I couldn’t resist. I saw that shiny Apple store in one of those new Microsoft commercials and had to get another Mac.

I chose a the base model Mac Mini, and added some upgrades. These new Mac Minis are a departure from the previous generations in that the base model is identical to the more expensive models with the exception of easily upgradable components: the hard drive and the memory. This was nice considering the last Mini I purchased topped $1000 and this one came in under $550 (okay, $1 under $550). The most compelling feature for me is the dual monitor support, closely followed by the 4GB RAM capacity and inclusion of Firewire 800.

What you’re looking at above is the new Mini about five minutes after taking it out of the box. With practice the cases aren’t too hard to open, and once open they are easy to work on. This Mini received the 500GB 2.5″ SATA drive out of the old 1.66GHz Core Duo Mini and 4GB of Crucial DDR3/1066 memory for $55 from Newegg. A comparison of my now three Mac Minis:

I’m only going to keep two of them, so I’ll have to decided between a trusty PPC G4 or the faster, more feature-laden Intel…

Update:  The Non-Apple TV Apple TV has undergone some minor updates.  First, the 12″ PowerBook has been freed and is portable again.  In its place I have installed a Mac Mini 1.42GHz G4 with 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD and an external 250GB LaCie Mini Hub.  Functionally the Mini is pretty much the same as the PowerBook, the main advantage is a smaller footprint and regained use of the PowerBook as a portable system (once I replace the battery).  As an added bonus, the Mac Mini, Mini Hub, Cinema Display and EyeTV all look pretty good together.

The Air Mouse client and server software were also updated.  The new software adds some nice features including a panel/setting with only media controls, one for web browsing, and custom programmable keys.  The media panel is very usable with large high contrast buttons and almost makes up for the lack of an Apple remote on the PPC-based Mini.  More info on the new Air Mouse features on their site: mobileairmouse.com.

You may have noticed the holes in the front of the Mini Hub.  I drilled these for additional cooling when the original fan in the drive failed.  The original drive in the Minihub was 500GB and generated a lot of heat, and subsequently used the cooling fan quite a bit.  Along with new larger front-mounted fans, the Minihub now uses a 250GB drive that seems to run fairly cool and rarely gets hot enough to trigger the fans.  The lack of noise is appreciated for this application.  My Mini Hub case modification in detail for your review:

Earlier this week I welcomed a new member to my pile of computers. This newest (and heaviest) system is one of the highly coveted ‘desk lamp’ iMac G4s. System specs are as follows:

• 1.25 GHz G4
• 1.25 GB RAM (post acquisition upgraded from 768 MB)
• 80 GB HDD
• 17″ (1440×900) widescreen LCD
• SuperDrive
• AirPort Extreme (added post acquisition)

So, this iMac would the penultimate G4 iMac, bested only by the similarly-equipped 20″ G4 iMac with the obvious exception of the 20″ 1680×1050 LCD display. This is the only iMac I currently own, previous iMacs were limited to the G3 15″ CRT iMacs.

With the addition of the iMac my Apple tally comes to eight:

The iMac has helped the G4 contingent make a strong showing in this random metric:

Analysis: The 68000-based Macs are going to have to greatly increase their numbers if there is any hope in rivaling the G4 or Intel Macs. The PowerPC-based Mac could conceivably form a coalition with the G4-based Macs to help push them closer to the top of the pile.

For those coveting my new iMac I’ll let you know how I obtained it and how you might: I had the good fortune to negotiate the acquisition of the iMac for the sum of an Epson photo scanner and an Epson photo printer. You don’t have a printer and/or a scanner that you’re willing to part with? You’re in luck. In a recent episode of The RetroMacCast it was made known that these G4 iMacs occasionally show up on the curb (much like my Trash Server). So, keep an eye out and you too could find yourself as fortunate as me.