14 DAY TRIAL // For months, rumor was that Apple was going to axe the mini, much to the despair of the many that love the diminutive desktop computer. While it may not be as powerful as other Macs, its small size, flexibility and low cost made the mini a favorite with many users. Fortunately, instead of killing the mini, Apple has given it a much-needed update.
The Mac mini is the easiest way to start working with digital photos, movies, music and the web and the most affordable way to start trying out OS X, iLife ?08 and Front Row. The new models have Intel Core 2 Duo offering an improvement in the speed of the small package, which can be up to 39% faster than the previous models.
While this update may not be as big as the one that the iMac received, it is still significant, yesterday?s iMac basically becoming today?s mini. The small size of the device coupled with the large number of different ports it offers has made the mini a favorite for modders and many consider it the one and only media PC.
Additional information about the mini from Apple:
Mac mini comes with iLife ?08, a suite of easy-to-use applications that make it easy to make amazing things. Enhance, organize, and share your photos via iPhoto. Create calendars, books, and cards. Make an epic starring your kids in iMovie. Turn your photo and movie creations into professional DVDs with iDVD. Create original music in GarageBand, even if you can?t carry a tune. Make podcasts and blogs. Then publish them online via .Mac and iWeb.2 You?ll be amazed at how quickly, easily, and beautifully you can share your digital life.
Inside its tiny 2-inch-tall, 6.5-inch-square anodized aluminum enclosure, Mac mini houses the fast Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an 80GB or 120GB hard drive, a slot-loading Combo drive or SuperDrive, as well as built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (based on 802.11g standard).
Mac mini also gives you plenty of room to grow. Simply connect your digital devices, such as cameras, iPod, printer, camcorder, or keyboard, to the Mac mini over USB 2.0 or FireWire. Share files around your house at blazing speeds with built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet. Enjoy high-quality sound on almost any speaker system with double-duty analog/digital audio. Record digital and analog sources through audio line in, perfect for your latest podcast in GarageBand.
Apple's new Mac mini specs include: ? 1.83GHz or 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor ? 2MB or 4MB on-chip L2 cache ? 667MHz frontside bus ? 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs; supports up to 2GB ? Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory ? DVI video output to support digital resolutions up to 1920 by 1200 pixels; supports 20-inch Apple Cinema Display and 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display; supports coherent digital displays up to 154MHz; supports noncoherent digital displays up to 135MHz ? VGA video output (using included adapter) to support analog resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 pixels ? S-video and composite video output to connect directly to a TV or projector (using Apple DVI to Video Adapter, sold separately) ? Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) ? Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (based on 802.11g standard) ? Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3 Mbps ? Built-in speaker ? Apple Remote ? Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack) ? Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack) ? 80GB or 120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 160GB drive ? Slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW): reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed ? Slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW): writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 2.4x speed, writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed, writes DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs at up to 4x speed, reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed ? Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools) ? iLife ?08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand) ? Front Row