So I got a Mac Mini today....

[brycejones]

So after starting off with an AppleTV as a media extender, I decided I wanted a more flexible solution and picked up a Mac Mini off ebay. It is a 1.83ghz Core2 model.

Now this afternoon I see stories that Apple has to informed retailers not to expect any more Mac Mini shipments. The underlying assumption is that Apple has killed the Mini. I hope not. If Apple used the same chipset as the new Macbooks it would be just about a perfect small media center machine.

 

[Joe Average]

It already IS a perfect small media center machine, that's the point. There's nothing out there that Mac mini you have can't handle, even with the Intel onboard video. It can play back 1080 HD content without breaking a sweat, it'll run Leopard 10.5.5 easily (max out the RAM, obviously for best performance, might consider a larger faster hard drive too), and other things.

But as a "perfect small media center machine," it's nearly perfect for it, always has been...

As for Apple dumping the Mac mini, either that report/leaked info means they're going to refit the Mac mini lineup come January with MacWorld (entirely possible and very likely) or yes, they're dumping the entire line and concept forever (highly unlikely and very impractical given the cost of iMacs).

 

[brycejones]

I'm going to max out the ram, hard drive space doesn't really matter. I've got a server with 8TB that I use for storing media and other things. So that is where the key stuff will come from. I'm assuming the only audio out is 2 channel. That is one thing that would be nice to see changed in a refresh. That and adding 802.11N, which I guess i could do with an USB adapter in the mean time.