Why Save the Mac Mini

[SimPLsol at aol.com]

WJM,

1) Regarding the "new Mini":
MacOSRumors said there would be another edition of the Mini. Their track 
record for prediction has not been good. Their web site link to more info on this 
new computer has been broken for over a week.
Apple Insider said that the Mini would be dropped. AIs track record has been 
pretty good for a rumor site.

2) Why keep the Mini:
A. It can run OS X, UNIX, Vista and XP. Great test platform for Rev.
B. You can save money by buying inexpensive peripherals.
C. You can save even more money by buying better peripherals: get a good 
keyboard, mouse and monitor, then, over the years, add new Minis.
D. Unlike the iMac, you can change monitors if your needs change.
E. If you need a computer for home and office only, get a Mini and two 
monitors, keyboards and mice - just move the Mini from home to work. The whole setup 
will cost less than a Mac Book, have a larger monitor, probably a better 
keyboard, and a real mouse of your choice.
F. Instead of just a backup HD, you can have a backup computer. A business 
could buy one or two spare Minis for every ten production Mini's.
G. Instead of just a backup HD, you can have an entire backup server.
H. The Mini takes up little space on a user's desk.
I. Hundreds of Minis take up little space in a server farm.
J. The Mini is quick and quiet.
K. Because of its small size, and low noise, you can locate a Mini server 
closer to users.
L. If Apple can see that they are losing keyboard and mouse sales on 
computers where these are not bundled, they may be persuaded to come up with a good 
keyboard and a good mouse for all of their computers.
M. The Mini was originally intended to provide an inexpensive "switcher" 
computer. Windows users could buy a full OS X box for $499 while using their 
existing peripherals. This was, and is, a good idea.
N. The Mini comes with iPhoto (and another iLife product called "iTunes"). I 
personally use iPhoto a lot; if it didn't exist, for me, it would be worth the 
price of the Mini just by itself.

3) The current Mini is far from perfect:
I agree. It is priced too high (should be $499). There is not enough RAM. 
There should be a separate video card. It is time for a Core 2 Duo processor. It 
is too hard to upgrade RAM or HD (a putty knife to open a modern computer!!!). 
It should either have a 3 1/2 internal HD or Firewire 800 (or eSATA) external 
connections.
These things are not difficult to correct and I'm sure Apple will address all 
of them - if they are still selling the Mini. And that is the purpose of the 
petition, a little encouragement to keep and improve this useful tool. You 
will note there is provision on the petition to suggest Mini improvements.
I, for one, appreciate your vote:

www.petitiononline.com/macminsa/petition.html

Paul Looney


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