I did the math

And, alas, it doesn't make much sense for me to buy the Mac mini.

I'd want a 80 GB drive. I'd want a Gig of RAM (which God knows I wouldn't buy from Apple, where it costs over $400). I'd want the SuperDrive. I'd want Airport. And I'd want to use my 17" Cinema Display, which means I'd need to get a DVI to ACD adapter.

When all is said and done, I'd be paying over $800 (and that's without the RAM), for a G4 system that while, admittedly, faster than the one I have currently by a factor of at least 2 still wouldn't carry me comfortably for the next several years. Nope, when push comes to shove, I'd be better off hawking my complete Cube package, together with the display, and getting myself a G5 iMac. Yeah, the 20" one. You gotta problem with that?

So, I wait. Which is good. I wait until Tiger is out ~ by which time I hope to have truly gainful employment and even some spare cash ~ and thereby get the upgraded operating system and iLife suite without having to pay extra for them.

In the meantime, I may just go ahead and get an iPod shuffle anyway. :D