"Introducing Mac mini. Everything you need to enjoy digital photos, music, and movies, and not an ounce more. Get a fast G4 processor, slot-loading CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive and a reliable operation system in a body just 6.5" square and 2" tall. Starting at just $499."
A Mac for $499?! How can this be?! Welcome to the newest incarnation of Mac. Introduced at MacWorld in San Francisco (you must go if you've never been, it's a blast), this is the answer to the question "Why can't Mac make a cheaper computer?" This is a complete computer, OS 10.3 "Panther" and all the usual great apps (iLife ‘05 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand), AppleWorks, Quicken 2005 for Mac, Nanosaur 2, Marble Blast Gold and Apple Hardware Test) put into a system boasting a 1.25 or 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256MB RAM (don't worry, it goes up to 1GB), the ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB SDRAM, a 40 or 80GB Ultra ATA hard drive, combo or superdrive, possible airport and bluetooth, and in a package measuring 6.5" X 6.5" X 2".
The design, as usual for Mac, is brilliant. No tower, just a little gray and white box with the apple on it. This is a machine you don't really mind putting on your desk (after all it's called a "desktop", not a "deskside"). It also is quiet as a whisper, so you don't have to hide it away.
This is the death of the excuse "they are too expensive". This is $499 now, and can probably be found for even cheaper soon on ebay.