Filed under: Macworld, Hardware, Rumors, Mac mini
Rumor Watch: New Mac mini go for launch
When it comes to the Mac mini, there are people out there who know everything there is to know... and now, those savvy sources are telling TUAW that they are confident a new Mac mini is set to be announced at Macworld Expo 2009 next week. While many details are still vague -- we still have no idea if the dimensions of the new mini are at all different from the existing model -- some details are starting to emerge.First, the internal optical drive is changing to a SATA optical drive that can be swapped out for a second SATA hard drive, probably as a build-to-order (BTO) option. For those using Mac minis as departmental / small business servers, having a second internal hard drive adds a great deal of utility to the mini in a server role; RAID 1 mirroring becomes simple. Companies like MacMiniColo.net that colocate thousands of Mac mini servers will save rack space as external drives will no longer be mandatory for backups.
The second detail is that the new Mac mini won't be
For those of you who have been hoping for a new mini, there are many signs that your dreams are about to come true.
Thanks Mr X!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Yazdgerd said 7:19AM on 12-31-2008
Black, perfect mate for my new shiny wide screen Samsung monitor. WOOT!
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SnuGG said 7:23AM on 12-31-2008
http://therundown.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2008/12/30/apples-responsibility-to-shareholders-on-jobs/
Thought you guys might want to read this.
Also, I can't wait to see what the new mini has as far as hardware specs.
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robogobo said 1:16PM on 12-31-2008
nothing new there.
Vince said 5:50PM on 12-31-2008
Fox Business, hah! What a joke...
Marco said 7:28AM on 12-31-2008
Excellent!
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Torben said 7:35AM on 12-31-2008
Perfect. I want it with the 9600 nvidea gfx.
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Andy said 7:40AM on 12-31-2008
so, do we get this tiny one?
http://flickr.com/photos/superfrunny/3130342705/
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Simon Arch said 12:57PM on 12-31-2008
Half past never.
john said 8:11AM on 12-31-2008
please please please let there be firewire
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Ed said 8:47AM on 12-31-2008
You can be pretty sure there won't be.
Le Big Mac said 9:24AM on 12-31-2008
Why, Ed? Sure, if FW is dead. But is it, or was that just a rationalization for the MB? Seems the Mini, especially when used as a low-cost server, could benefit from something better than USB2 for hooking up externals.
brian said 10:24AM on 12-31-2008
Sadly, I'm willing to bet that the (low-end, consumer) Mac mini will go the same route that the MacBook did: no FireWire, and DisplayPort instead of DVI. I'd love to be wrong, though, but those are my predictions. OTOH, a Mini booted off of two SATA HDDs in RAID-0 would be pretty sweet (fast!) Oh, and I bet there will be a SSD option too.
The most important thing is that a revised Mini will push the prices of used ones down even more. :-)
Greg said 4:51PM on 12-31-2008
I'm pretty sure it will use DisplayPort so that they can deal with HDCP issues and be able to deliver all of the content through the box to the TV set.
That is, if there is such a box coming.
KA said 10:10AM on 1-01-2009
"low-end, consumer"
Many people use the mini as a server. Losing Firewire would be annoying, to say the least. There is a chance that Apple might say the second hard drive negates the need for Firewire, but this is not the case. I would be less surprised if Apple upgraded it to FireWire 800, despite the distinct un-pro-ness of the mini.
glad said 8:25AM on 12-31-2008
I hope they will make it easy for the memory to be added as the current mac mini is a real pig to install extra memory. I have some bought but it's been sat there two months as I don't have a few hours to waste. Depending on what the new ones are like I might just buy it and sell the old one but if no firewire then it stays at home.
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Paul said 11:21AM on 12-31-2008
glad,
Even my non-geeky sister upgraded the memory in her mini in half an hour. She had to remove the case twice when one of the DIMM's wasn't seated. I told her to reboot before she put the case back on but she didn't listen.
brian said 10:50AM on 12-31-2008
It's really not that bad. Just get a skinny metal putty knife and sandpaper and follow the directions here.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac
It might leave some marks but it's really not a big deal. I like having pristine stuff but I got over it. :-) The main thing is to not be afraid to use a little pressure. You've got to push a bit to get all those little clips to pop.
That said, I agree that the design sucks, but actually getting into it isn't that bad.
brian said 10:52AM on 12-31-2008
Oh, and other than the trip to the store, it's really not "a few hours." More like 10 minutes, tops. 15 if it doesn't want to slide back together just right. It can be frustrating but you won't lose a day. :-)
Travis said 4:58AM on 1-01-2009
It takes all of 10 minutes max to install ram on the mini as long as u have the right tools. Putty knife and micro philips screwdriver.
Ed said 8:48AM on 12-31-2008
If it's cheap, I'll buy one. Really need a media computer to connect up to my projector, rather than having to use my MacBook Pro all the time.
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