Inside the new Mac Mini

[MacMiniColo]

[#1 posted by technogeek , March 4, 2009 10:46 AM]

I'm waiting for someone to open a box and discover that "there's no there there" -- ie, that it's actually just one chip, and that the box is big (a) because connectors take up space and/or (b) because that's the size of the heat-sink and/or (c) because people wouldn't believe it was worth the money if it didn't look substantial.

[#2 posted by Rob Beschizza , March 4, 2009 11:15 AM]

That sounds like the insides of computers that use Via stuff. It's very compact, but engineered for standard form factors.

[#3 posted by Capissen , March 4, 2009 4:51 PM]

Of course, the burning question is: do you still have to open the darned things with putty knives? I was an Apple tech when the mini first came out, and I'll never forget having to drive to Ace Hardware to purchase putty knives to fix a computer. Apple has an actual part number on which they will sell you a Stanley putty knife. True facts.

[#4 posted by aaronbeekay , March 5, 2009 10:13 PM]

Capissen @3: that's nothing. I'm a Mac tech now, and it's gotten much, much worse. The Minis have to be opened with putty knives still. The iMacs? Those pretty silver-aluminum-and-glass wonders? There aren't any damn screws on the case. Do you want to know how to replace any service part past a stick of RAM?

You lay the computer down, stick two giant Apple-provided suction cups on the face of the computer, and pull the entire glass front straight off. The front is held on by eight neodymium magnets. You have to wear special anti-lint gloves through the entire procedure. The giant, thin sheet of glass, which is not tempered (which would make it resist cracking), must be placed immediately into an Apple-provided anti-static bag. The glass must be cleaned with an Apple-provided magic dust roller before replacement. Cleaning the glass with anything other than said Apple-provided magic dust roller will cause it to fog permanently, requiring replacement. If a dog with colored paws enters the room during the procedure, you must kill it and clip its toenails into the heatsink.

Good God, I hate those machines almost as much as I hate eMacs.

[#5 posted by Capissen , March 8, 2009 12:18 PM]

@ #4 Ha, that's hilarious. I remember when the iMac G5 first came out, we hailed it as a wonder of simplicity and ease of servicing. Then the Intel version came out, with the special "opening tool" which you had to blindly shove into the vents. Of course, our tool always ended up being someone's old credit card...

Ah, nostalgia.