[Super Mario]

It's so easy to imagine this happening, Super Mario is feeling dizzy.

First. PC user walks past Apple store. In the window he sees this little white box. What can that be? So he goes inside to play with it. His eyes can't believe the beauty of it. It's so simple and so smooth. Oh yes and it's so cheap. He says to himself that he can stick his mouse and his keyboard and monitor in it. He can have a cheap Mac to go with his PC. It's lovely. He goes and buys it. What a beautiful box. He wants to look at the box all day. One week later he stops looking at the box. He takes Mac mini out like a newborn baby. He plugs it in. It's so tasty. It's so easy to use. This OSX is so stable. So simple. No DLL. No C: or D: drive. No viruses. No questions like are you sure you want to empty the trash?

He can't look at his beige monitor any more. Now he's addicted to style. He's going to buy a monitor and an iPod. His next computer will be a faster mini or Powermac.

Second example. A family of four. Each one uses the family PC and the computer is a mess. There are files all over the place. So many DLL clashes and crashes. The wires are a mess. Mommy can't vacuum properly. Who has been installing this spyware? The computer's so so slow now. The family have a fight about who is screwing up the system.

Solution, time for a new computer. They think, $500 for a Mac mini. $500 divide it by four family members. That's cheap. No virus, no crash, the best software, no spyware, easy user accounts, easy interface, easy to install and remove software.

They buy four.

[Mafia]

i was just waiting for jobs to be like, "how you like that one bill?" but he didn't.

[the_glassman]

Then they find out you can't upgrade it unless you pay apple, the memory and hard drive are way expensive, that it's using a three year old graphics card and last years processors.
Pipe dream. This thing will fail, have you tried pricing it with any real features? Come out over $1,000, and then you still need a display.
Not including a mouse and keyboard?

[Super Mario]

Originally posted by the_glassman:
Then they find out you can't upgrade it unless you pay apple, the memory and hard drive are way expensive, that it's using a three year old graphics card and last years processors.
Pipe dream. This thing will fail, have you tried pricing it with any real features? Come out over $1,000, and then you still need a display.
Not including a mouse and keyboard?

Uh real features like what? If you need a fast drive you don't need a mini. If you need 1gb memory you don't need a mini. If you need Geforce 6800 you don't need a mini. The 9200 graphics is the same Sony uses in $2500 notebooks. It's a six months old cut down from 9600. It's better than my GeForce 4mx pos I use for Call of Duty. The mini is for a cheap and snappy OSX computer. It's very good for family, networks, multimedia playback, iTunes, Office, iWork and iLife.

[the_glassman]

Originally posted by Super Mario:
Uh real features like what? If you need a fast drive you don't need a mini. If you need 1gb memory you don't need a mini. If you need Geforce 6800 you don't need a mini. The 9200 graphics is the same Sony uses in $2500 notebooks. It's a six months old cut down from 9600. It's better than my GeForce 4mx pos I use for Call of Duty. The mini is for a cheap and snappy OSX computer. It's very good for family, networks, multimedia playback, iTunes, Office, iWork and iLife.

So not many people use or need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth? And 256 MB or memory is just fine or OS X, Office, iPhoto, Garageband, etc...? The fact that someone can purchase a $499.00 eMachines with a DVD+/-RW, with a processor that would mop the floor with the mini, is user upgradeable and comes with get this, a keyboard and a mouse, and speakers doesn't bother you?
I'm glad Sony has such a lame card in their laptop, however, not sure if you are aware, but the mini isn't a laptop (unless I missed something) and therefor shouldn't be compared to a laptop.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally posted by the_glassman:
Then they find out you can't upgrade it unless you pay apple, the memory and hard drive are way expensive, that it's using a three year old graphics card and last years processors.
Pipe dream. This thing will fail, have you tried pricing it with any real features? Come out over $1,000, and then you still need a display.
Not including a mouse and keyboard?

See - you don't get it.

I have a 4+ year old G4, and when I purchased it, I chose it over the Cube because I needed room for a second graphics card and a SCSI card. At this point, I no longer use my SCSI hardware (scanner, very small external hard drive, Zip drive.)

I already have a keyboard and mouse - both of which are not the ones that came with my G4. Although I have those too. My two 15" CRTs are too small and one is beginning to crap out on me. So I intend on purchasing one of the newly reduced-price Cinema displays (because I want something that can achieve a higher resolution than even the 20" iMac can do.) But I don't need a powerhouse machine at home - I don't need a G5. I don't do the processor intense stuff I do at work at home. I surf the net, word process, do some light design work. All of these things I could do on a mini.

Not every machine can be a top-end G5. Just like not every car can be a Porsche. Look around and you'll see plenty of Toyota Corollas on the road - yet they don't have V8s and high-end stereo systems. But people can afford them and they work for people.

[the_glassman]

Originally posted by davesimondotcom:
See - you don't get it.

I have a 4+ year old G4, and when I purchased it, I chose it over the Cube because I needed room for a second graphics card and a SCSI card. At this point, I no longer use my SCSI hardware (scanner, very small external hard drive, Zip drive.)

I already have a keyboard and mouse - both of which are not the ones that came with my G4. Although I have those too. My two 15" CRTs are too small and one is beginning to crap out on me. So I intend on purchasing one of the newly reduced-price Cinema displays (because I want something that can achieve a higher resolution than even the 20" iMac can do.) But I don't need a powerhouse machine at home - I don't need a G5. I don't do the processor intense stuff I do at work at home. I surf the net, word process, do some light design work. All of these things I could do on a mini.

Not every machine can be a top-end G5. Just like not every car can be a Porsche. Look around and you'll see plenty of Toyota Corollas on the road - yet they don't have V8s and high-end stereo systems. But people can afford them and they work for people.

You are already a Mac user, trust me I get "it". This post is about PC people converting over. Last time I checked a lot of PC's were still using PS/2 mice and keyboards, how well do they work on the Mini?

[rozwado1]

This isn't supposed to be a performance computer by any means. PC users should find the value in the price as well as lack of viruses and spyware.

The mini is not a laptop, but in essence, it's an iBook without a screen (and keyboard/mouse for that matter).

glassman: most PC users don't know what the F is going on. You're talking about PC users that know about the differences between 9200 and 9600 cards. These power users/gamers shouldn't buy a mini. I'd say a good 85% of PC users have no idea. The mini will sell to them.

[awcopus]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
This isn't supposed to be a performance computer by any means. PC users should find the value in the price as well as lack of viruses and spyware.

The mini is not a laptop, but in essence, it's an iBook without a screen (and keyboard/mouse for that matter).

glassman: most PC users don't know what the F is going on. You're talking about PC users that know about the differences between 9200 and 9600 cards. These power users/gamers shouldn't buy a mini. I'd say a good 85% of PC users have no idea. The mini will sell to them.

It's really quite true about PC users being, in many ways, just about exactly the way they are depicted in DELL ads... kind of slow, generally gullible, and relatively easy to please. The irony is that Dells and Gateways and all the others sell these machine and these packages that seem like a great deal until the user gets home and suddenly runs into virus / spyware problems, driver problems....

The iMac mini is going to find its market in the PC world. I know that my father-in-law has all kinds of tolerance for how slow his PC running XP is, but he's dying from the virus and driver problems he runs into.

[ajprice]

You are already a Mac user, trust me I get "it". This post is about PC people converting over. Last time I checked a lot of PC's were still using PS/2 mice and keyboards, how well do they work on the Mini?

Go to an electronics store

http://www.xpcgear.com/usb2ps2.html $6.99 ps/2 to USB adaptor

[removed oversize (and non-essential) inline image. --tooki]

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by the_glassman:
Then they find out you can't upgrade it unless you pay apple, the memory and hard drive are way expensive, that it's using a three year old graphics card and last years processors.
Pipe dream. This thing will fail, have you tried pricing it with any real features? Come out over $1,000, and then you still need a display.
Not including a mouse and keyboard?

The laughable graphics card in the iMac G5 has DOOMED it to failure.

Yessiree.

Just accept that 90% of users just want to surf, email, chat, and process words and the occasional home video, maybe do a little digital photography.

99% of users are FINE with a low-end iBook, and that includes just about ALL fed-up Windows users I've seen come into the store, toying with the idea of getting a Mac.

Quit trying to oversell them.

This thing is going to be almost as big a hit as the iPod; I'm absolutely positive of this. This is EXACTLY what a Windows user wants after his machine has been immobilized by spyware and worms for the umpteenth time.

-s*

[The Windozer]

I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

[mitchell_pgh]

I HATE that people continuously try to make EVERY single Apple product a high end system.

- NOT everyone demands a wireless keyboard and mouse.
- NOT everyone demands 1GB of memory.
- NOT everyone demands bluetooth
- NOT everyone demands Airport Express
- NOT everyone demands a Superdrive

If you max out the Mac mini, sure an iMac or eMac might be a better choice [for some] but that isn't the point!

DELL UltraSharp 2001FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand - $599.25
Apple Wired Keyboard and Mouse $58
• 512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
• 80GB Ultra ATA drive
• Combo Drive
• 56K v.92 Modem
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 - $624.00
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1381.25 total

I'm interested in seeing where I can purchase a 20" DVI monitor + Mac for under $1400... and before you say "well, the iMac G5 is only 1900... and you get a better X Y and Z... you must realize that's a $500 difference. which automatically kills many buyers.

This computer give Mac users and potential mac users more options.

As I grow older [now in my late 20's], the screen becomes more important, and the raw horsepower, while still important, is much lesser so.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by The Windozer:
I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

That's sad... I always go the extra mile for my fellow Mac users... and I rarely volunteer for spyware, adware or virus removal duty with my PC buddies.

[zwiebel_]

Originally posted by The Windozer:
I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

Everyone makes mistakes, and no-one is perfect. Not making your life easier because you are afraid of "little smirks" is downright childish.

[Kitschy]

I use Safari and the iApps on my 667 PowerBook G4. They all run REALLY fast.

I just can't imagine that DOUBLE my clockspeed (1.2 GHZ) will be less than necessary for today's genral consumer apps as some are suggesting. Plus, at $499 it just seems like the perfect computer for someone like me. Email, Internet and basic word processing. In fact, without the iApps I wouldn't have even considered doing some of the creative things I currently do.

So for me, it's not so much hardware as it is price and software.

That said, I already have my PowerBook and I foresee it working for me for a few years yet.

[FulcrumPilot]

Originally posted by the_glassman:
Come out over $1,000, and then you still need a display.
Not including a mouse and keyboard?

The point is to steal all that away from the spyware gathering Dell that you may have! I will buy a mac-mini just because I can feel safer doing mission critical stuff (like banking etc), play with basic digital video manipulations, and perhaps make it a juke-box as well, and of course it's will be so portable say if I want to go somwhere where I am sure I can steal a monitor, key board and the mouse from another dell! ;-)

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by The Windozer:
I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

Those little smirks are knowing "welcome to the family" smiles. Your loss.

[angelmb]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
The laughable graphics card in the iMac G5 has DOOMED it to failure.

Yessiree.

Just accept that 90% of users just want to surf, email, chat, and process words and the occasional home video, maybe do a little digital photography.

99% of users are FINE with a low-end iBook, and that includes just about ALL fed-up Windows users I've seen come into the store, toying with the idea of getting a Mac.

Quit trying to oversell them.

This thing is going to be almost as big a hit as the iPod; I'm absolutely positive of this. This is EXACTLY what a Windows user wants after his machine has been immobilized by spyware and worms for the umpteenth time.

-s*

Spheric Harlot is so right... All my neighbours with computers can not say you what is the difference between RAM and a hard disk, average computer users dont care about "that freeaking speedy video card more expensive that the Mac mini", to be honest, a huge number of home computer users have over powered systems with no real reason

[Apple Pro Underwear]

Originally posted by angelmb:
to be honest, a huge number of home computer users have over powered systems with no real reason

one real reason is value

most people will compare the system they are thinking about with a higher one and a lower one and see which one they can afford and weigh their options. the ones who go up one system for a bit more are getting machines that age better.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by The Windozer:
I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

Well that would make you an idiot.

[hagheid]

Had to think of something to moan about..........Let's see.........

I was thinking about buying a miniMac..............but...there's no way to hook up my 30" Cinema HD!






JOKE!

[strictlyplaid]

Originally posted by The Windozer:
I'm a PC user with close to no technical knowledge about computers, and I can tell you that I will never buy a Mac, because that will give the Mac-users I know a chance to be all uppity and smirk their little smirks at me.

You don't have to buy a Mac for that. They'll do that for free.

[The Windozer]

Originally posted by strictlyplaid:
You don't have to buy a Mac for that. They'll do that for free.

A strained smile it is if I ask them if they've played some computer game less than six months old. Of course, that costs a bit of money.

[hagheid]

Koule!
Droole!

me wunt wan. am have no moocho dollarez. birgin! playze gimes too good
Foole

[olePigeon]

Is there any company that has a Computer Buying website that has checkboxes for what you do/need, not what features they think you need?

For example, have checkboxes for:

+ Microsoft Office
+ Internet Browsing
+ eMail
+ Educational Games
+ Kids Games
+ Big-Kid Games
+ 2D Applications (Photoshop)
+ 3D Applications (3D Studio Max, Maya)
+ Home Movies
+ Home Pictures
+ Pro Video
+ Pro Photography

Instead of listing all the technical features with big numbers that people think are so important, list what people commonly use their computers for. Of course there could be an option for "real" users to customize based on technical features, but this would be a good idea for your average user.

That way Grandma can buy a cheap PC or Mac with a simple Photo program so she can email her grandkids with nifty pictures. She doesn't need a Dual Xeon with a 6800 DDL, or a Dual G5 for that matter.

[CreepingDeth]

Originally posted by hagheid:


Koule!
Droole!

me wunt wan. am have no moocho dollarez. birgin! playze gimes too good
Foole

Why are you guys acting so stupid? This isn't something that you use for playing Unreal and making HD movies on. It's a goddamn consumer machine! Is that so very hard for you to understand? Just as many people find a laptop unsuitable, many people find a low-end machine unsuitable. But it'd look more foolish if you complained about a PowerBook not having two extra PCI slots…because duh, it isn't used for that. It has to be light and thin. Need expansion? Buy a PowerMac. Same goes for the mini. The market for that are consumer-level, "can I just get my email sent" kind of people. They want something small, affordable, and with a decent feature set. The iMac mini qualifies. It's for those people, just as the ones who would rather have mobility over expansion.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by hagheid:
JOKE!

-t