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The Plasticsmith Debuts Mac mini Accessories

by , 4:05 PM EST, January 31st, 2005

Mac mini owners take note, The Plasticsmith today released three new accessories for the miniature computer.

The Grandstand, available in flame polished acrylic (or "clear" if you prefer) and steel, is a shelf that allows you to place your mini underneath your display. The Grandstand features non-skid pads and can support displays weighing up to 60 pounds. The Grandstand sells for $34.95.

The mini Skirt is a pedestal for the Mac mini that matches its footprint and raises the computer 3/4-inches. It is also constructed from flame-polished acrylic and costs $19.95.

Lastly, the mini Tower is designed to securely hold the Mac mini on its side, with a custom slot for access to the optical drive, regardless of what side the Mac mini is placed on. It costs $39.95.

Plasticsmith

Observer Comments

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Close Name:Guest
Subject: Custom slot?

<quote>
Lastly, the mini Tower is designed to securely hold the Mac mini on its side, with a custom slot for access to the optical drive,
</quote>

What is a custom slot? Did they have to put the slot in after the plastic piece was manufactured? Was not the whole thing custom in the first place?

Is custom really appropriate here, when the whole thing is designed and manufactured for one application?

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Cube flattenend

Love the "skirt". Finally, a new Cube.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: some real ideas, please

Ohh! Ahhh! pretty clear plastic thingies to set your mac on!

Whoop-de-frikin-p00p.

How about a pretty white enclosure that sits under the mini that seamlessly looks like one piece, that houses a 3.5" hard drive, moves USB/Firewire ports up front along with some nifty advanced audio jacks - and while we're at a card reader to boot? (A couple cables in back of the thing to plug into its Firewire and USB.)

That would be $100-$200 dollars worth spending - not forty bucks for useless plactic. Please.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Easier there tiger

Have a snack man. No one's forcing you to buy anything here. It's just information...

Close Name:spxyu02 Posts: 1214 Joined: 04 Aug 2004
Subject:

Man, I envy this type of operation. Mac mini comes out, start-up low cost operations, make website, work out logistics for shipping and there you go. Mac accesories, what a world.

Close Name:PBJay Posts: 1 Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Subject: Grandstand not practical

The on/off switch is on the back of the mini. Take a look at the photos again, using the grandstand, I don't think it would be very easy to reach around to the back of the unit with your face pressed up against your monitor.

On a related note, do the old keyboards with the on/off button work with newer macs?

Close Name:Brutno Posts: 198 Joined: 28 Aug 2002
Subject: Re: Grandstand not practical

Quote
PBJay wrote:
On a related note, do the old keyboards with the on/off button work with newer macs?


Not on my B/W G3, which has ADB input on the motherboard. Do not know about newer models, though. I presume you were speaking of non-USB keyboards.

Close Name:gslusher Posts: 2088 Joined: 13 Nov 2002
Subject: Re: Grandstand not practical ...

Quote
PBJay wrote:
The on/off switch is on the back of the mini. Take a look at the photos again, using the grandstand, I don't think it would be very easy to reach around to the back of the unit with your face pressed up against your monitor.

On a related note, do the old keyboards with the on/off button work with newer macs?


You should be able to easily slide the Mini out from under the grandstand on those rare occasions when you need to use the power switch. (It's hard to get to on iMacs, too, for a reason: it's not supposed to be easy to turn off. With the Energy Saver options, there's not much saving in turning it "off" (which doesn't result in zero power consumed, anyway) and the average user will be better off leaving it on so that OS X can do its routine maintenance at 3-4 AM.

Re: keyboards with on-off switches: the power switches won't work. That's why there's no power key on the new Apple keyboards. When the Mac is off, the USB bus is not powered.

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