Rumors: Mac Mini Deathwatch

I disagree, Macmini is alive, well & kicking at my house, in fact is has been so good since I purchased the original G4, I just bought the 2nd Intel one the other day. Sure I would have liked it to be a Intel Core 2, but Duo is still a screamer. Apple Insider misses the point, the mini is great if you are a PC guy and want to check out Apple. Sure I could have bought a MacBook with even a faster CPU for about the same money, but with the mini, you don't have to buy another monitor and in most cases a keyboard or mouse. I however elected to replace those with bluetooth to save some USB ports. For me, a laptop lasts about 6 months before it shows signs of wear and the letters are all missing from the keyboard keys, with the mini you can just buy another new wireless keyboard for $59 bucks and have a new computer. The mini is far from being dead.

It would be a huge mistake for Apple to drop the Mini. It's so logical to tell an unhappy PC user to just replace his big, old box with this tiny, reasonably priced high-tech gem and leave the world of endless security exploits behind. I've seen it happen again and again.

The Mini is what brought me to experiment with OS X after 23 years in the world of Windoze and predecessors. Our household now has 2 Minis, an iBook and a PowerBook - and AppleTV I bought to match with the goodies I beta test for HDTV.

Like most Switchers, we had monitors, keyboards and mice at hand. The switch was a piece of cake and the introduction to OS X was an affordable - and expandable - success. We gave away the last Windoze box 6 months ago.

I think AppleInsider's web traffic is down. Not surprising for a bunch of essentially boring single-issue geeks. The only folks who have jumped on this unconfirmed article are the usual suspects, engadget, etc., who get their rocks off on anything that reinforces their twitchy little egos when confronted with the words: Apple, Jobs, iPod.

I'd rate it at two yawns.

As a G4 mini owner since April '05, I've been very happy with this machine. I've considered getting another one just for the pure size of it, being able to put it pretty much anywhere and have it fit.

I certainly hope this is just random speculation on rumor sites and not something serious.

If anything, Apple needs to refresh the mini line (without raising prices like they did when they went from PPC to Intel).

As for the dual monitor support, after reading a lot of these comments, I could see how that would be nice to have, but it's designed to be something for a single user, single monitor solution. I would much rather see Apple come out with a Mac Pro mini that would fit the needs of those that need more than an entry-level Mac.

Methinks Apple is retrofitting things in that price point area to give it a breath of fresh air. I find it hard to believe that the sales were that bad.

The one knock against something in that price range though is that they might be preparing a higher-end AppleTV. I would guess that there is a much bigger profit margin on the AppleTV than the Mac-mini so they wouldn't want to lose $$$ to those who might choose the Mini instead for their media viewing pleasure.

Everyone has an opinion, don't they.

I bought a Mac Mini when they first came out because my PPC minitower was dead in the water. Because it didn't have built in USB it was no longer supported for OS upgrades and I didn't feel like fiddling with 3rd party installers.

I couldn't afford/justify an iMac so the Mini was perfect for me. I spent under $800 and got a brand spaking new computer. Granted I added a wireless keyboard and mouse and added the BT option (wish I'd added Airport at the time, would have saved myself some bucks) but it was still UNDER $800.

and I plan to buy another one. Although I can't quite decide if I should give my mini to hubby (who's 700mhz iMac is just too slow these days) or if I should hook it up to the tv. Decisions decisions. Maybe I should buy TWO mini's.

Hey, I'm not a power user. I surf, manage my website, play lots of games (and not those silly role playing 5gazillionbyte jobs either. simple, easy ones, like Tomb Raider, Luxor, Mystery Case Files ... you get my drift). The mini suits me just fine. And just for the record, I've been using an Apple computer in one way or another since 1982 (I believe that was the year the Apple //e was introduced).

I do all the work on our machines. Well, I DID until I couldn't pry the lid off my Mini -- that's my only gripe about this machine, btw. I'm tired of fussing with upgrades. Give me something that works for 5-7 years and I'm happy.

I say, long live the Mini! It's a wonderful little machine.

As I see it (for those who remember your SAT test):

iPod video:iPod nano::Mac mini:Apple TV

I don't want an iPod nano because it's not powerful enough for my desires. Neither is the Apple TV.

On the bright side, if they do discontinue Mac mini, I'm looking forward to buying one on a closeout sale.

"Basically, that is two 15" screens side-by-side, you are better off with one 24" display, one large, continuous screen vs. two very tiny ones."

Apple's 23" display doesn't offer 2400 pixels of width.

Two 15" displays and a DualHead2Go would be cheaper and wider than an Apple 23", and the buyer might already have one 15" display around.

I can't agree more, I and many people at my office have seriously considered a Mac mini as they don't require a powerhouse for what they do, but they do howeve require multiple monitors so they have always been put aside, we have even looked for external video cards so this could at least be possible, but few if not none work for osx.

If Apple made them dual monitor I can imagine they would sell a lot more, at least from my company.

As for the comment regarding mini's taking awhile from imac sales, I HIGHLY doubt that, minis are very under powered compared to imacs, I would never get one just for dual monitor. I love my iMacs and plan on getting a 24" once the refresh comes out. Your argument is like buyng a bagel because a sub sandwhich is too much. Its not a replacement ;) having a mini with dual monitor is a bagel with cream cheese, just extra delicious

It got me to switch! I think it would be a serious mistake to get rid of it without a worthwhile replacement. It's a proven and important product line that will grow apple's business. Not long after getting the mini, i got an ipod.. then another for the wife, then my mother for mother's day, then i got the new aiport extreme. Now a new macbook pro is looking pretty good. All because of the entry level mac mini.