Monday, Jan 17, 2005
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By Anand Parthasarathy
Apple's new PC. The Mac Mini keyboard, monitor and mouse are extra.
BANGALORE, JAN. 16. A cut-rate computer from Apple? That might seem like a contradiction in terms: The company that makes the pricey but feature-packed Macintosh range of personal computers has always put sheer good looks and cutting edge-technology above such mundane things like cost — and its fiercely loyal band of users has never complained. But the latest `avatar' of the cult computer, to be released this weekend (January 22), is being touted as "the most affordable Mac ever." And that seems like the first attempt by Apple to seriously woo the huge market dominated by Windows-based machines.
Computing power
Unveiled for the first time at Macworld, the annual gathering of the Mac-faithful that concluded last week in San Francisco, the `Mac Mini' is a lot of computing power in a very small package: a paper-back book-sized box, 15 cm square, 5 cm tall and weighing just 1.3 kg. Powered by the same Power PC G4 chip, that fuels most Apple Macs these days, the Mini comes with 40 gigabytes of hard disk space and 256 megabytes of memory.
Latest combo
The compact disk drive is the latest `combo" — that is, a CD-cum-DVD player and CD writer. Speakers are built-in, as are a dial-up modem and an Ethernet port: two alternative ways of reaching the Internet. While the Mini is heavy with software goodies — the latest Mac Operating System version X, as well as the "iLife' 05" tool set just launched, to create or view photo albums, movies or personalised music CDs - it comes without monitor, mouse or keyboard, possibly under the assumption that new users might like to deploy their existing accessories, without waste.
First foray
The Mac Mini itself costs $499, which is the first sub-$500 PC from Apple. That might still sound pricey to Windows-based PC users but as Apple's first foray into the budget end of computing, it could well be a historical, if tentative, attempt to open up some more `Windows" for itself and enter the mass-market mainstream of personal computing. For Indian customers tempted to try the new Mac Mini, the good news is that by April 1, customs duties on imported PC are scheduled to be slashed to zero — as part of India's obligations under new international trade agreements.
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