Mac Mini update

For all of you waiting for a mini update. Mini update?

link didnt work

What a complete load of crap! hehe
They made a rumor/prediction and got it wrong. Big deal, they aren't always right. But now they feel the need to try to save face by posting this garbage:

Think Secret said:

Sources have informed Think Secret that Mac mini box labels will continue to list the older specifications with no indication of whether the newer or older systems are contained within. The motivation behind this is to help clear current inventory without lowering prices. Essentially, customers are promised that the Mac mini they purchase will have specifications "at least" equal to the label, but that their system may exceed those. Customers who purchase a new Mac mini to find they ended up with the older configuration will not be able to return the system in the hopes of getting the newer configuration without paying a restocking fee.

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Kinda convenient wording there guys. "Oh, Apple will never admit to the update, but you might just get an updated model....sure the box will still say the old specs...yadda yadda yadda....oh, and if you get one that isn't updated, well...you can't return it for an updated one...cus, um...well...you would have to pay the restocking fee...and you're like, not guaranteed to get an updated one even then....so there."
Hehe...the rumour hounds have sunk to a new low this time. What an utter load of grade AAA BS :black:

Fallooza said:

link didnt work

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Here is the corrected link:

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0509macmini2.html

D3v1L80Y said:

What a complete load of crap! hehe
They made a rumor/prediction and got it wrong. Big deal, they aren't always right. But now they feel the need to try to save face by posting this garbage:



Kinda convenient wording there guys. "Oh, Apple will never admit to the update, but you might just get an updated model....sure the box will still say the old specs...yadda yadda yadda....oh, and if you get one that isn't updated, well...you can't return it for an updated one...cus, um...well...you would have to pay the restocking fee...and you're like, not guaranteed to get an updated one even then....so there."
Hehe...the rumour hounds have sunk to a new low this time. What an utter load of grade AAA BS :black:

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I actually think it's possible, even likely, that they're right. Think about all the complaints Apple gets..."I bought a new Mac mini two weeks ago and now there's a better/faster/cheaper one...I want a free upgrade!"

A stealth-upgrade program makes that kind of complaint a lot less likely.

technologist said:

I actually think it's possible, even likely, that they're right. Think about all the complaints Apple gets..."I bought a new Mac mini two weeks ago and now there's a better/faster/cheaper one...I want a free upgrade!"

A stealth-upgrade program makes that kind of complaint a lot less likely.

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I am going to have to disagree. A "stealth-upgrade" idea is, in my opinion, a shoddy explaination at best. I really don't think Apple cares that much about those sort of complaints. That my friends is known as the "luck of the draw" and unfortunately, some people have a hard time dealing with it.
I know there are a large number of members on this forum and others, that are firm believers of the rumor theories. These folks really do believe a large portion of everything that is posted on sites like Think Secret, AppleInsider, and Mac-Rumors...etc. These are the people who will tell you to wait eternally before you buy your new iBook, iMac, Power Mac..etc. because the "update" is coming. These are the people who notice "odd" little "quirks" and "double meanings" about how things are worded in articles from Apple, or the way things are said by Steve Jobs and other Apple execs.
The fact of the matter is this:


These sites are wrong as just as often as they are right about things.


For being so "in tune" with things, and having "reliable" and "inside" sources, they seem to miss some updates alltogether, and never predict them. Other times, they are completely wrong and nothing they predict or guess comes true. They only follow their claims up with fanfare AFTER the prediction is proven to be at all true. There are times when these sites only guess 10% of the update correctly...yet still they only promote what things they accurately "predict". Most times when they are wrong, they let it drop completely, or they add an update to their speculation like "it can happen any day now" so in the off chance something does happen they can come back with the aforementioned fanfare and tout how they "were right all along". If nothing happens, it is swept under the proverbial carpet.
This is why this case struck me so. They made their "any day now" remark and let the story drop. They brought it back though for some reason, and are now trying to breathe life back into their previous prediction. That article was published on Tuesday of this week. They made another claim that Apple would update the site "later this week". Well, I know we still have two days left, but it is "later in the week" and there is still no update to the site as of Thursday afternoon.
Now, I know I have as much prognosticating power as those sites do, so sure I am saying that nothing is going to happen. I could be wrong, but then again, so could these sites.

I agree that the rumor sites are just that...places to trade rumors. Usually, their accuracy is probably even less than 50-50.

But usually, they're saying things like "Apple will do x next month" or "Apple will come out with y next Tuesday." This is actually something that's supposedly happening: people have actually received a few minis that exceed specs. Of course they could be lying, or faking it with overclocked systems. This isn't a Nostradamus prediction, it's either a fact or a total fake.

[EDIT: See also the posts on Macrumors ]

technologist said:

This is actually something that's supposedly happening: people have actually received a few minis that exceed specs.

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I'll say, those specs certainly are exceeded...

Of course they could be lying, or faking it with overclocked systems. This isn't a Nostradamus prediction, it's either a fact or a total fake.

[EDIT: See also the posts on Macrumors ]

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....I am gonna go with the total fake choice

D3v1L80Y said:

I'll say, those specs certainly are exceeded...

[REMOVED IMAGE]http://home.earthlink.net/~dnields/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/processornewfaster.jpg


....I am gonna go with the total fake choice

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Nice one :mac:

i got this yesterday.
http://beta.news.com.com/Apple+offers+Mac+Mini+grab+bag/2100-1042_3-5885485.html?tag=html.alert

hows that.

interesting. a possible marketing disaster for apple, but intersting none the less.

IronMac said:

i got this yesterday.
http://beta.news.com.com/Apple+offers+Mac+Mini+grab+bag/2100-1042_3-5885485.html?tag=html.alert

hows that.

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Well, c|net is one of the most respected news outfits in technology. This lends credence to the claims of upgraded systems...though it adds nothing to the idea of an official model upgrade.

My thought, which I feel is a more plausible and logical explaination of what happened is this:

Computers, Mac minis included, are mass produced on assembly lines overseas. Somewhere along the line, the incorrect parts and/or assembly instructions were given on the Mac mini line. This was a mistake, NOT a planned upgrade. This would explain why the Minis are not issued a new part number and why they shipped in boxes marked with the old (read: correct) specs. The "upgrades" are a mistake. Apple caught this and has since corrected the assembly lines, however, there are still out of spec Minis that made it out to stock.

Mind you, not enough systems made it for Apple to advertise or sell them as a new line, but enough to cancel the Mini "Test Drive" promotion as quickly as it was. This was done because Apple likely assumed (and were correct about) that people would think that this meant there was a planned upgrade and they would try to return normal, correctly specced Minis with hopes of getting an upgraded one. Also, if this were a planned and official update, Apple would have made the official announcement and updated their site by now. Again, this was a mistake and Apple's policies help to explain such mistakes when it states "Product specifications are subject to change without notice." This covers their collective "assets" should anyone try to bring action against them. Still, in my opinion is was a poor way to handle the situation on Apple's part. They would have definitely been able to tell which machines had the erroneous updates, regardless of what the boxes read, and would have been able to recall the shipments quietly before anyone noticed. Instead, they refused to do so and allowed them to actually sell. This only caused confusion and turned out to be a much bigger issue than Apple hoped it would. Not the best judgement on Apple's behalf.
Basically, if you are one of the people waiting for Apple to announce the "official" update, you can stop waiting since it is not likely to ever happen.

Just a few observations...

1. Apple's tired of having every little product launch become a major event. Two years ago, every +50MHz speed bump was part of a Steve Jobs-hosted Macworld keynote. Then they moved to just press releases. This is a logical step in de-emphasizing minor changes to the product line.

2. Apple's support site makes reference to a "Sept. 2005" revision of the Mac mini.

3. The parts in question (faster G4s, faster hard disks, new bluetooth modules, and higher-capacity graphics memory) have no business being in the factory where Mac minis are built. Unless Apple had them delivered there for an enhanced mini. Maybe someone in China jumped the gun, but all those parts didn't get to that factory by accident.

technologist said:

Just a few observations...

1. Apple's tired of having every little product launch become a major event. Two years ago, every +50MHz speed bump was part of a Steve Jobs-hosted Macworld keynote. Then they moved to just press releases. This is a logical step in de-emphasizing minor changes to the product line.

2. Apple's support site makes reference to a "Sept. 2005" revision of the Mac mini.

3. The parts in question (faster G4s, faster hard disks, new bluetooth modules, and higher-capacity graphics memory) have no business being in the factory where Mac minis are built. Unless Apple had them delivered there for an enhanced mini. Maybe someone in China jumped the gun, but all those parts didn't get to that factory by accident.

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1. I agree that not every product launch needs a major event or copious fanfare. Still, there has been no press release yet, other than to confirm the error. And the site is still not updated. The items were still shipped in boxes labeled as the "old" specs.

2. This could be in response to the heightened media attention. Keep in mind, the "Test Drive" promo was created and cancelled long before that update on the support site dated 9/26/05. That date does closely reflect the date when media attention was abuzz however.

3. You have never worked in a mass production environment, then
There is not only one factory that makes Minis, and there is not only one production line that makes Minis. It is more cost effective and smarter to run "batches" of a certain model on the same line, and adjusting and re-calibrating the line between these "batches" or product runs. This keeps a business operating costs down. It is more likely that there are lines that make laptops, lines that make desktops, lines that make iPods...etc.
Minis are comprised of primarily laptop components. Due to its size and components used, it is likely made on a laptop line. The "updated" specs are extraordinarily close to those of a PowerBook. It would not be at all impossible that the line was doing a run of PowerBooks first. That batch completed and the line was switched to run Minis. It is also possible that the line was not properly changed over and the PowerBook parts made it into the Minis.


I could be completely wrong, yes. But my explainations are just as logical and plausible as anything else out there at the moment. Basically, until an announcement is made, the site updated, or an offical press release is made we cannot assume or infer that the "update" to the Mini was at all intentional or official.
:black:

D3v1L80Y said:

3. You have never worked in a mass production environment, then
There is not only one factory that makes Minis, and there is not only one production line that makes Minis. It is more cost effective and smarter to run "batches" of a certain model on the same line, and adjusting and re-calibrating the line between these "batches" or product runs. This keeps a business operating costs down. It is more likely that there are lines that make laptops, lines that make desktops, lines that make iPods...etc.
Minis are comprised of primarily laptop components. Due to its size and components used, it is likely made on a laptop line. The "updated" specs are extraordinarily close to those of a PowerBook. It would not be at all impossible that the line was doing a run of PowerBooks first. That batch completed and the line was switched to run Minis. It is also possible that the line was not properly changed over and the PowerBook parts made it into the Minis.

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Everything Apple sells is put together by contract manufacturers on a (so-called) just-in-time basis. Apple doesn't have any factories; it doesn't retool lines or keep a parts inventory. There's a Chinese firm somewhere and they get a contract. Apple has the parts shipped from Freescale or whoever, and units are assembled, and shipped out. When the run is over, the line isn't changed over; Apple just puts out another bid and has new parts and schematics delivered to whichever contractor wins.

D3v1L80Y said:

What a complete load of crap! hehe
They made a rumor/prediction and got it wrong. Big deal, they aren't always right. But now they feel the need to try to save face by posting this garbage:



Kinda convenient wording there guys. "Oh, Apple will never admit to the update, but you might just get an updated model....sure the box will still say the old specs...yadda yadda yadda....oh, and if you get one that isn't updated, well...you can't return it for an updated one...cus, um...well...you would have to pay the restocking fee...and you're like, not guaranteed to get an updated one even then....so there."
Hehe...the rumour hounds have sunk to a new low this time. What an utter load of grade AAA BS :black:

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WOW ur were wrong like 100% wrong but u had a good reason to say what u said

zap2 said:

WOW ur were wrong like 100% wrong but u had a good reason to say what u said

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I am not saying that I am 100% right yet, but I certainly am not wrong yet. Apple still has not changed their site, or made any official statement that the update is in fact something that was planned. They only admitted that some Minis shipped with different specs. :black:

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1865183,00.asp

About D3v1L80Y's theory on the production lines. Sounds plausible except that I dont think the logic boards for PB and MM's are the same. Can you just slap a faster processor, BT 2.0 and more video memory on there? I think this takes a little more than just an accident.

D3v1L80Y said:

I'll say, those specs certainly are exceeded...

....I am gonna go with the total fake choice

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Well, that's just a System Profiler picture from a PMG5. They just changed the computer type part thing.