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I think from a design perspective, this is the most disappointing Apple release so far. It's just way too tall, imo. There's a lot of empty space on the front w

I think from a design perspective, this is the most disappointing Apple release so far. It's just way too tall, imo. There's a lot of empty space on the front which just seems odd. I'm not exactly sure what they could've done to keep the Mac Mini footprint, but this ain't it.

minimaxir 5y ago
From the presentation, the entire top half is the thermal system so can't really put I/O there.
- mynameisvlad 5y ago
  Maybe extending the grill all the way around with some other design changes to make it feel fresh, and not just a taller Mac Mini?
  - rovr138 5y ago
    You also have to consider thermals and how the air would flow over components. It's not just as simple as adding more holes
    - mynameisvlad 5y ago
      Fake grills have existed for years. More airflow is usually, but not always, better. All I'm saying is the current design doesn't look good to me, and some more work could've been done to not just make it look like a weird, tall Mac Mini.
      - beachy 5y ago
        > All I'm saying is the current design doesn't look good to me That's not what you said. Here's what you actually said, which is ridiculously hyberbolic, hence this discussion. > I think from a design perspective, this is the most disappointing Apple release so far.
        mynameisvlad 5y ago
        Yes, that's called an opinion. I think the design doesn't look good, I think it's the most disappointed I have been with hardware design from Apple, and made my disappointment known. It even starts with "I think". What, exactly, is your issue with someone posting their opinion?
jazzyjackson 5y ago
Agreed, they should have gone for cube proportions. I'm sure someone will come out with a NAS that has the right height to bring it back into harmony.
yurishimo 5y ago
I'm convinced the design is a tradeoff to make this work in the datacenter. With the exact same footprint, racks of Mac Mini servers can be converted to fit these with very little effort.
- mynameisvlad 5y ago
  Unfortunately, the height (3.7") is just above a 2U (3.5") rack. It's also not a multiple of a Mac Mini height (1.4") which means you'll have some leftover space if you're replacing 3 Minis with one of these.
  - MBCook 5y ago
    But most rack mounted Mac minis seem to be placed on their sides with space between each individual machine. Perhaps it still works in that orientation, just fewer per rack?
    - yurishimo 5y ago
      Yeah, this was my thought as well.
    - mynameisvlad 5y ago
      I was thinking that as well, but I believe they still use some sort of support to keep them propped in place, so not being an exact multiple means modifying them would be harder than, for instance, just cutting some of the vertical supports off to fit a 3xMini.
- NorwegianDude 5y ago
  In...datacenters? That's a strange usecase!
  - yurishimo 5y ago
    https://www.macstadium.com/datacenters https://www.macstadium.com/datacenters If you scroll to the bottom of this page, there is an image carousel with an example.

minimaxir 5y ago

From the presentation, the entire top half is the thermal system so can't really put I/O there.

mynameisvlad 5y ago
Maybe extending the grill all the way around with some other design changes to make it feel fresh, and not just a taller Mac Mini?
- rovr138 5y ago
  You also have to consider thermals and how the air would flow over components. It's not just as simple as adding more holes
  - mynameisvlad 5y ago
    Fake grills have existed for years. More airflow is usually, but not always, better. All I'm saying is the current design doesn't look good to me, and some more work could've been done to not just make it look like a weird, tall Mac Mini.
    - beachy 5y ago
      > All I'm saying is the current design doesn't look good to me That's not what you said. Here's what you actually said, which is ridiculously hyberbolic, hence this discussion. > I think from a design perspective, this is the most disappointing Apple release so far.
      - mynameisvlad 5y ago
        Yes, that's called an opinion. I think the design doesn't look good, I think it's the most disappointed I have been with hardware design from Apple, and made my disappointment known. It even starts with "I think". What, exactly, is your issue with someone posting their opinion?

jazzyjackson 5y ago

Agreed, they should have gone for cube proportions. I'm sure someone will come out with a NAS that has the right height to bring it back into harmony.

yurishimo 5y ago

I'm convinced the design is a tradeoff to make this work in the datacenter. With the exact same footprint, racks of Mac Mini servers can be converted to fit these with very little effort.

mynameisvlad 5y ago
Unfortunately, the height (3.7") is just above a 2U (3.5") rack. It's also not a multiple of a Mac Mini height (1.4") which means you'll have some leftover space if you're replacing 3 Minis with one of these.
- MBCook 5y ago
  But most rack mounted Mac minis seem to be placed on their sides with space between each individual machine. Perhaps it still works in that orientation, just fewer per rack?
  - yurishimo 5y ago
    Yeah, this was my thought as well.
  - mynameisvlad 5y ago
    I was thinking that as well, but I believe they still use some sort of support to keep them propped in place, so not being an exact multiple means modifying them would be harder than, for instance, just cutting some of the vertical supports off to fit a 3xMini.
NorwegianDude 5y ago
In...datacenters? That's a strange usecase!
- yurishimo 5y ago
  https://www.macstadium.com/datacenters https://www.macstadium.com/datacenters If you scroll to the bottom of this page, there is an image carousel with an example.