SnapperTalk

I currently have an old, slow, Dell running 24/7 for various functions such as downloading very large files, running ftp services etc and I have found it very useful to have a small, quiet and low power consuming second machine as an always-on server. The Dell works but is slow and painfully inelegant.

So now that Apple has released the sleek and cheap Mac Mini I definitely want one.

There are many Windows-based “Small Form Factor” PCs out there, including some quite nice offerings by companies such as Shuttle, Hush Technologies, and the Nanode & Cubit models from Hoojum, but this is the first Apple one, and it looks good.

My main complaints are I wish it had a 3.5″ desktop-style hard drive instead of a 2.5″ laptop-type drive, and the lack of gigabit ethernet. Still, one can always add extra external firewire drives, and overall it’s an attractive piece of kit.

For more reading on the Mac Mini there are discussion threads on the details and implications of this machine all over the net. If you’re looking for more pictures of the unit the german site MacNews.de has some good photo galleries of an actual unit including the internal workings.

Apple seems to be aiming to place this machine directly into the living-room as a media-hub or home music/video server, and it’ll be interesting to see how successful this is. Amongst others, eWeek has an article discussing who & what the machine is targeting - “What the Mac Mini Is and Is Not“