OT: Affordable Image Processing Workstation - Mac Mini

[chancy]

Hi ! Just a deviation from the usual OlyTalk,

Apple's just annouced a raft of products at MacWorld San Francisco. Item of interest (Besides the iPod Shuffle), is the Mac Mini ... you just have to see it for yourself at

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

Since it's a pizza box design, you retain the use of your PC USB keyboard & display (DVI/VGA). All for a cool US$499 !!!! Max RAM 1GB/32MB VRAM, should have no problems doing most JPG & RAW files.

I'll nickname it OlyMate or NikoMate or CanoMate :-)

Sorry for the off-topic rant here.

Cheers,

[nightpiper]

chancy, u forgot the good old CoffeeMate.

btw, how do u watch DVD movies with surround sound? i ask this question when the iMac first came out & none of my mac using friends cud answer it. all they said was apple is good.

judging from the specs, looks like a SFF pc can do better.

[chancy]

Originally Posted by nightpiper chancy, u forgot the good old CoffeeMate. btw, how do u watch DVD movies with surround sound? i ask this question when the iMac first came out & none of my mac using friends cud answer it. all they said was apple is good. judging from the specs, looks like a SFF pc can do better.

Hello Nightpiper,

You're making my mouse run miles to get this info :-)

Well, multi-channel sound 5.1, 7.1 support out of the box is not supported on the iMac or the Mac Mini (both do not have PCI slots for sound cards) at the hardware level. You will need a USB-based product "Sonica Theatre" (US$119) from M-Audio. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) required for Dolby & DTS passthrough.

While it comes as additional cost to the Mac box, it uses Apple's provided DVD Player to play movies.

Well, if you use the iMac / Mac Mini with Airport Express, you do have a cost effective system to wirelessly stream iTunes audio to audio systems around the the house.

One can't deny that for now, a CD-size form factor is something SFF PCs haven't brought to market yet.

Each has its strength, one is a Hot product, the other Cool :-)

* Oly Content *:

Apple's iLife SW includes iPhoto 5 which amongst many features supports RAW ! Well Canon gets most support, Oly gets only the 8080 for now. Let's hope that's extended to the 4/3 systems as updates come along. Since iLife comes with all new Macs, one gets alot of multi-media functionality out of the box. The slide show feature with new transition effects & the DVD writer build-to-order option with iDVD truly makes this a portable digital photo lab.

... I know you can do that on a Powerbook too :-)

Cheers,

[nightpiper]

thx for the info. looks like i won't be touching the Macs anytime soon.

i m not yet ready to trade off upgradability & functionality with good looks & premium pricing.

thats a good work out for that little mouse!

[Wai]

my main concern is that it is using notebook hard disk, and most probably the old 4200rpm version to reduce heat generated

notebook hard disks are damn slow and also there is only one ram slot available, so you got to buy the expensive 1GB ram module

another minor issue will be USB port, there are only 2 available...one for keyboard and one for mouse, but i still need at least 2 for USB reader, wireless USB adapter, PDA, BT adapter, printer....etc

* althought wireless and BT can be build in, but they are optional and cost a bomb, i will rather get a USB wireless and BT adapter

[chancy]

Originally Posted by Wai my main concern is that it is using notebook hard disk, and most probably the old 4200rpm version to reduce heat generated notebook hard disks are damn slow and also there is only one ram slot available, so you got to buy the expensive 1GB ram module another minor issue will be USB port, there are only 2 available...one for keyboard and one for mouse, but i still need at least 2 for USB reader, wireless USB adapter, PDA, BT adapter, printer....etc * althought wireless and BT can be build in, but they are optional and cost a bomb, i will rather get a USB wireless and BT adapter

... this is very strange, understand Apple's product matrix which now comprises, the Mac mini, iMac, PowerMac, Powerbooks, XServes. Then consider the markets they serve, Home, Education, Creative & very slowly the Enterprise. There's no one model in its lineup that pretends to do everything for everyone. Models deemed inadequate at one range may be seen as too frilly in other markets (Office, Education). Understand the markets & niches each product line serves, then think carefully if the product itself locks you out of solutions totally or provides alternative expansion options.

The Mac Mini is Apple's most affordable yet and never has the history of Apple has its product been more standard compliant & cross platform. Apple is more than the style of its hardware. I can tell you what the Mac Mini can't do, I can also tell you what it does well & in areas unique to itself. The barriers to entry are much lower now.

There's more to the Mac than just the HW & its obvious styling, its about integration & out of the box functionality with bundled iLife. It is not always about raw performance & may not do 100% of what its competitors do, but for the 80% of these tasks, it rewards the user with greater productivity & of late much less concern over security.

The Mac Mini, it's like the E300, not perfect, but damm pretty good.

This thread is titled "An affordable image processing workstation - Mac Mini". With its specification and RAM upped to 1GB, the Mac Mini should cope well with files from our E300 & E1, allow us to organise them easily, put up visually stunning slideshows synced to our favourite audio tracks, and output the end product as a DVD movie for archive & viewing without paying a cent more for additional HW or SW. The affordability is targeted at this particular photography activity & workflow :-)

This msg has no real Oly E content & is 100% OT :-)

- Techie Stuff for Clarification - Optional Read -
If notebook drives are deemed too slow, why do many do Photoshop (even iMovie) work on PowerBooks equivalent in spec to the MacMini. Even Michael Reichmann grabs a Powerbook G4 on his Bangladesh trip & he's using an EOS 1Ds MkII. If this is deemed inadequate, there's firewire / USB2.0 external storage enclosures that uses desktop drives that you can boot the entire OS & application from or designate as scratch disk. USB & Firewire hubs are available as expansion options. Apple's Keyboard comes with two USB hubs, one for the mouse & the other ready for any use. If you're hub averse, buy an Apple Display, pricey, but more Firewire & USB hubs available at the Display for devices that you need to hook up to. The very idea of intergrating Airport Extreme & Bluetooth is to do away with external peripheral overload, costly an option these may be. Anyway, the options are there.
- End of Techie Stuff -

[nightpiper]

i guess many people dun mind the wait for slower proccessing. anyway, i have no problems with a 4500rpm drive. besides, if u r not happy with the HDD, u can always upgrade it to the latest 7200rpm type, even a 5400rpm is good.

my friend still using an Intel PIII 533Mhz for photoshop. no probelms either. its really what those computer makers want u to believe thru their marketing effort. remember the "better internet experience" with a P4 when it was first launched? LOL!! actually, my old 200MHz MMX intel had no problems with broadband.

like i said, for the same dollar, personally, i will go for a SFF pc instead. at least i get to have more ram, 16x DVD burner & 5.1 surround built in.

[nightpiper]

hi chancy, actually come to think about it, if i were to get a mac today, i wud pay a few hundred more & go for an ibook instead. reason being its an all complete solution + portability instead of just getting a barebone sys & later top up even more money for accessories. i think the ibook is also lighter in that respect.

[nightpiper]

Just went to SLS & saw the mac mini. looks really damn cool & smmooooth....

price is as follow:

for $928 incl GST, u get

1.25GHz G4 processor
256MB RAM
ATI 9200 video card with 32MB video RAM
40GB SATA drive
Built in Combo Drive

1xLAN port
1xTel port (for dial up modems)
1xFireWire (400Mps)
1xAudio phone jack
1xDVI/Analog display port
2xUSB2.0 ports

keyboard, mouse & display r additional accessories (not included).

remember that this petite little computer is meant for simple use, as u can see there isn't enough USB ports for other peripherals. eg, printers, flatbed scanners, WACOM pen tablet, surround sound processor, USB keyboard, USB mouse, card readers, thumb drive, etc. those port hub splitters r not recommended cos they tend not to supply enough power to other devices & thus, cos a lot of problems.

i recommend upping the RAM to at least 512MB & wireless keyboard/mouse combo to maximise those USB ports.

have fun!

[Yeowww]

its out???

i was @SLS looking for this mini chio Mac about a week back, the sales guy told me that only come in after CNY...

[snowspeeder]

To the less well-informed invidividuals (even my IT frens), the Macs are just about style and premium pricing. The fact of the matter is that you're investing in productivity, stability, and connectively...the last being style of course.

I have done numerous image editing on photoshop for photograhic assignments. The Mac has never failed me once...and I'm using a low-end eMac G4! Imagine doing volumes of editing work while reading incoming emails, background iTunes music..and at times even burning a disc.

Like the countless pple who have been using Macs for so long, you just have to experience one b4 being able to fully comprehend beyond what the superficial specs suggest.

[nightpiper]

i have been using noth G4s & G5s in my office but i m not impressed. they crash & hang too.

anyway, after u bought the mac mini, dun forget to update those critical security patches.

read about them here, this concerns OS 10.3 to OS 10.3.5:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08...le_osx_10-3-5/

this is a more recent critical security patch for itunes here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01...security_flap/

lastly, i wish mini mac can have 4 USB ports as i know many people (both apple & windows users) have an ipod or equivalent. with just 2 ports, it makes life a little inconvenience.