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Mac Mini Newsletter |
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A Big Week For A Little Computer - Week 7 |
Hello Mac mini users and enthusiasts! Welcome to week 7 of our Newsletter. This week we possibly have the greatest Mac mini car install you will ever see. News on Apple making a two-button mouse and a full review of the new Mac mini Skins by Skinit.com
eWeek reported this week that Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) will be released on April 15th, 2005.
EWeek – "Sources told eWEEK.com that Apple plans to make copies of Tiger available in its own retail stores as well as through independent dealers by April 15, with the official announcement of the product coming earlier in the month. On Friday, a report on the Think Secret Mac market news site predicted the announcement would fall on April 1, the 26th anniversary of Apple's incorporation."
When Tiger launches check back for full coverage!
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| Mac OS X Tip of the Week: The Secret Screen Capture Shortcut
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Mac Mini GTI Style
Thursday March 10, 2005 10:30 PM EST
 This may be the best Mac mini auto install ever. Matt Turner of Tunertricks.com has installed the Mac mini into his 2001 VW GTI and all we can say is "WOW!". We talked to Matt and he's promised us a more in-depth interview. In the meantime look and drool!
Matt Turner – "Well, it kept me from posting regularly, took about two weeks to plan and occupied nearly every night for about three weeks, but the big project I’ve been promising to post on is done…finally. I actually finished it last week, but wanted to make sure I had covered all the bases and that everything was working properly before putting the car back together and photographing it (thanks to Ryan for the quick shoot).
When the dimensions for the MacMini were announced, I immediately got to work figuring out what the best way to integrate one into my own car would be. If I was going to put a Mac in my car, I wanted to make sure it had all of the functionality that it would have in a home environment while still maintaining an easy-to-operate interface so that distractions could be kept to a minimum. So the researching, planning, sketching and disassembly of my car’s interior (to see what would fit where) began. After taking the thought process to every extreme imaginable, I decided on the following equipment list:
 1.42GHz MacMini with 512mb RAM, Superdrive, Bluetooth and Airport Extreme
Xenarc 700tsv 7 USB touchscreen monitor with VGA and dual composite video inputs
Cirque EasyCat USB trackpad
Griffin PowerMate assignable USB control knob
Lacie 8 in 1 USB flash card reader
Belkin USB 7-port powered hub
Belkin USB four-port bus-powered hub
Belkin Firewire 6-port mini hub
Alpine PXA-H701 Multimedia processor with RUX-C701 controller
MonsterCable MCPI300 300watt power inverter
Female USB, Ethernet and Firewire ports
40gig iPod dock
Griffin RadioShark USB FM/AM tuner
Over the next few days, I will be putting up a post on each general aspect of the install to more closely cover how I did what where and any problems I encountered, as well as the solutions I came up with for these problems as they arose. More detailed pictures of the process will accompany these posts as well, for those interested in the more technical aspects of the install - such as removing the power button and indicator from the MacMini and relocating them to the switch panel in the dash, extending the Apple power supply’s cable to locate the “brick” in the rear side panel of the car, fabricating the brushed aluminum trim bezels and rebuilding the glove box interior to accomodate the MacMini. So, enjoy and please check back over the next few days to check out these posts and two new iPod dock installs from last week…"
More Pictures:  All pictures courtesy Tunertricks.com
 
 Discuss
More Information:
Tunertricks.com
More Pictures of GTI
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Apple Reportedly Working On Two Button Mouse
Wednesday March 16, 2005 4:17AM EST
 AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is "feverishly working" on a wireless two-button mouse. According to AppleInsider one of the major reasons Apple is moving away from the single button is its recent entry into low-end PC market with the Mac Mini. Many new Mac mini users have commented to us that they'd like to see Apple make a two-button mouse with scroll wheel as well.
Apple Insider - "According to sources who have so far filed accurate reports on Apple's future hardware plans, the company is feverishly working on a two-button wireless optical mouse that it intends to release.
Apple enthusiasts have longed for an Apple-branded two-button mouse for over a decade, but their requests have gone unanswered. So what has changed? According to sources, 'it's the company.
"Jaws will drop," said one insider. "
No information was given about a possible release date. It's long been rumored that Apple would release a two-button mouse but some long time Mac users think there's a better chance of hell freezing over!
Discuss
More Information:
AppleInsider
Apple Keyboard and Mouse
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Review: SkinIt Skins For The Mac Mini
Friday March 18, 2005 12:04AM EST
 Looking for a good way to give your Apple Mac mini a custom look? Well SkinIt recently announced a new line of Skins for the Mac mini and may be your answer. The Skins retailing for $19.95 come in hundreds of stock designs. You can even upload your own design for an additional $2.95 and they have sections designated "Premium Designs" and "Sponsor Designs" that are coming soon. SkinIt was kind enough to send us a few samples and here's a brief review. The Skins come on one sheet of 8 x 11 backing in 4 pieces, one top, one front and two sides. The Skins are made out of high quality vinyl and have a really nice glossy finish.
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 The first step is to clean off your Mac mini with a soft damp cloth and dry it before applying the Skins. We suggest you keep the Skins on the backing until your ready to put each one on. We started with the Top Skin, when applying the top we suggest you use the back edge and corners of the Mac mini to guide you in lining it up. We then applied it going from the back of the case to the front of the case while pulling it up occasionally to straighten it out. Chances are if your straight in the back you'll be good in the front! Some bubbles and imperfections appeared but were easily rubbed out by finger. After applying the top we couldn't fail to notice how nice it fit the case and how the cutout for the Apple logo was centered perfectly.
Some people may just want to use
Top Skin because it really gives the Mac mini a sweet two-tone look while keeping some of the Mac mini's silver look. Our next step was to apply the Front Skin. We lined up the front cutout for the Mac mini's slot loading CD/DVD drive and used that for our centering guide, then going outwards we smoothed the corners over. The only snag we had with the Front Skin was we had to punch out the pre-cut hole for the power led light. "Make sure you do this before you put it on!"
 Next we applied one of the Side Skins and ran into a little problem lining it up with the Front Skin. We suggest you take your time with this step if you want the two Side Skins to met up with the Front Skin and look like they are one solid piece without visible seems. Our only real disappointment with the SkinIt Mac mini kit is we feel it might have been better to make the Front and Side Skins one piece. Having only one piece instead of three pieces would've made the installation easier and given the Mac mini a more finished look, however, they may need to piece them like this because of the way some custom graphics print out. We kept the best news for last and can report that after applying four different Skins on our Mac mini that none of them left any marks or residue behind after taking them off!
Overall we feel like this is a great
way to give your Mac mini a custom look and would recommend this product.
Pro's
Great way to customize your Mac mini.
Top Skin fit was perfect.
Skins have nice glossy finish.
Quality and thickness of vinyl.
Leaves no marks or residue on Mac mini.
Added benefit of protecting case.
Con's
Four piece design.
No Skin for back of case.
Hole for front LED power light.
More Pictures: Click to see what each Mac mini looks like Skinned!
 
 
More Information:
Skinit.com
SkinIt Skins for the Mac mini
Discuss
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More News From This Week |
Mac mini serves up big introduction to the Apple orchard BostonHerald.com, 3-17-05
Mac Mini: 'Clunking' noise from hard drive accompanied by brief... MacFixIt, 3-16-05
An embedded view of the Mac Mini, Part 1 IBM developerWorks 10, 3-15-05
Apple Mac mini, rev. B wish list MacHTPC.com, 3-15-05
The Mini Mini HTmini.com, 3-15-05
Add AirPort Extreme to Your Mac mini Macs Only, 3-14-05
Mac Mini Could Boost Apple's 2006 Earnings 5%-8% Forbes.com, 3-14-05
Mac Mini provides maximum fun Boston.com, 3-14-05
The Flexible Mac Mini Mac News World, 3-11-05
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Mac Mini Newsletter 
