A recent post at hicksdesign on turning a Mac Mini into a media center is very serendipitous for me, as I'm currently researching options (and buying hardware) to do just that. I've acquired a Mini, a couple of hardwareitems that I'm trying to decide between and several softwaresolutions that I'm putting to the test.
The post serves well as an update to some of our previous thoughts and takes into account some hardware and software updates. Among other things, the post discusses the decision between the Apple TV and the Mini, the virtues of Front Row 2, external hardware, and some great software tips.
Admittedly, my current solution is the result of hours of hacking and wiring and runs on a PC. I've been itching for a couple of years to make the whole system Mac-based. The hicksdesign post, along with all of myotherresearch, should lead to a system that puts my current HTPC to shame.
Remember the Mini? If you're in a retro mood today, you can pick a 4GB iPod up at sellout.woot for just $79 + $5 S/H. It's not a bad deal on an outdated iPod. In contrast, new 2GB shuffles are selling at Apple for $69 and refurbs 4GB nanos for $129 (including $15 gift cards). TUAW reader Greg writes that it's the perfect iPod for leaving in the car.
Steampunk. Since the late eighties, the genre has spawned a diverse lineup of books, movies and – perhaps most importantly – hardware mods. The playground ranges from Nerf guns to revamped R2D2s, but computers have likely been one of the most attractive targets for Steampunk modders. Sadly, the romantic vision of technology-sans-silicon has been heavily oriented towards the PC platform, leaving most Macs untouched by the fog of steam and coal smoke.
A new entry in the Mac category – created by one Dave Veloz for his wife – takes on a Mac Mini and forges a machine that Captain Nemo would be proud to use. The keyboard may be familiar, and the monitor is an evolution of previous works, but the treatment of the Mini and gold lettering in vintage Victorian style brings the full package together in a wonderfully Mac-centric, Steampunk fantasy vision with superb attention to detail. And all that work didn't just sit around looking pretty: the final product was set up at Dave's wedding to display a slideshow of engagement photos.
We at TUAW would like to extend a hearty "hurrah" to Dave for what may be the coolest mod ever to befall a Mini. Maybe even cooler than the Millenium Falcon mod. And yes, that can be taken as an official challenge: show us what you've got!
David Clausen decided to celebrate the Mac's longevity by making something special. So, he gutted the case of a 512K Mac (the case is in great shape, by the way), then inserted the workings of a Mac mini and a grayscale monitor. Add to that a LS-120 floppy disk drive and a custom-built USB microcontroller (to use the original mouse and keyboard), and you've got one badass compact Mac. For more detail, check out the Flickr Set.
All because he wanted to "...experiment with creating a custom USB device." That's one heck of a device. Hey Dave, if you decide to sell these, let me know.
Here's an awesome project from over at 123Macmini-- James Colby hollowed out a Classic Mac, and stuck a ripped apart mini in there along with a new LCD, took Finder out of the interface and sent it straight to Front Row, and bingo-- a Classic mini jukebox. And I especially like that the Classic was named Morris and the (10 minute old) mini was named Frank, so together, they're Frankenmorris. Cute.
It's a tight fit to get all that stuff in there and working, but it's even more amazing that he was able to get everything out of there-- as he said, he had to cut the front off of the CRT. The front also looks nice considering he made a few cuts there, to let the floppy take in a DVD, and another hold for the IR receiver.
But the end product looks great. One more reason why the mini, despite recent rumors, should stay right where it is.
I love the Mac mini. It's the perfect computer. Small, cheap, embed-able, media-friendly. And today, the Steve announced that the mini line was not only not doomed but that it would receive a hardware refresh. Today! All of us who love the mini have been on pins and needles. It turns out not only were the rumors of its demise premature but today we're treated to a newly upgraded line. Yay!
New units will ship with 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz processors and 80 GB and 120 GB drives. You can upgrade to 160 GB hard drives, up to 2GB of RAM, and a slot-loading Dual-Layer supporting super drive (the DL drive is standard with the 2.0 GHz model). You can even pair it with one of those spiffy new keyboards.
A while ago, Derek Powazek proposed an idea for a mini Mail window based on the functionality of iTunes' mini option; hit the best fit button - the green one - in iTunes to get an idea, or simply check out Derek's post for an actual screenshot mockup of the concept. Fortunately, John Gruber just caught that OliveToast software literally ran with the concept, releasing - to my absolute delight - a MiniMail plug-in for Apple Mail.
As you can see, MiniMail allows users to simply hit Mail's best fit button (or choosing Window > Zoom) to condense it to a 'just what you need' view, offering a customizable preview area and three menu buttons for performing a healthy set of operations. Fortunately, keyboard shortcuts still work fine as well, so ⌘-n will create a new message. Even using the arrow keys works for moving back and forth in the message list, and thankfully, the list of mailboxes is customizable for this view as well so you can see just what you need.
After a few minutes of tinkering with the demo while writing this post, I'm happy to say that the receipt for my $9 license just arrived. MiniMail rocks, and I'm so glad someone brought Powazek's concept to life, as this is the perfect compromise that I've been looking for between constantly hiding and showing Mail while still making it easy to do basic things in it on the fly. Thanks, OliveToast software.
Is the Mac Mini doomed? According to this AppleInsider article, it just may be. Kasper Jade writes that the mini is underpowered compared to the rest of the Mac product line and has seen far fewer hardware refreshes. Add to that relatively low unit margins for the hardware and the emergence of Apple TV, which replaces the mini as a lower-cost media server, and Jade sees that the end approacheth.
I'd be sad if Apple discontinued the mini line even if I've had some issues with its design, particularly its lack of dual monitor support. I know that's a strange quibble to have with an otherwise well priced and moderately powerful unit, but it's the single issue that has kept it off the desktop of many of my friends and colleagues.
Sure there's that new gadget that's supposed to debut any second--what is it again? Apple Radio? Banana TV? Something like that--but why fork out three hundred clams[1] when you could attach your Mac Mini directly to your TV and watch your iVideos without any further fuss or muss? Think about it. Full connectivity, full compatibility--Xvid, DivX, whatever format pleases your fancy. Here's a quick how-to.
[1] That is, of course, three hundred US clams, which comes to about two hundred and twentyfive euroclams or a hundred and fifty four Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowens or equivalent sea-briton.
I admit it: I'm a sucker for car computers. The mini just makes so much sense for getting your Mac on while cruising down the highway. Sam Garfield has a beautiful take on the mini based carputer in his Subaru WRX. He's using a touch-sensitive 7" LCD with a Front Row like interface called AMP. It really is a professional looking mod; I think my family may need to keep me away from the car for a while so I don't tear it up.
This is brilliant. Absolutely awesome. Simon realized that begging for an iPod Hi-Fi probably wasn't going to get him anything but scorn and pity from his friends, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Armed with two ceiling speakers used for sorround sound systems, two original Mac cases, and some powertools, Simon went to work on one of the coolest Mac mods I have seen in a very long time.
A few hours, some cans of white spray paint, and you have the two coolest desktop speakers ever. Complete with battery power, line-in, and carrying handle, the new iPod Hi-Fi mini will be the rage all all of your summer parties.
We're receiving tips that the Apple Store UK has begun quietly dropping prices on a few of Apple's products. Specifically, both versions of the iPod nano are reportedly down £10 each, while the 1.66 Ghz Mac mini has been lowered £70. The iMac is also alleged to have received a price drop, though reports don't have prices for comparison.
Again, I personally can't confirm these reports, as I live in the US and typically shop in that store, so take this with a grain of salt and try to keep speculation within bounds.
Macenstein has blogged a Mac mini CPU swap, as a poster in a Taiwanese forum has switched out the Core Duo chip for a Core 2 Duo chip, a next-generation CPU from Intel. The brain upgrade has resulted not only in the Mac mini stomping a PowerMac G5 dual 2.5 GHz in an iTunes MP3-AAC conversion test (remember: Mac minis have slower laptop hard drives than desktop PowerMacs), but it also runs cooler, due to the new architecture of these Core 2 Duo (code name: Merom) Intel chips.
Given reports like this of these new chips, we might as well talk about the elephant in the room: if these reports of cooler running and even more powerful chips so soon from Intel are true, I foresee a lot of criticism of Apple jumping the gun on cramming Intel chips into their present lineup, in light of all these complaints about heat.
Each week, we recap the Rigs of the Day that have graced our pages over the past seven days, and crown a "Rig of the Week." Here is the current entry.
Reader *nathan asks, "Where did the computer go?" Let's hope he got that thing back together. jasonsewell wow'd us with the 50" TV connected to his Mac mini running FrontRow. His set up makes the TV I won in college in 1989 seem even more pathetic.* In fact, we were so stunned by jasonsewell's set up, what we went on a bit of a multimedia rig frenzy. Reader ICULOOKN had a similar arrangement, with the clever addition of an iSight camera, and beenester decided to use a G5 Powermac as his multimedia Mac. Very cool.
So which is the Rig of the Week? We've got to go with Zennifer's floating iMac. Sure, the swivel arm is kind of bulky, but you won't see it while working. We really like it. Well done!
If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We select one image to highlight each day, and crown a Rig of the Week on Sundays.
*Yes, I still use a TV I got in college in 1989 as my primary TV. It's sad.
We blogged the iPhoto mini widget back in December, and since then it has received quite the feature update and face lift. The widget is now resize-able and just plain sexier. In addition to being able to browse all your iPhoto albums complete with image counts, you can now set the current image as your desktop wallpaper with a single click. The little gear icon you see offers the ability to open the current image in four apps: Preview, Mail, Safari and a custom app you can define on the back of the widget.
The iPhoto mini widget is free and available from DashboardWidgets.
A recent post at hicksdesign on turning a Mac Mini into a media center is very serendipitous for me, as I'm currently researching options (and buying hardware) to do just that. I've acquired a Mini, a couple of hardware items that I'm trying to decide between and several software solutions that I'm putting to the test.
Forget the 
Here's an awesome project from over at 123Macmini-- James Colby hollowed out a Classic Mac, and stuck a ripped apart mini in there along with a new LCD, took Finder out of the interface and sent it straight to Front Row, and bingo-- 
I love the 
Is the Mac Mini doomed? According to 
We're receiving tips that the Apple Store UK has begun quietly dropping prices on a few of Apple's products. Specifically, both versions of the iPod nano are reportedly down £10 each, while the 1.66 Ghz Mac mini has been lowered £70. The iMac is also alleged to have received a price drop, though reports don't have prices for comparison.
Each week, we recap the Rigs of the Day that have graced our pages over the past seven days, and crown a "Rig of the Week." Here is the current entry.
We 
