Apple has pulled the plug on a money-back guarantee offer it was running for the Mac Mini via it online store. The offer, which allowed customers to purchase a Mac Mini, but return it within 30 days if not satisfied, only ran for 12 hours.
“We’re so confident you’ll love your new Mac mini, we’ll let you test drive it for 30 days with no risk,” was the deal.
Why the offer was pulled, and indeed why Apple felt the need to run it in the first place, has resulted in the usual internet rumourmongering.
Sales of the Mac Mini have reportedly stalled after a promising start and Apple will be keen to revive the fortunes of their small thing of beauty. Whether customers are keen to part with their cash for a PowerPC processor-driven computer in the light of Apple impending move to Intel power is not yet clear.
As to why the offer was pulled, votes are split between the following:
1) it was only ever planned to run for 12 hours (boring but probably true)
2) Apple sold out of stock (boring but possibly true)
3) Apple panicked at the thought of a mountain of second-hand Mac Minis being returned and the resulting massive reconditioning bill (funny, but almost certainly not true)
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September 1st, 2005
Media Made Easy today announced their next generation media center offering, Media Made Easy HDTV System, featuring the Windows XPMCE.
Boasting a stylish design for your living room, the Media Made Easy HDTV System measures just 15 inches wide and just under 6 inches tall, resulting in a stackable audio/video component. In addition to the small form factor, the case has ultra-quiet power supply and processor fans resulting in quiet operation for use in living rooms and entertainment centers.
The systems come complete with Media Made Easy’s value-added applications for recording audio sources (including music, FM radio and Internet radio) and for converting proprietary media center recorded TV files into standard video formats with the commercials removed.
“Our customers are tired of waiting for affordable High Definition TV recording,” said Ronald Schwab, CEO of Media Made Easy. “With recent information coming from Microsoft we decided to stop holding out for the next generation cable-card products and to deliver HDTV capabilities using existing products.” He added, “There has been ongoing demand for ways to record audio content on media center systems, so we decided to get ahead of Microsoft’s development curve and deliver something our users can use today.”
Featuring Intel’s Pentium 4 hyper-threaded processors, Gigabyte’s GeForce 6600 video, 8 channel 7.1 surround sound and cordless operation by mouse, keyboard and remote control, the Media Made Easy Media HDTV System will power applications beyond those offered by traditional consumer electronics devices. Enhanced features include HDTV quality recorded television, DVD playback, online movie rental, faster music encoding, rich digital photograph slideshows and Internet radio.
The Media Made Easy Media Center PC is now available via the company’s website in 400GB and in 800GB models.
www.mediamadeeasy.net
September 1st, 2005