“I’ve been a fan of the small computer since I first saw a little cubic box encasing a mini-iTX board. From there I’ve admired all the small boxes, as well as the numerous homebrew machines developed by combining mini-ATX or mini-iTX motherboards with various components and cases. While this trend has been going on for years, people still seem to prefer large tower cases. Now we see the Mac mini and the interest in small computers has been revitalized. It’s time to rethink the whole idea,” John C. Dvorak writes for PC Magazine.
“The Mac mini design is somewhat different than the typical little PC; it’s more along the lines of a laptop. In other words, Apple has taken the small-form idea seriously,” Dvorak writes. “I think Apple’s marketing machine should be able to invigorate the small-model business on the PC side of the market. We hope that the little devices will not overheat and bring bad PR to that segment. If all goes well, this means you can expect a Dell mini, an HP mini, and everything in between. We also hope they will give some thought to design.”
“If indeed the market for small PCs skyrockets, you then have to ask yourself, ‘Why the heck does Apple have to be the company that once again lights the fuse?’ How humiliating,” Dvorak writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What’s humiliating about the fact that Apple is the company that once again lights the fuse? Aren’t you used to it by now, John? Exactly how many decades of proof do you need? We expect Apple to lead. The only way it could be humiliating is if you hate Apple for some reason, work for a Wintel box assembler like Dell, or don’t like being proven wrong time after time after time. Perhaps you’re starting to realize that you’re on the losing team, John?
Dvorak goes on and on about what he thinks a small form factor PC should be, but he’s way off base as usual because he still seems to refuse to understand what a Mac is and what it can do. Dvorak seems to think iLife, Mac OS X, Safari, and the rest of the Apple’s applications are the same as the software available for Windows, it must all just be marketing hype – there are no differences. It’s as if he sees no value in Apple’s Mac OS X operating system and Apple’s software and the synergy they all have with the Mac hardware and the users. Everything for Dvorak seems to be seen from the Windows perspective, so it’s only natural that what he imagines a “PC mini” should be ends up being dull, uninspired, and pedantic.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
FrankenMac mini, it’s alive! Man rips apart Mac mini, turns it into PC – January 31, 2005
Where Apple leads, Wintel follows years later – January 31, 2005
Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness – December 20, 2003
