I think he's right. These are both quite very cool.

Apple has quite a knack for taking something ordinary (like a little MP3 player) and making it a gotta-have item.
The geeks laughed at the iPod when it came out because it didn't have wireless built in, and didn't have enough capacity.
The same geeks are laughing at the iPod shuffle now because it's got no display or FM tuner, and not enough capacity.

I think they'll be just as wrong this time.

And the Mac Mini? A $500 box you can use with the monitor, mouse and keyboard you have on your Windows box? That can read your Windows hard disk? That comes with software to make the move easy?

For potential switchers, the cost of the gamble is now about half of what it was before, and the effort is about as small as it can be.

I don't know whether Apple can actually increase market share signficantly, but isn't it interesting how much buzz they can generate over their new products? I mean, can you even remember the last announcement for a piece of non-Apple consumer electronics equipment?

Some of that is due to Apple's marketing flair, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that they just make cool stuff.

You have seen what Dell will sell you for $499, haven't you? ;)

*yawn*