Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

For those who like to criticize the Mac Mini. . .

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 8
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 template Next
  • #16
    The article is funny.

    For $499 you can get a computer without a monitor, without a mouse, and without a keyboard.

    For $399 you can get a faster computer with a monitor, with a mouse, and with a keyboard (and with much more available software...)

    Where's the triumph here for Apple?

    The Mac Mini's strong point is it's tiny, not that it's cost effective. The Mac fanatics should focus on that, instead of trying to spin clearly better deals as worse ones.
    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

    Comment

    • #17
      Wait a minute I thought it included a monitor? WTF? Oh forget it then. This isn't even a budget computer anymore.
      For there is [another] kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions -- indifference, inaction, and decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. - Bobby Kennedy (Mindless Menance of Violence)

      Comment

      • #18
        Why don't they compare the $499 Dell to the $499 Mac? Wouldn't this make more sense?

        Mac miniDell Dimension 3000
        $499$499
        1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor2.80GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor
        256MB single-channel DDR RAM (supports up to 1GB)512MB dual-channel DDR RAM (supports up to 2GB)
        ATI Radeon 9200 (32MB dedicated VRAM)Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (uses system RAM for video)
        40GB hard drive40GB hard drive
        Slot-loading Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CDRW)DVD-ROM (read-only) drive
        One FireWire 400 portno FireWire (PCs don't need FireWire...$30 if you want)
        Two USB 2.0 portsSix USB 2.0 ports
        10/100BASE-T Ethernet10/100BASE-T Ethernet
        56K V.92 modem56K PCI Data Fax Modem
        AirPort Extreme- and Bluetooth-readyNo wireless
        Audio outIntegrated audio
        Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
        Software:
        Stock OS X apps, iLife '05, AppleWorks, Quicken 2005, Nanosaur 2,
        Marble Blast Gold. (Not to mention TextEdit, which has limited Word
        compatibility.)        		Software: Internet Explorer, WordPerfect, Paint
        Shop Pro Studio trial, Photo Album Starter Edition, Dell Jukebox,
        Acrobat Reader 6.0
        One-year warranty90-day warranty ($19 for 1-year)
        No display19-inch Dell E773c CRT display OR 15" LCD display
        No keyboard/mouseDell keyboard/mouse


        No contest from a price standpoint. Not to mention the Dell also comes with stuff like 6 months of free internet service.

        To give an idea how lopsided the performance is...

        SPECint2000 benchmarks:
        1.25GHz G4: 384
        2.8GHz P4: 970

        SPECfp2000 benchmarks:
        1.25GHz G4: 234
        2.8GHz P4: 938
        Last edited by Asher; January 20, 2005, 14:13.
        "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
        Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

        Comment

        • #19
          Originally posted by DanS
          The biggest difference between the two is that the Mac Mini has a 1.2 GHz G4 processor, which is pretty underpowered compared to a 2.4 GHz Celeron. He says it's a wash, but I don't believe it. If they only would have made the Mac Mini slightly higher powered (say a 1.8 GHz chip) and 512Mb video card, it would be a lustworthy box for $500. As it stands, Microsoft is going to come out with 3 GHz dual core processor XBox 2 and charge $300 or whatever for it. Maybe they will even put out a PC version of the XBox 2.
          Actually, it's tri-core, not dual-core.

          And they'll be based on a Power5 derivative with multithreading, a step above the current G5s.
          "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
          Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

          Comment

          • #20
            Well, in any event, even with the Dimension 3000, the Mac Mini stands up very well (and is better in several respects), except with regard to CPU power and memory. The Radeon 9200 is a lot better than the Intel integrated graphics, for instance.

            I'm inclined to discount the monitor. I wouldn't even want a CRT or 15" LCD on my desk.
            I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

            Comment

            • #21
              Originally posted by DanS
              Well, in any event, even with the Dimension 3000, the Mac Mini stands up very well (and is better in several respects), except with regard to CPU power. The Radeon 9200 is a lot better than the Intel integrated graphics, for instance.
              No, it's not -- that system is heavily bottlenecked by the incredibly slow CPU, a faster graphics doesn't do anything. I'm not even going to mention how useless a "good" graphics card is on a value system, especially a Mac like this is.

              The people who buy the Mac Mini or Dell Dimension 3000 aren't doing 3D gaming, period...especially if they have a Mac, where 3D games are hard to find.
              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

              Comment

              • #22
                There's America's Army
                "I have been reading up on the universe and have come to the conclusion that the universe is a good thing." -- Dissident
                "I never had the need to have a boner." -- Dissident
                "I have never cut off my penis when I was upset over a girl." -- Dis

                Comment

                • #23
                  Well, if nobody is doing 3D gaming with either system, then the Mac Mini is quite OK -- indeed a 2.8 GHz CPU is extreme overkill. The Mac Mini will handle everything except video encoding just fine.
                  I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                  Comment

                  • #24
                    Originally posted by DanS
                    Well, if nobody is doing 3D gaming with either system, then the Mac Mini is quite OK -- indeed a 2.8 GHz CPU is extreme overkill. The Mac Mini will handle everything except video encoding just fine.
                    Isn't the whole concept of the Mac a multimedia system today ("digital lifestyle"...)?

                    You know, organizing massive amounts of photos with iPhoto, making movies with iMovie, etc?

                    OS X itself is slow and bloated on systems with slow memory (Mac Mini) and slow processors (G4...)
                    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                    Comment

                    • #25
                      Another XP Home user.

                      It's because it came preinstalled on my notebook and I didn't want to go pirate nor pay for the damn thing.

                      (PCs don't need FireWire...$30 if you want)

                      Comment

                      • #26
                        What's so shocking?
                        "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                        Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                        Comment

                        • #27
                          Most people I know use either XP Home or some Linux version on their personal computers.
                          Why can't you be a non-conformist just like everybody else?

                          It's no good (from an evolutionary point of view) to have the physique of Tarzan if you have the sex drive of a philosopher. -- Michael Ruse
                          The Nedaverse I can accept, but not the Berzaverse. There can only be so many alternate realities. -- Elok

                          Comment

                          • #28
                            Well, I for one, wouldn't want to miss firewire. My digital video camera has a firewire connection and right now I have my gf's and my notebook connected through it.
                            It was the cheapest solution and there is a nice firewire-ip driver in windows already.

                            Comment

                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Atahualpa
                              Well, I for one, wouldn't want to miss firewire. My digital video camera has a firewire connection and right now I have my gf's and my notebook connected through it.
                              It was the cheapest solution and there is a nice firewire-ip driver in windows already.
                              It's extremely rare for a Windows user to need Firewire, which is why it's usually not a default option. It's available for $30 for those who need it.

                              Firewire is mostly a Mac thing, and also for Digital Video. It's actually categorized under "Video Editing' on Dell's site.
                              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                              Comment

                              • #30
                                Well, I for one, wouldn't want to miss firewire. My digital video camera has a firewire connection and right now I have my gf's and my notebook connected through it.
                                It was the cheapest solution and there is a nice firewire-ip driver in windows already.

                                Comment

                                Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 template Next
                                Working...
                                X