This review of the Mac mini actually seems to cut through the hype in order to get right down to the meat of the matter - is this worth your hard earned money? From what I am seeing, it lacks enough memory right out of the box and it does not come with any of the needed peripherals to make it work either.

Weeks before MacWorld San Francisco, there were rumors appearing about a “headless Mac”, an ultra cheap Mac offered without a monitor. The first thing that came to mind was an Apple version of an eMachines system. Interestingly enough, however, the rumors also stated that it was an attempt from Apple to get iPod users to give Mac OS X a try. It sounded odd at the time…

The actual unveiling of the machine, however, put everything into perspective. In the PC world, ultra cheap computers usually offer nothing to make them stand out other than their price tag. For the first time, Apple’s low end offering, dubbed the Mac mini, brought something unique and interesting to the entry level marketplace - style.

Look at any of the successful PC manufacturers - Dell, HP, Gateway - and none of them have attempted to make the entry-level PC an enticing item for the intended market. What draws users to these ultra cheap PCs is their price point and the idea that they need a computer. With the Mac mini, Apple took a much different approach - attract users because of style (and size) and the idea that they need a computer, and remain competitive with price.