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peter-cohen posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Rumors, Apple, Mac mini

GeForce 9-Series motherboards maybe coming to the Mini

I think that at this point, the Mac mini has moved up into the ranks of the TRS-80 and the Apple IIe as one of my favorite computers of all time. Though it's been rumored dead more times than disco, it's still puttering along as the tiny little computer that could, racking up (we assume -- the mini doesn't carry with it any of the sparkle of the iPhone or the raw beauty of the MacBooks, and so Apple is relatively mum on info) enough sales to keep moving. And there might even be new life in store: Peter Cohen over at MacWorld suggests that after the recent MB and MBP updates, the mini is last in line to ditch the old Intel integrated motherboard design.

Sounds great to us. The mini's so under the radar that you wouldn't even expect Apple to announce an upgrade for it -- it just sort of slipped up to Core Duo 2 the last time it got upgraded, like a cute little baby bear following the family. And it's a versitile little cubby, too, from taking it out to sea to turning it into a Mac Pro mini.

What a great little computer. We hope that the Nvidia GeForce 9-series motherboards do find a home in there, and (more than anything else) that Apple sees fit to remember their roots and keep creative computing with the tinest Mac alive.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Rumors, Odds and ends, Apple, Mac mini

Gamers and the faster iMacs

Peter Cohen over at Macworld continues his sideline analysis of Apple's gaming chances with a post about how the brand new faster iMacs are indeed faster, but still not fast enough for gamers. And to a certain extent, he's right -- gaming on the Mac is like that old beat-up, "someday I'll fix it up" convertible your father's had in the garage covered with a tarp since you were a kid. Getting it out and putting a new engine in it might help it run better, but it's still not going to turn it into a car that anyone wants to drive around.

But (and we talked about this extensively on the Talkcast a few weeks ago with Brian Akaka from Freeverse) it's a step. A faster video card, even if it isn't blazing, will run games better than before, and it'll do a little to bring not only gaming customers but developers back to the Mac. Cohen is right -- that old convertible needs an actual mechanic to take a look at it, and it needs the seats to be reupholstered, and sooner or later it's going to need a new can of paint (not that, like your Dad's actual convertible, these things aren't ever going to happen -- we continue to hear rumblings that Apple is aiming for gamers).

But something is something -- the very fact that Apple is offering faster video cards is a sign that they're interested. And, other than simple profiles of games on their website and cameos by game execs at keynotes, that's more than we've had in a while.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Odds and ends, MacBook

Next up for gaming: the MacBook

Peter Cohen's got a good commentary up at Macworld about Apple's should-be next target for gaming, the Macbook. Finally, as of the iPhone SDK announcement, we've seen some serious movement on the gaming front from Apple -- they brought EA in and commissioned their own programmers to punch out some game software to show off the iPhone SDK implementation (and as I've said before, including on the talkcast a few weeks ago, we're only seeing the beginning of what's possible with gaming on the iPhone). So maybe they're finally seeing the light on gaming.

But as is, the Macbook isn't winning any awards as a gaming machine. As Cohen says, yes, the integrated graphics card puts the consumer Mac laptop hopelessly behind the times, but the problem isn't just upgrading the hardware -- the software itself needs to be optimized and redesigned. Apple has always been at the forefront of development, and Leopard especially, with Core Image functionality, looks great in the OS and in applications.

But when even mainstream sports titles, the kind that are on all platforms from day one, can't even play on your hardware, it's time to go back to square one. As Cohen says, we're not asking for much -- but games are a core part of the personal computing experience, and Apple shouldn't sideline that demographic any more than the others they serve.

Tip of the Day

Holding the Command key (aka the Apple key) and pressing Tab will cycle through your open applications. It's easier to Cmd-Tab if you are Copy (Cmd-C) and Pasting (Cmd-V) to and from various applications.


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