The Mac mini is waaay cool. I don't mean to sound like one of those salivating Apple fanboys, but damn, I want one. They're cheap, too. I'll wait until after OS X Tiger comes out, though. Pretty slick, those Apple folk: release a cheap $500 entry-level Mac and then in a few months release an OS upgrade that costs 25% of the machine! Would've been cheaper to buy than the iMac, but the mini is only a G4. Also, there was no spec about the type of HDD; with the space constraints of the box I'm going to assume that it's 2.5". I'd rather have 3.5" SATA, but the price is right on the mini.

The iPod Shuffle isn't anything to get worked up about. I want a song display, and I want control over which songs get loaded. The only nice thing is that $100 for a half gig of flash plus MP3 player ain't a bad price! This will appeal to the minimalist set, and the people who can't afford to buy a real iPod (I remember being a broke college student, many moons ago).

No wonder the Ginza Apple Store had the grab bag day on the 2nd. They were trying to offload their iPod Mini stock in anticipation for the Shuffle! Ah well, I can still use the Mini as a backup device, too. Still haven't opened it—no time to play!

I'd buy some Apple stock if it weren't already over-valued....