The cube is back! (sort of)...

[helix7]

http://www.apple.com/macmini

<3

[Storyboard Dave]

Oh that sneaky Steve Jobs! Another wacky innovation now.

What next?

[Hanuka]

slick design!

i never had a macintosh before, so do you think this device is useful for digital art? (eg processor-wise)... ram up to 1 gig should be sufficient, eh?
damn teasing. sexy...

[MuffinMan]

Macintosh, tries WAY to hard to make their computers look cool.
i doubt this computer is even worth it. it will heat up so HOT that it will crash, cramping everything elbow tight together is not a wise way to build a computer.
computers need some respiration and cooling. that computer will crash if you try to run a game or photoshop after a while...

DON'T let those "cool" designs fool you...

[Storyboard Dave]

Macintosh, tries WAY to hard to make their computers look cool.
i doubt this computer is even worth it. it will heat up so HOT that it will crash, cramping everything elbow tight together is not a wise way to build a computer.
computers need some respiration and cooling. that computer will crash if you try to run a game or photoshop after a while...

DON'T let those "cool" designs fool you...

I really don't think THIS is the computer in the MacIntosh line that serious art or gaming is coing to be produced on. For that, I'd still stick with the G5 towers that they come up with.

I think this is just an in-road for them to get in with those moms & pops who can't see dropping big bucks on a serious computer and yet they still want to share pictures of their kids & maybe swap some Lawrence Welk music.

[squirpy]

it's $500 and tiny, they're not trying to hit the graphics community with this. That said, this is better than a lot of the computers that people have used and still use to run graphics programs. It can be done, just probably not as well as the best G5. This is an excellent deal and a good way for people to get introduced to Macs. It's affordable and small, good for the basic computer user.

[wazzup]

well i have a mac myself and there ok computers ...sorta :\ but they dont have many programs for them i think :bashful:

[dns2k]

i think its a cool product. i think i might go to the apple store and play around with it. i think mac have always had price and software issues with its line. soware issues being everyone just writing it to pc and forgetting the mac crawd and price always being up there. think if you can get the gig of ram option and an upgraded video card it would be easy to run photoshop on and use your wacom with out having to spend 2 grand on a laptop . me i am persoally always a pc person but it is kool to see mac making a new name for itself.

-dns

[helix7]

I grew up on Windows machines and spent the first half of my college days fighting the "graphic designers use Macs" idea. Today, you couldn't pay me to get another Windows box.

Apple tries too hard to make their computers look cool? I've never alot of strange arguments against Apple, and I've even said alot of crazy things about Macs myself back in the day. But I've never heard someone argue that they are trying too hard with their computer designs. Should they try less hard so other companies can keep up?

;)

[Storyboard Dave]

Apple tries too hard to make their computers look cool? I've never alot of strange arguments against Apple, and I've even said alot of crazy things about Macs myself back in the day. But I've never heard someone argue that they are trying too hard with their computer designs. Should they try less hard so other companies can keep up?

;)

It's almost like that (false) story about how Pixar was supposed to make a bad movie just so it could stoop to the depths of the other crappy movie companies. Why shouldn't Apple push the bounds??

I think this is brilliant of Apple to finally address one of the issues that separates them from Windows users- "Macs are too expensive". Now with this great price, no one can complain.

[Slash]

oh! thats so sweet! I want one! a silent, compact computer to use in the livingroom for movies, pictuers and music. I was thinking about a water-chilled barebone, but this is just GREAT!

[Fipse]

The processor of this baby is the same the last G4´s had. They are still the standard working units in my firm (ad´s agency) and we´re doing mostly all PS- and Graphic Design stuff on them. The comps work technically reliable and give us no probs.

Apple has quite a long history of computers working without the normal cooling systems (e.g. Cube, iMac) and they all work fine even if used with professional requirements. So I think the miniMac will do fine and the OS won´t crush more than usual (with OSX this is a minimal concern).

But the main market for this comp is imo not the graphic industry - that will work better on a G5 or whatever but it´s the next step in gaining a foothold in the consumer markets. The miniMac is a nice accessory for your iPod and the programs Apple delivers with the computer are easy to use and intuitive - and work well with the multimedia consumer Apple is aiming at. If you buy this one you get an OS (and a complete suite of programs) for free - don´t forget to substract this from the price when comparing it with PC´s.

It´s a real plugin-and-play computer that is much easier for a beginner to use than the standard PC. I would have recommended this Comp for my mother if it was available when she bought her laptop ;).

Anyway I´m thinkin about buying some for our firm as cheap working stations for apprentices and interns. I even consider for myself to get one as a secondary home computer beside my PC because I could do most of my work at home instead of sitting until lat in the night in the firm. I won´t do pictureprocessing on it but for Layout, Vector and easy pixelpushing it will suffice.

Fipse

[acuna_read]

So would anyone say this is worth getting and using PS on instead of on an average PC? Or should I just stick to upgrading my PC to be a bit behind the newest technology?

[Presence]

Macintosh, tries WAY to hard to make their computers look cool.
i doubt this computer is even worth it. it will heat up so HOT that it will crash, cramping everything elbow tight together is not a wise way to build a computer.
computers need some respiration and cooling. that computer will crash if you try to run a game or photoshop after a while...

DON'T let those "cool" designs fool you...

:nohope: :nohope: :nohope: :nohope: :nohope: :nohope: :nohope:

[Storyboard Dave]

Anyone get an eyeful of the iPod Shuffle?

DAMN! I want one of those as well. I thnk Apple struck gold this time around with some of their new widgets.

[MuffinMan]

yeah the mac mini, seems affordable.
One of my friends just got a apple Ibook G4 for christmas and she says its already malfunctioning and shes barely had it for a month...she says the keyboard isn't working right, like some keys won't recieve or the delete key won't work.
i told her she could always get a replacment or see about getting it fixed.
since what she has was at a price ranging form a grand to higher.
she could trade this in for the 1.4ghz with a gig of ram and save extra cash for extra software...that should work ,right? well, it's up to her, it's her computer.

[darth massacre]

Argh c'mon guys.

Look at the price and you'll know its targetted at casual computer users.

Its probably a good design for cafes that want to install a couple of internet terminals for their customers and for dedicated internet centres for backpackers to surf and email.

Its not meant for the high end market, they've got another range of products for it.


I dunno, I'm not a big fan of Apple's products, but at least I'm happy someone's looking to blend form and function into the product.

[Storyboard Dave]

yeah the mac mini, seems affordable.
One of my friends just got a apple Ibook G4 for christmas and she says its already malfunctioning and shes barely had it for a month...she says the keyboard isn't working right, like some keys won't recieve or the delete key won't work.
i told her she could always get a replacment or see about getting it fixed.
since what she has was at a price ranging form a grand to higher.
she could trade this in for the 1.4ghz with a gig of ram and save extra cash for extra software...that should work ,right? well, it's up to her, it's her computer.

What's the delay in getting that thing back in the shop with her? Hell, it should still be under warranty! I don't care who makes it- if it doesn't perform up to specs and it's still under warranty, I'm swapping that bad boy out & getting me another one or cash.

[MuffinMan]

heh, yeah, i don't think it would be good for graphic design...since she wants to be a graphic designer. it would be good for people who don't use a computer for games, etc. just for internet and casual use. informational use, if that is what you would call it.

[Storyboard Dave]

heh, yeah, i don't think it would be good for graphic design...since she wants to be a graphic designer. it would be good for people who don't use a computer for games, etc. just for internet and casual use. informational use, if that is what you would call it.

As long as she's not crunching tons of Photoshop images I think the G4 is capable. Is it gonna fly like a G5 processor? No, but for a student on a budget, any computer is better than having to haggle with the school's machines.

[MuffinMan]

yeah the schools don't know what they are doing when it somes to having computers for graphic design. the computers we use are shitty emacs.
we need like some good G4s in the line up. you know what i mean.
we are barely running photoshop on these computers equipped with 800mhz CPUs and 128mb or 256mb of ram. well, why should i complain the school doesn't have all the money to get uber G4s.


..hmmm, now that i think about it, macintosh isn't all that bad.
i kinda want a mac for video ediiting or i'll just build my own computer for that.

[Storyboard Dave]

yeah the schools don't know what they are doing when it somes to having computers for graphic design. the computers we use are shitty emacs.
we need like some good G4s in the line up. you know what i mean.
we are barely running photoshop on these computers equipped with 800mhz CPUs and 128mb or 256mb of ram. well, why should i complain the school doesn't have all the money to get uber G4s.

G4s??? Why not step up and go whole hog on the Mac G5?

Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
1.25GHz frontside bus/processor
512K L2 cache/processor
512MB DDR400 SDRAM
Expandable to 8GB SDRAM
160GB Serial ATA
8x SuperDrive
Three PCI-X Slots
ATI Radeon 9600 XT
128MB DDR video memory
56K internal modem


There's a computer out there for everyone. Last time I checked there isn't a universal do-all, end-all computer that's ideal for everyone. My grandmother probably wouldn't know what to do with all of this technology if you gave it to her and yet here I am drooling & pining about dual porcessors. :D

[slickcoder]

If you're going "whole hog" on a G5, you may as well get a PC with nVidia's SLI technology. That's 2 GPU's running in tandem for up to 1GB of video ram via ultra-fast PCIe x16 hookups. Combine that with dual 64-bit processors, WinXP 64 beta, and all the 64-bit drivers out there, 1GB DDR 400 RAM, and two SATA Seagate Barracuda 10,000 RPM HDDs running a RAID-0 config, and you'll be rendering like a champ. It'd cost you $4000-5000 or more, but it'll smoke anything Mac's ever put out (by about 2-3 times in total video processing speed) and the software will be more abundant and cheaper. ;)

Then again, I left the Mac driven artworld in favor of the PC driven software development world long ago. :\ I didn't mind Macs back in the day, but the upgradeably and competitive markets in the PC hardware world, not to mention the availibility and lower prices have me completely hooked.

BTW: There were PC's as small as the MiniMac 3-4 years ago (http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021009/) (but don't judge the specs by the linked article, because it's from 2002! lol)

[MuffinMan]

don't tell me she should get a macG5, dude she ain't rich...
and she used to have a windows pc , but she got tired of windows and how it is so unprotected.

i kinda hate windows. it is so unprotected and a pain in the ass to maintain.
the mac os isn't as troublesome as the windows os. but there is more software and games available for PC. plus games run better on PC. so that is why i still use the PC. i might consider getting a mac for something else. maybe get one of those laptops for when i want to travel.

[slickcoder]

don't tell me she should get a macG5, dude she ain't rich...
and she used to have a windows pc , but she got tired of windows and how it is so unprotected.

i kinda hate windows. it is so unprotected and a pain in the ass to maintain.
the mac os isn't as troublesome as the windows os. but there is more software and games available for PC. plus games run better on PC. so that is why i still use the PC. i might consider getting a mac for something else. maybe get one of those laptops for when i want to travel.

define "unprotected" and "pain in the ass to maintain". It's not like you have to keep it watered and fed like a poodle or something.

Macs main protection point is 1% of all households even have one so there really isn't a point to learning how to hack a Mac. But there are just as many exploits. Especially now that the OS is based on an opensource OS. It happens less often because hackers just don't have a reason to look for Macs to hack. They don't usually store data, as in a database server, they aren't usually webservers, they aren't usually domain controllers, nor do they have any easy ways to effect any of the really juicy servers on a network they are connected too. Macs are "safer" only because hackers only develop for the popular server OS's like Windows and Linux.


(EDIT: I realize, that since this is an Art community, the Mac fanboys and Windows haters outnumber me here, I'm just speaking as a software industry professional) (Sr. Software Engineer II, MCI)

[MuffinMan]

yeah i see what you mean.
macs are cool and unique in a way.
so are PCs.
i'm with the PC becuase i've been using it since elementary.
now macs come to my attention for certain things.

[slickcoder]

There was a time, not too long ago, (1996-ish) that if you wanted to print anything digital you had to work with a Mac because print shops simply didn't support PC files. Nowadays it really doesn't matter.

That sort of propelled the Art Community into Macs, and helped spur the Mac vs PC debates. Ironic that such a lowly paid, overworked field was forced into buying the most expensive equipment... but that's how it goes I guess.

[MuffinMan]

well, the thing about printshops often times i still see them use macs.
at OTC (oakland technical college, i go there for my other part of my school day from my high school) i have a visual imagin class and we use macs. the good things about these macs is that they are really simple and "user-friendly". it is so easy to get connected to a printer and print. i can just plug a mac to a epson printer via USB and print something in a snap. then again we still use the year old G4s, still things are kinda slow and sometimes crash. so far i've over come my hatred for macs. i don't hate them anymore....they are good computers.
more important than getting an ibook, i'd rather get a tablet pc for college.

[helix7]

A year ago a computer with the same specs as the Mini Mac was pretty standard in the graphics industry. As Fipse indicated, alot of shops still use G4s with these specs. I still don't see how this is seen as a low-end email machine.

[Storyboard Dave]

A year ago a computer with the same specs as the Mini Mac was pretty standard in the graphics industry. As Fipse indicated, alot of shops still use G4s with these specs. I still don't see how this is seen as a low-end email machine.

I don't see it as a low end machine either. It is what it is. Is it going to be blazing fast & start rendering 3D images, doubtful. But it'll serve its purpose. It's obvious there are a multitude of machines out there from Macs to PC & everything in between that serves different user needs.

There isn't one ultimate universal computer designed for every user yet.

[toth]

Even for a low-end computer user this is a crapy system. Do they still sell the ATI 9200 with only 32MB?? I see where Apple get's his low-price.
My experience with mac's is when you buy a first gen mac, you will always having problems. I have a G3 and a G5, the G3 is a first gen (aqua green) and that's a horrible computer, nothing but troubles.
The same with my first gen ipod, first a freeze, then a power error. I never buy mac's first gen hardware anymore.