"It's also fascinating you criticize their whole product line for not having all the features. Yes, the mini is "mini". It does not have optical, but happily th

"It's also fascinating you criticize their whole product line for not having all the features. Yes, the mini is "mini". It does not have optical, but happily they build a different computer that does!" The interesting use-case for a mac mini is as an HTPC. It's the best HTPC that has ever been made and the models with an optical drive allowed you to cover every use-case including edge cases with one nicely designed box ... no cable or peripherals. An all-in-one mac isn't a candidate for an HTPC. "If you don't like it, there is an extremely simple solution for you. Don't buy their stuff." Agreed. I bought the very fastest, maxed out mac mini that still had the optical drive and have not purchased anything since (after having refreshed my HTPC mini every two years prior). I still run my 2009 mac pro and would love to throw money at apple to make a new, refreshed tower for power users ... but alas. And now I will buy a maxed out 11" macbook air (which is what I am typing on right now) as a spare laptop so I can continue with the form factor I prefer, even if this one dies.