I keep hearing the cheap Dell being raised as an alternative. Last I heard Apple is still making the Macintosh and therefore have complete quality control. Companies like Dell tend to farm out their cheaper models to other companies and then put their name on it. I purchased a Dell Inspiron 7500 about four years ago only to discover later that I could have bought it cheaper from the company that actually manufactured it. As a side note the Dell ran best when after three years I removed windows and installed Xandros Linux.
IMHO if you consider the recent history of Apple, I can see the Steve Jobs roadshow (said with all do respect, if you ever watch a Bill Gates keynote after a Jobs keynote Gates is snooze city) announcing a mini with superdrive at his next keynote at the $599 mark.
One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?
One Week Later: Mac Mini Still A Good Thing?