ResqAndy's Profile

  • Dec 31, 1969
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Latest comments made by: ResqAndy

  • ...which carries over into better hardware lifetimes and a decent expectation for the mac mini to hold up. All positive things.
    ResqAndy had this to say on Jan 23, 2005 Posts: 4
    One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?
  • Ok, I was relatively unaware of the improvements. Sounds remarkably similar to Microsoft's upgrade plan... I take issue with 'beta' releases going to test in a end-user release, I don't care who the vendor is. I was happy to be able to walk away from that iBook disaster and let her take it to the district's IT people. Hopefully Tiger won't have the same issues...
    ResqAndy had this to say on Jan 23, 2005 Posts: 4
    One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?
  • As I said, I come from the world beyond Apple's gates, but I'd question the utility of many expansion slots as well. It seems that with every major evolutionary step the last series either is totally gimped or barely plugs along. I put the first OS X onto an employer issued iBook (teacher friend) and it cripple the poor thing. I guess my expectation is more of a inverse upgrade. If Jobs is all about releasing millions of minis into the neophite and curious enthusiast market, there had best be a SIGNIFICANT amount of effort devoted to keeping new releases and revisions polished enough that they will be functional. Give people a value priced and unobtrusive option, they will come. Tell them they need to replace it 1.5 years later at 3 times the cost, they're putting it on ebay and getting that $499 Dell P4 2.8 w/17" LCD (that the enthusiast will eschew for an Athlon 64 homebuilt anyway).
    ResqAndy had this to say on Jan 22, 2005 Posts: 4
    One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?
  • The lack of the higher end components could signal a lack of confidence in being able to support a break-even product. I'm not an apple person and never have been. I have four x86 machines up 24/7 at home and have not seen any competitive cost/performance blend that was enticing enough to try a mac out. The mini has me interested. It is faster than my friend's G4 (?) laptop, which serves him fairly well. It is also small enough to be nearly unnoticed next to my physically dominating PC setups. For apple to add the features most will add, the price point would be out of consideration for me. As a 5th (!!!) computer, I don't need the latency and insecurity of wifi on a desk-bound computer. I'm not eager to pay more for a BT keyboard and mouse, and I burn DVD's just fine on my primary XP box. If it has KVM outputs, will read DVD's (if not write them), and has at least 10/100 ethernet and USB 2.0 / 1394 (which is cludgy on my PC's, and annoying with all the 1394 periphs I have), then it's a possible choice. I can and have made a functional analog from PC components for a couple hundred dollars with leftovers and mid-range parts. When you add in the OS and other software needed, it's closer to $400 or more. AND they are full or micro-atx, which are larger, louder, and clunkier. That's where the difference lies. IF apple would take the plunge and levy dominance in the iPod market on the mini 'problem', they would increase market share and develop a larger following in the personal computer arena. The problem is that they gave us a chevette, and we want an SUV.
    ResqAndy had this to say on Jan 21, 2005 Posts: 4
    One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?