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Mac mini photo leak shows DisplayPort, FW800

updated 04:25 pm EST, Thu February 19, 2009

 

Mac mini 2009 Photo Leak


A photo has surfaced today at AppleInsider that appears to support earlier claims that Apple will release an updated Mac mini with revamped ports. The image shows a system which replaces the single, full-size DVI connector with both Mini DVI and Mini DisplayPort connectors that would let it run legacy displays as well as Apple's newer Cinema Display. It also replaces the FireWire 400 port with a faster FireWire 800 jack and adds a fifth USB port.

Other design traits, including the aluminum shell, white back and other expansion, appear identical to the existing system, suggesting that most changes would be on the inside. Apple has long hinted that the Mac mini will switch to an NVIDIA platform that uses some variant of the GeForce 9400M, which adds the option of DisplayPort as well as much faster integrated graphics than the Intel GMA 950 used in current Mac minis.

When the system will be released is still unknown, though the most recent rumors have tentatively offered a March introduction.


By Electronista Staff

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computers, NVIDIA, GeForce, Mac mini, Cinema Display, Apple

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  1. macmario

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2000

    +2
    02/19, 05:08pm | report spam | reply

    fake

    fake


  1. jpellino

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 1999

    0
    02/19, 05:20pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    Issues...

    Play with the image and it doesn't betray any obvious photoshop artifacts. That's the good news. The bad news is (1) that 5 USB ports is a bit much even for a bad boy PC unless one is on the front for easy access, (2) FW800 is overkill for a Mini considering they removed it from the MacBook and (3) given that Apple makes MiniDisplayPort adapters for DVI, DL-DVI & VGA there's little to no reason to have both MiniDVI and MiniDP on the same box. The "little" reason would be if they wanna do composite video or S-video for the home theater crowd, but if they're going for the home theater crowd, then just throw HDMI on it rather than Mini-DVI...


  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    -6
    02/19, 05:23pm | report spam | reply

    of course

    Of course it's fake. Why the h*** would Apple plaster a big "Appleinsider" logo on the back of their computer.

    More importantly, why would Apple, after spending all that time touting the advantages of DisplayPort, and developing the mini-displayport, go off then and include a mini-dvi port on the computer? Why not two mini display ports?

    It's not like the adaptor cable for one costs more than the other. And MDP will run DVI.

    And do people really expect Apple to not drop Firewire from the cheap computer, but add in firewire 800? Really?


  1. Paul Huang

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Sep 1999

    +1
    02/19, 05:23pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    Orientation of FW800

    The FW800's orientation is funky, first of all.

    However, we don't have to get to the technicalities. Just measure the width of a FW800 port on any Mac and turn it around. In the above picture, the FW800 port turned 90° is the same height as the RJ-45 port.

    Well, I have news for whoever did the photoshop work. The height of the RJ-45 port is a sliver (less than 0.2mm) more than 10mm (1cm), while the width of the FW800 is around 13mm. This means if you turned the FW800 90°, as it shows in the picture, it would not align precisely and evenly with the RJ-45 port.

    Well, I could be wrong. Apple is good at introducing non-standards. Maybe there is a 'slightly smaller FW800' plug/jack on the horizon. NOT.

    FAIL!


  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    -8
    02/19, 05:30pm | report spam | reply

    USB

    that 5 USB ports is a bit much even for a bad boy PC unless one is on the front for easy access,

    5 USB ports is stretching it for a Mac. That's what you get on the MacPro.

    However, your standard PCs will usually come with some 8 of them.

    But if it is true, isn't it great they kept the "Can only open it with a putty knife or spatula" design. Putting some screws on the bottom would be so ugly. Sure, you wouldn't see them, but you'd know they were there.


  1. TheSnarkmeister

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    -3
    02/19, 05:36pm | report spam | reply

    This isn't...

    This isn't what you think it is.


  1. JeffHarris

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 1999

    -2
    02/19, 06:00pm | report spam | reply

    Curiosity

    Maybe this is ?TV III... the logical merger of a Mac mini and ?TV! I'll buy one.

    FireWire 800 would be perfect! USB2 is adequate for peripherals or flash drives, but for serious storage and streaming of audio or video or using for caching (Photoshop, anyone?) FireWire beats USB2.

    Just because Apple pulled the FireWire port from the Rev.A unibody Macbook doesn't mean that it'll disappear from anything else. OR that Apple won't see the light and put a FireWire 800 port in the Rev.B unibody MacBook.

    Apple has certainly taken enough heat for it AND...
    It'd be the right thing to do!

    We may even see the mythic FireWire 3200 by the time the Rev.B MacBook, updated MacPro and iMacs all appear.

    Perhaps you don't remember, but the FIRST MacBook Pro, didn't have FireWire 800, whereas the PowerBook G4 it was replacing DID. The Rev.B MBP restored the FireWire 800 port!

    Hold an Ethernet cable next to a FireWire 800 cable and they're nearly identical, size-wise. I've certainly tried jamming a FireWire cable into the Ethernet port (and vice versa) more than once.

    The putty knife case opening design is a real loser. It's on par with the old PowerMac 8100 as far as case opening joy goes!


  1. Peter Bonte

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    -2
    02/19, 06:02pm | report spam | reply

    NVIDIA Ion

    If the Mini is based on the NVIDIA Ion then there are 2 USB ports missing, a standard print has 7 USB ports.

    Seems a plausible picture, its not selling extremely well so there is no incentive yet to spend R&D to make it smaller.


    Comment buried. Show
  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    -40
    02/19, 06:20pm | report spam | reply

    F*k u know who...

    Fck Apple!

    They are still offering that outdated, curbed, limited sac of S***??

    puh_lease, F    ck Apple, and their f*cked marketing scheme & over-priced hardware!


  1. Feathers

    Grizzled Veteran

    Joined: Oct 1999

    +2
    02/19, 06:20pm | report spam | reply

    missing the groove

    This device doesn't have the groove or indentation (around its circumference) that partly conceals the slot for the optical drive that has been seen on other "rumour" images. Paul Huang's observation re: the FW800 port is notable for another reason, if you mounted the port this way, the solder points on the connector would be parallel and not perpendicular to the motherboard! From a Photoshop point of view, it looks like noise has been added AFTER the image has been slightly blurred. It begs the age old question as to why photos of UFO's are always poor quality? Mind you, it would be nice to be proven completely wrong - I've been waiting for the update for months!


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