Every now and again there’s a little flurry of new tech releases. Some of that’s because it’s E3 season, I guess, but whatever the reason it usually results in me wishing my wallet was a little more full than it actually is.
Here are three pieces of tech I’m excited about, that have been unveiled or updated in the last few days.
Aluminium Unibody Mac Mini
The Mac Mini gets an update
The Mac Mini was my choice when I joined the Cult of Mac – mostly because I already had a perfectly good monitor, mouse, and keyboard… and partly because the Mini is cheaper than the iMac.
The Mini has been updated several times since I got mine, and the latest incarnation looks gorgeous. It’s built using the same Aluminium unibody technique used in building the MacBook Pro, but the thing I really like is that the bottom features a removable hatch. This makes is much easier to get at the Mini’s internals and add memory – previously a much more difficult proposition.
The Mini now also features an SD card reader, HDMI and Mini DisplayPort to beef up the connectivity options.
One more welcome addition is the removal of the power brick… the transformer that would sit under your desk and never quite fit where you wanted to put it. That’s all been internalized to the Mini, so there’s just a plain power cable to worry about now.
The Mini’s 3D graphics, lower (than other Macs) cost, and small footprint make this a great machine. When the time comes to upgrade there’s every chance I’ll be going for a Mini again.
Mac Mini on Apple (and the UK version)
Slimline Xbox 360
Slimmer, more capacity, quieter... nice
Yes, I’m excited about a Microsoft product – settle down. Microsoft have unveiled a new incarnation of the Xbox 360: sleeker, with built in wi-fi, quiet fans, and a massive 250Gb hard drive. I know the hard drive isn’t that big compared to those in actual computers, but that’s a heck of a lot better than the 20Gb one I’ve got at the minute!
My complaints about the existing Xbox 360 (I have a launch-day Xbox 360 Premium) have been fan noise, having to trail a cable to my broadband router (or buy a wi-fi addon), and that I can only install one game at a time or the hard drive fills up. The slimline Xbox 360 looks like it’ll alleviate those frustrations and, at £199 in the UK, it’s not stupidly expensive either. The only thing I don’t know yet is whether the slimline will actually run cooler than my Premium… I can almost heat the living room with it.
You can preorder the slimline Xbox 360 on:
Microsoft Kinect
Kinect - control without the controller
We’ve known about Microsoft’s Project Natal for a long time, but it’s just been rebranded as Kinect and gone on pre-order with many online retailers. The idea is that you control games by gesture, rather than a controller. It reminds me a bit of Sony’s EyeToy but early indications are that it will be a much more sophisticated experience.
Other than the rename, the release of a few game titles, and companies like Game taking preorders, there’s not a lot to tell… but I am so looking forward to having a proper shot of this.
You can get more information (but not preorder yet) on:
Amazon links in this post are affiliate links.
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