Claims of the Mac Mini’s demise might have been premature as a new source indicates that a spec bump is coming soon. Macminicolo, a Las Vagas-based Mac Mini firm, is stating that they are 100% percent sure that Amazon’s best selling desktop computer will be around to fight another day and should receive Apple’s latest standard upgrades of a Mini DisplayPort output, 4GB of maximum RAM and a SATA optical drive interface. (can we assume no Firewire 400 too?) While Macminicolom is 100% sure, this is still filed in the same ‘rumor’ folder that the claim that the Mini was being discontinued until Apple comes out with an official statement.

Pic from . It’s a colocation service running Minis in a rack.
Rumor has it that the Mac Mini will not be shipped to retailers as of today with no word as to when the diminutive little box will ever ship again. The Mini, as you recall, was supposed to be the cheapest Mac ever and at about $599 on the low end it actually was. Unfortunately, the Mini sold very poorly and there is talk it’s either getting a refresh or canceled entirely.

The Mini was actually my first Mac, purchased in 2005. Before that I was content pounding away on XP. It was a great gateway drug for the average user to become acquainted with the majesty of OS X. Now my dad uses it and he hasn’t destroyed it yet.

Dell has a new, rather odd-looking desktop that might tickle your computer bone. It’s called the Studio Hybrid, and it’s the company’s first foray into the trendy yet utterly useless realm of “green” and ”eco-friendly” computing.

The Studio Hybrid partly uses laptop components, such as a smaller power supply (65 watts v. 300 watts) to achieve its earth-saving status.

Dell is apparently going after the Mac Mini—that’s still around?—with this thing, touting its inclusion of a Blu-ray disc drive as well as HDMI output. Also a target for Dell, computers like the EeePC, which Dell described as a machine you’d use on vacation, not during your everyday computing. Burn.

Depending on how it performs—1.73GHz dual core processor, 2GB and Vista don’t exactly inspire us—it could be worthy of inclusion in, say, your home theater. Given the state of the dollar, $500 looks to be a OK deal.

Image snagged from here.

Some time ago the AI claimed that Apple’s Mac Mini was going down the pooper and that it would soon be pulled from the lineup. Well, as anyone can tell that never happened. In fact, Apple is finally going to give the little white box a major overhaul instead of the measly changes it’s incurred over the last year or so. The overhaul entails a move to the 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo mobile chips with speeds starting at 2.1GHz with 3MB of shared L2 cache, 800MHz front-side bus and the MacBook’s current integrated graphics card, the Intel GMA X3100. No word on when this will hit the masses, though.

The iMac is also looking to jump from Merom to Penryn chips in the near future.

Eating our words: Apple’s Mac mini to rock on [AI]

Right now, plugged into my Mac I have an iPod Touch, an SD card reader, and a currently charging Palm Centro. Did you know that you can also control a laser-guided robot with your Mac? It’s true!

Scienticians from Georgia Tech and Emory University have developed just such a robot, called the EL-E, which is capable of tracking objects targeted by a laser and picking them up, all powered by a Mac Mini.

Later, they’re planning on upgrading to a Mac Pro, after which the computer/robot hybrid will scour the globe for Sarah Connor.

Scientists Unveil Mac mini-powered Robot [Daily Tech]

Now that’s a good looking Streampunk mod right there. Dave Veloz made a Mac Mini into a Victorian-style computer system (just like the computers they had back then) as a gift for his wife on their wedding day. It includes such intricate details as a brass-looking flat panel monitor mounted to a granite base. Unbelievable and very cool.

Photos from steampunkworkshop.com

Steampunk Remake: Dave Veloz’s Keyboard and Monitor [steampunkworkshop.com] via Gizmodo

Waaaaay back in 2002, a little project known as Xbox Media Center (XBMC) was developed by a group of open source coders. XBMC ran unsigned on the original Xbox via either a hardware modchip or as a software exploit and replaced the traditional Xbox Dashboard with a media-focused interface. There’s been a Linux version in development since early last year and there’s now a version being developed for OS X.

The Mac project is being led by Elan Feingold, who’s just recently been interviewed by 9 to 5 Mac. It’s an interesting read and this version of XBMC looks to be a pretty promising use of an Intel-based Mac Mini, if you’re so inclined.

Interview: XBox Media Center hits the Macintosh scene [9 to 5 Mac]

Kudos to CNET UK for referring to the Asus Nova P20 as a “Mac Mini mangler” instead of a “Mac Mini killer” but honestly, I don’t know why people are so hell bent on one type of device choking the last, sweet breaths out of another device. There’s plenty of room here for gadgets from all walks of life. I guess mangling’s better than killing, though.

The specs include a 1.8GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, a DVD writer, built-in speaker, four USB ports, DVI, and a price tag of £450 ($888). It can be positioned horizontally or vertically and comes in white or black.

Available later this year. We’ll no doubt post more details and photos as they surface.

Asus Nova P20: Mac Mini mangler [CNET UK]

Casemods come and casemods go, and I can’t usually give a damn about them. Sure, they’re neat, your computer is really made of Legos. Awesome. But sometimes I come across one that’s neat and functional, and that gets my attention.

Check out this flickr set by user stwalker, who took a discarded newspaper box, a 17-inch LCD, a Mac Mini, and a little AppleScript, put it all together, and got above results. It takes headlines (presumably via RSS) and formats them to look like the front page of a newspaper. I wanna do this. Totally awesome.

stwalker’s photostream [flickr]

Searching for a bargain NAS and own a Mac Mini? You really couldn’t ask for more with the Lindy Mini NAS. Aside from looking like the Mac Mini’s illegitimate brother, the Mini NAS has space for full-size 3.5-inch drives and comes with a built-in FTP server, Samba support, and 10/100 Ethernet. Oh noes! No gigabit!

Not a networking guru? Who cares. Use a USB cable to easily connect to the Mini NAS. You can cop this hot piece of NAS for about $132.

Lindy’s Mini NAS enclosure hearts your Mac mini [Engadget]

Uh, oh. Now it looks like there will not, repeat, *not* be any new iMacs at Apple’s WWDC next week. That’s what AppleInsider has learned, at any rate. But AI promises that a major overhaul of Apple consumer computers is still on track for this year, it’s just that next week is too early to launch them. (Apple might have a certain other product launch to worry about.)

AI still believes that Apple will kill off the 17-inch iMac and the Mac mini and that the iMac will get a makeover in the upcoming months. Will it look all brushed metally? We shall see (and hopefully soon… all these Apple rumors are getting hard to keep track of).

Poor bets placed on new iMacs at Apple’s developer conference [AppleInsider]

AppleInsider has a source whom it “holds the utmost respect for” that says that Apple will kill off the Mac Mini this year. They cite the fact that Apple never really liked the headless computer and that the company may have been pressured into making it by its shareholders. A nice backstory, and well worth a minute it takes to read, but without any real indication who this source is (I have a few guesses of my own), it’s kinda hard to take this information seriously.

Identifiable sources = important.

Closing the book on Apple’s Mac mini [AppleInsider]

Over at Zatz Not Funny, the greatest name ever for a blog, Zatz asks an important question: What’s up with CableCARD-ready PCs? Did they fall off the face of the planet, or are people just not enthusiastic about the idea of sticking a PC in their entertainment center?

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What’s shiny black, weighs about 3 pounds, is good on power consumption yet powerful, is mountable and sure to please the ladies? (Minds out of the gutter, people.) It’s the eco-friendly e2 mini desktop from enano Computers, of course. The e2 was launched today at a secret pagan ceremony press briefing at the RCS Experience electronics store in NYC. The tiny black box uses up to 80 percent less energy than an average desktop PC, while still managing a respectable amount of performance.

Aside from the power savings, the e2 has other “green” features such as being mostly made of recyclable materials and an efficient cooling system cuts out the fan din associated with fuller size desktops. Inside, other than a proprietary motherboard, the components are standard off-the-shelf things you’ll find in your average notebook PC.

The company will be rolling out more configurations in the coming months, but RCS Experience currently has four to choose from priced from $1,229 (the ex5511) up to the $1,999 ex7400U, which includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 processor, 2GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, TV tuner, Media Center remote control and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Hit the jump to check out more pictures of the petite PC or to the company’s site for more info.

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We tried to come up with reasons why you’d need to ruggedize a Mac Mini, but we came up with none. Really, a MacBook Pro and a nice bag should be good enough, but apparently some people want to take their diminutive Macs on the road. And there is a case for them. Here it is, enjoy.
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Product Page [Apple]