IRIS IRISCard Mini 4

Advantages: Price, performance, design, OSX 10.5, Windows with Bootcamp, HTPC, remote controll
Disadvantages: Limited upgradability

...I recently upgrade from a 1.5Ghz G4 stealth upgrade Mac Mini to the Core 2 Duo 1.83 Ghz mini and I am very impressed with the performance improvements. With Xbench the Core 2 Duo was approximately twice as fast as the G4 on many tests. The Mac Mini has a very small form factor 6.5"x6.5"x2" which makes it well suited as a Home Theater PC (HTPC) or for desktop use where space is at a premium. I primarily use the mini as an everyday computer with some HTPC use. The computer looks at home both on the desk and under a TV. The Mac Mini is an excellent entry level computer or an introduction to Macs. This is not to say the computer is limited in capabilities. The only real limitation over the mini's bigger brothers, the iMac and Mac Pro is the fact that it's expandability is more restricted. The stock laptop hard drive is slower than desktop... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Small, powerful and lovely to look at
Disadvantages: Difficult to upgrade

...The Apple Mac Mini is a wonderful piece of kit. The size of it is great. You can place it on your computer desk and it takes up no room at all. I purchased the 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 with 512MB SDRAM, Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW) etc. I find it is powerful for what I need it to do. It would make a great tool for a student doing graphic design, a freelance designer or for someone who likes macintosh. As with mac's there are some gripes, they can sometimes be temperamental, programmes "unexpectantly" quiting but this happens just as much as on PCs. Also with the Mac Mini, if you want to upgrade, say for example, the Bluetooth device, the tools you would need include pallet knifes and some patients! The Mac mini is Macintosh doing what they do best. Making something look great and practical at the same time. I love it.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Very Good Quality, Excellent SilverFast Software
Disadvantages: Abit Large, Dust Removal Software Not Good

...The HP ScanJet 8300 is a Professional Image Scanner from HP's Scan jet series. This is one of the top end Scanners HP manufacture and is ideal for the business domain. There is also an 8300gp model of this scanner which is a Graphic Arts scanner and has a monitor color-meter calibrator as a added feature ideal for graphic designers. Now about the HP ScanJet 8300, the scanner has an OR (Optical Resolution) of 4800x4800dpi and will scan high dynamic range in 48bit colour. This is fine for transparency and negative scanning. The scanner has a max reflection area of around A4 size. HP includes film holders which will hold 3 strips, 6 frames of a 35mm film. The holders can be placed in the base of the scanner for storage. The ScanJet 8300 is supplied with HP's own photosmart software. I wasn't impressed with the scan pro scanning. It has... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful