[X4U] Mac Mini!!!

[Zane H. Healy]

>Since the Apple Site states that ram must be installed by Apple or an
>authorized re-seller and it is not a user servicable part, then if you do it
>yourself you will probably void your warrantee or AppleCare.

I've a feeling that opening the system yourself voids the 
warrantee/AppleCare.  As I stated previously, the best solution is 
probably to have a authorized reseller install the RAM.

>I really like the design and size of the mac mini but to be honest I don't
>see this as a big hit unless Apple comes out with low cost peripherals,
>display  and adequately priced AppleCare.

I don't think they're really intending you to buy your peripherals 
from them, though I am a little surprised that they aren't offering a 
very cheap display.

>I priced a mac mini the way I would configure the mini and with AppleCare,
>wireless keyboard & mouse it came to $1500.00 plus tax. This doesn't include
>shipping or a monitor. If I choose Apple's cheapest display (Currently the
>20" flat panel at $999.00) it brings the total price to $2500.00.

Actually a friend and I were discussing the system when it was just a 
rumor last week, and he came up with a very good reason to buy the 
system with a 20" or 23" display.  Suppose you're like me and have a 
G5 Tower, and find yourself needing a new Monitor.  You can't go out 
and buy a nice new Apple Display and put AppleCare on it, as it's 
only available with a CPU.  You could buy a Mac Mini and an Apple 
Monitor with AppleCare on it.  I thought it was a great idea, 
especially as my wife would love a Mac Mini.  However, since I need a 
monitor with both DVI and VGA inputs, Samsung got my money.

>Now if Apple came out with a Mouse/Keyboard/15" Flat panel bundle for
><$200.00 and AppleCare for <$50.00 and they also lowered their ram cost to
>1GB < $200 upgrade option not $425.00, then I think Apple would have a
>killer product.
>
>As it stands now, the iMac G5, 12" powerbook, or an ibook is a much better
>deal.

Depends on the target audience.  It's intended for people switching 
from the PC.  Simply plug in your existing peripherals, though most 
PC users have PS/2 keyboards and mice.  Though you can go to your 
local PC "chop shop" and get USB keyboards and mice a lot cheaper 
than from Apple.

In my case I have a 17" monitor, and spare USB keyboards and mice 
sitting around.  So one of these would be great for my wife, and it 
would be a lot easier to find room for it with the 17" monitor than 
it would be to find a place to put my old G4/450 AGP and a monitor. 
I can also see people buying them specifically to use them as a 
server (shoot, I'm tempted).

I don't think Apple can afford to offer a mouse/keyboard/15" LCD 
bundle for under $200, the LCD's cost to much.  They could do it with 
a CRT probably, but it doesn't make sense.  OTOH, I think they should 
offer a cheaper AppleCare package as charging nearly 1/3 the cost of 
the system is more than a little high.  I'd be tempted to look into 
buying a Mac Mini at a reseller that offers their own warranties (do 
any do that?).

I've been arguing for years that Apple needs to release a system like 
this, and I'm glad that they finally have!  I think they're a great 
system, and if I could afford it, I could easily find jobs for three 
of them!

		Zane

-- 
--
| Zane H. Healy                    | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com (primary)    | OpenVMS Enthusiast         |
|                                  | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
|     Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing,    |
|          PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum.         |
|                http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/               |