First Intel Macs to be Media Centers?

Kewl, should absolutely kill the media center on vista, but wasnt Kaleidoscope a skinning program for OS8/9? i wonder how that will go with trademarking etc...

That may just be the code name.

Not too happy about that as I've already put some cash aside for an x86 PowerBook...but I'll continue dreaming

the built in ipod dock is a good idea, especially with ipod videos. smart.

Thank god I haven't bought a mini recently

Just a code name.

I'd buy this and/or a new powerbook. But the Intel roadmap shows dual core chips in Q1, with single core Yonah in Q2, so I'm a bit intrigued.

Do you think this is a direction in which Apple can really carve out a big market chunk like the iPod?

I think it'll depend on the price point. The xbox360 (+ mce) has some if not all of these features, but it isn't obviously targeted as a PVR really. If this can accept HDTV somehow (not sure how they'd do that due to the restrictions HDTV providers put on their content...not to mention QAM and all), it'd be quite amazing. Plus, Apple stuff is usually fairly stylish and they get their UI's right. I want to see Front Row 2.0.

No doubt this will boost Mac's market share and/or mindshare...

I would buy one if I could my record tv shows and then burn them to dvd's.

Do you think this is a direction in which Apple can really carve out a big market chunk like the iPod?

In a word, "no". Not unless Apple launches a very aggressive clone program. To put it very simple, main street business will not even consider Apple hardware, and people want the same OS at home that they have a work. And then there is that gaming problem, OS X has yet to be adopted by gamers.

Damm, I feel smart tonight.

ignore games.. thing TiVo's market.. think a gizmo that plays videos & music & maybe surfs the web, looks good in your living room.. sort of xbox without the gaming influence, set-top-box with styling... tv-style remote as main input device, nothing to configure or install..

I think people would flock to a product like that in droves.. regardless of what chip is inside.

What might be the final configuration of these MEDIA CENTERS that are to be shipped in Mid January. Will they be the same as that of Developer machines.

Eh this is Chrithmas before the day : All my dreams come true : I can try Mac OS on my PC, I will have soon the posibility to have a REAL Mac (so smart, beautifull etc), with Mac OS and Windows to play games (he he we must not forget priorities ). And now my last dream : a Mac mini as a media center (have you seen PC media center : bulky, hideous...). And who is Father Christmas : Steve Jobs (of course I don't forget the Father Christmas' brother in my thanks : Maxxuss

What might be the final configuration of these MEDIA CENTERS that are to be shipped in Mid January. Will they be the same as that of Developer machines.

I pretty much doubt that, with 100% certainty. More likely some 945G chipset variant with a Yonah, a Pentium 4 System would be too big, I expect this to be more "Mini-sized", or maybe cable-box sized.

I'll bite if Apple uses a SFF/ Mini-ITX/ mATX board for the next Media Center Solution. I always wanted a computer in my bookshelves.

Well, if this box has yonah, it could be the same size as the current Mini (which is tiny). But if they add a 3.5" drive this time around, it'd be a little bigger (but still small).

Let me get this straight, the Mini only had a 5400rpm drive in it? I would expect this Media center box to have at least 200gig HDD and no less than 10k RPM SATA and a gigabit lan. I also hope it has an external 400w PSU. Crossing my fingers...

Hehe, no way in hell it'd have that. I just hope it has a 7200RPM drive this time around. They need to keep it within certain price points after all. But, no word on if this is a supposed Mini replacement or an entire separate product line I guess (sounds like the latter, I mean the CPU itself is like $300US). They don't even sell powermacs with 10k rpm drives do they?

Why is it that for some Apple models, the hardware is cutting edge (Quad-core PowerMacs) but some of their bestselling items have hardware that positively sucks!

I understand all of the stuff about margins, etc, but seriously. How can a company that is known for attention to detail (ie iPod design and UI) settle for such poor features (ie no gapless playback in iPods).

Most likely, if this rumor is true, it'll consist of a cool looking box with measely hardware and a great interface. I hope that's not the case, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Why is it that for some Apple models, the hardware is cutting edge (Quad-core PowerMacs) but some of their bestselling items have hardware that positively sucks!

 

I understand all of the stuff about margins, etc, but seriously. How can a company that is known for attention to detail (ie iPod design and UI) settle for such poor features (ie no gapless playback in iPods).

 

Most likely, if this rumor is true, it'll consist of a cool looking box with measely hardware and a great interface. I hope that's not the case, but it wouldn't surprise me.

That'd definitely sound like Apple.

Well, if this hardware is available and can be broken down, "hack" brings a whole new mean to OSx86. I came from the pencil trick (Duron) and the Silver Pen (Athlon) erra and I wouldn't hesitate to solder and bridge IC pins just to get .5 volts to the CPU. I wouldn't think twice about hacking the hell out of this product when I get my hands on it. I just hope Maxxuss is around on the kernel end of things. But I really hope it doesn't come to that.

windows media center is far better at this point look at the reviews at winsupersite.com of apples media center vs windows media center.

ROFL, winsupersite! ZOMG Paul Turrot!!

Why is it that for some Apple models, the hardware is cutting edge (Quad-core PowerMacs) but some of their bestselling items have hardware that positively sucks!

 

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Most likely, if this rumor is true, it'll consist of a cool looking box with measely hardware

I don't find that comment appropriate, actually I can't really follow your line of reasoning.

We're talking about an entry-level product here, and in fact we don't even known exactly yet how it will look like and how it will perform (e.g., will it be equipped with a dual-core or only a single-core CPU, what are the clock speeds etc.). The nature of this product, the Mac Mini, is that it has to be relatively cheap and that there has to be a reason, performance-wise, to buy the more professional offerings from Apple.

Anyway, regardless whether the final product will feature a 2.5" or 3.5" HD, single or dual-core CPU, and will be clocked at 1.5 or 2 and above GHz, in my opinion the hardware will in most respects be more than appropriate, considering the design goals. The design goals of the Mac Mini are in the first place a computer with minimum footprint, low noise levels and little power consumption, whereas pure computing and graphics performance are definitely of secondary importance.

According to the ThinkSecret report, the upcoming Intel Mac Mini will be a computer which is designed to serve, among other things, as a media hub in the living room. The prime reason for me NOT to buy Windows Media PCs is that most of these systems are extremely power hungry and, most importantly, also annoyingly loud (*). The Mac Mini, however, definitely draws my attention, because, based on my experiences with the older model, I expect it not to have these shortcomings.

(*) You may or may not have heard of the quite popular LinVDR project, a PVR project based on hardware MPEG2 decoders that brings old Pentium 1, 2 and 3 CPUs to new life in the living room just because of these reasons, that they're fast enough for the job, quiet and not too power-hungry (of course you would expect a Mac Mini to be more than a simple PVR, but even with relatively slow CPUs and HDDs they will be fast enough for the average home users as their second or third PC system).

http://linvdr.org/projects/linvdr/index.en.php

Please notice: Not everyone needs the latest, fastest CPUs. It all depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. I just bought a Siemens mini PC and equipped it with a 600 MHz Pentium 3 Coppermine (instead of a Pentium 4 or a 1400 MHz Pentium 3-S Tualatin), because I need to run it as a home server 24/7 and power consumption is key in this application. With 512MB, the system is even fast enough to use it as a Terminal Server and access Office apps remotely over WLAN from four clients.

windows media center is far better at this point look at the reviews at winsupersite.com of apples media center vs windows media center.

I thought we were talking about the hardware aspects in this thread...

If you prefer Windows and one of the many media center apps for it, well, then... why not run Windows on the Intel Mac Mini?