MAC MINI GREAT FOR WINDOWS USERS
At the annual 2005 San Francisco Macworld convention, Apple CEO
Steve Jobs once again entertained the audience with good news
regarding Apple's profitability, market share and of course, the
highly anticipated unveiling of all the new goodies. On the hardware
side, the iPod Shuffle and the Mac Mini were the two biggest
announcements. For me, the Mac Mini is the most exciting of all.
 The
Mac Mini is Apple's lowest cost Macintosh ever. The $499 model comes
with a 1.25 Ghz PowerPC G4 processor, 256 megabytes of memory, 60
gigabyte hard drive and the Apple CD/DVD Combo drive. For $100 more,
you get a 1.42 Ghz processor and an 80 Gigabyte hard drive. The
entire computer is a mere 6.5 inches square and 2 inches tall. It
has the necessary ports like Firewire ,USB 2.0, Ethernet and a
built-in modem. Slip in a CD or DVD into the Mac Mini's slot-loading
drive and you're ready to go. So much for the technical
specifications. Now for the reasons to get excited about this new
little Macintosh.
The Mac Mini's price is low because you are expected to BYOMKD or
"Bring Your Own Mouse, Keyboard and Display." You see, the Mac Mini
comes with none of these necessary devices. That's because Apple
lets you decide whether you want to use their peripherals, or some
other brand. You read that correctly. Apple is letting you decide
what kind of devices you want to attach to its new little computer
which is very un-Apple-like. Until now, Apple has always included
their own keyboard and mouse with their computers.
So why am I so excited about this? Because for the first time,
the vast number of Windows users out there who have been eyeing a
Mac but were reluctant to get one because of the price now have a
viable option to pursue. Part of that option is for them to use the
equipment they already own. The other hurdle overcome by the Mac
Mini is available desk space. Most users simply have no room on the
desk or surrounding floor to put a second computer system. The Mac
Mini's tiny size coupled with being able to use the same keyboard,
mouse and display now makes that a non-issue.
Throughout the years, there have been a myriad of attempts to try
and put a Macintosh inside a Windows system. None of them have met
with any success. Software emulators were too way slow and iffy
running anything of consequence. Hardware add-ons were also a
disaster. But now, any PC user can have a REAL Macintosh at their
beck and call. Using their existing keyboard, video display and
mouse, all that is needed is a KVM switch. A KVM switch is a
hardware device that enables a single mouse, keyboard and display to
control more than one computer at a time. Using an inexpensive KVM
switch like the KVM-201LT, 2-Port KVM Switch from Addlogix ($44.95,
available at www.kvm-switches-online.com), any PC user can instantly
have the best of both worlds at their command. Just flip the KVM
switch and you're using your Windows computer. Flip it again and
you're using a Macintosh.
At first blush, you may think that Apple's intention with the Mac
Mini is to get a Macintosh into the hands of people who can't afford
one of the more expensive models. And while that's probably true, I
believe they may have been far more clever. With the Mac Mini, Apple
may have found a way to break down the biggest barriers to Windows
users wanting to give the Macintosh with its elegant OS X operating
system a try.
So if you're a Windows user, think about how much more powerful
your system will be, functioning as both a Windows and Macintosh
platform all rolled into one. Apple has now made that a reality for
you. I think you should say "Thanks, Steve." |
