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Contrary to the reports that Apple is halting shipments to European resellers for the Mac Mini, industry leaders close with Apple sources have come to believe a Mini refresh is coming still. This news comes after the news of an Nvidia integrated video chipsets which have launched with the latest Macbooks; it seems like the Minis dev team has come back to life. While the Mini may not appear to be a hot seller compared to the Macbook line, business customers are actively buying up the compact machines at nearly a 2 to 1 ratio. Brian Stucki, owner of Mac Mini Colo gives lots of examples of Minis being used throughout the industry from security frontends in Casinos to hair salons. They also make good servers as he oversees around 400 Minis in his colo facility. Compared to their expensive and large counterpart the Xserve, Minis are great for businesses to run web and mail servers.

A few upgrades Brian thinks we will see in the Mini are use of DisplayPort instead of HDMI or DVI to save space. Being able to use up to 4GB would be another feasible upgrade to the Mini line. And to help justify using it as a server, adding a second hard rive instead of the optical drive may also be a possibility since many server bound Minis never use their optical drive and a second hard drive could be extremely valuable. The casing will also follow along the move to black and aluminum to bring uniformity to the product line.

So, when will we see these new and improved Mac Minis? It is not yet certain but maybe in January at the Macworld Conference. If you are a fan of the Mini like I am you are hoping that the little guy keeps on going because it is truly an awesome product.

And now for some server porn!

Image courtesy of MacMiniColo

Full Article: Apple Insider

Well Santa Jobs has come and gone and left plenty of nice shiny toys behind. So what all did Apple drop on us today? Both the Macbooks and Macbook Pros got their long rumored aluminum finish from the brand new manufacturing process that makes them more sturdy since they are large pieces of aluminum rather than a lot of parts fastened together. The Macbook now comes with a slightly better graphics card the Nvidia GeForce 9400M and the MBP has switchable graphics with the 9400M and 9600M GT. The Macbook Air also received some upgrade love along with Nvidia graphics offerings. The buttons on the trackpad are gone and have been replaced with a glass trackpad that is sort of like the Blackberry Storm in that the trackpad is giving some response to clicks since it will act as the button. Another product launched today was the 24 inch Cinema Display backlit by LED for $899. All in all, it seems like a pretty exciting day for Apple fans every where. Check out the links below for all of the latest coverage.

Apple Macbook: Engadget

Macbook Hands-On: Engadget

Apple Macbook Pro: Engadget

MBP Hands-On: Engadget

24 inch Cinema Display: Engadget

Apple Event Highlights: Engadget

Well, it was bound to show its face eventually, but many thought it would be at the Apple event today; guess not. JR aka Mr Blurrycam has brought us the refreshed MBP before Apple even had a chance. It looks nice and goes along the rumors that the Macbook line would look much like the Macbook Air which this does. Notice the lack of the touchpad buttons so there should be something new in store. There is also a rumored $899 price Macbook in the inventory system. A bit higher than the $800 price rumor, but it is a good start at getting a sub $1000 notebook.

Full Article and picture source: Engadget

Is this the next design of the Apple Macbook Pro? If you look closely you will see the dock is actually in the trackpad which goes along with the rumors that the future touchpad would also be a touchscreen. It definitely looks neat and follows along the design of the Macbook Air which would make sense if Apple is trying to make their product lines similar. Only time will tell if these are correct.

Full Article: Engadget

I don’t think anyone is surprised with the iPod Nanos that Apple unveiled today unless they have not seen numerous spy shots in the previous weeks. The Nano changes from its previous fat and short form and goes back to the tall and skinny form. The 4G Nano also features an accelerometer to allow the user to flip between landscape and portrait mode for video watching. Other changes include 9 different colors, increased capacities of 8 and 16 GB, and up to 24 hours of music playback. These are available now in the Apple online store.

Full Article: Engadget

The long awaited announcement of an Apple even is here, so what do you think Steve Jobs will bring to us? Hopefully it is much more than the bloated Nano. Other rumors consist of redesigned Macbooks, refresh Macbook Airs, and even tablet Macs. A nice sight would be an updated Mac Mini since it has been a long time since it has gotten any love. Don’t let us down Apple!

Full Article: Engadget