Flashes of Panic

Apple (and most of the people who have written about it so far) are casting the new Mac Mini as a home machine for “switchers,” aimed at people with an existing investment in monitor, keyboard and mouse for their Wintel PC. And sure, maybe it is; Airbag has already called it “…something you buy to use with your iPod.”

I’m seeing something else entirely: a gateway to small businesses. See, while the business side of my building is tied to management software which keeps them on Windows (and Windows Servers, which I would otherwise have eBayed long ago,) there’s little, if any, reason why our editorial people shouldn’t be on Macs, and since many of our authors, illustrators, copyeditors, etc. etc. are Mac people, it would make life a lot easier. They don’t need MS Access; they need Word, maybe PowerPoint, a web browser, and email. The Mac has all of that.

However, Apple doesn’t really make a machine aimed at that office spot. I don’t want all-in-ones; I have a hardware investment in displays already. So the iMac and eMac, however beautiful, are out. And the Power Macs are overkill. I’ve been planning on moving some of the G4 Power Macs being retired from the Production department down to Editorial; Production does heavy Photoshop/Illustrator/Quark stuff, so they need the big iron. But they are also dragging their feet on letting go of the OS 9 G4s, even with OS X G5s sitting right next to them; they like having two machines.

The Mac Mini fits right in between. It has all the power the editorial folks need. It doesn’t require me to pay for a built-in monitor or more power or expandability than they need. And, even with the Microsoft Tax MS Office included, the price is favorably comparable with a new Dell, particularly when you consider support costs: viruses, spyware, configuration costs and all the annoying garbage that new Wintel machines come loaded with just don’t exist.

Apple gets this; their sidebar pitches the Mac Mini as “great for small businesses.” And now I have an argument I can sell to the business manager, right at the bottom line.

I can’t believe how excited I am about this.

Now Playing: My Little Problem from All Shook Down by The Replacements