Since the first Mac mini was released in 2005, all models have been compact, shipped without a display, keyboard, and mouse, and all have been relatively inexpensive.
The Mac mini (Late 2012) was described by EveryMac: “Compared to its predecessor, this model looks identical, but it has a faster internal architecture with a faster processor, faster graphics, faster RAM, and USB 3.0 ports.”
Its primarily aluminum case has a plastic bottom and measures 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) tall, 7.7 inches x 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) square, and weighs 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg).
The Mac mini (Late 2012) was offered with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. It shipped with a 500GB or 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive.
For a compact case, it had many physical plug options: Thunderbolt, FireWire 800 port, 4 USB 3 ports, HDMI, SDXC card slot, gigabit ethernet port, and audio in/out. Its 3 wireless interfaces included 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an IR receiver.
In January 2001, Steve Jobs announced “the most revolutionary portable computer ever created”—the Titanium PowerBook G4. At the time, this laptop had Apple’s largest display and fastest processor. Apple stated that a “mega-wide display and blazingly fast PowerPC G4 processors make it the ultimate system for portable video editing using Apple’s iMovie…or Apple’s award-winning Final Cut Pro professional video editing, effects, and compositing software.” The display was a 15.2-inch TFT widescreen display.
The PowerBook G4 Titanium was given the unofficial nickname of “TiBook.” This particular PowerBook G4 Titanium model was released in December 2001 and was referred to as the “Gigabit TiBook” referring to its ultra-fast Gigabit (1000BASE-T) ethernet port (an upgrade from the previous model’s 100BASE-T ethernet port).
The PowerBook G4 Gigabit used a 667 MHz PowerPC 7440 G4 processor and was available with 256 MB or 512 MB SDRAM, and 30 GB hard drive. A slot-loading 6X DVD-ROM drive was located below and to the right of the trackpad on the front of the case. Overall, the PowerBook G4 Titanium was 1.1 inches thick, 13.4 inches wide, 9.5 inches deep, and weighed an average of 5.3 pounds.
Along with the original Titanium PowerBook G4, this model was known for its sometimes problematic hinge assembly that resulted in a broken hinge and/or display problems due to the video cable running through the left hinge. These quality issues were resolved in the third “DVI” iteration of this laptop.
Upon release, the design of the Titanium PowerBook G4 was a major departure from previous Apple laptops. Although its “Titanium” moniker referred to its internal chassis, the laptop’s exterior used two shades of silver metal—a design never repeated in an Apple laptop. Its mega-wide screen (at 1152×768 pixels) had a bezel smaller than current pro Mac laptops. Also, this was the first Apple laptop to feature an Apple logo that was “right way up” when the laptop lid was open—a design met with cheers from the Macworld audience when the laptop was first shown on stage.
This PowerBook G4 in my collection functions, but has a major dent in its trackpad and several cosmetic issues due to wear and tear.
The AirPort Extreme was a wireless base station that combined the functions of a router, network switch, wireless access point, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), and other features.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station Generation 4 (model A1354) was released in 2009 with a white, rounded-rectangle design that was similar to the look of the first-generation Mac mini and original Apple TV. AirPort Extreme Base Station Generations 1–5 shared the same design until a tower-like design was used for the final Generation 6 model.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station measured 6.5 inches square, 1.3 inches tall, and weighed 1.66 pounds. It supported 802.11a/b/g/n wireless network protocols.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station Generation 4 had the follwing interfaces:
One Gigabit Ethernet WAN port for connecting a DSL or cable modem
Three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports for connecting computers or network devices
USB 2.0 port for connecting a USB printer or USB external hard drive
