[MacTUG] Article: Using the mac mini as a server and computing appliance

[Marlon A. Griffith]

Check out the links off of this summary article:
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967,1057162,00.html

Here is a short clip:
"The most amazing thing about Apple's new Mac Mini isn't its 
diminutive size, although you can't help but be surprised at how 
small it is when you see it in person (about the size of a stack of 
five CDs). Nor is it the price, although it is the first Mac to break 
the $500 barrier (provided you supply your own display, keyboard and 
mouse). The most amazing thing is how an entry-level computer aimed 
at grandparents and switchers (PC users migrating to the Mac) has 
ignited the geek community into thinking outside the 6.5-square-inch 
box. Within hours of the Mini's announcement-weeks before it started 
shipping-the Web was abuzz with riffs on all the things one could do 
with such a small and cheap Mac, and Mini-dedicated Web sites such as 
123macmini.com and modmini.com began popping up soon thereafter. One 
of the most popular ideas to emerge was using it as a living-room 
computer for recording TV and storing and playing back movies, music 
and photos. It even inspired an ad hoc group of programmers to begin 
working feverishly on a Mac equivalent to the Media Center Edition of 
Windows XP. Called CenterStage, the customizable, open-source app 
will provide a 10-foot interface to navigate your media with a remote 
control. (Follow the group's progress at centerstageproject.com.) 
Meanwhile, car tuners noticed that the Mini fit nicely in a glove 
box, kicking off a flurry of sleek "car-puter" installations. Sound 
like fun? On the next page you'll find details on what you need for 
these two projects and a couple others, as well as instructions for 
cracking open the Mini for home upgrades."


-- 
Make it a great day!
Marlon A. Griffith
Architecture Computing and Media
School of Architecture
University of Waterloo
519-885-1211 x7651
m3griffi at architecture.uwaterloo.ca