“For the love of God, it doesn’t even come with a keyboard or mouse. You have just got to be kidding me. This just might turn out to be the darkest day in Macintosh history. And yeah, I’m as aware as anyone just what a bloody history it’s been. But this, I think, might top all of it,” Bill Palmer writes for billpalmer.net.
“Let me get one thing out of the way right off the bat. A bad idea deserves to be exposed for what it is, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past week. Those who spend years spreading around a bad idea deserve to be called out for it, so no apologies for anyone who needed to be put in their place in the process. And most of all, a company that bets its future on a bad idea deserves to slammed in the manner that I’m about to do now,” Palmer writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you remember, Bill was the guy who “gave the headless iMac rumor a zero percent chance of being true” last Saturday. So, Bill had clearly staked out his limb and now it seems he’s trying to defy gravity by clinging to said now-treeless limb. We like Bill. We like reading Bill, even though it takes a loooong time to get through some of his pieces. (Hire an editor, Bill, will ya?)
Still, what Bill’s trying to do with his article is a nice try at hovering in midair, but he puts way too much emphasis on the prospective Windows Switchers’ displeasure at learning they may have to buy a new keyboard and mouse for $48 bucks extra. We will point out that we agree that it would be nice if Apple did have a cheapo monitor somewhere in the store to sell to the Mac mini buyers. Having the lowest-priced monitor at $999 and leaving your salespeople with no other option than to send people upstairs to the mall’s Best Buy (actually happened to us at an Apple Store in the past) to find a monitor priced accordingly for a $499 computer isn’t probably the best idea. Yes, we realize that Mac mini buyers are supposed to be using their cheeseball Dell or Gateway CRT monitor and, theoretically, their Windows-key laden USB keyboards (if they even have USB keyboards), but that’s in a perfect world, which, if you haven’t noticed, isn’t the world in which we live. Palmer was wrong about there being no $499 Mac. We think he’s wrong about the Mac mini being “groundbreakingly stupid,” too. Palmer’s article goes on forever, but it’s a fun read, if only to see Bill trying to twist free from the straightjacket in which he dressed himself and for some valid points strewn throughout his article, too.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple finally stops overreaching for ‘switchers’ and goes for ‘adders’ instead – January 12, 2005
Bill Palmer: ‘Headless Mac’ a phony rumor that doesn’t exist – January 08, 2005
I think I heard that one of the online Mac retail sites was giving away a keyboard and mouse if you bought the Mac mini.
hey Bill….
It aint stupid… if it sells like hotcakes….
Which it will !!
I was never out on a limb, certainly not when you consider that none of the pudits who have been “guaranteeing” a headless iMac for the past five MacWorlds were out on a limb when it turned out not to be true time and time again. My arguments made sense, Apple’s actions didn’t, that’s no sweat off my reputation.
And for the record, I could care less about being right or wrong, and I can’t tell you how much I hope I AM wrong about this thing doing far more damage to the Mac product line than good. But sadly, I don’t think I am.
To fellow Mac users in the know: what are the possibilities for a monitor for the new Mac? Prices? It would seem a good idea for apple to perhaps offer a bundle with a CRT or flatscreen (nothing that will knock your pants off or anything…) Cheers…
Sounds like all the airheads in modern talk radio. They have an opinion and no matter what fact refute it they feel they must maintain their stance out of spite.
Brought to you by “feet”. As in Bill’s should be wearing some concrete shoes.
Among its many purposes it that of a PC accessory. From the Apple Website;
“Set a space-saving Mac mini atop your workstation PC and add a KVM switch to share keyboard, monitor and mouse.”
Sorry Bob. it is brilliant – you just need to learn to Think Different.
I wasn’t sold on the idea either, but I’m willing to admit how wrong I was. And I’ll prove it by buying one! Bill needs to get over it. The only thing he loves more than Apple is his own opinion of how the place should be run.
Brought to you by the magic word: lived, as in, “You haven’t LIVED until you’ve made a mistake, ‘fess up Bill.”
Bill could save on the cost of having an editor, he could share with Tera (Mac360)
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
With the greatest possible respect, a groundbreakingly stupid, terrible idea would be Napoleon thinking “Let’s invade Russia – sure, it’s a little cold, but we could get some winter sports in on the way”.
Another groundbreakingly stupid, terrible idea would be Abraham Lincoln saying to Mrs. Lincoln “How do you feel about a night at the theatre”.
But, in the annals of groundbreakingly stupid, terrible ideas, nothing beats the time around 40 years ago when Mr. Thurrott suggested an early night to Mrs. Thurrott. Now that’s something that makes me wish that time travel was possible�
Bill, just stare at the ad below your post for awhile…maybe reality will sink in.
This was a great day for Apple. It seems that Steve Jobs and Apple are not doomed to make the same mistakes that they made with the original Mac – which, let’s face it – can be largely attributed to hubris. They believed that simply being ahead of the pack and having a great product would win the day – and they were almost swept away.
For a man like Jobs to recalibrate his vision with the facts he has gathered, often the hard way, and come through like he did yesterday is nothing short of astounding.
I can’t think of a single Machead who would pass on the next high-end gadget to buy the cheapest thing at the Apple Store (likely they will add it to thir collection – or like me find some way to make it a delightful gift to a PC friend or family member), but I have already talked to some PC colleagues who may bite for the first time due the Mini. This was a home run of the highest order.
I think the little maker of the keyboard/monitor switches better start hiring more people!
Wasn’t Bill also one of the morons who predicted that the iPOD Mini would be a dismal failure?
You would think that these clueless bozos would be humbled by their gross errors with past predictions, but I guess when it comes down to it, the ignorant are just too damned ignorant to learn from past mistakes.
Who Da Fawk is Bill Palmer, and why should we care…..
Where is the guy who just won’t shut up?
Turdrott, you out there?
Ahhh maybe the Tsunami got him.
Damn.
MacMall is offering a free keyboard and mouse with every Mac mini. Many people have purchased more then one computer in their lifetime. Some even have an old display and keyboard lying around as well as a mouse. Otherwise go out and buy them for less then $50.00. 17″ LCD dusplays are available for $175. The mini is certainly not going to beat the pants off Dell or HP/Compaq on price. It’s not really for the Wal-Mart crowd. It’s for savvy PC users who are tired of viruses, malware, blue screen and all the baggage that comes with Windows. You can’t beat the bundled software nor the small footprint of the mini. I think it has a good chance for business use as well. Apple is NEVER gonig to get back to the 25% market share. Too many intrenched Windows users. What they can do is possibly add a few percentage points. That will bring some increase in earnings. I’m afraid, however, that the mini is not going to provide the 25%-27% margin Apple makes on their other computers. In the end, they cannot and should not sell a $500 computer with screen, keyboard, mouse, etc. It would cut their margins to the 5% that Dell makes. It would be suicide. Dell must continue to keep market share high to overcome their low margins.
As has been asked many times before: Who the hell is Bill Palmer and why do I care about his hack-ish web log?
magic word: thus
Has anyone heard reaction from companies like MacMice and MacAlly about the Mac mini? You’d think they’d be in heaven, because these machines will mean mucho sales increases for them!
There’s been a long running “headless” Mac thread at Ars. Those against are eating crow graciously. Maybe Bill could get in touch with Rudy and see how it’s done.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
I wasn’t a big fan either and really didn’t think they would do it but now that I see it, Wow. And after reading a bunch of threads, there are going to be peripherals coming out the waazoo. The geeks are going to be coming up with all kinds of nifty things. They’ve already discovered that it will fit in the radio space of a car. Imagine the possibilities.
I want a module that sits below the Mini that has a large hard drive and PVR software, the next generation TiVo.
I was behind you all the way when you seemed to be jumping on the live grenade of the $500 rumor that might just be dead wrong and make Apple look like fools.
Now it looks like Apple released the rumor to create the hype.
This is not about pissing poeple off, it’s about marketing. A variation of the old bait and switch. $500, I want one. OK, I need that, add it to the list.
Think of the VAR’s and how they will finally make some money by adding not only RAM but keyboards, 3 button mice and cheap monitors. This is not about Apple Stores this is about the online retailers, the mom and pop shops and the Best Buys. They all can add on high profit extras just like Dell. The sheep get their cheap computer at a higher price, just like always, but now it’s not just another Dell or Gateway, it could be a Mac.
Everyone is missing the point. Steve Jobs mentioned that this would be the year of HD. Also, did anyone capture the fact that the Mac mini can be hooked up to a TV. The Apple website also claims you can buy a wireless keyboard…
Can’t you read between the lines?! The Mac mini works on multiple levels:
1) Switchers
2) Entertainment center computer (granted, the graphics card is a little weak, but if you pop in a DVD you can still watch it on the TV, browse the internet, edit movies in HD with iMovie, and burn DVDs with iDVD) NOTE: I wonder if I can watch satellite TV and have the Mac mini in PIP (picture in picture). AWESOME!
3) Current Mac owners who want to add another computer in their home without investing in a PowerMac.
Didn’t Steve also claim that they are backing Blu-Ray? In the next iteration of Mac mini, you will see the arrival of a true media center Mac. Let the global domination begin!
If a user wants a cheap Mac with a keyboard, monitor, and mouse, buy an eMac. If a user wants a cheap Mac and doesn’t need a keyboard, monitor, and mouse because they already have it on their PeeCee, save a few dollars and buy a MacMini. Apple’s got all the bases covered.
Is this dude for real? What a moron!
Bill nobody cares what you think, some people are just born to blather I guess.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cheese” style=”border:0;” />
I have to admit that I share some of Bill’s scepticism (if not his vitriol). I’m not sure exactly who this machine is aimed at — the low-end switcher? The eMac, with its out-of-the-box usability and comparable performance stats, seems the better choice. While there may be a few switchers who have been resisting because they still have their own monitors/keyboards/mice with which they don’t want to part, I honestly can’t see this as a really significant population.
If you have cheapo accessories, it seems to me that either (a) you don’t care that much about your computer and you’re likely to either keep on using your Wintel machine until, or (b) you want to upgrade your accessories anyway.
If, on the other hand, you have really expensive accessories, then you probably will care enough about your computing environment that you want something a little higher-end than the G4 in a Mac mini.
I hope I’m wrong — I’d love the Mac mini to become a hit and to see it embed itself in the popular consciousness in the same way the iPod has.
Where I think this is most likely to happen is if this product taps into, not the traditional computer market, but people who are going to use the computer almost exclusively as an entertainment hub that they plug into a HD flat-screen TV and can carry around with them to other people’s houses. Instead of a computer, think of it as a portable digital hub system — just add speakers and a TV (which most people already have) and you have instant home theatre that happens to be able to get content off the internet (and lets you do word processing, too).
If the Mac mini succeeds, it won’t be as a computer in the traditional sense. It will be as a new centre of an audio-visual system.
It will be very interesting to see how this is going to be marketed … as a computer, the Mac mini is simply the Cube Part II. As a digital hub, this could be something else entirely, and might really catch on.
Isn’t this aimed at people who already have a Windows machine and are looking for a way to escape and jump onto the Mac bandwagon?
Why should they have to buy a machine which has a monitor attached when they have a decent sized display that they bought when they got their last PC. Dump the PC and just keep the monitor.
If they have that, then why can’t they use their PC keyboard and mouse? Most people dump the mice that comes with their computer after some time and usually get a new keyboard eventually.
Its a good alternative for someone who doesn’t need anything but the machine… I get it…I understand why keyboards and mice aren’t bundled.
Sincerely,
Christopher Powers