- a bad Mac experience is still better than the average Windows experience. The switchers WANT to be sold and they're going to be forgiving.
That said, I was coming out of the Apple store yesterday and saw a guy coming in to return a Mini. I assumed he was a dejected switcher.
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Greg said 1:56PM on 3-06-2006
The valid issue that's a potential deal breaker to the "switcher" is the Front Row/iTunes instability. It's very serious in that the Bonjour functionality has become the primary selling point of this machine, and if that doesn't work cleanly, why bother? However, you can't blanketly state that all switchers are looking for this functionality in a Mac box (though most of us die-hard Apple and DVR/Video people are). The masses do what? They surf the web, check email, do lite word processing and photo-editing and distribution. Do these same masses need to stream video to and from other computers in their house? Do they need to output it to their HDTVs? Again, my main complaint of the article isn't that you were negative towards the Mini, but that the article did not really state valid reasons backed up by technical data, performance benchmarks, and a thorough analysis of what may have caused your testbed problems. Basically, the article just said Front Row is broken, I hate it. You need to understand why people are not satisfied with this.
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James said 2:50PM on 3-06-2006
People, seriously, pay attention:
There is not Front Row streaming problem.
If a video is not streaming, it hasn't been saved as "hinted" to allow streaming. That is why iTMS files seem to magiclly work while other files don't. To fix this, simply open your video file in Quicktime and export 'movie -> hinted movie'. Problem solved.
C.K., your entire paragraph about Front Row streaming is simply inaccurate. You can complain about having to resave the movies, or that most potential switchers have no way of knowing to do this, but you CANNOT claim Front Row does not work properly.
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John said 3:18PM on 3-06-2006
He can say front row is not working. If it cant stream media from other computers using bonjur, its not doing what it is supposed to be able to do.
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C.K. Sample, III said 3:59PM on 3-06-2006
James, seriously, pay attention:
The problem is with Front Row and I CAN claim that it doesn't work properly, because there are problems with pictures in iPhoto not sharing properly as well as the videos and my videos are already hinted. Here's what happens, as I'll demonstrate in a video podcast playing soon: I select a hinted video that I've created myself. Front Row freezes on a black screen and *may* if I am lucky say that the file is not playable b/c the Front Row server encountered an error. That would be somewhat acceptable, but after this happens iTunes totally freezes and I can no longer connect to the other remote videos I may want to stream.
OR
I launch Front Row and try to view some pictures over Bonjour. The slideshow starts playing with the music, but about 3 pictures in I suddenly get a black screen and the music keeps playing. I mean it cannot even stream pictures!
James, do you have a Mac mini Core Solo sitting in front of you without all these problems, or are you just assuming that I am totally wrong in my assessments of the Front Row performance because that's how you react to most stances that are different from your own?
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Darryl said 4:18PM on 3-06-2006
No one has mentioned this yet but aside from the reduced graphics perfomance of the intergrated chip set, the increased price point certainly makes this less appealing as a switcher machine than the G4 Mini.
But, what I've not heard from any of the pundits or any of the zealots is that the intel core family of processor is considerably more expensive than powerpc G4 & G5 chips.
What is really amazing is that Apple managed to maintain the price points on the iMac and MacBook. This will certain reduce profit % in the current and coming quarters.
Reality is that Apple has actually made a huge concession with it's pricing on the iMac & MacBook.
It's just dissappointing that the entry level mac, though improved in many was, loses some of it's appeal with the integrated graphics chip set and increased price point.
my .02
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Dave said 4:22PM on 3-06-2006
Consider the term "switcher". Three kinds come to mind quickly - and none of them similar to a developer like you CK.
(1) The professional. He/she wants something portable, runs Office, and able to network.
(2) The home user. He/she probably wants to run not just Safari, Mail... but also iWork and/or games too.
(3) The media user. He/she wants something that has less BSOD and complexity than a Media Center, and would love internet connectivity.
Of these, the MM is meant for only one - #3. And it's a very good fit too.
For type #2 you want something different. And yes, Apple has not addressed this niche. For me, that is totally meaningless too.
But I think you are confusing the broad term "switcher" with type #1. These professionals wouldn't want a MM anyways! What they want is a low cost product of a laptop form or close to it. And by April 1 I'm expecting you'll find Apple offering exactly that.
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C.K. Sample, III said 4:58PM on 3-06-2006
Dave, good points, but I'm thinking Switcher as the target of Apple's marketing / Media Event on how great the new Mac mini and Bonjour is.
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nemu said 5:04PM on 3-06-2006
Hmm seems like ars technica doesn't have any problems you mention in their article on the Core Solo
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macmini.ars
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