While the iPhone, iPod and laptops get most of the glory, the Mac mini chugs quietly along, doing its job well and making owners happy. Earlier at my day job, I was working with one of our minis and recognized how I rely on it to perform a critical function without the slightest hesitation. In other words, it's time to give the little guy some recognition.

When I'm not blogging for you folks, I'm managing the web presence and other tech goodies of a large museum here in balmy Massachusetts. When customers arrive in our lobby, they can view a slide show of what's new via a gorgeous HDTV hung above the ticket counter. Behind the HDTV is a Mac mini running Keynote. Once a week, the art department sends an updated Keynote presentation to the mini via Dropbox. This simple and reliable system is powered by an Intel-based mini.

Here's the best part. Before our guests move on to the exhibits, they view a brief orientation film and slide show that displays sponsor information. Thousands of people watch both the orientation movie and slideshow every week. Behind it all is a G4 Mac mini (pictured on the right*).

This machine has been absolutely rock solid. Again, the art department uploads new slide shows to it via Dropbox and the whole operation couldn't be simpler. When I look at the Laptop Hunter ads, and I see Lauren squealing over her Dell, I think, "Would I trust that machine to do what this mini does when it's 4 or 5 years old? Heck, no." The G4 in question is stock from the factory. Plus, if its HD croaks tomorrow, the only critical bit of data -- the slide show and movie -- lives on Dropbox so we're covered. In a pinch, we've got a Mac Pro that could take on the workload in under 10 minutes.

In a world where the new and shiny gets most of the attention, the plain and reliable is often overlooked. So here's a post to praise the Mac mini. The tiny, go-anywhere, do-anything, ultra-reliable computer that I absolutely love. No wonder there are racks full of them at Macminicolo and other facilities.

Now I'm certain there are others out there with dutiful minis. Home servers, media centers, carputers, etc. If that's you, send a snapshot to Flickr and tag it TUAWmini. We'll post some of our favorites this weekend.

*No, it doesn't live on the floor. I moved it to compose the shot. Rest assured that it was returned to its cozy shelf immediately after.

Every other year for the last 7 years, Shawn King of the Your Mac Life podcast has given the Apple faithful a chance to go on a pilgrimage to 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, the location of Apple headquarters.

As part of our continuing coverage of Macworld Expo 2009, Christina Warren and yours truly hopped on the bus along with about 30 other alpha geeks to visit the Mecca of Macdom and pick up some Apple swag at the Company Store. Former TUAW blogger and Realmac Software PR Ninja Nik Fletcher joined to take photos.

I dropped some spendolas on Apple gear, including a logo hat, long-sleeve black mock tee, polo shirt, and three big coffee mugs. C-mac, being the resident TUAW fashionista, bought an Apple notebook (the kind with paper sheets in it), a couple of pens, a navy hoodie, a knit cap, two caps (one knit, one military), and a short sleeve tee.

There were several prize drawings on the ride home, and I won an 8GB blue iPod nano courtesy of a "Secret Santa." Suh-weeet!

It's too late to join this year's Tour de Cupertino, but keep your eyes and ears open before future Macworld Expos to see if Shawn is planning another trip. Check out the gallery below.

It looks like a lot of you TUAW readers have been pimpin' yo ride with Apple vanity plates.

After a couple of weeks of waiting for these plate pics -- several readers had to wait for their cars to be detailed before shooting the glamour shot -- TUAW is proud to present this gallery of Apple cultism on wheels. Enjoy!

In the past few years, Apple has moved beyond computers and operating systems to create other digital devices. The iPhone is a marvel, as is the iPod. But what did you expect for a company that's know for impecable, thoughtful design?

Now, what would happen if Apple took on even more projects? It's fun to think about, as the folks at la Repubblica have done. Check out their collection of 19 "impossible objects," as designed by Apple (if only in their imaginations). Our favorites include the fire extinguisher (what exactly comes out of that thing?) and the iBal (yes, it's what you're thinking).

Thanks, Marco!

Click To Play

Another crew awaits the iPhone. The six guys in the front are all high school students who are getting $250 a head to pick up iPhones for well-heeled customers.

Leander Kahney and Pete Mortensen at Wired's Cult of Mac have penned Ten Questions Apple Must Answer in 2007, an article which thankfully delves beyond the typical 'where's my iPhone?' to examine interesting aspects of Apple's future. Leander and Pete briefly discuss that second campus Apple recently bought, what they see as the company's relatively stagnating industrial design, where the iPod can go next and - of course - whether Apple can stay successful once Jobs inevitably steps down. The article is a nice, short summary of many of the key points Apple very well has to wrangle with during the next year, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Someone must love you, since there was a shiny new Mac waiting under the tree for you this morning. I know you're excited to get it up and running, and it'll be easier than you think. There are some tips I would like to share with you, oh newly inducted acolyte to the Cult of Mac, that should make your Mac adventure even more fun.

Toss aside the included mouse: All desktop Macs now come with the Mighty Mouse (except the Mac mini, of course), which is a multibutton mouse that pretends to be a one button mouse. Toss it aside and get yourself a real mouse (the Logitech MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse is currently my favorite mouse of all time). If you received a portable Mac you should also pick yourself up a mouse. The included Trackpad is nice, but a mouse is much nicer.

Download Quicksilver and Growl: You might not get why Quicksilver and Growl are awesome. You might not get it for awhile, but when it clicks your Mac experience will become even better. Trust me, would a blogger lie to you?

Enable Tabbed Browsing in Safari: Launch Safari, go to 'Preferences,' 'Tabs,' and check the 'Enable Tabbed Browsing.' You might also want to check out many of the Mac only variants of web browsers: Omniweb, Optimized Firefox, Camino (which is still my personal favorite), and Shiira.

Drag your Applications folder to the Dock: I wrote a post, about a year ago, detailing how to move your hard disk into the Dock for easy access. I have since amended my setup to include only the Applications Folder in the Dock, since that is where I needed to go most of the time anyway. Follow the instructions in my previous post, but just drag the Applications Folder in the Dock instead of the entire hard disk.

Charge the battery, but not too much: If you found a MacBook or MacBook Pro under the tree make sure that you plug it in the first time you use it. Apple has a list of tips for maximizing the battery life of portables, give it a read to ensure many happy cycles on your battery.

Read TUAW: I admit that I am a little biased, but we here at TUAW strive to be that Mac geek friend of yours that knows where to find all the cool Mac stuff on the web. Our knowledgeable bloggers (and me!) are always ready with new tips, tricks, and news to share so make sure you come back often.

Pete Mortensen, writing on Wired's Cult of Mac blog, is looking for Jack Miller of As the Apple Turns. The site hasn't been updated in a long while, Jack isn't returning emails, nor is he returning phone messages.

If anyone knows about this where abouts please let Pete know, he's worried (and now I am as well).

Ah, As the Apple Turns. It was the first Apple related site I would visit with regularity.

Leander Kahney, author of the successful Cult of Mac book, has posted an interesting gallery of Apple fan art at Wired. While I think I recognize some of these images from browsing the Cult of Mac book at the local bookstore, this gallery is an interesting look into just how far Apple's loyal following are willing to go to show their love for the Mac.

While I'm glad to see posts like this, I have to wonder: where are the Cult of Windows books and art galleries?

I've seen this pic before, but it's getting the traffic over at Digg, so I thought it worth pointing to again. Here's the full-size picture of the cover of the premiere issue of Macworld, featuring Steve Jobs, not in jeans and a turtleneck as a friend to the consumer, but in a suit, trying to sell the Mac to the world. He also seems to be doing some sort of Jesus's arms in the Last Supper painting thing with the way he's hovering over those three Macs.