Thoughts about the new MacMini & Lion OS

That new Mini was released today, Albert. That's what the OP was referring to when he mentioned no optical drive. It ships with Lion, of course.

We know we can make the 2011 Mac Mini sound great, just as we have with the 2010 model. What is unclear is that weather that will be done with Lion or Snow Leopard, in the long haul.

Darrell, the 2011 Mac Mini is not OS backwards compatible. You won't be able to run Snow Leopard on it, at least that's my understanding.

Darrell,

Did your 2011 Mini come with 10.6.8 or Lion?

Dan

So Darrell, it seems you know how to get around the OS backwards restriction.

Closeouts on the previous Mini are out there now and the price is about the same as the new Mini. Decision tree:

If Lion turns out to be a good thing for music servers, either HW choice is fine but the new Mini has more horsepower, so why not.

If Lion is not good for music servers, or at least initially, then the new Mini only works if I can install Snow Leopard on it.

If I can't install Snow Leopard on it, or if that would void the warranty, then a closeout earlier Mini is probably my best best.

Am I missing something?

That sounds like good news, Darrell. And a tip of the cap to you for updating your website already.

Now you need to see what Lion does to things. There have been some reports of meaningfully improved sound from iTunes under Lion, so who knows, it might all turn out well.