What Do You Want From The Mac Nano?
By Rob Beschizza
MacOSRumors' prediction of a Mac Nano echoes a desire we've all had since the Mini went all expensive and the AppleTV was seen to be a powerful little pup. We want a cheap, tiny Mac. But there's always that sticking point for a company obsessed with perfection: quality.
Apple throws better hardware than necessary into its products. The good side is that its gadgets are fast and snappy. Compare the iPhone and AppleTV to cheap stuff like the Moto Q or the MediaLounge, for example, to see how much nicer it is when hardware isn't being pushed to its limits. The bad side, of course, is that we covet the secret power of our Apple toys and get upset when Apple won't let us use it.
The Mini was, by design, the minimum computer Apple feels can comfortably power OS X the way OS X should be powered. Wouldn't an AppleTV-like cheap Mac be a performance joke? And where would it be? On the TV set? If so, why market it as a Mac at all—no-one will do any work on it. Just call it AppleTV Extreme (now with HD-DVD, Safari and a keyboard!) It'll be hacking heaven, for sure, but it won't Leopard out the can, and it won't be a "Mac Nano."
And if it's on the desktop, why bother miniaturizing it further? The Mini is damn small: nothing competes with it aside from a couple of overpriced, ugly knockoffs. Maybe the "Nano" will just be a third-gen Mini, with an inch off and iPhone-style design. Maybe that's all we wanted to begin with.
So what it is, folks? What do you want from a $500 iBox?
Source : wired.com
Rumor: Mac mini turns Nano in late October
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