Wired News: Many Faces of the Mac Mini

Monday, January 24th, 2005

According to Many Faces of the Mac Mini, “Apple’s new Mac mini computer appears to be something of an omnia omnibus — all things to all people”:

Lots of sites, like (PVRblog or MacMerc, are detailing how to turn a mini into a living-room digital video recorder.

[...]

In Austin, Texas, a colocation company is building a low-cost data center out of dozens of Mac minis.

Underwriters Technologies’ Mac mini colocation is housed in Austin’s Data Foundry facility, a former bank vault where space is at a premium.

Because the Mini measures only 6.5 inches square and is 2 inches high, Underwriters can cram a standard server rack with three times as many minis as full-size servers.

“Size is a huge advantage,” said Patrick Dayton, a senior project manager at Underwriters. “By taking into consideration remote power, we can get approximately 100 units in a single cage, as opposed to 30.”

[...]

Benzaquen said the mini is the ideal size for a standard car stereo compartment, and it’s 18-volt power supply is easily fed with standard 12-volt auto power. And because Mac OS X has voice recognition built in, the mini can be controlled hands free.

Benzaquen said the Mac mini could be a high-end stereo, storing as many as 16,000 songs on an 80-GB drive. Add an LCD screen, and passengers can watch DVDs or play games.

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