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Mac Mini: Making "The switch" a lot less painful
Coke or Pepsi? Bush or Kerry? Creation or Evolution? Mac or PC? All will spark a heated debate. In the computer world, a mere mention of a Mac in an online forum usually spawns a series insults to the Mac faithful. To be honest, a lot of time I agree with them. The Mac faithful seem to think that anything Apple sells is a must-have that they will buy no matter what the cost. Whatever Apple CEO Steve Jobs says is taken as the gospel. But, I also have to admit that I envy the Mac owner. The Mac has such a cool user interface. Macs also come loaded with great software that makes working with photos, music, and video so easy. I would love to have a Mac as a second computer (I just can't give up my PC and PC-only programs), but there's one thing that has kept me from buying - they cost way too much.
Rumors had been floating around for a while that a new, cheap Mac would be introduced at the MacWorld Conference, and those rumors turned out to be correct. Steve Jobs unveiled the Mac Mini last week with a retail price of only $499. The Mini is only 2.0 by 6.5 by 6.5 inches and weighs less than three pounds. The $499 model comes with a 1.25GHz G4 processor, 256MB of 333MHz DDR memory, and a 40GB hard drive. For $599 you get a faster 1.42GHz processor and a larger 80GB hard drive. Both models come with a slot-loading (like your car's CD player) DVD/CDRW combo drive and a 32MB ATI Radeon 9200 graphics chip that outputs to an all-digital DVI port, which is perfect to mate with your flat panel monitor. Don't worry if you just have a regular monitor, it comes with a DVI to VGA adapter standard. But other than that they are bare - no keyboard, mouse, or monitor.
Of course, the Mac Mini is not the perfect product. It uses the G4 processor, not the G5 going into the latest Macs. It doesn't have serial ports, only two USB ports and one firewire port. So, you're limited to USB keyboards and mice (which really isn't a big deal since most are, anyway). But, what if you want to connect another peripheral? You might have to invest in a USB hub. Also, both models come with only 256MB of memory. Pretty low by today's standards. I don't have a lot of experience with a Mac, but I would guess it would get pretty bogged down with multiple memory-hungry apps running at the same time.
I'd say it's about time Apple came out with an affordable Mac. Sure, by the time you add in keyboard, mouse, and monitor you're probably up to around $700 or more. But I think Apple knows exactly what they are doing. They are trying to convert PC-using people to the Mac World. They know PC people already have keyboards, mice, and monitors connected to their aging PC or just laying around unused. This way they can keep the initial investment for consumers nice and low. Once they're hooked on a Mac, they will end up selling tons of Mac software and peripherals like the iPod.
Even with its low price, you could get more computer for your money by going with a PC (including a monitor). But then, of course, you'd have a big, noisy box next to your desk with the same Windows that everyone else has. The Mac Mini is a very intriguing, if not downright tempting, alternative to the same old PC. Should you make the switch? I'd say go for it. You're finally not paying an arm and a leg to enter the Mac World. If you're not ready to make a complete "switch", there's nothing wrong with having a second computer at this price.
IPod Shuffle - Simplicity over functionality
Steve Jobs also announced the newest member of the iPod family - the iPod Shuffle. The iPod has always been hard drive-based, so you could carry 4GB or more of music. The Shuffle is the first flash memory-based iPod, so it has no moving parts and it is small - very small. The iPod Shuffle is smaller than a pack of gum and weighs less than an ounce, but still has the signature Apple style. To add to this, the 512MB player costs only $99 and the 1GB $149. Very good prices for that kind of storage.
Unfortunately, the iPod Shuffle is missing one important feature: an LCD screen. This means that you can't easily navigate to your new favorite song that you just downloaded or even see the name of the song or artist. If you wanted to find a song, you might have to click the next button 100 times just to find it. Apple expects you to put the player in "shuffle" mode (hence the name), so you get a random playing of all the songs on the player. Or, you can play your music in the order you downloaded the songs and playlists to the player. Leaving out the LCD screen and the software that is needed to run it obviously brought the Shuffle to its low price points.
What do you do when you are trying to sell a player with limited functionality? You market that as an advantage. Apple's iPod Shuffle site is plastered with words like uncertainty, random, and unpredictable. This is pure marketing genius, and people are just eating it up. There is something to be said about the simplicity, but give me a break. You can easily buy a very small 512MB MP3 player from a company other than Apple for right around $100 online. Creative sells a player with an LCD screen, FM tuner, voice recorder, and USB drive functionality at right around this price. And, you can drag and drop files to it as you please. You're not locked into using Apple iTunes (and its strict digital rights management) to transfer music.
I applaud Apple for its innovative and stylish products that are selling like hotcakes right now. But sometimes the whole "iPod as a fashion statement" gets really annoying. There are better products out there with more features for the same price. You won't be seeing an iPod Shuffle hanging from my neck anytime soon.
