To the person who above who said, “Apple is still trying to charge a premium for their products”. Please also keep in mind that one of the biggest ‘hidden’ costs of PC ownership is support. All the low-tech “mom & dad” users I know who have Macs hardly ever pester me or Apple for support. They can toodle along fine for years without needing any help. All the low-tech “mom & dad” users I know who have PCs are *constantly* calling me up for support, or having to call Dell or Gateway and pay buckets for help when one of their tech-savvy relatives is not around. All you ever get are spyware headaches, broken cheap-ass peripherals, virus nightmares, software configuration tangles, and difficulty installing new packages. PCs are just plain more expensive to support, especially for these less-able users. These people can’t even change their desktop backgrounds or turn the sound back on in the taskbar without help. The Mac users don’t have that problem, because OS X actually makes sense, even to the novice user.

A price/spec comparison with a PC is the first sign that someone doesn’t get why the Mac Mini’s potential is so great. Within a week of its launch, I’ve been completely caught off guard by the number of relatives and friends (read: non-Mac users) who’ve said they’re looking at not only buying a Mac Mini for themselves, but for a parent or grandparent. Not a single one of these people will buy the Mini because of its power or lack thereof when compared to a comparably priced Windows machine. This products #1 selling point is that it is a $500 Windows-security-bug-free email and web browsing computer that “just works”. This market is a big deal for Apple as it is comprised almost entirely of non-Mac users (read: growth). Add to this, the more obvious market of Mac-less iPod users who spent $300-$500 for an iPod within the last few years… why not buy a Mac to go with that iPod for only $500 (read: more growth)? Now throw in all the existing Mac users who want a second Mac to use with their iBooks and Powerbooks or for the kids, and you have the makings of a real home-run for Apple. Yes there are some obvious adopters of the Mac Mini… iPod users, Mac enthusiasts, case-modders and tinkerers; But I believe the biggest percentage of Mac Minis will end up being used by people who’ve never owned a Mac before… and don’t particularly care that they are now, aside from the fact that its so cute. (also posted on my blog)

That’s because it’s products are of higher quality.

Just look at the OS. Forget about usability right now … what machine is more likely to be infested with spyware and other malaware in a few months, the Apple machine or the XP Home edition one? BTW, the Dell machine has no decent graphic card, but what makes it a good deal is the fact that it includes a monitor. Posted by on Tuesday, January 18th, 2005 at 3:30 AM

Here’s a $499 PC from Dell, complete with 17″ monitor, keyboard, and mouse:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dp_desktop1_1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

It’s as good, or better than the Mini-Mac. Since I have a computer desk that’s designed to house the CPU (and has a keyboard/mouse drawer), I don’t really care what it looks like. It’s going to be inside the desk, not sitting on top of it. To be fair, I’d probably upgrade to 512MB RAM and 80GB drive, which bumps the price to $553, but…Dell is offering a 10% discount, which drops the price back down below $500. Shipping and tax brings the total to $640. Sorry, but for my money that’s a much better deal than the Mini-Mac. Apple is still trying to charge a premium for its products.

There are probably people in higher income brackets who will buy multiple mini’s, but six to eight hundred dollars is still a lot of money, especially for someone who doesn’t care about computers all that much. Plus, a lot of people can scrape up a keyboard and monitor, but not multiple keyboards and monitors, plus the complexity of putting together a home network, so the price goes up after the first one.

I think the interesting part is that mini’s are just barely cheap enough for Mac fans to consider buying them as gifts, so there are going to be a lot of people who will be getting them for nothing, courtesy of Apple’s fan base.

on Monday, January 17th, 2005 at 2:29 PM