“I’m a big fan of Apple’s new Mac Mini. It looks great. It’s elegantly small. And I can seriously recommend it to my friends whose PCs are saddled with adware, spyware, and viruses, which pretty much includes all my neighbors with Windows PCs (and me too, now),” Jonathan Gennick writes in his O’Reilly Developer Weblog.
Let’s consider my neighbors:
Neighbor #1 has two PCs. One is completely nonfunctional due to adware and spyware. He just shoves the box in a corner and doesn’t use it. He manages to limp along with his other PC. Periodically I try and help him remove various malware. We never can get it all off, and his kids, whatever it is they do, seem to bring it all back again soon enough. I installed Firefox for him, which has been a great help, but still he has an infested and dysfunctional PC.
Neighbor #2 also has two PCs. The parents recently told me that their daughter’s PC had stopped working because of viruses and malware. They were planning to reload it. I don’t know whether they have yet.
Neighbor #3 is a semi-pro musician (i.e. he actually makes a profit from his music). He has frequent trouble with malware. He manages to keep his machine running, but I don’t think he’s happy with the amount of effort it takes. When I show him this new Mac Mini, and mention that he can get Garage Band for it, well, he may leap.
Gennick writes, “There’s this concept of a tipping point where a seemingly small thing can initiate great changes, and I wonder whether we aren’t reaching something like that in the world of home computers. All the time I read about viruses and malware and of successful attacks against Windows systems. I see people who live with malware, because they don’t know they’ve got it, or, if they do know they’ve got it, they don’t know how to get rid of it. I see people who are so frustrated with their dysfunctional PCs that they just shove them into a corner and forget about them. Windows PCs are just difficult for many to keep running. If Apple’s going to try and go after the masses, this would seem like an opportune time. I wish them success.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Macintosh ‘Ignorance Lag’ is finally ending; market share gains looming – November 26, 2002 (Okay, SteveJack was a bit early on this one.)
We are one month shy of 3 years running OSx… and during that time, not one virus, not one trojan, no data loss and never had to reboot due to system instability.
Mac OSx – stable, secure, intuitive. It just works. 100% up time and zero maintenance.
Thank you Apple.
What he said.
And how about Thurrott:
On iLife: “Apple’s suite of digital media applications is unparalleled, and iLife ’05 is even better”
On the Mac mini (after he just wrote an “article” called Cheaper iMac, Who Cares): “The Mac mini is a revolutionary product, one whose ramifications will be felt around the PC industry for months to come. I love it. I love that they did this.
The Mac mini is drool-worthy. The Mac mini is beautiful. The Mac mini is affordable. The Mac mini is small, quiet, and elegant. Like an iPod, it has trade-offs when compared to similarly-priced PC products. But you know what? I don’t care. They’re going to sell millions of these things. PC people will be able to get into a Mac for next to nothing. And Mac market share will grow. Mark my words. This is big stuff. Well, it’s small. The box. Nevermind.
I love Mac mini. I love Apple for making Mac mini. And I love the thought of this thing turning around the Mac’s fortune. All these years of over-pricing their products and Apple totally hit it out of the park this time.”
I can’t wait til next year’s Q1 financial call (or Macworld keynote). I’m thinking there may be a really significant market shift announced then (like 2-3%). If that happens in a year, sky’s the limit!
Up, up and away!
Brought to you by the word “without”, as in The Redmond beast will be doing without some market share by next January!
Apple waited, they wanted to enter the digital living room with the iPod and then introduced Airport Express to tie it together, now with a small form factor macintosh computer to round it out they will do exactly what they planned, take over the living room and give people the choice to have everything JUST WORK.
Way to go APPLE! I love the new toys!
Glick7 –
Did’t OSX come ou december 2000?
that’s four years, or am I smoking crack?
Maybe Glick meant personally he/she is running OS X for three years…
The Mac mini is going to make it too easy to switch people. Takes all the challenge out of it.
Official release of OS X v10.0 was 3/24/01.
‘When I show him this new Mac Mini, and mention that he can get Garage Band for it, well, he may leap.’
Mention it comes preloaded with Garageband, as well as all the software you need for digital video and photography.
I started to use OS X (10.0) when the preview cd came with my dual USB iBook. I upgraded my Gateway desktop and immediately sold it. I haven’t looked back since. We have never had a crash on the iBook, and it is still our primary computer. It is a business problem for Apple (long turnover rates on repeat buyers) due to long system lives, but it builds the best customer base (Cult of the Mac). My next computer will be a powerbook.
No malware, adware, viruses, tojans, crashes, bule screens of death…not one. Long live Apple!
Faster than a speeding bullet�
Stronger than a locomotive�
Able to leap tall buildings (or fly) in a single bound�
Able to run for years before reboot�
We HAVE reached the tipping point. The pressure from MS security holes has been building and the 50% price cut for a viable entry level computer from Apple will be enough to start the avalanche process.
Someone on a Windows message board was actually bragging about a 15 day up-time for his XP system the other day…pathetic. Microsoft’s apathy and arrogance has supplied the potential energy. Mac Mini will release it.
“it comes preloaded with Garageband”
Apple really did cut corners on this new machine.
Why does this new computer not have an analog audio input? To connect an electric guitar for use with Garageband, you now have to buy an extra USB adapter.
If this is supposed to be an iBook with no screen, why does it have no built-in RAM like the iBook? The iBook has 256 RAM on the motherboard AND an open slot for the user to add their own memory.
But with the mini Mac, you have to lose all of the original memory before you can add more.
MIS Blaster –
It’s $499, that’s why. Can use the PC equivalent with a $499 Dull? Most of the musicians I know spend waaaa more than $500 on music gear. A USB dongle is a drop in the bucket.
If you want more expandability and flexibility, buy a G5 iMac or something else. The Mac mini hits its intended target pretty well, IMHO. For $499, it can’t all things to all people.
What would it have cost Apple to add an audio input jack and a second memory slot? Or instead of a second slot, put the same 256 MB on the motherboard and leave the remaining slot open? How much would the price of this system increase? 10 dollars?