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Wired gets tipped to new Mac Mini

Wired says they’ve received a tip (from Captain Obvious?) that the Mac Mini is going to get a refresh.  They predict (try to stay awake for this one):

  • Similar to the MacBooks, the Mac Mini will sport a silver enclosure composed of a block of aluminum.
  • Some internal parts will be PVC-free, and combined with its size and low power requirements, Apple will tout this as the "greenest Mac ever."
  • For video output, the Mac Mini will use the DRM-crippled DisplayPort for connectivity, which Apple is offering to manufacturers for a no-fee license.
  • It’ll have a CD-DVD slot loader (i.e. Super Drive). There will be no Blu-ray player, because Steve Jobs believes the format is a "bag of hurt."
  • It’ll ship with 2 GB of RAM, expandable to 4 GB — up from the current 1 GB, expandable to 2 GB. (The aluminum case should make expanding RAM easier than in the original Mini.)
  • It’ll ship with at least a 160-GB hard drive.
  • The Mac Mini will come in two options with different processor speeds: a 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo and a 2.3-GHz Core 2 Duo (up from 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz).
  • Like the higher-end MacBook and MacBook Pro, the 2.3-GHz Mac Mini will ship with an Nvidia video card, making this higher-end model a decent gaming device.
  • The 2.0G-Hz Mac Mini will ship with an Intel video card, perhaps the GMA X3100 graphics card found in the low-end, white MacBook.
  • The slower model will cost $500, and the faster model will cost $700 ($100 less than the current Mac Minis), in light of the recession.

Yeah, those are all safe calls.  We’d like to see it bulk up a little bit in the HD department.  Maybe even a 3.5 inch drive which would make it a bit more cubical.  Oh, and you can probably kiss that Firewire port goodbye but will get a Gigabyte Ethernet port to tide you over. 

Anything else on anyone’s wishlist for the bargain basement Apple computer?

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