How about a host, OS, AND hardware for $499? Off the shelf?

[knod]

Wow! Apple really amazed me this time. U actually get the new Mac mini, OSX, iLife (with exellent host Garageband - and it's many effects, instruments and loops), USB 2.0, firewire, a 1.25-1.5 G4 processor, resonable HD-space, combo-drive and fast graphics for $499. In a box not larger than most externaö Firewire-HD:s, that is. Pros would probably just use it as a Logic node, sure. But don't you think it's steal?

Well, I know I'm spending $499 january 22 for this true beauty. No matter what.

Check it out!

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

/knod

[Beardedone]

[neverwhere2012]

i'm probably going to buy one instead of an ibook

if there's any KVR people who are students, you could have a mac and logic pro 7 for $1000 via educational discount

[machinesworking]

Though the speed isn't great, considering Live only uses one processor for the audio engine, the 1.4 Ghz model would run Live about 50% better than my dual Gig G4, and only slightly slower than it runs Logic. (dual Gigs can be compared to a 1.6 Gig G4 or a 1.8/2 Gig PC chip.)
It makes great progress towards Apple being actually competitive with PCs price wise. Hopefully IBM breaks some new ground with the G5 soon.

[DHR53]

SAY: LOGIC NODE!!

[VitaminD]

cute but no chance for upgradibility? (sp??)

though if you are a macaholic and were short on space I suppose this would be cool..

and double cool if you can link these together... mega renderfarm with a small footprint..

[knod]

It's probably not even intended to be upgradeable. Just as your TV or iPod or microwave isn't. I guess Apple targets the media-center-home-audience-PLUS with this one. And of course it can do all the fancy things a home-PC should. Like playing MP3:s in iTunes, xvids in videolan, wordprocessing, photo-albuming, browsing or whatever u like. But with Apples exellent and very user-freindly OS and (extremely nice-looking) hardware as a backbone - at this price!!! A switcher-PC so to speak. (And for $499 I really could live with it not being upgradeable)

/knod

[LBN]

A 1.25 GHz processor in 2005. WOOHOO!

[stale bread]

that thing looks cool, i've got a two year old pc laptop that would smoke it but for running those few mac only apps (not talking about logic) but the obscure ones, it would make a great addition and if I could find a way to hook it up to my desktop lcd and use it at the same time via some switchbox it'd be a nice addition.

[mckenic]

A 1.25 GHz processor in 2005. WOOHOO!

Sigh...

[AD80]

G4's are underpowered pieces of crap. I hate using them at school, they're clunky and unbelievably slow. Buying a G4 new nowadays is ridiculus. That sayd, if you just need to surf the net and type the occasional paper, why not? I'm sure it will sell. Especially if you just got a Ipod or something.

[[ Lex ]]

G4's are underpowered pieces of crap. I hate using them at school, they're clunky and unbelievably slow. Buying a G4 new nowadays is ridiculus. That sayd, if you just need to surf the net and type the occasional paper, why not? I'm sure it will sell. Especially if you just got a Ipod or something.

FYI, G4 range from 800 MHz to 1.35 GHz Dual Processor...

/ Lex

[AD80]

FYI, G4 range from 800 MHz to 1.35 GHz Dual Processor...

/ Lex

The G4's I use at school (when I get to class too late and all the G5's are taken up ) are dual 1.42's. Theres also a couple of dual 1ghs. All on OSX. So if these new ones are around the same speed as those, I cant even imagine.

[Green Red Brownell]

These are being sold as "iPod companions", or 2nd/3rd PC's in a household.... maybe for the style-conscious kid's bedroom.

Apple's problem is that they cannot afford for these machines to be powerful enough to compete even with their iMac models. If they did, Apple would lose lots of profits that it is now making from the iMac. So, as a result, they're not going to be too wonderful as music machines. They'll be great as cute low-end web-surfing and music hubs. I suspect that you will quickly become frustrated using them for things like GarageBand, but who knows?? They aren't shipping yet....

Don't forget, you'll need a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. If you're replacing a PC with this little doorstop, then you'll already have those, I guess.

[dreibel]

cute but no chance for upgradibility? (sp??)

though if you are a macaholic and were short on space I suppose this would be cool..

and double cool if you can link these together... mega renderfarm with a small footprint..

the MacMini can be upgraded up to 1GB in RAM using DDR2700 modules (though Apple is suggesting that the RAM upgrade be done at a service centre or Apple Store). For the rest of the stuff I don't know what's in it - I suspect it's probably an iBook G4 motherboard, a 2.5" hard drive and a notebook CD-RW/DVD drive in order to fit that case. In any case, it's more powerful (and at a better price point) than the last time Apple attempted a small-footprint computer with the Cube.

What I'd be excited about is that version 2 of GarageBand is included with each computer, have you seen the specs on that? You can now simultaneously record on separate tracks, it looks like notation is supported now, and you can actually record your own Appleloops with it. Apple's basically come out with a computer that could alternate between being a family computer or a ready-to-go home recording workstation. Add a Firewire drive and an audio interface and you've got a small pro studio computer with little outlay.