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The Mac Mini dying seems to have become an internet meme this past year or two. This time it happened because certain stores in the UK have been told to stop ordering them and not to expect more of the current models. This of course has fueled speculation that either the Mac Mini is in imminent danger of being axed or refreshed.
This sort of thing always brings all kinds of people out of the woodworks all having choice words to say about the Mac Mini. I've read people proclaim that it doesn't have enough power to view streaming videos over the internet. I know this is not true because I watch Hulu and youtube on the older version that isn't as powerful as the ones on the shelf right now.
Anyway, 123macmini hasn't put this bit on their front page because it's not news yet. It's just rumors because of something that someone said was told to some retailers in the UK. If it's true that they are starting to EOL the current Mac Minis it could be because they are going to come out with a refreshed model. Several people including me have said that it would be sweet to see them refresh it with the same internals as the new Macbook. Perhaps with a newly redesigned little sleek casing.
But here's the thing. They've already gone at least one Macbook refresh without upgrading the internals of the Macbook. So why should now be any different. From the sounds of it it seems that the Mini may be conflicting with their goals of selling other devices such as the AppleTV. So while I hate to say it it seems that them axing it sooner or later feels more like the path they may choose to go down.
Steve Jobs has said recently that there are certain types of customers they are consciously avoiding selling to and that is the under $500 crowd. Sure the Mac Mini isn't under $500 but is he trying to tell us something here? They updated an Apple Cinema display especially so that you can dock a laptop at home and use it as a desktop computer so perhaps that's another hint... and it's not a bad idea either. You can either use it as multiple monitors with the external and the internal or close the "lid" on the laptop and have it look like a sleek pizza box shap'ish desktop computer.
However it is also possible that they may put a magsafe connector on a new Mac Mini so that it can draw power from the magsafe cord on the new displays thus saving people using that type of monitor from having to use an external power brick. They can then offer a similar power adaptor as for the Macbook for plugging it into the wall.
There's one last unfortunate truth though. Even if they do refresh the Mac Mini it may be too little too late for someone like me. I'll probably be wanting an stronger card than the integrated Geforce 9400M which is really only %50 of the performance of even the 8600 in the 17 inch Macbook Pro. Especially since I'll be wanting to hang on to it for a few years and take advantage of the bells and whistles in Snow Leopard.
I'll probably be going for a refreshed iMac when I'm in the market for an upgrade to my primary computer. since if I got what I want from the notebook arena it would cost a lot more and I would have it docked most if not all of the time. so it would make more sense for me to get another desktop computer. Except for if I was in the market for a secondary computer which then I would go for the smallest laptop that is reasonable for portability reasons.. but to tell you the truth I don't need one for the foreseeable future. It's not like I go very many places for long periods of time that necessitates a laptop.
One last thing though. In the event they do discontinue the Mac Mini and don't offer a replacement the current and past models wont just up and self destruct. I've read some people say things like, "from my cold dead hands".. you don't have to worry. The Mini's present isn't in question it's the future that is. In fact there are lots of people still kicking around with G4 Cubes and that has been discontinued a long time ago same with other discontinued Mac Models... (all PowerPC models anyone?)
This sort of thing always brings all kinds of people out of the woodworks all having choice words to say about the Mac Mini. I've read people proclaim that it doesn't have enough power to view streaming videos over the internet. I know this is not true because I watch Hulu and youtube on the older version that isn't as powerful as the ones on the shelf right now.
Anyway, 123macmini hasn't put this bit on their front page because it's not news yet. It's just rumors because of something that someone said was told to some retailers in the UK. If it's true that they are starting to EOL the current Mac Minis it could be because they are going to come out with a refreshed model. Several people including me have said that it would be sweet to see them refresh it with the same internals as the new Macbook. Perhaps with a newly redesigned little sleek casing.
But here's the thing. They've already gone at least one Macbook refresh without upgrading the internals of the Macbook. So why should now be any different. From the sounds of it it seems that the Mini may be conflicting with their goals of selling other devices such as the AppleTV. So while I hate to say it it seems that them axing it sooner or later feels more like the path they may choose to go down.
Steve Jobs has said recently that there are certain types of customers they are consciously avoiding selling to and that is the under $500 crowd. Sure the Mac Mini isn't under $500 but is he trying to tell us something here? They updated an Apple Cinema display especially so that you can dock a laptop at home and use it as a desktop computer so perhaps that's another hint... and it's not a bad idea either. You can either use it as multiple monitors with the external and the internal or close the "lid" on the laptop and have it look like a sleek pizza box shap'ish desktop computer.
However it is also possible that they may put a magsafe connector on a new Mac Mini so that it can draw power from the magsafe cord on the new displays thus saving people using that type of monitor from having to use an external power brick. They can then offer a similar power adaptor as for the Macbook for plugging it into the wall.
There's one last unfortunate truth though. Even if they do refresh the Mac Mini it may be too little too late for someone like me. I'll probably be wanting an stronger card than the integrated Geforce 9400M which is really only %50 of the performance of even the 8600 in the 17 inch Macbook Pro. Especially since I'll be wanting to hang on to it for a few years and take advantage of the bells and whistles in Snow Leopard.
I'll probably be going for a refreshed iMac when I'm in the market for an upgrade to my primary computer. since if I got what I want from the notebook arena it would cost a lot more and I would have it docked most if not all of the time. so it would make more sense for me to get another desktop computer. Except for if I was in the market for a secondary computer which then I would go for the smallest laptop that is reasonable for portability reasons.. but to tell you the truth I don't need one for the foreseeable future. It's not like I go very many places for long periods of time that necessitates a laptop.
One last thing though. In the event they do discontinue the Mac Mini and don't offer a replacement the current and past models wont just up and self destruct. I've read some people say things like, "from my cold dead hands".. you don't have to worry. The Mini's present isn't in question it's the future that is. In fact there are lots of people still kicking around with G4 Cubes and that has been discontinued a long time ago same with other discontinued Mac Models... (all PowerPC models anyone?)
