A Mac has invaded my house!

[TheBlackAdder]

83. This is an interesting predicament.

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While Apple has been asleep for a couple of years on their MacPro, iMacs and Mac Mini, they just did some small updates to the Pro and promised not to abandon the desktop platform--even though they've pretty much done so up to this point. Apple lowered the prices of these older designed systems, because the parts that are installed in them have basically dropped to junk bond status, while they kept the prices unchanged. Many in the Mac community complained about this, and the rumors websites show the anger and fear of abandonment.

I recommended an i5 Mac Mini for someone in November as a way to introduce themselves to Mac OS, integrate with their cell phones and iPods easier. Integration is easier when certain chat services are on the same platform. My kids tell me this when using Android devices to join in on chats, as real-time updates are delayed.

Apple says iMacs are towards the EOY, but there are hints it might even be after the Christmas shopping season or right before, when demand will outpace supply. Granted, the Mac Mini uses the 4th Generation Intel processors, when the 7th Generations are coming out in other devices, but it is a nice entry into the Mac OS platform and is very quiet and energy efficient. Not a lick of problems.

It's not an Intel NUC or HP Z2 type machine, but those would be preferable to someone wanting to run Linux or even Windows (I just barfed a little). Heck, you could even do a Hackintosh on them, if so inclined. Apple did not give any real indication that the Mac Mini was going to be worked on anymore, just some nebulous comment. I would find it odd that the firm that basically pioneered the MiniPC would abandon it just when that market is taking off. Apple is still a while away from developing anything that would compete with a NUC or Z2 (which seems to use some NUC internals) for it's user serviceability, the processing power of their 7th Gen i7, the 32GB of RAM or two M.2 SSDs support that can be configured as RAID 0 or RAID1 for a price of around $1300. While viruses really don't exist in Mac world, malware does, so a good anti-malware program is still needed.

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