Getting the balance right - Isle of Man Today

26 Business updateIsle of Man Examiner, May 2005IT & IMinimarvelGiles Turnbulldiscovers theApple Mac miniis small butperfectly formedOver the years, AppleComputer hasearned a reputationas a creator of stylish but expensivecomputer hardware.Apple’s computers have nottraditionally been considered byordinary people looking for a homecomputer for family use; they haveremained popular machines forartists, designers and musicians,but rarely strayed from thoseniches.But times have changed, and sohave Apple’s computers. Therecently launched Mac mini(www.apple.com/uk/macmini) isthe Apple computer so manypeople have been waiting decadesfor: a cheap one. At roughly £340,it’s one of the lowest-price personalcomputers of any kind. It’s also oneof the smallest — two inches high,and slightly wider and longer than aCD case. It’s tiny.browsingaround■ Explore Scotland’shistorywww.historic-scotland.gov.uk■ Mrs Fix It can probablyfix itmrsfixit.com■ Inflict terrible disasterson websiteswww.netdisaster.com■ What happens whenpop stars get their ownradio stations?www.davidbyrne.com/radio/■ Giles Turnbull has awebsite atgilest.orgYet packed inside the sleek metalcase is a perfectly reasonablecomputer capable of all the basics.Web browsing, e-mail, digitalphotos, word processing — all thenormal day-to-day stuff thatmembers of the family might wantto do. The Mac mini is perfectlycapable of handling these tasks.But despite packing a lot into atiny package, the Mac mini hasbeen criticised for what it doesn’tinclude — most obviously, akeyboard, mouse and monitor.Yes, when you buy the Mac mini,all you’re buying is the computeritself. Just the box that does thetricks. The idea is that you supplyyour own peripherals. You could, ofcourse, buy Apple’s own extras, andeasily spend far more on them thatyou would spend on the Mac mini.But you could just as easily plugin the keyboard, mouse andmonitor you already use with yourWindows computer. Or a secondhandset picked up from eBay or afriend.The Mac mini is not a‘professional’ computer, in that thespecifications are little better thanthe company’s entry-level laptopcomputer. But it is a perfectlydecent home computer.It copes very well with severalopen applications, connects to abroadband internet service withease (it found, and configured itselfto use, my wireless network withjust one click on the mouse) andmakes a good stab at managingmultimedia applications too.If you’re looking for a machine forserious photo editing, video editing,or creating music, look further upthe Apple product chain.But if all you need is the basics,for yourself or members of yourfamily, the Mac mini is worthconsidering. Although you have toprovide the hardware peripherals,the price does include a superbcollection of applications. On aWindows computer, you’d have tobuy these separately.If you’ve become fed up withWindows getting bogged down byviruses and other nasties, there’snever been a better time toconsider switching to a Mac.DO THESHUFFLEJust as the Mac mini offersjust enough of what you needin a personal computer, soanother new Apple product,the iPod shuffle(www.apple.com/uk/ipodshuffle)offers just enough of what youneed in an MP3 player.Previous iPods used a harddrive and stored thousands ofsongs. The iPod shuffle usescheap flash memory (with nomoving parts) and storeseither 120 or 240 songs,depending on which one youbuy.It’s as basic as things get.There’s no screen and fewcontrols, but the beauty of theiPod shuffle is that it takesaway your need to think. Justplug it into your computer(Mac or Windows) and it willfill itself up with a randomselection of songs from yourcollection.Walking around with its (verygood quality) headphones inyour ears means constantsurprises; you never knowwhat it will play next. Andthat's more fun than you mightthink.BETTERIESComputer companies areleading the way in the field ofbattery research. Toshiba, wellknown for its laptops, says ithas created a tiny batterycapable of recharging itself injust 60 seconds. It’s hopedthat the technology will beappearing commercially inlaptops and mobile phones by2006.