Geeks, in particular, just don't seem to get it. Some are complaining that 256 MB of RAM is useless. These are the same people who thought that both the iPod and iPod mini would fail.
I'm not saying that the Mac mini will definitely be a hit. But if it isn't, it won't be because it has a default 256 MB RAM (upgradeable to 1GB, but it's expensive).
Your average user is not even going to run Photoshop. They'll be happy with iPhoto, especially the new one. They're not going to be running Final Cut Pro HD or Motion. Or any of the big Macromedia apps. And certainly not an Oracle database.
They'll wanna run Safari, Mail.app, iTunes, iPhoto, iChat and Office or iWork. 256 MB is fine for this.
I have 1 GB RAM in my iMac. Don't get me wrong, it's great. Especially when I'm running Final Cut, etc. And yeah, I drool over the dual G5s with 8GB RAM, etc. What I'm saying is that the Mac mini is still a snazzy and affordable little computer. We'll see how it pans out.|||110555031309031780|||Mac mini
Joe|||This is targeted at people who already have a PC. I think Jobs even said that now people have no excuse not to switch. "Switch" being the key word.I know this will sound obvious, but your average user, by definition, already has a monitor, keyboard, mouse and probably speakers. Laptop owners are an exception, of course.
More important and maybe less obvious: this is targeted at iPod owners. People who have already spent $300 on a MP3 player. Think about that. They're spending that money for a lot of reasons, but Apple is betting that a lot of iPod owners kind of like the whole Apple way of doing things, and they don't mind paying a little extra. They don't want to pay $3000 to try out a Mac, though. But $500 - $800? Much more realistic.
The point is that it's a low-priced Mac. That may just mean low-priced for a Mac. But the point is, depending on equipment you already have, it may be a better deal than comparable iMacs or eMacs.
And yes, if I bought it I'd pay the $75 or whatever to bump it up to 512 MB.
Take a look at how Dell keeps its price low vs. how Apple does it. Check out how Dell handles video RAM vs. Apple. Most people don't realize that stuff. Dell cuts all kinds of corners that really give the illusion of a good deal. Apple is of course hoping that people who get the mini will eventually get the more upscale macs. But what Dell is going for is different. They know full well that their $450 PC will be complete junk in two years. I think they're betting that consumers will buy these $450 computers over and over.
I seriously doubt that, especially with 512 MB RAM, the mini will be junk after 2 years.
I think a basic price-point and peripheral comparison of the Mac mini and that Dell is flawed.
Joe|||Also, I agree with the Motley Fool article about beefing up margins with the extras. Apple does do that. It seems to work.However, you can get around those things. You can buy third-party RAM, a USB Bluetooth adapter, etc. Granted, most people don't want to do that sort of thing. I know I didn't.