Within our own office environment, we repeatedly entertained questions from nearby officemates who were intrigued by the design. And we're not just saying that figuratively, either. It's the tech equivalent of an irresistibly cute baby the kind of hardware that stops passers-by, prompting compliments. No matter your sworn brand allegiance, you'd be hard-pressed to deny the Mac mini's simple, refined build.

Let's not beat around the bush here - there's a reason Apple plays proud host to a knighted Head of ID: ridiculously gorgeous design. Just who is the Mac mini for? Is it the go-anywhere, portable desktop best integrated in yachts, airports, automobiles and living rooms? Or, with a starting price of $599, is it the perfect, low-cost migration assistant (pun intended) for consumers making the switch from a Windows desktop? Follow on to see which hat this not-quite-an- HTPC wears best. One quirk still remains, though: the product's demographic leanings. Perhaps most interestingly, it's now offering a hybrid storage option, the so-called FusionDrive, which combines flash memory with a SATA HDD. Addressing criticisms of last year's model, Apple added USB 3.0 ports, upgraded to third-generation Ivy Bridge Core processors and boosted the standard RAM allotment to 4GB (you can configure it with up to 16 gigs). Amidst the flurry of announcements, there was one other wee hardware relative on hand ready to join in on the launch festivities: a refreshed 2012 Mac mini. But that newborn product didn't enter Apple's ecosystem alone. October 23rd was mostly the iPad mini's coming out party an event with one major headliner.

iFixit opens up new Mac Mini, has no trouble putting it all back together again.

Mac Mini updated in two new flavors, at $599 for i5 dual-core and $999 for i7 quad-core server model.

Last mac mini core 2 duo