Mac mini

The Mac Mini (officially capitalized Mac mini) is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc. Like earlier Mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) square and 2 inches (5.1 cm) tall. It weighs 2.9 pounds (1.31 kg); its external power supply is roughly one third of the size of the computer itself. It was introduced at the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2005, and has been updated with newer processors and other expansions several times since. It was announced at the same time as the iPod Shuffle, both scaled-down and less expensive alternatives to the company's main products in those lines. It was described by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the time as the "most affordable Mac ever".[1]

Overview
As of 2010, the Mac Mini ships with Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 operating system installed, and also includes software such as the Safari web browser and the iLife suite of Apple applications to create and manage videos, music, photos and DVDs. Trial versions of iWork and Microsoft Office are also included. Intel-based Mac Minis also come with Front Row, an application which integrates the media management features, and the Apple Remote.

The Mac Mini is the first Macintosh desktop not to include a keyboard or mouse. (The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh also shipped without a mouse, however it included a re-positionable touchpad). In addition there is no included display. The primary intended market for the Mac Mini was for "switchers" who would already own a display, USB keyboard and mouse, and other customers could easily purchase these if needed.

Specifications

 * All changes between models are marked by bold lettering.

Home theater
The Mac Mini is also well suited for home theater applications. The small footprint, CD/DVD player, multi-format video output, digital audio output and remote control make it relatively easy to use the Mac Mini as part of an entertainment system.

It can be classified as a HTPC (Home Theater PC) with some limitations. The Mac Mini does not include a tuner card and cannot be upgraded to integrate one internally, instead, external devices like Elgato's HD HomeRun can encode and manage broadcast television from a cable or satellite receiver.

The video connector is compatible with DVI, HDMI (video only), SVGA, S-Video, composite video and component video with the appropriate adapter. Sound is provided by a combination jack that uses both Mini-RCA (analog) and optical fiber cables (digital).

The Mac Mini competes with the Apple TV: it has both iTunes for media rental, purchase, and management, and a similar front-end interface with Front Row. The Apple TV is limited to video in the mp4 format, whereas Mini users employing the appropriate QuickTime codecs can watch other video formats like Divx, Xvid, and Mkv without resorting to hacks. The faster of Mac Mini models can display video at a maximum resolution of 1080p, compared to the AppleTV's 720p. The Mac Mini can also incorporate third-party front-end applications like XBMC Media Center, Plex, and Boxee. Unlike the Apple TV, the Mac Mini is backward compatible with televisions that have only composite or S-Video inputs.