Mar 29

The Mac Mini Arrives

So we ordered a Mac Mini last month. Then, last week, we get a box from “ACI,” which we astutely reversed engineered to “Apple Computer Inc.” The excitement built as we opened the box and pulled away the paper packing material…and then pulled away some more…and some more…and some more.

In the end, as the above picture shows, we got a keyboard and a mouse at the bottom of a big box. The amount of packaging they used to ship that keyboard and mouse was criminal. The actual Mini arrived a week after that.

Speaking of which, a couple thoughts:

  • I was really surprised at how small the Mini actually is. Pictures do not do it justice. If someone wanted to work on the same machine at work or at home, it would be perfectly reasonable to pick it up off the desk at the end of the day, and put it in a briefcase or even a large purse, and just carry it home. If you think you need a laptop, maybe you just need a Mini and two monitors.

  • Joe worked with it for a day while his machine was getting a new power supply. It was Joe’s first real working experience with the vaunted OS X. In the end, he said he was actually less likely to buy a Mac, simply for the fact that it did nothing that his Gentoo Linux machine couldn’t do.

That said, the Mini is awfully cool to look at. Still doesn’t get me all giddy for a Mac, but it’s better than an Etch-a-Sketch, at any rate.

by Deane   March 29, 2005 3:21 PM   |
  tags: 
Mac Mini

Comments

by Rob,   March 29, 2005 4:01 PM  

So let me get this straight. You actually spent your hard earned corporate money for a new Mac and you post a picture of an empty box? Did you at least fork out for the bluetooth and wifi?

by Joe,   March 29, 2005 4:09 PM  

We checked all the boxes, baby. BT, Wifi, DVDR, 1GB RAM. It's fully buzzword-compatible.

Using it for a day was my first real experience trying to get work done on a Mac since the OS9 days. I intend to write an article on it, but I won't have time for a few days yet. Hella swamped right now.

by Deane,   March 29, 2005 4:17 PM  

Yeah, as near as we can figure we bought the most expensive Mini you can buy. I think we got it up around $1,200 in the end.

by dave,   March 29, 2005 9:35 PM  

"... it did nothing that his Gentoo Linux machine couldn't do."

Something tells me that the target market for the mini isn't the average Gentoo user. I'd also bet money that Joe spent a bit more time prepping his Linux box than he did with the mini.

http://tinyurl.com/5n8mt has a good article on using a mini (or any Mac) for development.

by Laff,   March 31, 2005 8:52 AM  

Guys...as a long time Mac user I have to say DO NOT OVER SPEND ON MAC PRODUCTS. I too use a Mac Mini now at work and I upgraded the memory myself. All you need is a putty knife and a deft hand. We purchased our memory from a third party and the task was done in a few minutes. In fact I have upgraded 4 Mac Mini's to 1 gig now, and will be doing it to a 5th soon enough. Plus as a bonus the memory we take out of the Mac Mini can be used in our PC's as upgrades!!!

Pagan jim

by ,   April 5, 2005 9:23 AM  

I think apple's missing a market by not selling extra power supplies for people who transport their mini's around like that.

also, someone needs to invent a power supply that can power 3-5 mini's off of one outlet for use in labs and rack mount situations.

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