Comments on: Alleged spy photos reveal USB-laden Mac Mini

Apple Insider has posted some alleged spy photos of the backside of what might be the next-gen Mac Mini. Connections include a whopping five USB ports. But are the photos fakes?

[Mr. Dee]

You can comparable PC's for way cheaper, with more RAM, faster processor, keyboard, mouse and a Flat Panel like the Dell Studio. Vista does everything you need too, comes with build apps for email, photos, movies, collaboration and you can get updated versions for (FREE) Windows Live Essentials.

[myles taylor]

Mr Dee, what does this have to do with anything? This wasn't a review or someone trumpeting the Mac Mini. It was a rumor about a rumored product. Leave your Mac Mini bashing out of it please.

On another note, I agree that the Mini is underpowered and overpriced. It was made to fill a perceived need and it worked because the people wanted something they shouldn't have wanted. (shrugs) It's not Apple fault in my opinion, but I would never purchase one.

[Pishkado]

You can get a Kia with comparable specs for a lot less money than a BMW 1 Series too, but that doesn't mean people in a position to make that choice would want to get one.

As for Vista doing everything you want - in the same sense that a 1953 Chevy did everything I want in a car. It just didn't do it, by today's standards, very well - but if you go down a checklist with "Goes forward? Yes. Goes in reverse? Yes. Stops? Yes. Has headlights? yes" you'll find it has all the boxes checked.

[kcotham]

Uh yes, and they won't run Mac OS X, nor are they in such a small form factor. And if it's a Dell, you can count on it breaking in 6 months. Keep your Micro$oft rhetoric in you own head please.

[kylebuttermore]

typical mac users, have to lie to themselves because they wasted their money...

[liozzi]

It seems the Apple Fanboys are the ones doing the bashing here. I have a Dell that I use daily that I bought in the first quarter of 2002. I haven't had any problems with it, so the comment "if it's a Dell, you can count on it breaking in 6 months" is truth functionally invalid.

No it won't run Mac OS. That's because Apple doesn't want people to buy a computer from anyone but them. Both Macs and PCs will run Windows and Linux so logically the compatibility issue is Apples, not Microsoft's. Have you noticed that most open source software runs on Linux and Windows? Mac OS is anti-open source. Apple is pro-DRM, and makes everything as proprietary as they can.

If you want to impress people with your ability to buy a product, buy a Mac/iPod/iPhone. If you really don't like big corporations like Microsoft, build your own PC, or pay some one to do so, and run Linux. Of course you fanboys can continue to worship at the Church of Mac while providing Apple with funds to suppress innovation and destroy the environment. Follow or lead, it's your choice.

[Penguinisto]

Wow - the fact that you folks are screaming and howling at each other over what is most likely a photoshop hoax is pretty hilarious, to say the least...

Can you campers at least wait until the thing comes out before making your (obviously uninformed) pronouncements on it?

Thx in advance...

[Nataku4ca]

o yes this is a sad ms vs mac thread

just remember, there is a version of linux that looks and feels like mac, unless u want to actually run mac apps thats a different story (wonder if there is vm that allows actual mac to run on pc?)

[make_or_break]

"You can get a Kia with comparable specs for a lot less money than a BMW 1 Series too..."

BMW must be really MAD at you for your nerve in making this comparison.

[canberra_photographer]

Mr Dee should really be called Me Deeluded. Apples have longer life cycles and come with the iLif creative suite, Mail and Safari. Vista comes with mine sweeper and picture gallery, oh and Internet Explorer and Mail.

[kelmon]

This is all very exciting. Has it occurred that some people simply don't like Windows? Let people make their own decisions based on what they like and respect that.

[myles taylor]

I think it's photoshopped. It's completely outside of Apple character to put that many USB ports on anything. Even the Mac Pro only has 5 ports. And why two Display ports? It just doesn't make any sense. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple cut the Firewire ports out of the Mini entirely, like they did the Macbook, but I guess it's not too much of a stretch to see an 800 port there.

My vote is that it's fake.

[Perry_Clease]

I agree, looks like a PhotoShop.

A "spy shot" with what looks like a parquet floor background, could be a desk or table top though. Did they take a shot of the label plate? If you have enough time to get a photo of the back you probably have time for other views.

[kcotham]

It's probably a fake, but a comment on FireWire. FireWire is a much better standard, in practice than USB is, in practice. Offloading calls to hardware as in FireWire makes more sense than having the CPU handle them, as in USB. Besides, FireWire 800 is a screamer compared to USB 2.0. And when comparing real world transfer rates between FireWire 400 and USB 2.0, Firewire still is faster. I can definitely see them dropping FireWire 400 and keeping USB 2.0 though.

[Penguinisto]

Count up my vote in the "fake" column.

OTOH, it's pretty entertaining to watch the flame-fests elsewhere in the comments over something that most likely doesn't exist... so much angst, so little knowledge.

[Nataku4ca]

dont forget usb3 is coming and thats a much faster standard than 2

not saying firewire is bad, but most of my(actually all of my...) stuff runs on usb not to mention all cell phones are going to be run on usb anyways

[kelmon]

@kcotham

I totally agree that Firewire is better than USB but given that Apple dropped it from the MacBooks, which are pretty much directed at the same sort of market as a Mac Mini, there is a precedent here for them doing the same with the Mini. I hope that this is not the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

@Nataku4ca

I certainly hope that you're not saying that Firewire is bad. It is a considerable shame that it lost out to USB and I have to confess to being highly skeptical about USB 3 given the realities of USB 2. In the meantime I will always buy Firewire when the option is available.

[daedbird]

Nope, I don't seem to buy them....There is something not quite right about the mini DVI port. The grey surround looks thicker than the other ports, and the port itself does not look right to me

[gadjitfreek]

Actually, I have been using the Mac Mini as the cornerstone of my home studio since 2005, and it's about time for a refresh.

[myles taylor]

I don't disagree with you there (and I don't think anyone would) but the question is whether this is real or not.

[daedbird]

I plan on getting a next gen Mac Mini to be the hub of my home theater as well....small, can stream anything online to my TV then, , can replace a DVD player, control my audio tracks from my office. I plan on adding an EyeTV for DVR functionality......and I'll be set

[thebendds]

The fact that there is no HDMI shouldn't be a surprise. No Mac has ever had HDMI. Until Apple decides that they want to be in the Home Media Server market, they are not going to add features to a product that would make consumers think that this is what this device is for.

[mwsmith824]

They're already in that market, it's the AppleTV. Though I doubt they'd risk cannibalizing those sales to put HDMI on the Mini.

[applusr]

AppleTV is a hobby product for them, Mini is part of there line up.

[thebendds]

The AppleTV, as it is today, is more of a media player than a server. Unless you are going to get your content exclusively through iTunes, it's not going to be the go-to device for digital media. You still need a computer for that. Apple realizes this and prices the AppleTV at less than half of what a Mini costs.

[markredf150]

thebendds, there is a rumor going around that Apple may be developing a technology that either on Apple TV or iTunes, you can stream content that you purchased that isn't physically on the hard drive, therefore making it somewhat of a server. so don't count out the Apple TV as a server just yet. yes, Apple made the ATV better than the first iteration, but this puppy still has a lot of potential

[kelmon]

Correct - Apple seems to be having almost nothing to do with HDMI but rather is betting on DisplayPort to be the correct solution. The more important question here is whether the DisplayPort on the Mini will provide audio.

[erictbar]

Not sure if it's real or not but the port numbers and types do correspond with previous rumors.

[rnaoncfixd]

Perhaps they're planning on making a Mini Display to HDMI sometime in the future and that's why they didn't include it? Also, I think it would be cool if they just made this unibody aluminum as well; no white top, just entirely encased in aluminum.

[kelmon]

This adaptor is being made by 3rd parties, although I would hope that Apple makes their own version at some point as well.

[Perry_Clease]

Take a look at the shadow on the left side? Something doesn't seem quite right about that, I think that it should be larger, should be the same width as the Mini. Lighting overall doesn't seem to match up.

Any military photo intel analysts here who can give us an expert opinion?

[myles taylor]

The light hitting it at an angle could create that shadow. I still think it's fake, but the shadow checks out.

[Perry_Clease]

"The light hitting it at an angle could create that shadow. I still think it's fake, but the shadow checks out."

I took a similar shaped object, a NewerTech Hard Drive, and checked it out. I couldn't recreate the shadow, no matter how I oriented it. That doesn't mean that I had the light source correct, but I still think that the shadow width should match the thickness of the Mini.

[make_or_break]

I say you could replicate the shadows...use a cell phone camera with a really wimpy built-in flash.

[Perry_Clease]

"I say you could replicate the shadows...use a cell phone camera with a really wimpy built-in flash."

You may be right about the wimpy cell phone camera, that photo is one step up from a connivence store security camera. However, the shadow shows light coming from the upper right as does the glare on the table surface.

Whatever, the image is probably fake, or has been altered.

[ewelch]

HDMI is irrelevant. It's can't hold a candle to display port for bandwidth. You can daisy chain monitors with Display Port.

HDMI is also crippled with DRM. Watching movies on a computer's screen may be important to a few people, but Apple has the right idea with Apple TV.

The Mac Mini can also work with the right cables as a media server. And way cheaper than PCs that are media servers. Mr. Dee doesn't know what he's talking about. He's just an Apple hater.

[liozzi]

It's funny to see Apple fanboys say a product is crippled because it has DRM.

Appple wants to send people to jail for "jail-breaking" their iPhone.

iTunes is crippled with DRM so it must be irrelevant.

A ten year old PC (or Mac for that matter) can also work as a media server.

There's a lot of people commenting here who don't know what they're talking about. They're just PC haters.

[random truth]

iTunes now is drmless. I would also like to point out that displayport has drm too. Its called HDCP

[kelmon]

Disagree. HDMI Is quite clearly not irrelevant for the simple reason that all TVs and most monitors now shipping provide an HDMI connection whereas there is very little support for DisplayPort. I agree that DisplayPort is the "better" standard but the fact of the matter is that there are few devices that support it so describing HDMI as "irrelevant" is rather daft. Betamax was superior to VHS but look what happened there...

[CrashPad63]

Itunes still has DRM, they just offer to "upgrade" your old files to non DRM for a fee, and all Non DRM future downloads will be for a premium over the regular DRM'd music.
Funny thing a certain software company had developed, perfected and deployed a entertainment room box for media steaming. Some 8 years previous to Apple. Microsoft. Now Xbox , Media Center PC and Meida Extender all are available and are much more pervasive than Apple TV.

[random truth]

@crashpad, wrong.
You old tracks you can upgrade to itunes plus for 0.30 cents a track. All new tracks downloaded from iTunes are in 256 kbit/sec aac files. Their is a new pricing system that has not been implemented yet where tracks will cost $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 depending on their popularity. Have you seriously not used itunes in the last 2 months?

[kcotham]

Look at the edge above the vents, right in line above the Cat 5 port. It looks like a clear demarcation line between the photo noise on the left and right. Clearly photo shopped. A good job, but not quite good enough.

The key to this product is not the number of ports but the size of the hard disk. This needs to have at least a terabyte option.

[kelmon]

While I agree that the option of a terabyte capacity hard drive would be nice, it won't happen (2.5" drives top out at 500GB at the moment, I believe) and I also doubt that this is a necessity. I mean, there's a boatload of ports at the back that you can connect to external storage so people can add if they need more.

[kelmon]

While I agree that the option of a terabyte capacity hard drive would be nice, it won't happen (2.5" drives top out at 500GB at the moment, I believe) and I also doubt that this is a necessity. I mean, there's a boatload of ports at the back that you can connect to external storage so people can add if they need more.

[Perry_Clease]

"There's a lot of people commenting here who don't know what they're talking about. They're just PC haters."

Which posts?

[wiredchicken]

How do you fit cds into this thing??? They are just like dominos pizza, every single mac mini or notebook looks the same (uniformed). It's like something that would be distributed in the communistic country of china (usa?).

[nickh2]

"How do you fit cds into this thing?"

It has a slot on the front.

"t's like something that would be distributed in the communistic country of china "

You are confusing "utilitarian" with "sleek and elegant". Not the same thing.

[Esquirrel]

If Steve Jobs dies, who will unveil it to the public? No one. It will forever remain a secret Apple product.

[Perry_Clease]

When Steve passes away Apple will probably use the Oxyclean guy as their spokesman.

"BILL MAYS HERE WITH THE NEW APPLE MINI, IT SLICES, IT DICES, IT MAKES JULIENNE FRIES. IT WON'T RUST, BUST OR COLLECT DUST."

[wnbear]

@Perry_Clease

Nope...the ShamWow guy is clearly a better choice.

[Seaspray0]

Ron Popiel has the experience, and if you order now he'll throw in a set of ginsu knives.

[Shaun822]

I'd like to see a new Mac Mini but I'm not sold on this picture.

[gary85739]

is Apple really going out of business?

[Perry_Clease]

For about 20 years now, just listen to the pundits.

[ansellundberg]

If you look above the "5" USB ports, there is only one USB symbol. I am looking on the back of my 2008 iMac right now, and there is a symbol above each port. Something's fishy... But now that I look at the current Mac Mini, there is only one symbol there, too. Notwithstanding, the number of ports is outrageous.

[jscott418]

For the price the Mac Mini has always been a poor choice. Small hard drive and limited video and USB ports. Unless you really need the small size its not a good choice. This would go a long way to improve the Mini if they can back it up with a big HD. If the price goes up its going to be a dud.

[AppleSuxLeo]

But they give Steve Snobs a fat wallet. That is the point of ANY Apple product. Less performance , higher price , inability to play most games. Just a few reasons why I have never used Macs.

[afterhours]

Shadowing for the FW800 port is inconsistent with the other ports -- Fail. Anyone who has had to work on the soldered-on ports also knows the orientation for the FW port is rotated 90 degrees improperly. I love the Mini and own several of them, but this didn't come from an Apple lab.