ugly stepsister

gOS Rocket is based on the Ubuntu 7.10 distribution. It uses the Enlightenment 17 window manager instead of the usual GNOME or KDE desktops, to create a desktop that has similar usability to Mac OS X. This is possible because of the flexibility of Enlightenment. Enlightenment acts both as an X window manager, and as a desktop environment.

I never heard of gOS before this article.

Actually it doesen't look half bad.

Ok, this isn't as clean as the mini and obviously, doesn't run OS X but this machine matches many of the mini's specs and is not horribly ugly.

A mini with a superdrive is $799. That being said, from what I can tell, this machine does not include bluetooth or wifi and I don't believe it has optical audio in/out. If you have to add USB dongles to get bluetooth and wifi, it gets much uglier. And of course, doesn't run OS X.

I'll paraphrase Jobs in the successful suit against eMachines for their iMac knockoff:

They could have chosen from a universe of designs, but instead, the product is a close copy of our industrial design.

Plus, what simdude says.

This is not a serious contender to take on Mac mini. It's just another cheap, ugly knockoff.

And I bet these guys let you dismantle it with screwdrivers, instead of a putty knife like a REAL computer!

And, OMG, how stupid! They put a USB port on the front of the thing. Who the h*** would want that???

But without real specs, you can't really compare the two products. How fast is the drive? What types of audio ports does it have? Is it possible to use it as a DVR? How bad will the interface be?

1.86GHz Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Mobile Processor T2130 (1MB L2 Cache, 1.86GHz, 533MHz) 120GB Hard Disk Drive 512MB DDR2 667 SDRAM DVD+/-RW, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator GMA950, Realtek ALC268 High-Definition Audio (1) 10/100/1000 Ethernet Port (1) DVI-I Port (1) S-Video Port (1) IEEE 1394 Port (4) USB 2.0 Ports, (1) 4-in1 Media Card Reader (1) Headphone/Line-Out Port (2) Microphone/Line-In Port

Pretty cool knock-off. Caveat: if you want to use Linux. This machine doesn't include the cost of a real OS, or a decent amount of RAM.

And by the time you've shelled out for a Windows XP licence, then spent three months time fiddling with driver problems, you might as well have bought an iMac. I've used Linux for years, and it's still not ready for prime-time usage. Linux is good for the price, but honestly, that's not saying much.

This is just one more reason for people to go into a shop and think "I can't afford a Mac because they're so expensive." Macs aren't expensive, but they look it compared to products like this. As with cars, you get what you pay for. Buying an Everex Mini is like buying a Dodge-Chrysler because Toyotas cost slightly more.

I formatted that specs list so everything was on a separate line, and then the page ate the line returns. As well. It doesn't sound too bad for specs. If I can't talk my sister into getting a Mac Mini the next time her Winbox gets infected and dies a horrible screaming death (which happens about once a year), I'll try to push her towards this.

I wonder with this thing coming out if apple will up the specs of the mac mini and give it a price drop