The Seattle Times - Apple's Mac mini upgrade widens its entertainment options

Mar
30

By: switchtoamac at: 11:09 PM on March 30, 2009 | Comments (0)

In his March 28, 2009 article posted at The Seattle Times, Glenn Fleishman puts forth the argument that Apple's recently updated Mac mini desktop computers offer a compelling reason to be part of you home entertainment system.

Fleishman provides a historical overview of the Mac mini, it's current specifications, comparisons to other Macintosh models, and use cases.

Key quotes from the article:

"Before this month, the Mac mini was stuck in 2007; now it's a reasonable part of the iMac and Mac Pro family, while being a viable option as a home entertainment hub."

"As a hub for watching video, playing music and even playing games, the mini can use a DVI-to-HDMI adapter to power an HDTV set. Using a wireless keyboard, game controllers and an Apple Remote (sold separately for $19), you would have a pretty good array of choices."

"Amazon (purchase and rentals) and Netflix (subscription) now stream via the Mac but require a fast-enough processor to handle video, which the mini has. Add to that Boxee (which provides a TV-like interface to Web video sources), Hulu.com and network TV streaming sites, and Drive-In for storing full DVD images on a hard drive, and you're only leaving actual broadcast and cable TV behind. (Get an eyeTV in one of various models to handle that gap.)"

You can read the entire article here.