Apple Mac mini M9686LL/A (G4 1.25GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) review:
4 stars (Apple Mac mini ) - Pretty good. Small, low energy consumption, and quiet. I wish the CPU is a little bit faster.
5 stars (Most versatile Desktop!) - The mini in itself is such a spacesaver, but with all the peripherals, the only cords on your desk can be running from the monitor to the mini and the power source. To buy Apple's optical mouse and keyboard is a little pricey, but, for a lower price, you can buy an apple/microsoft compatible wireless keyboard and optical mouse for around $50-$60 depending on the brand and merchant. This eliminates messy cords and wires on the desk, and also takes up only one USB port. It's also compatible with practically any LCD/Plasma screen, so for $116+ you can get at least 15" screen.

It also includes iLife '05, AppleWorks (I know - Microsoft Works is an oxymoron, but it's the equivalent), Quicken 2005 for Mac (finance software), Nanosaur 2 (fun game for those over 8), Marble Blast Gold (fun for all ages), and Apple Hardware Test (easy to run). As far as software goes, iLife '05 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. This includes iDVD, iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, and GarageBand - all of which are easy to use and great editing tools. It also comes with a 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 2006 for Mac and iWork. iWork includes Pages (Apple's better version of Microsoft Publisher) and Keynote 2 (think PowerPoint x10!) Apple makes it so easy to use and the manual is hardly necessary. Microsoft Office 2006 for Mac includes Word 2006, Excel 2006, PowerPoint 2006 and Entourage 2006.

Speed is great, and so are graphics! You can upgrade, but there really isn't a need for several months. OS X is the greatest, and I bought mine with Tiger. There is also something that I can say about my mini that I can't say for my Windows PC - I have had my Mini since May 11, and I haven't rebooted my computer AT ALL, because my computer hasn't crashed. It has made my Mac experience more enjoyable, as I have worked with Macs for several years, but this is the first one that I've owned. Even the Mac browser Safari is easy to use.

One of the few things I dislike about Apple are compatibility - there are many programs that only run with Windows, but I found that Virtual PC allows the user to run Microsoft programs as well, and is relatively cheap, and also, Office 2006 for Mac is their way of reaching users universally. There are only 2 USB ports, but you can always buy an external hub from $10, so that's not a big problem. Also, with the mini, you have to buy a sound adapter that provides an input, because there's only a stereo headphone jack in the back, and internal speakers. As far as adding AirPort and BlueTooth technology, bluetooth is compatible with more and more phones and portable devices, so transferrance made even easier. But with AirPort, you need a base to attach to a phone jack, which can range from $100-$300 depending on the retailer.

The grand total for an mini would come to about $916, but would include the $419 base mini (40 GB & 256 MB memory), $79 wireless network card, $58 non-Apple wireless keyboard/optical mouse, non-Apple monitor(standard 15" LCD/Plasma starting at $116, $149 3-yr. warranty, and $15 external speakers. And for an additional $125, you can upgrade from 40 to 80 GB harddrive($75 not through apple), and from 256 to 512MB memory ($50), for $1041 - a good price for a computer, and a great price for Apple quality.
3 stars (A word of caution) - Apple has dropped Power Pc processors (PPC) in favour of Intel Processsors. That means that this item will not exist in future as offered now. It will cease to exist and become obsolete. Perhaps this will drive the price down, or perhaps not! It could go either way with no-one wanting one or become a hot collector's item. It's like buying stock. You could win or you could loose. Just thought all should be informed before deciding to purchase or not.

Apple Mac mini M9686LL-A (G4 1.25GHz- 256 MB RAM- 40 GB Hard Drive- DVD-CD-RW Drive) is the Personal Computers version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around  Too Low ToUSD.