I hope the Mac mini goes 'Green', instead of just going away

Rumors are flying that the Mac mini may be on its way out. Such rumors seem to indicate that the mini will either go away, or see a refresh. Let's hope it is the latter.

The Mac mini not only needs a specs refresh, it needs a refocusing of it's market position. Rather than being marketed as 'the underpowered Mac for people too cheap to buy a real Mac', it should be celebrated for its BYODKM (Bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse) heritage.

First off, Apple needs to build the next Mini in line with its improving stance on environmental considerations. Once the manufacturing story has a 'Greener' tinge, then the Mac mini can finally become the recycle-reuse-green-machine it almost is. They also needs to make it truly powerful enough to be worthy of the "Mac" prefix.

In addition, Apple could use its website to help build a community for DIYers looking for ways to locate peripherals from the vast array of hardware that's already out there. This could be as simple as creating an online catalog that help customers connect with local computer recycling centers and similar sources for cheap/free monitors, keyboards, and mice.

Continuously churning out improved machines every few quarters is what keeps Apple products ahead of the cool-curve. But there's definitely a niche to be served by bringing the latest Mac OS to people who would prefer the modestly smaller carbon footprint offered by using pre-owned peripherals.

One more thing, let's not rule out an unexpected scenario like the Mac mini being cross-bred with Apple TV or something.

Apple posts "MobileMe Setup" instructions page

Apple has posted a page with instructions for setting up (or transitioning) to their MobileMe service that officially launches today. Configurations outlined include:

• iPhone/iPod touch + Mac - Requires iPhone 2.0 Software Update (available July 11).
  
• iPhone/iPod touch + PC - Requires iPhone 2.0 Software Update (available July 11).
  
• Mac setup - Set up just your Mac.
  
• PC setup - Set up just your PC.
  

It's still early in the switch over, so not all aspects of me.com appear to be available yet. The other note on this page states "To access your email from the web, go to www.me.com."

Flow - What Adobe Version Cue should have been?

GridIron Software Announces "Flow" - A revolutionary approach to content management: "Flow is a revolutionary approach to digital content management that dramatically simplifies the design process for creative professionals working on graphic design, web and video projects. Flow automatically tracks your work from idea to end result and manages your assets and applications for your most complex projects- all without changing the way you work."

Flow was included in the Macworld Best of Show winners list. The information about the forthcoming product on their site shows a lot of promise. Now that Leopard has incorporated Coverflow into the finder, and Adobe Version Cue + Bridge has lacked traction, the timing could be good for a desktop-based asset management tool that moves beyond tracking files and adds some intelligence regarding process, versioning, and (ahem) "flow".

Features that seem like standouts include: Workflow Maps; Workflow Calendar; Visual Versions; Project Packages; Project Reports.

There's a difference between ALL of the files that someone generates for a project, versus the smaller subset of files that they may want to actually share with a workgroup or client. While some Web 2.0 DAM solutions like fluxiom or box are great for the latter, flow might be an intelligent bridge between what you have and what you need to share.

They are accepting Beta program requests. I'll be keeping an eye on this software.

New Apple Products at Macworld 2008

Well there was certainly a lot of buzz around Apple's new product announcements at Macworld 2008. The stock took a hit and there have been some complaints about whether or not the Macbook Air compromises too much. Anyway, more to come on this stuff.

J.Y. Design Posts: Apple Mac & iPod Buyer's Guide

J.Y. Design has long been an 'Mac shop'. Many Apple products are used in day to day work. We also find that we recommend various products to clients, colleagues, family and friends.

This new page will be the place to see the latest hardware, and what the highlights and tradeoffs are when considering a purchase. Check it out...

Bandwagon: Backup iTunes to S3 or FTP

Bandwagon FTP edition (beta) available: "Bandwagon is an app service that automatically and continuously backs up iTunes to your online storage. Furthermore, Bandwagon is event driven, not scheduled backup (i.e. when you add tracks, it will automatically back it up)."

They have two versions of the service: an Amazon S3 edition called Bandwagon DIY (which has been renamed to Bandwagon S3) which, of course, backs up to your S3 storage. Then Bandwagon FTP is geared towards users that have unused web hosting storage or have their own homegrown ftp server.

This is great to see another developer putting a task-based intelligent front end onto S3 / FTP. With the various options for online storage out there getting bigger and cheaper, these kinds of utilities will help to decentralize data storage and keep more people from suffering the horrors of complete data loss.



Please note, while I'm genuinely into the Bandwagon idea, I'm also posting this in the hopes of getting the discount on their service that they are currently offering to bloggers ;)

Panic Releases Coda "One-Window Web Development for Mac OS X"

Panic.com: "So, we code web sites by hand. And one day, it hit us: our web workflow was wonky. We’d have our text editor open, with Transmit open to save files to the server. We’d be previewing in Safari, running queries in Terminal, using a CSS editor, and reading references on the web. “This could be easier,” we realized. “And much cooler.”

When Panic releases an app, it's usually just perfect for the subset of users that they choose to target. So Coda has definitely caught my attention. I've only played with the trial a few moments and can say that it looks pretty interesting, especially if you don't already have Panic Transmit and/or CSSEdit. With CSS editing properties still squished in a small floater within Dreamweaver, this could be an actual threat for those more into hand-coding. As always it's beautifully Mac-like and the visual bookmarks are a sweet touch.

Here's a more in-depth review by MacApper.

Microsoft Reveals Silverlight as Adobe Flash Challenger

DailyTech: "In hopes to make a dent in the market dominance of Adobe's Flash, Microsoft unveiled at the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters conference a new cross-browser, cross-platform browser plug-in called Silverlight... Previously called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E), Silverlight works with on both Macintosh and Windows with a variety of browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari."

Adobe CS3 Official Launch

Here's a round-up of some other interesting coverage and details:

• AppleBlog coverage
• digg.com coverage
• Apple.com special feature
• creativepro.com: What's New in Adobe Creative Suite 3
• CNET coverage

J.Y. Names Thriftmac.com's Mascot - "Scrimpy" it is...

Since I spend too much time checking out Mac-related sites and also love branding - I sumbitted an entry to name the mascot for the thriftmac.com website. Thanks to the site, and party on little worm.

"Congratulations to James Young of Eugene, Oregon, and Ron Silva of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, for winning our Name the Worm, Win a Bug contest. Early on, James came up with the idea of Scrimpy. The judges liked it a lot, and figured it was the one to beat. No one beat it, but Ron equalled it by coming up with the same name. At that point, we had no choice but to declare both of them winners of a free copy of Shutterbug."