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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2005-11-14, 16:08

Not one, not two, not three, but four Mac mini accessories showed up on Engadget today.

When the Mac mini was first revealed in January, we all knew that we'd see tons of stackable accessories for everything imaginable - USB hubs, HD enclosures, etc.

Well, that movement reached critical mass today.

Now you can tower your Mac mini like a skyscraper with not just a matching HD enclosure, but a stereo/USB hub and even a subwoofer for the ground floor.

My pet peeve with all these look-alike accessories is that they never really look alike. Would it kill them to put the LED in the same spot as on the Mac mini? Honestly? These are still the best I've seen thus far (I've seen some with weird big LEDs, or even logos on the front), but I still think having the LED on the other side of the unit looks unnecessarily...weird.

I actually dig like the stereo/USB hub. Front-mounted USB ports are always nice (especially if you don't have wireless keyboards and mice ), and it has a nice big volume dial. Yeah, the speakers are puny (it fits under the Mac mini, for crying out loud), but I'm sure it's an improvement over the Mac mini's lone internal speaker. (And I don't mind that the LED isn't lined up as much, because the volume dial takes its place. )

If you stacked the Mac mini, HD enclosure, and stereo/USB hub, you'd have about a 6.5" cubic Mac.

The subwoofer, though...it needs to go. Who wants a subwoofer on top of their desk, anyway? I think the only sub I wouldn't want under my desk would be the iSub, and that's only because it looked so gosh-darn cool. And this Mac mini-esque subwoofer has little legs. It looks stupid. It ruins the whole effect, not to mention elevates the front USB ports another three inches from the desk. Again, I ask...why?

Hopefully Japanese tech importers will hook us up, because who knows ifor when they'll officiall hit the rest of the world.

In other Mac mini accessory news...

Engadget is reporting that BenQ is introducing a 19" (non-widescreen) monitor designed to compliment the Mac mini. The Mac mini fits right underneath it. It runs at 1280x1024, but it'll cost about $470, so I'm not exactly sure why one would get this over the larger, widescreen, similairly priced Dell unless they really want something to match the Mac mini. Hopefully, we'll see Apple's 20" display drop to $499 in the next round of price drops, anyway.

Pity the BenQ display doesn't work if you make a Mac Stack.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2005-11-14, 16:15

The volume knob is awesome. Very retro.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2005-11-14, 16:31

I like to control my volume with a knob (or a clickwheel), thankyouverymuch.

My iMac is the first desktop or stereo I can remember that I didn't control the volume with a knob...because I can't. Three keys on the keyboard control the volume. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the idea.

I'm not saying I think Apple should stick a big volume nob into the middle of the iMac's chin or anything, but it's something about the whole "all-in-one" experience I didn't think about. I mean, I'm used to using (*gasp*) buttons to control volume on notebooks and the like, but I've never seriously used a notebook as a media center, either.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2005-11-14, 16:40

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant the look is retro. It seems like every stereo in the early 70's had these silver knobs that looked exactly like this one, polished bevel and all. If it's got the little fingernail-file grooves on the side of it, well then that's all the better.

And that's what's awesome.


Knob.


So it goes.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2005-11-14, 17:18

I know that's what you meant. I wasn't taking your "retro" comment defensively, although I can see how you would get that impression. I think I was aiming my "thankyouverymuch" at Apple.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
SonOfSylvanus
Fro Productions(tm)
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: London Town
 
2005-11-14, 18:01

Nah - that's cool! Not perfect (LED-lining-up, stilts etc., as you mention), but I still kinda like it.
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padraig946
New Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
 
2005-11-16, 14:56

is there anything about the price of the stereo/USB hub? If it is less than $100, that would be an awesome addition.
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awilso
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Devon - UK
Send a message via Yahoo to awilso  
2005-11-16, 15:47

Actually very cool - I like the idea of doing more with my mini, the novelty value is wearing off - its so small I don't notice it anymore - addons are a defitnate plus.

Nice linky thanks for that

The force is strong in this one
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Reid
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
 
2005-11-16, 17:17

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman
I like to control my volume with a knob (or a clickwheel), thankyouverymuch.
Then you shall have your volume knob, sir: Griffin PowerMate.
  quote
Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2005-11-16, 19:37

Yeah, Reid, I've known about that for a while. I don't think I could justify the cost, despite its awesome appearance. At least not as merely a volume control...as I delve further into video editing, I might decide it's worth picking up.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
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