![]() There’s no question the 3GS is significantly snappier than its predecessor. But once we’d used the iPhone 3GS ( ), we had to admit: The ‘S’ does indeed stand for speed. We’ll admit it: Even in the Macworld offices, the name of Apple’s latest smartphone was cause for eye-rolling. This year, we were glad to see that the Mac mini is still very much alive.-Dan Frakes It also makes a great second Mac, and it’s an appealing option for a Mac-based media system. But it’s an extremely impressive machine for the size, and it’s a good fit for both switchers and people on a budget. The mini isn’t for everyone it’s the least-powerful Mac-laptop or desktop-that Apple offers. The past year proves that Apple does indeed care about the Mac mini and, in fact, is using it to push the compact-computer envelope. It is a full-featured, unlimited-user server in a tiny, energy-sipping package that is ideal for small businesses, some homes, and the education market. It’s essentially the $799 mini with a second 500GB hard drive (it has no optical drive) and preloaded with Mac OS X Server ( ) that software normally costs $499 all by itself. In October, the company also released a completely new configuration, the $999 Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server ( ) ( Best Current Price). The mini is the forgotten Mac no more: You won’t find another name-brand computer with these specs in this small a package at these prices.Īpple didn’t just bring the Mac mini line up to speed. ![]() In other words, nearly every feature of the mini was upgraded significantly, while the prices of the two models were unchanged.Īnd just seven months later, Apple updated the mini again ( ) ( Best Current Price), increasing processor speeds, adding still more RAM and (on the low-end model) switching to a larger hard drive. Mac miniThen in March 2009, a full 19 months since Apple had offered an update to the mini line, the company introduced its biggest Mac mini update ever ( ) ( Best Current Price): faster CPUs, more RAM, a new graphics chip, dual video outputs (including support for Apple’s 30-inch Cinema Display), larger hard drives, FireWire 800, more USB ports, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1, and an 8X SuperDrive. That led many admirers to wonder whether Apple’s smallest computer was headed for the dust bin, a cute but failed experiment. The company released a few updates over the following two years, but the Mac mini line essentially stagnated. But then Apple seemed to give up on the mini. The first Mac minis, released back in 2005, were several things at once: credible low-price computers, supercompact, and an obvious attempt to lure Windows users over to the Mac side. (For more visual versions of this list, see Macworld Editors’ Choice Awards: Hardware and Macworld Editors’ Choice Awards: Software.) In the end, we were left with just the ten hardware and 13 software products listed below-the products that truly deserve recognition as the year’s best and, so, deserve our Editors’ Choice Awards. Over the course of several weeks, we winnowed the list repeatedly. (We restricted ourselves to products released between Novemand November 1, 2009.) We then met repeatedly to discuss those candidates and debate their merits. In this year’s Eddys judging, we started with a list of about 120 nominees. Those are the products that are nominated for our Editors’ Choice Awards. Every year, a few of those products stand out-for usefulness, value, innovation, or just overall excellence. In software, the variety is even more staggering, from OS X itself to the Mac Gems that Dan Frakes regularly reviews. On the hardware side, you’ve got Macs, iPhones, and iPods, of course, but also printers, hard drives, displays, cameras, camcorders, keyboards, mice, speakers, headphones, routers, scanners, and more. Every year, we see hundreds of Mac products.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |