Mini gets a server-style upgrade

Does anyone know if the Air Superdrive support is carried over to the new Mac Mini's, or is this a feature that's only available to the Mini Server?

I'm not so sure about the longevity of two 2.5in. laptop drives in a server that's running 24/7... I specifically built a somewhat larger server (in a lunchbox) which lives in my closet, just so I could use 3.5in drives.

"as well as media enthusiasts who are looking for a quick and easy way to share their stuff."

what features does OSX Server have that are lacking in regular OSX that would make it worth $500 to the "media enthusiast".

i've been using OSX Server since it was released and on multiple servers and multiple iterations of both hardware and software... and i have NEVER once thought 'oh! this would be *great* for serving media at home! definitely worth $500-$1000!'... and believe me... i definitely am a 'media enthusiast' who stores and serves up media to multiple devices.

so i have both the familiarity with the software and the proposed hobby of 'media enthusiast'... and i can't think of a single reason it would be applicable.

so what *exact* features make the $500 premium of OSX Server a better choice than regular OSX (and *maybe* $25 worth of shareware) for that particular purpose?

Wonder how well it would work with an EyeTV plugged into it? ;)

It looks like the Mini Server can only be ordered with the dual 500 drives. Wouldn't it make sense to have configurations with larger/smaller drives? (If you're going to keep everything on the mini or everything on a drobo)

Anyone else notice the irony of the Mini server with no optical drive and a DVD propped up behind it?

Well, all those copies of SL server will be hitting ebay soon. Wish they had the 10-client version as an option - I don't need the file sharing so much (the client limit only applies to the file sharing part).

What people are failing to mention is that this comes with an unlimited user license of Snow Leopard Server. The unlimited user license use to cost $999 by itself about a year ago, before Apple started cutting the price of the server software.

So in effect, you are getting the hardware for free with an unlimited user license on the server software. Good way to justify to the higher ups for a new purchase.

Hmmm....for some reason I keep thinking "Apple TV Pro" when I see this optical driveless wonder. Although personally, I prefer my mini with a DVD drive (they can keep the Blu Ray for all I care).

Can you do an article of how to best use a MacMini Server?
Blue skies!!
Jerry