When Apple quietly refreshed the Mac mini, I was pretty happy with the specs. Sure, the laptop hard drive is a little pokey, the lack of 802.11n is bizarre, and integrated graphics is teh suck, but for an entry level machine, it’s quite capable. I wouldn’t use one as my primary machine, but as a media server, Xgrid slave, or HD TV media center, it performs quite adequately. I’d even recommend it as a primary machine for less discerning computer users, such as my parents. The graphics card and storage won’t affect what they’re doing.
The $64,000 question is how much better are the new minis though. Madman James Galbraith put them through their paces. He locked them in a steel cage along with the old Mac minis and the new iMac. While they ably handled the previous generation, the iMac used its keyboard as a weapon (they’ve got an awful sharp edge). In all seriousness though, the CPU boost and change in processor makes them much more capable. On par with the iMac in some cases.
There’s one more thing not touched on in the review that will sweeten the pot. The new Mac mini can actually handle 3 GB of RAM. Buy, buy, buy.
It really needs 802.11n. As is, it can't talk to an AirPort Extreme at speed, can't sync to an AppleTV at speed, and it can't talk to any other Mac at speed. I'd buy one today in addition to my other systems for use as a media hub... but it's just too slow, wireless-wise.
I am using a 1.42 GHz G4 Mac mini as my main computer and I would certainly recomend it as a computer for daily use. It does everything from email and internet, to rendering movies and editing huge photos. It's a little workhorse