Instead, Dell has turned to AMD chips starting with a base Athlon processor (which can be bumped to an AMD Athlon™ X2, and AMD Athlon™ Neo X2). A single hard drive squeezes inside (up to 1TB) along with as many as 8GB of RAM. And you can choose between integrated graphics and an ATI Radeon HD 4330 512MB card.

That should be enough power to drive 1080P out of the HDMI port (using an optional Blu-ray drive now and TV Tuner option sometime in the future). You also score 4 USB ports (2 front, 2 back) along with 2 eSATA ports for easy drive expansion.

The Zino HD goes on sale today. But I haven't spotted it on Dell's site just yet. I'm interested to see what you really get in that base $250ish rig, and how much a few of these key upgrades will cost. If Dell keeps the price down, the Zino HD could be a no-brainer when compared to the Atom and Ion-based systems floating around. [Dell]

UPDATE: Dell's press materials they sent out said the Zino HD would start at $250. As of right now, the cheapest configuration online is $360. We've contacted Dell for clarification.

UPDATE 2: This is fun, isn't it? Swap out Windows 7 Professional with Home and the price drops to $260. I have no clue why a sub-$300 computer defaults with a $100 OS upgrade.

UPDATE 3: OK, it looks like the website pricing updates are done. My base configuration is down to $230 with a 1.6GHz Athlon, 2GB RAM, DVD drive, and 250GB (7200RPM) hard drive. Bumping the specs up to a dual core Athlon puts the price to $289.

That means using another OS (like Windows 7, via Bootcamp) for Blu-ray playback. Back in OS X, reading and writing Blu-ray discs is possible if you're using software like Adobe's Premiere Pro CS3 with Encore, or the Blu-ray plug-in for Roxio's Toast.

Another thought: the kit costs $200 bucks. Add that to the entry-level Mac Mini's $600 price tag, and you may as well start thinking about other media PC options. Fail. [AMEX Digital via Engadget]

1. iMacs Get Next-Gen Processors
The most important upgrade to iMacs is that they'll now support Intel Core i5 and i7 processors for prices starting at $2000. You can buy a Core 2 Duo model for $800 less, but...I mean...really?

2. The iMac Is a Cheap Monitor, By Apple's Standards
A 30-inch Cinema Display will still run you $1,800 while a new 27-inch iMac starts at $1700. Oh, and now the iMac can work simply as a monitor through its mini DisplayPort, too.

3. Apple Sees the Mac Mini as a Server, Not an HTPC
Apple may have given the Mac Mini a slight spec boost and the option to load Leopard Server, but it still missing the critical feature it needs to be a competitive home theater PC—the HDMI port.

4. New Metal Remote Looks Like an iPod Design Reject
For those who couldn't stand the humiliation of using a white, plastic remote with their black-and-silver iMac, there's a remote for that.

5. Replaceable Batteries Are Dead in Apple's Entire Laptop Line
The trusty old white MacBook was holding out, battling designers' attempts to replace its swappable battery with a longer-life non-swappable version you see in every other modern Apple laptop. Today, it lost that battle.

6. Apple Still Hates Buttons, Nubs, Etc
The multitouch Magic Mouse has risen over the Mighty Mouse's corpse, and as Jesus points out, the whole no-button design is déjà vu.

7. Jobs' Polycarbonate MacBook Must Have Slipped Off His Lap
Not only is Apple keeping the white MacBook around, they've added a non-slip rubber bottom in what may be the most aggressive design change since May 16, 2006, when the model original launched.

8. Time Capsules Should Be 60% Less Frustrating
Anyone who's grown tired of the ridiculously slow experience of interfacing with the Time Capsule, know that Time Capsules have seen a tacit spec boost promising to make systems "60 percent faster than before."

9. Jonathan Ive Could Still Sell a Ketchup Popsicle to a Fanboy in White Gloves
Also of note, sales on Hanes midnight blue tees are going through the roof, and big muscles don't make you look dumb so long as you speak with an Essex-region English accent.

10. No, the Nook Is Not an Apple Product
But it's about a bajillion times closer than the Kindle.

The $1000 server includes two 500GB hard disks, 4GB of RAM, and GeForce 9400M graphics. For its part, the 320GB Mac mini stays at $800, but has that new processor, and 4GB of memory (up from 2GB).

It's the $600 entry-level Mac mini that gets the most love. It's got a faster 2.26GHz processor (up from 2GHz), 2GB RAM (up from 1GB), and has 160GB of storage (up from 120GB).

As far as the rumors go: Yep, there is a Mini DisplayPort output. No, there's no Blu-ray. No cheaper option, either. Do you think this is enough to save for the Mac mini from near-irrelevance? [Apple]

MC207LL/A - K84 BEST BTR- USA
MC238LL/A - MAC MINI 2.26/2x1GB/160/SD/AP/BT-USA
MC239LL/A- MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/320GB/SD/AP/BT-USA
MC340LL/A - AIRPORT EXTREME (SIM DUALBAND) - USA
MC343LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 1TB (SIM DUALBAND) -USA
MC344LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 2TB (SIM DUALBAND) - USA
MC408LL/A - MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/1TB/NO ODD/AP-BT-USA
MC413LL/A - IMAC 21.5"/3.06/2x2GB/1TB/4670-256MB-USA
MC434LL/A - APPLE VESA MOUNT ADAPTER
MC461LL/A - MACBOOK 60W MAGSAFE POWER ADAPTER - USA

K84 Best BTR? Sounds like a new Bluetooth Keyboard. SIM dualband? Are the AirPort and Time Capsules tying in with cellphones? Apple VESA mount adapter? Since when Apple does that kind of accessory?

The new products will not be earth-shattering material—Apple won't announce anything wowiezowie without an event—but I'm curious about the whole SIM dualband thing.

Update: MacRumors claims that the ""MC207LL/A" product is a MacBook running at 2.26 GHz with a 250 GB hard drive and 2 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM." They say this is unconfirmed, though. [AppleInsider and MacRumors]

The Price:

$70

The Verdict:

It works, but damn if it isn't expensive.

If you're not really married to the higher quality digital audio, you might be better off getting the USB audio version for $50 $60, which performs basically the same service for $20 $10 less.

As for this unit, it definitely works—we've been using it on a Mac Mini hooked up to a 1080p TV for a week—and there are no dropouts or weird signal noise inconsistencies that we can see. Everything is plug and play, and you should have no problem using it on your 5.1 audio system.

Again, at $70, it's only really useful if Mini DisplayPort is your only display output, otherwise you can come up with a cheaper solution involving a series of cheaper tubes. [Kanex Live]

It works

It's very expensive

Of course, we kind of knew this to be the case already, thanks to the FCC, but this little bit of info helps solidify exactly what's going to be descending down from Cupertino very soon. The adWords (translated):

MacBook: Thinner, lighter and stronger! Free delivery. Order today.
iMac: Ultra Thin 20 & 24 inch models. From only € 1099. Apple Store
Mac mini: Faster and more affordable than ever. From only € 499. Order immediately.

So no real news on the innards, just aesthetics and weight loss. Note that the pricing on the mini is also €100 lower this time around. Update: Fixed incorrect source citation to AppleInsider. [AppleInsider]

These might be those thinner, Blu-ray powered iMacs we heard about last week. The other part of the rumor says that the machines might have an LED display, a unibody build or something about audio. [Apple Insider]

The install disc, which is nearly identical to the Leopard install disc that comes with new Macs, clearly states that this is Mac OS version 10.6, and version 1.0 of said OS. It seems perfectly legit to us, but we wonder how such a disc could have slipped out ahead of release. Regardless, this probably means the August 28th guess isn't far off. [Engadget Japan (translated) Engadget]

Major Component Breakdown:

2GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
$118.35

GeForce 9400M
$65.16

120GB Hard Drive
$46.00

Pioneer DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive
$32.00

WLAN/Bluetooth Module
$18.00

AC Power Adapter
$14.25 (Apple spends more money on the Mini's power adapter than its RAM!)

1GB DDR3 RAM
$10.00

Manufacturing Costs
$10.94

Interestingly enough, I've always looked at the Mac Mini as one of Apple's most expensive products in terms of the hardware you actually get for your money—while iSuppli's report offers proof to the contrary. Of course, the Mac Mini's profit margin is a bit different when you look at what Apple charges for their more premium model of the system—$800—when the only differences are 200GB more storage and an extra 1GB of RAM. In this case, the "Apple Tax" helps subsidize the pricing of the base Mac Mini.

As usual, these pricing figures only reflect the build and materials of a product, not development, testing, etc. [iSuppli]

If you're one of the 20 people still listening to AM/FM broadcasts and not streaming from the Mac Mini that's an integral part of this setup, then this will suit your fancy just fine. [Yanko Design]

Luckily we've all seemed to survive the nerd armageddon, so we might as well admire Matt De Lanoy's creation in the meantime, which is a contender in the FBTB's Lego podracer challenge. The Brothers Brick especially like the headphones, but I'm more mystified by the goose-stepping Darth Vader. Be sure to check out De Lanoy's Flickr page for more images. [Flickr and FBTB via The Brothers Brick]

In this new iMac release, Apple didn't invest in a radical new design. That sort of thing doesn't go over in an economic downturn. The case is identical to all other iMacs since August 2007, down to the brushed aluminum body and the occasionally annoying high-gloss screen. What Apple did instead—something they won't let you forget—is drop the price of the 24" iMac from $1800 to $1500 while spiking the performance.

The baseline chip used to be a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo; now it's a 2.66GHz, with the Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics now found in almost every other Apple product. iMacs used to come standard with 2GB of RAM, now there's 4GB in the entry-level 24 incher that I tested, along with a 640GB 3.5" hard drive.

The 20" iMac is cheaper at $1200, but doesn't carry as much value: It comes standard with only 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. You'd really need to up the RAM to 4GB, so that brings the bill to $1300. At that point, you're just $75 away from doubling the internal hard-drive capacity. Now, at $1375, you're a stone's throw from the other system, the $1500 iMac with its noticeably larger screen—a screen that, mind you, Apple asks $900 for when sold a la carte. (I reviewed with the iMac side-by-side with the 24" Cinema Display; they're essentially identical even though iMac is CCFL while the Cinema Display is LED.)

The $1500 model really sits in the sweet spot. Stepping up beyond that may not make much sense either. Apple charges $1000-a thousand dollars!—to swap 4GB of RAM for 8GB. The good news there is that there's an easy-access RAM-swap hatch, so Apple is almost encouraging you not to buy the extra RAM now, but to upgrade on the open market later when prices drop to sane levels. You can swing a 1TB hard drive for $100 more. However, if you save the $100, you keep the 640GB internal, and have the money for most of a 1TB external too.

People who are serious about gaming or video work do have higher-end iMac choices. There's a 2.93GHz system for $1800, and you can jump to 3.06GHz for $150 more than that. At those levels, you also get dedicated graphics processors: There's the basic Nvidia GeForce GT 120 256MB, then the $150-more GeForce GT 130 with 512MB. Another $50 on top of that gets you the ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB. Those choices are good if you know what you're looking for because, as the good people of iFixit found out, the iMac is not built for the average user to upgrade anything but RAM. Still, for most people—for most uses including anything less than serious gaming—it doesn't make sense to buy above the $1500 2.66MHz iMac, especially given the performance I've seen.

And what have I seen? Well, you can see from these benchmark charts (which I also ran in the Mac Mini review) that the new iMac stays on top the whole time, through batteries of tests, when compared to both the Mac Mini and the far more expensive MacBook Pro (using the same graphics chipset):

Xbench test results



Geekbench test results



In real world testing, I made further discoveries of the iMac's pre-eminence among its Mac peers. Ripping a 26-track CD in iTunes took just 3 minutes and 50 seconds on the iMac, while it took nearly 10 minutes (OK, 9:45) on the Mini with 2GB of RAM.

Playing Quake 4 with framerate counter turned on also revealed hidden power. While the Mac Mini kept up with the action and detail by dropping frames—45fps average, down to 20fps during heavy fighting—the iMac mostly maintained a smooth 60fps, dipping into the 50s when things got rough.

No matter what your level of PC knowledge is, you realize that there are faster, beefier desktop systems. Apple itself has the $2500-and-up Mac Pro (with similar graphics card options and much more serious core processors), and if you really know what you're doing, you can build or customize your own system anyway. In the Windows world, the options are almost limitless. Because of all of those other options, the number of people who will be ordering up an iMac for over $1800 will probably be small.

It also makes buying a Mini—and the necessary peripherals—less justifiable. The message, heard loud and clear in this time of financial strife, is that $1500 will get you a system that would have cost well over $2000 not long ago, and that spending less than that will mean compromises that might not hold you over for long enough. I know some of you think $1500 is too much money for a computer, and I can respect that. But for people with the right kind of budget, the new entry-level 24" iMac is a smart buy. [Product Page]

In Summary

Low-end specifications have been notably boosted



Price has decreased—$300 per configuration—in spite of performance bumps



Very difficult to upgrade by hand, except for adding RAM



The included keyboard is trimmed down to its barest key set, but you can ask for one with a number pad at no extra cost

$1500 for the 24" might still be considered pricey by some potential buyers, and the $1200 model doesn't present as much value



Screen glare can be annoying, and the screen and back are easily smudged (see gallery)

Being the compact Mac Mini (and involving 2.5-inch laptop drives), you knew it would be a bit more complicated than your standard, tower bay component swap. The process does require a few moments of soldering and careful notation of various internal wires/sensors, but the tutorial has big, beautiful pictures to hold your hand every step of the way.

Also, to make things a bit easier, they're offering a 1TB, 5400RPM upgrade kit for $250 that includes all the necessary tools and components. You could maybe do it cheaper, but that's how these guys pay the bills for these fancy tutorials. [iFixit]

Sure, a $500 price tag would be great. But if we can't get that, can't we at least get an HDMI output? Dell, Acer and others now sell teeny desktops with HDMI outputs—some even have Blu-ray players. It's pretty much the right thing to do at this time, but Apple's not doing it. That's not surprising: Apple is slower to adopt popular PC standards such as USB 2.0, the CD burner, and that Blu-ray drive. And the company itself is adamant that the Mini is seen as a desktop machine, not an entertainment PC. Some people believe Apple keeps HDMI out of the Mini to protect the HDMI-laden Apple TV. If true, it's sad, because Apple TV just isn't good enough to protect with the life of another product.

We can all agree that it's nice to have a reasonably affordable Mac out there in the universe, and most of us can agree with Apple's decision not to redesign the outer shell of the thing—it's still attractively simple. But I want a Mac Mini in my living room, and I want it connected to a 50" flat panel TV. With one cable. Why is that wrong?

The good news is, the new Mac Mini is a worthy little beast. In spite of its seemingly wimpy 2.0GHz dual-core processor, it keeps up with most of the basic stuff you can throw at it. The internal redesign of the Mac Mini is really about coupling that Core 2 Duo with Nvidia integrated graphics, and I have to say, it seems like that worked out nicely. It's the same GeForce 9400M chipset we see in the MacBook, the MacBook Pro and, not coincidentally, the new iMac, and when it comes to rendering 1080p movies and playing a little Quake 4 on a 24" monitor, it gets the job done.

It gets the job done when there's enough RAM, that is. That extra 1GB stick actually doubles the 9400M's shared memory from 128MB to 256MB, and when you're playing games, you'll notice that in the textures and motion smoothness. It's hard to tell from the shots below, but textures appearing in Quake 4 on the 2GB Mini were much closer to those on the new iMac, which is far more powerful with a 2.66GHz dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM.

Quake 4 Demo
Mac Mini with 1GB of RAM vs 2009 iMac



Mac Mini with 2GB of RAM vs 2009 iMac

Nobody is going to use the Mini as their primary gaming machine—as you can see in my Xbench and Geekbench testing, the two Mini configs always trailed more expensive Mac systems, and in many tests fared the same or worse than their predecessors—but between the Core 2 Duo and the 9400M graphics, it's a solid computer.

Xbench test results


Geekbench test results


The better news is, there's no good reason to buy the more expensive $800 one. The $600 config comes with the same processor and DVD burner. As I insinuated, you should up the RAM to 2GB for $50 extra, but even then, your total shouldn't exceed $650. Unfortunately, judging by this teardown and a chat I had with Apple, they intentionally made it hard for people to upgrade it themselves.

At that point, all the $800 model has going for it is a 320GB hard drive, and nobody pays $150 for a paltry 160GB of bonus storage. Going from a 160GB drive to a 320GB drive is like going from 40mph to 50mph on a 65mph interstate. Go get an external drive—it just now took me four seconds to spot this 1TB Iomega Prestige external drive on Amazon for $117! That Mini only has five freakin' USB 2.0 jacks—let's don't be afraid to tie up one or two.

My feelings on the Mini end somewhat mixed. It's now powerful enough to be a nice iPod-syncable movie ripper/server with the Front Row experience I can control from the couch. I can still set this up without spraining my brain, but there would be lots of compromises.

For instance, it would either take a cheap Y-cable for analog stereo out, or a Toslink-to-mini optical cable ($2.24 at Monoprice) that could connect to a receiver for surround sound. It would also take a video adapter of some kind. Many TVs have DVI or VGA inputs, and all now have HDMI inputs, so there are plenty of adapters you can get. There's a Mini DVI-to-HDMI adapter ($9.88 at Monoprice), or an even snazzier Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI plug, which Monoprice will sell for $14.25 sometime around March 15.

But you see where I'm going here, right? No matter how awesome Monoprice is when it comes to cables and adapters and crap, this is all spaghetti the Mini shouldn't need. Apple: Where's the flippin' HDMI? You put not one but two video outputs on this thing, and yet I still need an adapter to plug it into anything but a $900 Apple monitor. Yes, thanks for including that Mini DVI to DVI adapter in the box, but I'm pretty sure that just proves my point. [Product Page]

In Summary
It's nice and compact, just like its externally identical predecessors

The Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics do appear to make everything faster and smoother

Very difficult to upgrade by hand, but at least there's a cheap RAM upgrade

No HDMI means it can't be a great home-theater PC

Needs video adapters for most monitor or TV connection

I know it was idealistic of me, but especially with the price of Apple's Mac Mini upgrade options, I was hoping that the new Mini would take design cues from Apple's latest laptops and allow for a simple way to swap out the RAM and hard drive, or at least open without the use of a putty knife.

Well, the hard drive is easy enough to access if you crack the Mini's hood, but to reach the RAM you'll still need to remove the hard drive and then the optical drive—minding more cables in the process (3) than you did with the old Mini (1).

The moral is that while swapping components is certainly possible, it's not something made any easier than before. Other than that, it was confirmed that the new Mac Mini has been upgraded with a SATA hard drive, as most of us expected. [macminicolo via TUAW]

Mac Mini
The new Mac Mini, available now, is heavily redesigned inside and in the rear, though its body is pretty much identical to the old ones. It comes in two configs ($600 and $800), both based on the 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. Adam wants you to note that the $200 step up might not be worth it. [MORE]

iMac
The 24-Inch iMac comes down from $1800 to $1500, pushing the 20-Inch iMac down $300 itself to $1200. Despite having the same look they've had since August 2007 (not a problem for me but some people want new freshness), they also have better specs: The super-sick $2,200 iMac has a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a 7200rpm 1TB drive (though you still have to pay extra to max out RAM at 8GB). [MORE]

Mac Pro
The new Mac Pro now starts at $2500, down from $2800, but has Intel's Xeon "Nehalem" quad-core chipset and 1066MHz DDR3 RAM for superfast memory access. It comes standard with the fast Nvidia GeForce GT 120, but you can choose an ATI Radeon HD 4870 for even more graphical juice. It's coming March 9. [MORE]

Jesus points out that Apple's keyboard just got smaller—all except the price that is. The larger one will still sell, for now, too.

Time Capsule
The new Time Capsule also looks the same on the outside, but inside it's doubled up its Wi-Fi router power with dual-channel 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n for managing more network traffic. The cooler innovation is "guest networking," which lets you create a virtual Wi-Fi hotspot for guests that is walled off from the rest of your network. [MORE]

It's all right there in the specs. There are two models: a $600 model and an $800 model. Literally the only difference between the two is a bump from 1GB of RAM to 2GB of RAM and from a 120GB HDD to a 320GB HDD. Same processor, same graphics, same SuperDrive.

I know that Apple uses components made from the powdered bones of unicorns, but this seems egregious even by their standards. Am I missing something here?

Maybe I should stop being surprised. After every new product unveiling or spec bump, I go from being interested in maybe buying one of these products to being offended by their pricing. Maybe if I start off offended I'll be pleasantly surprised when I'm only a little taken aback and not furious.

Update: There's also a difference in the graphics card of 128MB vs 256MB, but its the same card with different allocations from the RAM due to the higher amount in the $800 model.

$599 Version
2.0GHz
1GB RAM
120GB Hard Drive
8X SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

$799 Version
2.0GHz
2GB RAM
320GB Hard Drive
8X SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

Systems are configurable with up to a 2.26GHz processor and 4GB of RAM. Especially with the 4GB RAM cap and 9400M video card, the new Mac Mini looks very similar to the latest iteration of MacBooks, performance-wise, except for the inclusion of a FireWire port. [Apple]

The new 2.0 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $599 (US), includes:
• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable up to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);
• five USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port; and
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog.

The new 2.0 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $799 (US), includes:
• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable up to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);
• five USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port; and
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog.

Build-to-order options and accessories for the Mac mini include: a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 80GB, 250GB or 320GB 5400 hard drives. Additional options include: LED Cinema Display, Apple Keyboard, Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mighty Mouse; AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule; Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork '09, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 2.

Rumors of new, extra-wireless Time Capsule and Airport units popped onto our radar earlier this morning, following a serious markdown of the existing Time Capsule model. This came just after a picture of the purported new Mac Mini's packaging—a product update that is not only long-overdue, but that has been the subject of a veritable slew of leaks in the last few weeks. All this comes on the heals of a weakly-sourced (but tantalizingly plausible) rumor of a March product update.

Moving on the the heftier products, MacRumors posted a "last minute" spec leak a few hours ago, which details incremental upgrades and price adjustments for the Mac Mini, iMac and Mac Pro. None of purported upgrades are going to blow your socks off, but a Nehalem-based Mac Pro and $100-cheaper, better-equipped Mac Mini would be more than welcome. At posting time the store is still down, but we'll let you know if any of this materializes. —Thanks, Chang (and the other 235 of you, too)!

Never trust them.

The rumor doesn't have any details as to what could happen, so if true, we can only speculate for now.

The Mac Pro and Mac Mini are long due for a redesign. As part of PowerPC-to-Intel migration, all the computers kept their old designs during the first phase of the transition to the new hardware architecture. The idea was to maintain a sense of continuity. Then, as the Intel-based Macs proved to be a success, Apple started to change external designs. The Mac Pro and the Mac Mini are the only two computers that have not had a external redesign yet. [World of Apple]

I was just reading about the development of the Disk II. Randy Wigginton and Woz worked on it for a few weeks, only finishing up the control software (which negated the need for fancy hardware controllers by using software to read and write the sectors in the right spot) hours before presenting it at CES in 1978. They stayed up all night after setting up the booth to get it done. When they finished, they tried to made a back up copy. And they accidentally overwrote the data disk with the blank. Less than a few hours before the show floor opened, they rewrote the entire control system.

[Flickr via Macrumors via Technobob, Apple2history.org]

[9to5Mac]

As you can see in this image, the general "dispersion of artifacts" is not consistent with an unedited picture. In other words, all of that confetti you're seeing around the ports and power plug are pretty suspect. Zoomed in to the pixel, the image also reveals the use of multiple macroblock types.

But apparently the expert's most damning argument has nothing to do with the image quality itself. It's the placement of the Mini DisplayPort and Mini DVI—the ports don't appear to be lined up with the motherboard, which is a big design no-no. [9to5Mac]

There's also an Ethernet port, Firewire, Mini DisplayPort and the old style mini DVI Mac display port? Two display ports? That seems odd. In any case, if this is real, it looks quite nice—and you can probably bet it'll run with at least the new Nvidia 9400 graphics chipset found in the newer MacBook and MacBook Pros. [Macrumors Forum via Apple Insider via 9 to 5 Mac]

Update: Adjusted credit. The image actually wasn't from Apple Insider, it was from Macrumors' Forums. Apple Insider just watermarked it for some reason.

Tom's Hardware is pointing to an Nvidia source that confirmed Apple was the first to receive Ion test units, and said that Apple most certainly had an Ion-powered Mac Mini in the pipe. Apple Insider is more inclined to believe it's for the Apple TV, since a move to Atom would be a step up from its aging 1GHz Intel Crofton proc.

Both products make the most sense for a low-power, low-cost processor, but a dual-core Atom 330 running at 1.6 GHz would certainly be a step down from the Mini's current Core 2 Duo at 1.83 and 2 GHz, so I would place my chips in the Apple TV stack. The Nvidia 9400M would bring a nice boost to the Mini's paltry HD video capabilities however, and OS X config file snooping has turned up evidence for a 9400M-powered Mini recently (doesn't mean it will also use an Atom processor).

Or maybe they'll simply combine these two fairly confused product lines into one dimunitive full OS X machine (please) that's perfect for the living room. Tom's source says the new Ion-powered product will hit around March. We'll see about that. [Tom's Hardware, Apple Insider]

I'm a sucker for any Apple keynote, whether I'm in the stands with the press or F5'ing away at my browser like most of you. There's a certain hypnotic timing to them, a clean presentation and a controlled, meticulous unveiling process that makes even the less exciting products seem monumental in scope.

During today's last Apple Macworld keynote, not having been there, I actually forgot at times that Steve Jobs wasn't presenting with Phil Schiller taking his place instead. Indeed, from the text/content alone, I wouldn't have even noticed. The presentation style was intact—from the clean slides to the dramatic structure, it was an Apple keynote, even if it wasn't Steve's Apple keynote. But I want to know, do you feel the same way?

From our original Macworld 2009 rumor roundup, here's the rundown on how all the rumors panned out.

Came True:
iLife and iWork '09 (with iWork in the cloud)
DRM-Free iTunes
17-inch Macbook Pro

Didn't Come True:
New Mac Mini
Updated 30-inch Cinema Displays

Didn't Come True Stretches:
iPod Touch Jumbo/XL/Pro/Netbook/Thing
iPhone nano
Home Server
Snow Leopard Availability
New iMacs

Seeing as many of the rumors were an admitted wild shot at best, we'd put the real rumor batting average around .400, even if it's closer to .266 on paper.

I tried downloading Radiohead's Bodysnatchers in an area providing 3 bars of 3G reception. With no fanfare, I was able to enter the iTunes store without a Wi-Fi hotspot and purchase the song.

So far, so good. No firmware updates needed or anything!

Then the download stalled for a moment. Then the iPhone pulled that classic "you're on 3G, oops, you're really on EDGE" maneuver. I wondered what would happen. Would the download stall and wait for 3G? Or would it slowly trudge on?

It trudged on. I guess that's both a good an a bad thing. While I was able to download the song, it took me nearly 10 minutes to grab the 3.7MB file. Wilson Rothman ran the same test from nearby and was also booted to EDGE, though the download only took him about 5 minutes.

Overall, I'm glad that truly wireless iTunes downloads are here. Hopefully more and better 3G coverage will make them live up to the generally pleasant iTunes experience. [Gizmodo Macworld 2009 Coverage]

The suite is getting a pretty strong set of new features— some fluffy, but many meaty and delicious. See the full list, updated as we get new info, below. But first, the cloud.

Pretty much the whole suite gets towed online here— Pages, Numbers and Keynote all now feature the same online storage and collaboration capabilities, including editing, notation and conversion services. There are two modes of access, too: An online interface, at iWork.com, and transparent integration into the actual apps.

The suite is clearly intended to take on Microsoft SharePoint and Google Docs, but approaches online document management somewhat differently. Rather than editing and organizing documents only through a web interface, Apple has integrated the online aspect into the familiar native iLife apps as well.

New Features:

Keynote:

Motion Move: This Keynote effect will create object transitions between slides, like when teenagers morph into werewolves on low-budget TV shows.

Interstitial slideshows: This interrupts your presentations to display standalone slideshows. Thanks?

Text transitions: There are some news ones! You can slide, twirl, shimmer, etc. All the things that made you hate PowerPoint can now help you hate Keynote, too.

Keynote iPhone Remote: This $0.99 app lets cue your Keynote presentation over Wi-Fi, from your iPhone. It's pretty basic, but also has the capability to display presenter's notes.

Integrated online file storage: Simultaneous group editing with revision control, a la Google Docs.

Pages:

Fullscreen: Pages should have always had a fullscreen-ish option. Now it does!

Advanced outlining, listing: A sensible alternative to a standalone outlining/planning application, it's meant help you plan out longer projects. It's also dynamic, so any embedded document links will automatically update on changes.

Mail merge: Mail merging with Numbers! Again, long overdue, but at least now you can easily do your Xmas cards on your Mac.

MathType: Are you a scientist, mathematician or student? No? Then this doesn't matter for you. The whole suite now has many more functions and full MathType capabilities, for writing formulas into your documents.

Numbers:

Boring! MathType is the biggest addition here, but users also get drag and drop formulas, new chart types, multiple axes, trend lines, and error bars, along with dynamic linked charts. And lest we forget, lots of templates.

iWork 2009 is available now from the Apple Store for $79, a $99 "family pack" for five licenses, or $49 with the purchase of any Mac. The subscription fee for iWork.com will be announced at a later date. Press release below.

[Macworld 2009 Coverage]

Apple Unveils iWork '09

Introduces iWork.com Public Beta for Online Document Sharing

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced iWork(R) '09, the latest version of Apple's popular office productivity suite, which adds powerful new features without sacrificing Apple's legendary ease of use. Keynote(R) '09 introduces advanced object transitions, which automatically animate objects with a choice of effects and Magic Move, an innovative way to create sophisticated animations just by applying a simple transition. Pages(R) '09 features a new Full Screen view that helps you focus on your writing and an outline mode to organize your thoughts. Numbers(R) '09 introduces a quick way to group and summarize data and a dramatically simplified way to create complex formulas. Apple also announced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online.

"Millions of Mac users have fallen in love with iWork," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With iWork '09, Apple continues to demonstrate that innovation is possible in office productivity software, and that creating impressive presentations, documents and spreadsheets doesn't need to be complicated."

Keynote '09 introduces Magic Move, which allows you to apply a simple transition to automatically animate the position, scale, rotation and opacity of any image, graphic or text that is repeated on consecutive slides. New text transitions morph text from one slide to the next. New advanced object transitions animate objects off one slide while simultaneously animating objects onto the next slide with a choice of effects. 3D charts now include cylinder shapes, beveled-edge pie charts, new textures and four new 3D build effects. The Keynote Remote application, sold separately in the App Store, lets you view slides and presenter notes and control your presentation with your iPhone(TM) or iPod(R) touch.

Pages '09 Full Screen view lets you focus on your document without any distractions and reveals the menus, format bar and page navigator only when needed. Outline mode includes templates that help to quickly build the framework for your document and allow you to collapse, expand and rearrange elements, even inline graphics, with ease. MathType 6 support lets engineers, mathematicians and students easily add sophisticated equations to their documents and EndNote X2 integration lets users add and edit comprehensive bibliographic references. Pages '09 also includes 40 new Apple-designed templates, including newsletters, posters, certificates and coordinated stationery.

Numbers '09 provides a great way to quickly categorize data by column, which you can then collapse, expand and summarize to easily make sense of large sets of data. Numbers '09 makes formula writing dramatically easier with an enhanced function browser which includes built-in help for over 250 functions, and visual placeholders with tool tips that explain each variable in a formula. Use the new Formula List to view all formulas in your entire spreadsheet and jump directly to any formula cell with a single click. Expanded chart options include mixed chart types, two-axis charts, and the ability to apply trend lines and error bars. Numbers charts pasted into Pages or Keynote are linked, and can be updated with a single click.

Apple also introduced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online. Using your Apple ID, just click the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Numbers toolbar to upload your document and invite others to view it online. Viewers can provide comments and notes, and download a copy of your document in iWork, Microsoft Office or PDF formats. A consolidated online list of all your shared documents indicates when your viewers have posted comments.

Pricing & Availability

iWork '09 is now available through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $79 (US). iWork '09 is available for $49 (US) with the purchase of any Mac(R) through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

iWork '09 requires Mac OS(R) X version 10.4.11 or Mac OS X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel processor, PowerPC G5, or 500 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 32MB of video RAM, QuickTime(R) 7.5.5 or later, a DVD drive for installation and 1.2GB of available disk space. iWork.com Public Beta is not included with the purchase of iWork '09. Account setup and activation are required. Fees may apply. Internet access and iWork '09 are required. Terms of service apply and are available at http://www.apple.com/legal/iworkcom/en/terms.html.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

(C) 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iWork, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iPhone, iPod, Apple Store and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090106/AQTU044)

SOURCE Apple

It's a good solid upgrade full of very nice features. One big catch, though: You need Leopard for it to run. Here's the rundown, app by app:

iPhoto stuff:


Faces: Goes through and identifies distinct faces, automatically tagging them so you don't have to slog through all your photos yourself.

Places: Geotagging, basically. iPhoto gives you a map with pins of where photos are taken. If your camera or iPhone encodes GPS info, iPhoto can figure out if the shot was taken at a particular landmark.

Facebook and Flickr support: Automatically upload your pics straight to your service of choice. (So glad to hear that one!) iPhoto will even grab Facebook image tags and use them in Faces. Flickr geo tags can be used in Places.

Themes: Page layouts for slideshows, with different fonts, caption boxes, etc., with crazy transitions. You can save slideshows to iPhone and iPod touch. It can detect faces in shots, so that they are centered during the slideshow. There's a geo-tag slideshow called Travel Books that looks and acts like a scrapbook.

iMovie stuff: Sounds like they're finally putting back some power functionality—let's hope so...


Precision editor: It's an expanded timeline for audio and video, for tighter cutting.

Advanced drag and drop: You can drag one video on top of another and get advanced context menus.

Themes: Select a theme and it automatically sets style for titles, transitions and credits.

Advanced travel maps: Put in starting and ending points, and it renders a 3D globe of where you traveled.

Video stabilization: Helps you fix shaky shooting when you're editing. Takes some processing time, but the results are amazing.

Other editing features: Skimming, seeing edits (before and after cuts), overlaying audio.

New project library: Organize videos in a more logical way with helpful thumbs.

Garageband stuff:
Yes, Garageband is still getting developed, even though I think it's been a while since even Walt Mossberg recorded a solo project. (Knowing Pogue's talents, he probably has a nice ProTools rig, or at least Logic.) Good thing this version is apparently looking for new musical recruits...

Learn to play: It has an instructional feature that helps teach you how to play instruments like guitar and piano.

Artist Lessons: Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, John Fogerty, Sting and other FOJ jam for your edification. Only $5 a lesson. Hmmm. (More on this.)

There are also updates to iWeb and iDVD, but Apple didn't feel the need to show them off, so they must not be terribly exciting. Here's the press release:

Apple Introduces iLife '09

Major Upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie & GarageBand

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced iLife(R) '09, which features major upgrades to iPhoto(R), iMovie(R) and GarageBand(R), and includes iDVD(R) and an updated version of iWeb(TM). iPhoto '09 builds on the ability to automatically organize photos into Events by adding Faces and Places as breakthrough new ways to easily organize and manage your photos. iMovie '09 expands on the revolutionary super fast movie creation introduced in iMovie '08 by adding the depth users want through powerful easy-to-use new features such as the incredible new Precision Editor, video stabilization, advanced drag and drop, and animated travel maps. GarageBand '09 introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar with 18 basic lessons and optional lessons from top artists such as Sara Bareilles, John Fogerty, Norah Jones and Sting. iLife '09 is included with every new Mac(R) purchase and available as a $79 upgrade for existing users.

"iLife continues to be one of the biggest reasons our customers choose to get a Mac," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With iLife '09, we've made working with photos, making movies and learning to play music a lot more fun, and iMovie users are especially going to love the advanced but easy-to-use new features."

iPhoto '09 makes it even easier to browse and search photos, not only by when they were shot (Events), but by who appears in them (Faces) and where they were taken (Places). iPhoto automatically scans photos to detect people's faces and when you assign a name to any face iPhoto will automatically find more pictures of that person. The library can be searched by name or browsed using the new Faces View. Places automatically imports photo location data from a GPS-enabled camera or any iPhone(TM) or you can manually assign a location to any photo, group of photos or event. Once iPhoto knows where photos were taken, you can easily explore them with a simple search or an interactive map. iPhoto '09 lets you easily publish photos to Facebook or Flickr. Photos published to Facebook include assigned names, and name tags added on Facebook sync back to iPhoto. You can also share photos by creating a themed slideshow to play on your Mac, iPhone or iPod(R), or create a beautiful travel book, complete with customized maps of your journey.

iMovie '09 adds powerful, yet easy-to-use new features to let you create a movie quickly, or add refinements and special effects to your project if you have more time. Drag and drop one clip on top of another to reveal new advanced editing options, including replace, insert, audio only, and even picture-in-picture or green screen. With the revolutionary Precision Editor, you can skim and click on a magnified filmstrip to view clips up close and fine tune any edit, like identifying precisely how much to keep, where to cut, use sound from one clip with video from another and more. iMovie '09 analyzes video and reduces camera shake in clips when added to your project. New titles, transitions, cinematic effects, speed changes and animated travel maps add professional polish to your movie.

GarageBand '09, the updated version of Apple's popular software used by millions to play and record music, now gives budding musicians a fun new way to learn to play piano and guitar. Basic Lessons let you learn the fundamentals at your own pace with Apple instructors in beautiful HD video synchronized to animated instruments and notation. Artist Lessons feature original artists showing how to play their hit songs with everything from finger positions and techniques to the story behind the song. Choose from lessons by popular artists including: Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, John Fogerty, Ben Folds, Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and Sting. Artist Lessons are sold separately at the new GarageBand Lesson Store, available inside the GarageBand '09 application. GarageBand '09 also includes exciting new guitar amp and stomp-box effects, and Magic GarageBand Jam that lets you play along with a virtual band that you create.

iLife '09 includes iWeb '09 for authoring custom websites and iDVD '09 for creating DVDs. iWeb '09 adds new iWeb Widgets, such as iSight(R) video and photos, a countdown timer, YouTube video and RSS feeds. New integrated FTP publishing allows you to publish your website to virtually any hosting service and updates to your site can now be automatically added to your Facebook profile.

Pricing & Availability

iLife '09 will be available this month for a suggested retail price of $79 (US) through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The iLife Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after January 6, 2009 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Artist Lessons are available through the GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 (US) each.

iLife '09 requires Mac OS(R) X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel processor, a PowerPC G5 or 867 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), QuickTime(R) 7.5.5 or later (included), a DVD drive for installation and 4GB of available disk space. iPhoto print services and GarageBand Artist Lessons are available in select countries. Full system requirements and more information on iLife '09 can be found at http://www.apple.com/ilife.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

(C) 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iLife, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, iWeb, iPhone, iPod, iSight, Apple Store and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

[Macworld 2009 Full Coverage]

While EMI is already offering DRM-free music on iTunes, they represent only 10% of the music market. With "the big three" on board, a majority of iTunes' music could be DRM-free. But the new pricing options may be the real cost of it all to consumers. While catalog titles will now start at 79 cents, the studios will be able to price music above 99 cents (to undisclosed amounts)—though CNET's source says that all music will eventually return to 79 cents.

So while it sounds like Apple finally caved to the music industry, at least consumers may get something decent out of it. Hopefully we'll hear about it all today at the keynote. [CNET]

They specifically mention a complete bundled system with a "Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage." A SeeFile spokesperson confirmed to Ars that storage is internal, so the rumor that the mini will have a build-to-order option for dual hard drives—good for enterprise servers, because of more storage and RAID support—looks more plausible.

Check out our Macworld rumor round up to see what else is likely to happen tomorrow. [Ars]

In 2008, some media outlets started publishing their "best of" lists by June. For 2009, we didn't want to come in second. So here are our predictions for the best gadgets of 2009.

Premium Netbooks
We've seen the first wave of unusable netbooks with tiny screens. Then they got an upgrade to 8.9, 10 and even 12-inch screens. Now it's time for netbooks to get WiMax and HSDPA connections as a standard. Hopefully they can still stay half-way affordable...

Wii MotionPlus
When I tested the Wii MotionPlus attachment at E3, I felt that Nintendo had fulfilled the promise of the Wii, finally offering a motion controller as accurate and responsive as we'd all hoped the Wiimote to be originally. If Nintendo can coax developers to support Wii Motion Plus, we can expect some killer Wii titles in '09 (on top of Wii Sports Resort in spring), but it might be 2010 before we see all that many compatible games.

Windows 7
Microsoft can do better than Windows Vista. And with Windows 7—expected sometime before the year is up—they will. Whether it's the new features or the less taxing system requirements, Windows 7 promises to be a vast improvement on Vista, and hopefully enough to coax most of us still clutching XP for dear life to finally upgrade.

$99 Blu-ray Player...That Does More Than Play Blu-ray
The $99 part is only slightly wishful thinking, but if LG's recent announcements are any indication, we can expect more players with expanded services like Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow...and who knows, maybe even Amazon VOD, Hulu and Rhapsody. Let's watch as these companies compete for our digital download dollar.

A New iPhone
Whether it's the iPhone 3G Part II or the rumored iPhone nano, it's not hard to imagine Apple releasing another new iPhone this year, maintaining their trend of releasing an iPhone per year to stay competitive in the everchanging post-RAZR cellphone market. It's no secret that most of Gizmodo loves the iPhone, so we're pretty excited to see what's next. (Juicy rumors of a new Mac mini and iPod Touch XL are going strong, too.)

4G Networks
3G is alright but we're looking forward to even faster 4G wireless networks soon. Intel-backed WiMax launched in a few locales by carriers Sprint and ClearWire. The wide-area network currently promises peaks of 10 megabits per second but on paper it's capable of over 70. We will likely see slow but steady expansion of the service through 2009. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon (and eventually T-Mobile) are gearing up LTE technology. The Nokia-driven GSM-based "Long Term Evolution" may actually whomp WiMax with download speeds of over 300Mbps—though its presence probably won't be felt in the US before 2010.

A Decent-Sized OLED TV
The Sony XEL-1 OLED television rocked our world when it was released this year, but there was a catch. Its screen size was a measly 11 inches. And while we can't expect 50-inch Kuro killers just yet, we do anticipate a very expensive mid-sized set—27 to 32 inches—to hit the market in some form this year. (Sony actually showed off a prototype that was 27 inches at CES 2008. Stay tuned for what we see at CES this year.)

Wireless HDMI
A multitude of companies have various wireless HDMI technologies, but there's no set standard (two warring factions need to settle the fight before we can have interoperable products). The technology is there, now it's just a matter of logistics and handshaking. With luck, by next Christmas, you'll be able to add it to a sub-$2000 1080p projector for the ultimate no-mess home theater.

USB 3.0 Devices
Wireless HDMI may not be quite cooked yet, but the eSATA-crushing USB 3.0 standard is ready to roll. Look for a multitude of products announced within the next week with blazing transfer speeds of 4.8Gbps (moving a 25GB file in under a minute). They'll also benefit from USB 3.0's higher electrical power output. [Image]

A Great Android Phone
The T-Mobile G1 was the necessary first step, but with Google amping up their Android development staff and interest coming from other major phone makers like Motorola, we assume we'll see a truly great Android phone soon. Motorola promises that their own offering will be better and cheaper than the G1, but it's not hitting before next Christmas, so we assume HTC's own follow-ups will come first.

And Your Best Guesses
These picks for 2009 are pretty sure things, but what wilder guesses do you have for best of 2009 products? A new PSP? A BlackBerry with a touchscreen that isn't crap? Real light sabers? Ketchup and mustard in one container?? Dogs and cats living in harmony??? If you don't offer up some kind of prognostication in the comments, you can never tell everyone, "I told you so."

The lip conceals the Mac mini's optical drive slot, which is useful now since TUAW says that the new drive will be SATA, meaning it can be swapped out for a second hard drive, probably as a custom build option. The second drive is boon to the business crowd that uses Mac minis in server farms (like this one), since it not only adds more storage, but makes RAID1 mirroring easy.

No other details on specs—we're pretty interested in what processor these things will be packing—though it's looking fairly certain (as certain as these things ever look, anyway) that they'll have Nvidia's GeForce 9400m chipset from the new MacBooks in tow.

We'll know in about a week, along with whatever other surprises Macworld has in store. What would you like to see in the new Mac mini, besides a Blu-ray drive? (Cause that's what everyone wants.) [TUAW]

It's far from the first time an errant string of code has unintentionally revealed new Apple products in the pipeline, and it just makes sense. For one, it will push parity across their product line, so that everything has the same baseline level of (HD) video performance and foundation for GPU-accelerated applications. Also, one of the few concrete(ish) rumors about a new product at the Jobs-less Macworld is an updated Mac mini.

Obviously, a Mac mini that could roll with Full HD video without breaking a sweat would make a fairly compelling home theater machine. An HDMI port would be nice, but I guess we'll learn to love the dongle. [MacRumors]