“Even while at the top of its game, Apple Inc. can seemingly find faults with just about anything, including a bit of itself. The Mac maker is constantly evaluating the market segments in which it wishes to participate and those which it does not. It’s an application of love-hate methodology that inevitably produces its share of casualties,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“Take, for instance, the firm’s petite line of headless desktop computers known as Mac minis. They retail between $599 and $799, catering to the once critical sub-$800 PC market,” Jade reports.
Jade reports, “…It comes as little surprise that sources, for whom AppleInsider holds the utmost respect, are now pointing towards the mini’s impending demise. For it’s according to those people that the miniature Mac will soon follow in the wake of its similarly-proportioned counterparts of years past: the PowerBook 2400, the PowerMac G4 Cube, and, most recently, the 12-inch PowerBook.”
Full article here.
Boy did I call this one.
With the advent of AppleTV and it’s obvious future direction, the Mini will be lost in the shuffle.
Basically, an AppleTV will become the Mini with added features.
Apple TV isn’t a suitable replacement for the mini, even strictly as a media component – it doesn’t have a DVD player.
Dammit. I’m planning on getting a new Mac this year, but I love my Samsung LCD monitor and have no wish to buy a Mac with a built-in screen. With no Mac mini, that leaves as my only option the Mac Pro, which is WAAAAAY too much computer for my needs.
The Mac mini is the main reason I switched to Mac. I wanted a compact and capable machine within my means, and with an HDTV, I now only need one monitor/TV. It would be a shame if Apple abandoned the mini without introducing another affordable BYOKDM.
AL GORE,
did you guys see his desk?
And he is talking about env?
Look at all this waisted paper!!!!! Poor trees.
And he won’t even have time to go through it so it’s all waist.
And what a mess BTW, how can this guy run a country, when he cannot keep his office straight or delegate someone to do it for him.
Rumor, Speculaton, Gossip…any better terms?
Time to buy.
Here’s hoping their gonna come out with a “hobby box”, one in the price range of the mini but one that you can work on yourself.
Working in a public school system, we have been slowly moving to Macs for a few years. With the release of the Mini, we are completely replacing all PC’s, and using some various dual-boot methods. Whenever we need to purchase a new basic workstation computer in the district, it’s always a Mini. If they drop the Mini, we’ll be forced to go back to the cheap-o Dell boxes, sigh.
I think this just may be because the Mini is not so easy to make cheaply, keeping it cost-effective and competitive:
http://thesmallwave.blogspot.com/2007/05/rumor-has-it-mac-mini-is-soon-finished.html
Myself, two of my friends, and my sister, would not have switched to a Mac if it weren’t for the Mac mini. Killing it would be a huge mistake. Most young people on a budget don’t want an iMac with an integrated display and can’t afford a laptop.
so few facts – so many “journalists”
What is Apples lowest desktop offer if they kill Mac Mini?
an iMac, starting at 1029€, it’s a little steep isn’t it?
Mac Mini is the only damn reason why Apple got so F***ING MUCH press coverage in Finland for example. Every possible magazine wrote about it – and they did it for SIX MONTHS. Mini Still wins/tops in HTPC and mini computer tests. The only bad thing about it is the GPU.
I bought one last week. I and did it because I already have a display, so iMac is out of the question – no matter how crappy my LG flat panel is
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And Mac Pro is just _little_ too much for iWork.
bottom line: if Apple only wants rich people as their customers, then that’s bad.
Or if they wanna stay as a small player in the big game, that’s just crazy. I see Apple having 10 – 15 % marketshare five years from now, they CAN do it, but they can also screw up.
MW: think. Apple should really start thinking different, about itself.
STEVE JOBS:
PEOPLE ARE ON LIMITED BUDGETS! NOT EVERYBODY IS A MULTI-BILLIONAIRE LIKE YOU! KEEP THE FRICKIN’ MAC MINI AS PART OF YOUR PRODUCT LINE! YOU ARE A MORON FOR GETTING RID OF IT! IT IS ONE OF THE KEY INGREDIENTS IN GETTING SWITCHERS TO COME TO THE MAC PLATFORM!
Very dissapointing if true and if there is no replacment model planned. I purchased a 46″ LCD TV (Full 1080p) with the intention of buying a Mac Mini to function as a media center PC. Not to mention I’m just lazy and would love to check my email from the couch. Highly dissapointing, as my only other option would be a Mac Pro (total overkill/too costly/WAY too big for my media cabinet).
MW: least, as in “The Mac Mini is (was?) the least cost/best choice solution to my particular dilema.”
I would not know which Mac to buy at the moment. The Mac Pro is way too expensive and to much for my needs and my budget. I don’t want an iMac which comes with a built in monitor. The Mac Mini is quite alright except overpriced and had limited video memory. Ultimately, I would have to choose between a 20″ iMac and connect my 19″ monitor or move to a MacBook… The Mac Mini, if priced the way it was when it came out would be a good compromise but Apple has always been willing to sell expensive hardware… Darn
Just because I haven’t bought a Mac Mini does not mean I will never buy a Mac Mini.
Rob –
You go ahead the choose a president by how empty he keeps his desk. We’ve already seen what happens when we elect a President with an empty head.
Personally, I’m going to stick with choosing who has the best ideas to bring this country back to all that it stands for.
P.S. By the way, there’s a difference between “waist” and “waste.” You can look it up.
I think the reason why they would scalp the Mini is:
1. It canabalizes Apple TV and they don’t like it because they have big plans with it. The market for an Apple TV is bigger than the market for a Mac Mini. Apple TV will work together with iTunes and iPod for that matter. The Mac mini will only make a smaller contribution to those two.
2. Apple’s all in one approach doesn’t really work with the Mac mini. If they would add keyboard, mouse etc the price would go over a line they don’t want to cross.
3. Mac Mini is not a very strong name…it just doesn’t justify the hardware. Next to that I wonder if there will be a iMac for the pricetag of a Mac Mini.
just my thoughts..here from the Netherlands so forgive my english, once more.
MacB
very ill news. We used the mini with almost all our clients; if someone requests a presentation we simply purchase and configure a minimac with a basic toolset (cocktail, transmit, office etc.) and of course Keynote. The thing costs nothing to FedEx.When the thing arrives, all they need to do is just hit play. Everyone’s happy…plus no one’s going back to powerpoint. Oh and everyone loves to play with Apple’s remote in Keynote.
A few more weeks till 6-11 and the rumor mill has started ..
Killing the mini would turn it into an instant cult machine and send prices on eBay skyrocketing. And I’ll probably buy too.
Apple should ‘bait and switch’ like Dell et al:
Mac Mini (ex-tax) single processor 512M RAM 40 M drive, Combo.
Then Build-to-order WiFi, BlueTooth, RAM, more drive space, dedicated graphics processor, Core Duo, DVD-burning, motherboard upgrade, etc all user installable.
It should become the switcher’s tinkering Mac for the people who want to ‘pimp their ride’ on a budget.
what a bullshit rumor. they need to be upgraded but they wont be terminated.
I know it, they’re getting ready to bring the cube back!!
MacBill,
Get a grip, boy. Don’t be so friggin’ rude and obnoxious!