[muglo] Mac mini, a flop?

I'm wondering if the Mac mini might not be up to the task of winning
over switchers.

Obviously in this case it wasn't a great idea since the person seemed
to primarily want to use it for Linux -- Mac simply *cannot* compete
MHz for MHz with i86 clones (I saw a 3 GHz clone, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HD
for $300 CAD). For $400 you can get a 2.5+ GHz MDG box (Canadian "name
brand") with some fixings.

But, it seems in the grand scheme of things a 1.25 GHz machine won't
be able to hold its own with 2.5 or even 3 GHz clones :-(. Are we
facing the death of Apple as a hardware manufacturer? In the past
consumer offerings from Apple have roughly been able to match those
from the *name brand* (i.e the IBMs, GateWay, Dells (shudder)) i86es
dollar for feature for power (NOT MHz). Now, it seems like the G4s and
G5s aren't really holding their own with your run-of-the-mill i86s.
Yes, Apple has a great OS and with Unix (like) underpinnings it is an
OS positioned for growth, but on the hardware side of things things
are looking a touch dismal.

I'm certainly not ready to throw in the towel just yet, but if another
clone manufacturer comes out with laptops that have the elegance and
style of Apple's, but with the $ for CPU power of the i86 crowd, I may
just have to think about switching platforms.

PS Yes, I do realise that there have been such predictions before, but
you've really got to wonder what the future of Mac hardware will be
when 25% of their revenue and presumably a higher % of profit (or was
that 25% of profit) comes from their iPod sales.

Anyway, here's the e-mail and link that triggered this depressing thought:

From the Ubuntu mailing list (Ubuntu is a GNU/Linux designed to be easy to use):

> <quote who="Kevin Russell">
>
> > I just completed an install of Ubuntu 4.10 on my new Mac Mini.  It works
> > well.  Xfree did not detect my monitor, and I don't currently have any
> > sound.  I am new to Ubuntu and it was a very straightforward install.
>
> That's great news! Thanks. :-)

sadly his experience with Ubuntu's on a Mac Mini concluded earlier today:
 http://krussell.com/mini/2005/01/verdict.html
_________________________________________________

For information concerning the MUGLO List just click on

           http://muglo.on.ca/Pages/joinus.html

Our Archives can be viewed at 

         http://www.freelists.org/archives/muglo

Don't forget to periodically check our web site at:

                 http://muglo.on.ca/

Other related posts: