dria.org

So I spent some more time thinking about the Mac mini, and it struck me: the OS is included, along with a whack of very useful, very usable, and very well designed software.

Just for a lark, I decided to see how much it would cost to cobble together a similarish smallish-form-factor system using standard PC parts and software. I used the least expensive Mac mini (standard configuration) as the base, and got my PC hardware and software prices from PC Cyber (local place, good people, best prices in Ottawa).

The Mac mini includes:

• 1.25ghz PowerPC G4
• 256Mb PC2700 DDR RAM
• ATI Radeon 9200, 32Mb DDR video card
• 40Gb Ultra ATA1 harddrive
• DVD ROM/CD-RW combo drive
• 10/100baseT ethernet
• 56k modem
• OSX Panther
• iLife (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand)
• Quicken
• Case (microscopic form factor)
• Labour for assembly, 1 yr warranty

The Intel-based system I cobbled together includes:

• Intel Celeron 2.4ghz CPU (arguable but that’s what I picked)
• MicroATX motherboard with onboard audio (no Firewire)
• 256Mb PC2700 DDR RAM
• ATI Radeon 9200 32mb video card
• 40Gb 7200 harddrive
• LG 52x DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
• 10/100 base T ethernet card
• 56k modem
• Windows XP Home (OEM edition)
• Windows Media Player
• Photodex CompuPic Pro photo management/editing software
• Steinberg Cubasis VST 3.0 music production software
• Quicken Home Edition
• Antec Aria SFF Case
• $50 for assembly and 1 yr warranty

The Mac mini retails, as is, for $629.00 CDN before tax and shipping.

The smallish form factor PC here, with software, is $998.99 CDN before tax and shipping.

Apple is doing a lot of winning right now.