“One’s first reaction to seeing the Mac mini face to face is: surely you can’t get a whole computer in that? A metal-and-white enclosure the size of a sandwich box – but far more elegant – packs up to 1 gigabyte of memory, fast Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth connectivity, a DVD-burning slot-loading drive and an 80-gigabyte disk. But what makes the Mac mini appealing to any Windows user is not its compact size, but the software that comes with it and the price,” Charles Arthur writes for The Independent.”
“Once you’re plugged in, the fun starts. Along with Apple’s e-mail, calendar, address book, synchronisation and browser programs, the Mac mini comes with a program suite already loaded, called ‘iLife ’05,’ which includes a movie-making program called iMovie HD, a photo organisation package called iPhoto, a DVD-making program called iDVD (you’ll need the DVD-burning drive for this to work), a music-making program called Garageband, and the iTunes program that’s familiar to Windows users who own iPods, for music organisation,” Arthur writes. “There are programs for Windows that perform many of these functions; Roxio’s Creator 7 Suite for Windows runs music organisation, disc-burning, film and photograph editing. But it’s not as elegant or as integrated.”
“The second reason for trying the Mac mini is that you won’t be troubled by spyware and viruses. So far, Apple’s OS X operating system is virtually a malware-free zone. The peace of mind that brings is hard to overestimate, though Apple keeps quiet about this because hackers are expected to break through its security system eventually,” Arthur writes. “One final point: if you decide to switch to a Mac, get a program called Move2Mac (http://www.move2mac.com), which will save you a huge amount of tedious poking and prodding with machine settings to try to get Windows to talk to OS X – something it’s reluctant to do. Given that big threats can come in small packages, perhaps that’s appropriate: the Mac mini certainly makes using a Mac more affordable and more attractive than ever to Windows users.”
Full article here.
Good read.
ch..ch..changes as in magic word. ch..ch..changes. It’s a brave new world folks.
Unix has been targeted for how long again? Or Linux? How many servers in the world run Unix? Sheesh, I’m so tired of seeing this reservation. No one understands open source and Unix underpinnings, do they?
“But what makes the Mac mini appealing to any Windows user is not its compact size, but the software that comes with it “
Looks like someone is noticing…
PS
and if it is not MDN this time: “It’s the software, stupid!”.
Michael: crazy, isn’t it?
People still are thinking as OS X is something new (security by obscurity) and that as crackers will take notice it will be doom time.
They fail to realize that OS X has such old and solid bases concerning security that there is nothing to fear. Crackers will have to break into a BSDUnix, with all the effort it entails and ridiculous spreading as outcome.
It is not market share the primary reason to target an OS: it is the ease with which to cause massive spreading. Windows is the undisputed champ at this. The best anti-virus ever (for the other OSes)
Ummm, have there been any BAD reviews of the mini? This is getting a bit tedious – it’s great, it’s small, it’s attractive, it’s cheap, it has no malware, it comes with great software, oh and did I mention that it was small? and attractive? and doesn’t have viruses?
hehehehe, If the mini gets any more good press it is gonna start to make people wonder if Apple is paying off all the reviewers.
Man, I hope the mini takes off like the iPod. I hope Apple sells millions of these every 90 days.
Bought one for the office last night, the last one at CompUSA (they had it locked up in the back). Great packaging. I think my employee who has been whining to get this will be very happy today.
As for security cocerns, history is full of lessons where by people sat behind their fortifications, secure in their beliefs of safety, only to have their lives turned suddenly upside down (Maginot Line for example). Apple understands this and is vigilant about their security updates. because the malware can come in different places and methods that would undercut the user experience. It’s best to let the record speak for itself, minus any ” bring it on” boasting (where have we heard that?).
Interesting analogy, Pat.
The “Maginot Mentality.” Hmmm … you might have something there.
Well, Safari is one of the browsers vulnerable to the IDN browser hack.
Pat, nice analogy but luckily it does not hold with Apple and OS X. Not only they include every and all possible security updates coming from the OpenSource community regarding the Unix foundations as soon as they are out but they are proactive in what concerns their own applications as well.
The Maginot failed miserably in that French generals thought they were 100% bullet-proof (pun intended) and did NOTHING but waiting with a smile while the Reich took them – literally – from behind. Actually, kinda what Microsoft does: they boast security (remember the launch of XP?), do nothing, wait for the next breach to break havoc all around the world then spinning around saying that the crisis actually made them more secure. Too bad in this case it does not happen as with the Maginot line: virus crack, all Microsoft installation melt, PC ruined for good. Then people would start to flock to other OSes instead of still buying again into Microsoft malpractices.
Hardly the same scenario with Apple and BSDUnix. Hardly.
Mac = Closed hardware, expensive, overdesigned, (virtually) no software available. 2% of the market. So of course there’s no spyware problem. But hey, stay smug dude!
Atari 800 = better computer, absolutely no spyware.
And faster than a Mac.
Linux is the Mac of the future
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Sorry guys…
Linux will never be a hit with consumers dude, it’s just way too geeky and raw for typical everyday users. OS X has the polish to reel people in however. Windows will continue to be dominate at least for the foreseeable future anyway mainly due to the fact that it’s what everyone knows. But Linux won’t rise out of geekland for quite a long time if ever. I certainly don’t know any non-geeks that have ever used it or even know what it is for that matter. At least with the iPod mania, even average people out there are now aware of Apple.
Even Steve Jobs said that the reason they don’t advertise the fact that there are no viruses for OS X is because they don’t want to paint a target in their back. Eventually OS X will become a victim of malware, but never the way Windows is. Not even to the extent that pre-OS X Macs were for that matter (which was hardly at all).
Now where do I begin…
“Closed hardware”
If by “closed” you mean a limited pool of components, then you’re right, and that’s the strength of Apple’s end-to-end solution. They only have to qualify a small number of components to ensure that they interoperate well. But it’s hardly “closed”; you can run Linux on it.
“Expensive”
Bzzzzt! Wrong. Price a Dell or Gateway with similar features to the Mac mini then get back to us.
“Overdesigned”
And this is a fault how exactly? “Man, I hate Macs because they don’t fail like my shitbox does!”
“(virtually) no software available”
Depends on what kind of software you’re talking about. If you mean games, I’ll grant that there are more Windows titles available, if you’re talking about Linux, not true. As for actual usable, productivity-enhancing software, like iLife, iWork, Office for Mac, FCP Pro, Logic etc, there’s all the software that most Mac users will ever need, apart from specialist business and industrial apps. And let’s not even talk about malware; you win on that one.
“2% of the market”
That’s highly debatable, and does not take into account how many people are actually using Macs, as opposed to buying them each year. Two vastly different things. Besides, Mac sales rose twice as fast as the industry as a whole last quarter.
“So of course there’s no spyware problem”
MDN editors and readers: would you be so kind as to provide this…this…fine person with the many, many links to pieces debunking the security by obscurity myth?
“Atari 800=better computer, absolutely no spyware.”
Of course there’s no spyware! That’s because nobody uses the bloody thing anymore!
“Linux is the Mac of the future”
On the server side, Linux may well dominate, but on the destop side, no. At least not until there is consesus on a standard interface. The interface must have an agreed-upon level of consistency or the general public would never accept Linux as a desktop solution. Joe Sixpack could care less about the the ideals espoused by the Open Source movement, nor about the merits of the GPL. He doesn’t want to mess with config file, and you’ll never hear him exclaim “Dude! Stallman rocks! He just wants to check his e-mail, write business documents, and surf for porn. And he’s pissed because the interface on his secretary’s computer is so alien to his own that he can’t find the Johnson Account. To him “this new-fangled Linux” is an annoyance, and he wonders why they got rid of the nice WindowsXP machines in the first place.
It’s not just how well the system runs, it’s how the user interacts with the machine, and when it comes to interface Apple wins every time. Microsoft kinda sorta gets it, but until Linux proponents get it, and realize that some times too much choice is not necessarily a good thing, desktop Linux will remain fragmented.
But hey, stay smug dude!
Viridian..
Eloquent response to that troll… but i fear its wasted… He just doesnt get it… and probably never will !
I doubt he’ll be back to read any responses to his drivel anyhoo…
OS X is what Linux Distributions have to become in order to appeal to the vast majority of Windows users.
It’s easier to make a cheaper Mac box than it is to get the various Linux Distributers to build an acceptable unified user interface.
Linux will never displace Windows when it comes to individual users.
Mac OS X might.
with regards to the browsers vulnerable to the IDN browser hack, I checked with 2 versions of safari and this is the result
1) On OSX 10.3.7, safari 1.2.4 was vulnerable.
2) On OSX 10.2.8, safari 1,03 was safe; it flat out refused to goto the site shmoo pointed to for the first link and on the 2nd link, it displayed an error message showing the fake url.
So that means Safari was actually safe before apple decided to update in in 10.3
“Eloquent response to that troll… but i fear its wasted”
mac dood,
Thanks, but I think it necessary for us to offer rebuttals to trolls for the benefit of Windows visiting Mac forums, especially those visiting out of curiosity about Macs in the wake of the mini’s release. We musn’t allow trolls to spread FUD or reinforce clichés; we should do all that we can to welcome and embrace curious folks from the Dark Side.
In spite of a fear of sounding un-hip (as if referring to it as ‘hip’ isn’t uber un-hip), what is FUD?!?! I know of many anachronisms and can decipher even more through their context, but haven’t gotten that one yet.
Thanks
FUD is an acronym for “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt”.
ahh, much appreciation…
hey that’s like it
-u like something it has to be the mac mini
-check it out
-its soooo good