“Although the Mac mini has been around for more than a year, the big recent news has been the switch from Apple’s own internal processors to Intel CPUs, either the 1.5-gigahertz Core Solo or the 1.66-GHz Core Duo—new handles for Intel’s multitasking marvel, the dual-core processor. These two preconfigured versions of the mini offer “good” and “better” specs. I reviewed the latter. Both share an identical form factor, which is breathtakingly compact and has a metal perimeter topped by a goes-with-everything white plastic roof adorned with the Apple logo. The front edge features a slot for the SuperDrive, which can do almost everything with optical media, including burning to dual-layer DVD. Not surprisingly, power comes by way of an external brick in the AC cord, which you won’t have to see once you tuck it behind other gear,” Chris Chiarella writes for Home Theater Magazine.

MacDailyNews Note: Apple switched Macs from PowerPC processors (AIM alliance: Apple, IBM, Motorola) to Intel processors.

“DVDs play at a maximum resolution of 480p via the DVI output. They tend to take on an unpleasant digital look, though, with visible decompression that doesn’t appear to be big-screen ready. What else, then, are you to watch? One glaring omission amid all of this happy minimalism is a TV tuner, and therefore any sort of integrated DVR functionality. Elgato offers the Plextor ConvertX PVR add-on as a software solution, but this approach thwarts the Mac mini’s austere aesthetic. In my opinion, nothing should be visibly connected that’s more conspicuous than the occasional visiting iPod. The Internet is a limitless repository of content, and Apple makes available a growing collection of clips—mostly movie trailers—in true high definition, all the way up to 1080p resolution,” Chiarella reports.

More here.

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