Mac Mini violated by a nano-ATX x86 board
Kevin Rose has taken a new Mac Mini and violated it with a nano-ITX board, basically giving you a x86 PC with a Mac Mini enclosure. Works well, but due to the shape of the motherboard he used the optical drive wouldn't fit. (duh: here's the mirrordot link if the above dies)
I have a feeling that site is going to get hammered pretty hard, so see it while you can. I've been following these for awhile, but if you haven't, the nano-ITX logic board form factor is the follow-up to the mini-ITX form factor. They're cool little boards, and what allow the Shuttle and Cappucino PCs (my personal favorite). (Yes, they also have the expresso's)
Remember, Apple can basically design things however they want from model to model: that don't play in x86 land. You can do whatever you want on the outside, but you might be getting your case from who knows where, and your motherboard from someone else, and your powersupply from someone else. So you standard case sizes, like ATX, mini-ATX, and the upcoming nano-ITX.
These nano-ITX boards are impressive, at 12cm x 12cm square, and include everything from onboard MPEG2/4 acceleration to SATA, more output and audio options than you can shake a stick at...
Posted by drunkenbatmanJanuary 30, 2005, at 06:49 PM
Comments (3)
Posted by: Twist at January 30, 2005 09:48 PM
That evil bastard!!!!!! Skin him alive!!!!!!!!! Unless of course he wants to send me the removed components, then he is cool ;)
Posted by: Stomaphagus at February 1, 2005 04:18 PM
It's like the classic Porsche-to-VW swap, but in reverse. Pull the engine from your 356B coupe and replace it with the single-carb 40hp 1200 from a '60 Beetle. Boggles the mind.
go through and read the comments on that site. the number of free mac mini/ipod links made my head spin, the spamming and LOL !!!11!! was just plain ricockulas. i concur with the 'this is about as cool as putting a linux box in a dead badger' comment. we get no photos of the system actually booting. no shot of the i/o panel of the modified mac mini (may have been, some of the pics werent loading). one problem though, the thing doesnt have an optical drive! the whole piont of the mini is that it offers a good, easy to use, fully functional compact package. rose turned it into a tedious, unable to use without further expansion bigger, and not really complete package. WAY TO GO KEVIN!!!
just cause you can do something doesnt mean you should...