New (?) Mini mac pics

[Ilwrath]

Well, it sure is tiny...

And, unlike the old G4 cube, they have the price-point right.  Unfortunatly, that appears to be the only problem from the G4 cube that they addressed.  It's still a small non-expandable motherboard wedged into a case that looks like it may be a ventilation nightmare.  Also, those darn costly and jam-happy slot load DVD drives...

I had read on one of the rumor sites it might have some TV/PVR capabilities.  Those would have been useful.  I could probably justify replacing my old series 1 TiVo with something newer easier than I could justify purchasing yet another novelty PC, even if it is quite a reasonable price and performance.

[Ilwrath]

The same kind of costly and jam happy mechanism thats been working fault free in my car stereo for the last 5 years?

Yep.... Those very same CD load mechanisms.  Of course, the one in your car has an EJECT BUTTON.

I particularly like the part after step 5 in the CD removal procedure....  (And why should I need a 5 step CD removal procedure, anyhow?  Is asking for a stinking BUTTON too much??)

If none of these tricks work, you’ll probably need to call for help.

 And don't expect that call to be covered under any warranty....

[Ilwrath]

Excuse me sir, but what makes you think a button will make much difference?

Well, at least it's a start.  

I have had CD's stuck in a PC many times, and pressing the button was useless and of course with it being a tray load there was no way to pull it out.

Tray loads are easy to fix.  Stick a paperclip in the hole and rip the tray out.  If that fails, it's a cheap commodity part to replace.  A big negatory on both counts there for the Mac, though.

[Ilwrath]

Also Mac is royally screwing over un-aware customers by charging $300 over the 1Gb RAM stick's worth. That is INSANE!!

Well, they're screwing their customers but not in the way you think.  The motherboard only has a single RAM socket, so you need to use one single module.  And, that module is NOT a standard SDRAM, it's a SODIMM like a laptop would take.  The price is quite competative for what those actually go for.

Is it insane?  Yes....  But it's the design that's insane, more than the upgrade price.  (same with the tiny hard drive....)

[Ilwrath]

I've seen some internal shots; it's a regular DDR DIMM, crammed in on the left? side. Standard height, Apple likes to use cheap commodity parts where the user can't tell the difference.

Good point  I stand corrected.

I guess I shouldn't believe everything I read on the internet. :lol:

So it's back to an insane price, but a slightly more sane design.  :-)