These are welcome features for those who use the mini in an AV system, although the included Front Row software continues to provide only the most basic of media-center functionality, and you’ll need to look elsewhere for Blu-ray playback. In addition, Apple has tweaked the Displays pane of System Preferences to let you adjust the underscan level so the mini’s video output better fits your TV screen. When you connect the new Mac mini to a TV via HDMI, the Displays pane of System Preferences and the systemwide Displays menu automatically show available TV resolutions for that TV: 720p, 1080i, 1080p, and so on. Because of this change, even though the new mini is slightly heavier, at 3 pounds, than the previous model’s enclosure, once you take into account the weight of the previous model’s external power supply, the new mini is actually about a pound lighter overall. Like the Apple TV, the Mac mini now requires only a thin power cord that plugs directly into the back of the computer. As part of the computer’s redesign, and thanks to its lower power usage, Apple was able to reduce the size of the Mac mini’s power supply and hide it inside the computer itself.

Notably missing from the new Mac mini’s box is the bulky, heavy power brick of previous mini models. It’s also a bit quieter, and runs at least as cool-at least in my testing-than the previous model. Thanks in large part to this aluminum enclosure, Apple claims the new mini is “one of the most material-efficient desktop computers available.” The company also states that the new mini is the most energy-efficient desktop computer on the market, using just over 9W of power when idle but awake, and less than 1.5W when sleeping. (You can see more images in our Mac mini slideshow.) To match the black-plastic pieces, the Apple logo on top of the Mac mini is now glossy black. This makes the new mini enclosure slightly heavier than that of the previous models, but the new enclosure also feels much more solid-this is the sturdiest-feeling computer I’ve ever used. With the exception of a black-plastic panel on the back for ports and connectors, and a circular, black-plastic door on the bottom, the body of the mini is machined from a single piece of aluminum. And instead of using a multi-piece body made of white plastic and aluminum, the new Mac mini adopts the all-aluminum Unibody design of Apple’s current MacBook Pro line. While still square, the mini is now 7.7 inches to a side but only 1.4 inches tall-almost the exact same size as the Apple TV ( ), but with rounder corners.

While every previous mini sported a 6.5- by 6.5- by 2-inch case, the new model slims down, widens out, and gets a makeover.

The most outwardly obvious change to the Mac mini is its new enclosure.

2010 mac mini upgrades