New Mac mini helps Apple get its secret weapon - creative software - in front of Windows users
Tuesday, February 08, 2005 - 08:34 AM EDT"Apple's new Mac mini certainly doesn't break any new ground in technology; it's basically just the same guts from a last-generation Mac portable, sans the screen, keyboard and cursor controller. From a technical point of view, the mini is pretty minimal. The basic configuration of a single 1.25-gigahertz G4 chip, 256 megabytes of system memory, a CD-R/W and DVD-ROM combo drive, and a 40-gigabyte hard drive would be considered ho-hum, if not slug-like, if one of the Windows-based box-makers had come up with the idea. In fact, one can easily find entry-level Windows-based PCs that offer faster processors, more memory, greater storage—plus a display, keyboard and mouse—for less money," Peter Lewis writes for Fortune. "But wait: There are three exceptional and very important things about the Mac mini that render those gripes less significant: design, price, and software."
"Sure, it's a handy and relatively inexpensive way to add an extra Mac to a current Mac owner's network, or to give the kids a Mac of their own so they're not downloading bootleg software onto your machine. But I don't think Apple really cares if current Mac owners flock to the mini; Apple would rather sell them iMacs and Power Macs and PowerBooks and iBooks," Lewis writes. "The Mac mini is a Trojan horse. No, not the virus kind that turns your unprotected Windows PC into a porn- and spam-spewing zombie, but rather a sneaky way for Apple to get its secret weapon—creative software—in front of all those Windows users who are fed up with the other kind of Trojans—the worms, viruses and other scumware that feed on the Microsoft Windows operating system like vampires and leeches."
"For an investment of less than $600, Windows users can see for themselves what all the Mac fanatics have been raving about all these years. No system crashes? No viruses? No network configuration nightmares? Being curious at $574 is a lot more attractive than being curious at $1,500, which for a long time was the opening ante for exploring the Mac mystique," Lewis writes. "Windows users have probably read that the Mac operating system, OS X, is far more reliable and secure against online threats than Windows. What they may not know is that Apple's iLife creativity programs—iTunes, iPhoto, Garageband, iMovie and iDVD, among them—are far more sophisticated and elegant than their counterparts in the Windows world."
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Another Mac mini article whose writer gets that it's really all about the OS and the applications that come with the Mac mini rather than the hardware itself. But, have you seen a mini in person, yet? It's really quite astoundingly small and, of course, beautifully designed. Good job, Apple!
Windows-only users, don't be afraid. Sure, after trying Mac OS X and iLife and other included software, you will hate your Windows PC (if you don't already). But, that's okay, you and many others will have found a better way. Go for it!
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It's nice to see a writer who knows what he's writing about for a change.
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magic word "efforts", as in apple is on track to be rewarded for their efforts...yahoo!