Apple's Mac mini - Tempting PC Users Everywhere
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 25, 2005 7:39 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
iPhoto 5
For the most part, I detest photo management applications. They are usually riddled with cumbersome interfaces and/or lack any sort of real editing power. I tried using iPhoto 4, which was a part of the iLife '04 suite, and I was left fairly disappointed. I had to switch between editing and organizing modes to edit or just flip through my pictures. Images took entirely too long to flip through and despite the fact that iPhoto had the best interface of any photo management application that I'd used, it was still not enough. In the end, it was just like everything else to me and I happily continued using Photoshop for editing and saving pictures for AnandTech articles. I used folders to organize the pictures according to article, so I didn't need the organizational aspects of iPhoto for that. But then came iPhoto 5 - time to give it another try, but this time, it looked like there was hope.
During his keynote at Mac World San Franciso, Steve Jobs talked about iPhoto 5 as the only application that you'd need for both editing and organizing your photos. For my uses, Photoshop is basically overkill, but I've never found anything to suit my needs better without sacrificing usability in one way or another. But with a better interface and a new editing dashboard, iPhoto 5 seemed promising.
The iPhoto 5 interface has been greatly simplified. No longer are there different modes to switch between, everything happens in the same browsing mode. You get photos into iPhoto using its import feature, which is activated automatically whenever you connect a digital camera or a removable disk (a configurable option).
Thankfully, iPhoto gives you the option of deleting your photos automatically from the media/camera after it is done importing them. Once you confirm your intentions, iPhoto goes off and copies all of the photos into your iPhoto Library. Your photo library can be viewed at variable sized thumbnails, adjustable by a slider in the lower right of the application. The scaling of the number of pictures on your screen at one time happens very quickly as iPhoto will render the thumbnails quickly, and then later, sharpen the images once you're done playing with the slider. iPhoto is much faster (especially on the G5) now, and photos no longer take a little bit of time to come into focus when browsing through them one at a time (as opposed to a page of thumbnails). Also, when browsing quickly, they will appear as thumbnails rather than blurry images (more useful in my opinion).
The iPhoto Library is organized by year and feeds off of the information written by your camera to the images. If you have a lot of photos, the Library quickly becomes cluttered, since it is organized by nothing more than date. This is where some of the indexing features of iPhoto come into play, but they do require a bit of user intervention.
When you import images into the Library, you have the option of tagging the images that you import with a title. For example, when I imported the images for this review, I titled them "Mac mini". Now, even if I have thousands of images taken in 2005, I just type in "mini" in the search box and all my Mac mini images come up instantly, thanks to a fully indexed search in iPhoto. Now, titling images isn't something that I'd normally take the time to do, but the way iPhoto works is that you just create one general title and it will apply it to all of the photos that you're importing (or you can selectively import them).
After they are imported, you can go back and add ratings, keywords and comments to photos on an individual basis, all of which are fully searchable fields. You also have the option of populating these fields after the fact using iPhoto's batch processing. Just highlight what photos you want and you can add a title, comments or even modify the date/time. And if you actually take the time to make good use of these searchable fields, or even if you just make use of the batch titling upon import, you can create Smart Albums based on searches of these fields. For example, you can create an album of all pictures of "video cards" or "cars I'd like to buy" or just about any other combination that you can think of.
Personally, I'm not enough of a photo enthusiast to put that much time into my digital library, but if you have a habit of taking a lot of pictures, iPhoto 5 offers some very excellent and intuitive ways of organizing them. Plus, the interface works and feels just like the rest of OS X, which is a very strong point of iPhoto. There is one exception to my last statement, however. Hitting Command + W will actually exit the iPhoto program itself, something which breaks the way that almost all OS X applications work. One thing that I was a fan of with OS X is the consistency with which all applications behaved, and iPhoto unfortunately breaks that consistency - not something I was too happy with.
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peachee - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
Coming from a one time Apple-owner, I can say that they WERE better than PCs. But that was quite some time ago in the early to mid 90s. I experienced pre-PPC Macs and it's various generations. I remember the Newton, AV DSP macs, clone Macs, the Apple ISP, and the promises of the NEXT OS for 68040 Macs--all died miserably leaving owners with outdated computers (forcing us to buy expensive new systems). I did my part to keep up with Apple's complete and ruthless abandoning of Macs and OS compatibility and product support, but in the end, I realized I was being stupid SUPPORTING A JUST ANOTHER CORPORATION!I started over with PCs and never looked back. I don't care how shiny OS X+ is, it's just BSD. If you hate Bill G and Steve B, go Linux or BSD. If you don't like Intel, get AMD. With Shuttle and everyone else going small but keeping with 3.5" HDs, and 5.25" DVDRWs and AGP/PCI slots, why suddenly switch to unupgradeable mini Mac at a premium price? Did we all win the lottery and have the time to and money to switch our softwares and all our waking ours to devote to mini Mac?
I believe and many industry analysts concur that Apple has not innovated for years. Ipod is not an innovation, there was the Rio and many many others before. The mini Mac is not innovation, Shuttle came before ... long before and there were many others. What Apple has become is a hype machine. It makes average products and hypes the hell out of it, throws ads in your face, puts it in celebrities hands, and some of the richer MTV crowd will lap it up until they lose interest.
Apple is all marketing hype ... an informercial. You jonny come lately Apple supporters need to realize that you are disposable tools (free marketing for the just another corporation of Apple) and Apple will abadon you high and dry (I know--been there done that). Why should we as thinking, hardworking, bargain hunting beings ... why should we lobotomize our brains and dump our money into Apple's laps for their average and expensive products when there are far better and cheaper choices out there?
The "oh, I'm too dumb to use computers and therefore I must use Mac" excuse never made sense. Most people can learn fairly quickly to use any computer (we aren't using punch cards and I/O switches are we?). XP and even many versions of Linux are quite user friendly.
Think, learn, grow and don't fall for corporate tricks.
msva124 - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
Go ransath - you tell that Windows l00ser! Hooray for Apple!!!!!ransath - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
Concord - You have to be an engineer. With a mind that narrow, there can be no other excuse. :)Seriously folks, you have to remember WHO the Mac mini is targeted for, the demographic that Mac is shooting for.
Hardcore PC geeks obsessed with tech specs - Apple could care LESS about you. They don't want your business - and the Apple community doesn't want to know you either. You don't shower enough, have greasy hair, and leave too much Cheetoes dust on your keyboards.
The mini is targeted, for one, at people like Ananad. INTELLIGENT people that would like to explore OS X for a ridiculously low price. it is also targeted at people that just want a SECOND comp. Do you seriously think Apple ever intended this as an "entry-level" system? If you do, well, expand your mind! The Mini is going to be THE home media center. Once it has been out for a few months you are going to see a plethora of apps that are just going to put the sale of these boxes through the roof. It will also serve as a great internet terminal and still be powerful enough that your kids can do their book reports and homework (especially since Dad got a new virus on the PC last night while he was surfing hotbabes.com - note: should have surfed porn on the Mac - NO VIRUSES!!!)
There are 2 sides when approaching an issue - the glass is half full or half empty. On the one hand, when priced pound for pound against a similarly configured PC the Mac is still more expensive. So what? On the other hand, the mini comes with a $79 retail suite of apps. Okay, that brings the price of the base model down to $429.00. You do realize that a 40 gig iPod is $399, right? So, basically, for an extra 30 bucks you get an entire frigging computer ?!!!?!!!?!!!
I have had it with the "techies" out there that add the cost of a keyboard, video, and mouse and then say the Mini is overpriced. You mean to tell me as computer literate as your are you have never heard of a frigging KVM switch ?? - which makes all of your arguments not only completely moot but somewhat idiotic. My PC 's peripherals are awesome (logitech MX900, logitech keyboard, and Dell (Sony) P991 - and I will be able to use the same ones for my Mac. I AM LOVING IT!
You PC folks should be really thankful that Apple has not "died" and shows NO SIGNS of EVER dying off. If it wasn't for Apple and those fruity little iMacs do you think Dell and all the other folks would have ever updated their cases? HELL NO!!!
One last thing - just remember that when you buy Dells, Gateways, etc... all you are doing is paying someone to put a box together for you. Dell doesn't MAKE ANYTHING!! All they do is buy parts in massive quantities and put them together - B F D!!!! Anand made this very point - because Apple controls everything related to their computer, everything WORKS perfectly!!! No crazy BIOS update from Taiwan that may fark everything else in your computer. And I am willing to pay a little bit higher price for QUALITY over QUANTITY! Apple LEADS the home PC market in innovation. They always have - and probably always will.
All I can say is that Anand has probably written the definitive take on Apple from a PC users perspective. Thankfully, he has an open mind and is willing to accept changes and a small learning curve. And I have a feeling that there are A LOT more people that read this site that are in Anand's category than Concord's.
abakshi - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
As for the pricing and specs, it only really matters for computer-literate users, who know at least _something_ about what they have running.And in that case, they can go to a company like Dell and get decent deals. Even if it's not the type that power users (e.g. experienced deal catchers at deals forums) can get, they can get some decent deals -- and that's where Apple gets knocked out of the competition.
For example, this is what you can currently get at Dell with no special codes, nothing - just a deal on their site for $479.
Dell Dimension 3000
Intel Pentium 4 Processor w/ HT Technology (3.0GHz, 800 FSB)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
256MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
15 in (15.0 in viewable) E153FP Flat Panel LCD Display
40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive
48X CD-ROM Drive
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
2 Year Basic Warranty Plan
That's for $479 AR. For a few extra dollars, you can toss in a CD-RW/DVD drive, 512MB Dual-Channel DDR, or other similar options.
Yes, the Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 is not at all powerful, even compared to a Radeon 9200, but if you pay just a bit more (just over $500), you can get the Dimension 4700, which has the 915G chipset, newer CPU's, DDR-2 RAM, PCI-Express, etc. If graphics are of concern, then you add in a Radeon X300SE for almost nothing - that blows away the 9200.
So all in all, unless the Mac Mini can be had for under $400 at most, it's completely blown out of the water value-wise by PC options.
stmok - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
I don't see what the "thing" is with the Mac mini.If you have a use for it, then buy it.
If not, then spend your money on something else.
Heck, I'm getting a Mini-ITX EPIA since I just want a small x86 based setup to learn Linux and BSD off. I wanna get my hands dirty of Tux (Linux) and Daemon (FreeBSD) in my unproductive spare time. :)
If I had a use for a PowerPC-based setup under the Apple name, then I most likely would get something a bit more beefier that is powered by the G5 chip.
But I don't. And I don't think I ever will as the x86 platform is cheap, abundant and widely available. (And I like to build systems myself.)
Apple (or anyone else) aren't holding a gun to your head to make you buy. No point arguing over it.
On a side note : You have choices, if you really want to get away from Windows while keeping your existing x86 setup (or AMD64/EMT64) and have time to burn, why not download Linux or FreeBSD? (Yes, its really FREE).
Some of the technologies found in there are in Mac OSX. You essentially get the same stability benefits but with a lot of reading and tweaking! (SO make sure you have time to burn!) :)
What I'm saying is, Apple products aren't the only alternative.
RMSistight - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
For most PC users, they won't care about trying out the Mac because it's relatively cheap. I want to get a Mac Mini because I have heard and SEEN great things about Mac OS X Tiger. I want something reliable for everyday use. Windows XP Pro has tested my patience enough. Don't give that "90% of errors on Windows are user errors." Is turning your computer a user error then? Because that's exactly what happened. I couldn't go into windows because all I did was TURN IT ON. In all truth, it doesn't matter if you can build a better winbox for cheap and more powerful. Some PC users can finally rejoice that the price of a Mac now is now reasonable enough for us to purchase. People need to also take note about the kick ass software Apple has. Most of the Mac bashers haven't even seen or tried out Mac OS X...I HAVE. Unless you have owned and used both platforms, you cannot make a valid argument. Also, let's not associate Mac being bad on their earlier models. Those are long past and gone. Let's talk about the newer models of Macs.magst - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
Lots of people here make comparisons between the cost of the apple and a winbox.Apart that most forget the cost of the included software, there is another very big factor called
Depreciation
The winbox will be worth next to nothing in 2 years, while you will still be able to sell the mini mac for at least 300 in 2 years..
So in the end the apple is lots cheaper.
(btw, dont have one (yet))
msva124 - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
CD jewel case? Please. At most it is the size of a pack of cigarettes, and that is including the power supply.RMSistight - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
#14All you need to purchase is a USB to PS/2 adapter. I have one that has both mouse/keyboard with one USB connector. It was only $7.
Serpico74 - Thursday, January 27, 2005 - link
I test drove a 1.42ghz Mac Mini with 512MB RAM today. The first thing I did was fire up Final Cut Express.I am super impressed. Projects loaded fast and renders were much quicker than I thought they would be. For a sub-$700 box the size of a CD jewel case this thing is smooth as hell.