Well, Apple may have done something big. Like as big as the first iMac. We're yet to see. They have not only finally released the long called for headless consumer Mac, but at the same time the first consumer mini-computer. There are a few on the market right now but they are either by unknown brands, or aimed at gamers or some other niche. The iMac mini is 6.5"x6.5"x2." And a whopping $499. And its not the lowest machine in their line up. There are certainly faster models, but this is enough power to hold its own. And the Superdrive (DVD writer) is available.
Why COULD this be as big of a deal as the original iMac, or even the original Macintosh. The biggest reason is that people are now really longing for a highly compact computer. PC's are becoming a commodity, and people are ready to buy a compact box that works for a few years, then throw it away. The mini-pc thing is really taking off at this time, and this is certainly one of the smallest. Also people have been begging for a more affordable mac for a long time. Lots of people have a keyboard and monitor, so they don't want to pay for new stuff. This lets the PC users that enjoy their iPod go out and drop less they would on a comperable wintel machine.
But there's a lurking killer app here, and ties to the whole PC's as a commodity thing. MS knows this already. The next big thing (TM) is the media center PC. If someone puts out the proper outboard tv-tuner/PVR software combo, this thing could take off. I think even without that it will help apple increase market share, and will push the entire industry to small form factor the way the iMac pushed the whole industry from boring beige boxes.
We'll see...
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