Feeling a bit lost when you're using a Mac? Well you won't have to stay in the dark and struggle any longer because Apple has just recently launched an official website to help those who are still familiarizing themselves with the company's product. The site includes helpful tidbits of information to make things easier.

Details of the new site after the jump!

FastMac, a company specializing in upgrades for Apple products, announced that it plans on releasing the first 2X Blu-Ray burners for the Powerbook, iBook and MacBook Pro, iMac, and MacMini computers.

The new optical drives can read, write, and re-write to single and dual layer Blu-ray media up to 2x speed. The new component can also read and burn DVDs at 8x speed in single layer and 2.4x speed in dual/double layer modes.

In addition, it can rewrite both DVD-R and DVD+R at 4x speed. If for some reason you need to burn a CD or CD-RW, the new drive can also burn at 8x. Here's a short list of the different systems it is compatible with:

• iBook G4
• iMac G5
• iMac Intel
• MacBook Pro (17-inch)
• Mac mini
• PowerBook G3 Pismo
• PowerBook G4 Titanium (667 Mhz or higher)
• PowerBook G4 Aluminum

If you plan on picking up the FastMac Blu-Ray Drive, it is going for US$ 999.95. It comes with a one year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee. If you want to know more, click on our Read link below.

Microsoft just came out with a sack-load of information about its line of Office suites for Apple platforms. Office 2008 for Macs is the latest installment, allowing for document cross-platform compatibility (the sure-fire way) if you could afford the price. Because for the three offered flavors of Mac-compatible suite, the lowest tag would still cost a student a leg and part of an arm.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition is the cheapest flavor of the three offered packages, but it asks students to shell out US$ 149.99 for its full retail version. A single purchase allows for three licenses, though it comes with limited features, such as no connectivity to Microsoft Exchange servers and automated workflow tools.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is the name of the regular package, though it costs US$ 349.99 for a full license of the retail version. Users can shave off US$ 160 from the price tag if they own a previously licensed version. The package has a good share of features, including most of the core programs of the Office suite: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition rolls as Microsoft's premiere Office for Mac package, costing up to US$ 499.99 for a full retail version. Users can get up to US$ 200 discount if they own a previously licensed version and decide to get the upgrade version instead. Aside from what the regular package offers, Media Edition carries extra tools and features for digital file management, including annotation and distribution of such content.

For the cautious business shopper, there could be another one of those "60-day trial" bundles for new Macs just like Office 2007, but no official word on that has been revealed by the company.

The Mac Mini is by far the smallest desktop computer from Apple. It's been said that it's being targetted at those interested in a low budget personal computer.

While news regarding the product has died down a bit, Steve Jobs has assured the public that it is still very much alive and will be released with a faster processor.

There are two models currently available at the Apple store, the 1.83 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo (US$ 599) and the 2 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo (US$ 799). The lower priced Mac is packaged with 1 GB of ram and an 80GB hard drive, while the higher end unit will also ship with 1GB of RAM and a significantly larger 120GB hard drive. All the units are not pre-packaged with a monitor, keyboard, or mouse but you can order these in addition to your system.

All in all, both packages look like very attractive alternatives to low cost systems. After looking over the specs, this blogger finds himself wishing that Steve Jobs would create a high-end system designed for gaming while retaining the form factor of the Mac Mini. That would just be sublime.

While most people find little or no sense in beating a dead horse, more find it full-out insane in taking a living, breathing thoroughbred behind the sheds and putting it out of its misery with no actual justification whatsoever. It just doesn't work that way. But it seems Apple has other ideas, with the ill-fated workhorse in question being the small, petite Mac Mini.

Retailing between US$ 599 and US$ 799, they offered customers on a budget an affordable, easy-to-use alternative to the ever-so-popular PC when they were released to the market two years ago.

Figure in the pros of being small, light, and pretty much making life less complicated without the forest of wires PC users often deal with, the Mac Mini could have catered easily to the needs of a space-conscious, non-gaming demographic, or those who just needed a personal computer without the hassle.

By all rights, the Mac Mini should have sold big. But it didn't, and all signs are now pointing to its inevitable demise - but it's not as if we didn't see it coming.

Even before the Mac Mini was released, the market it was made specifically for was practically one that didn't exist, as far as some Apple executives are concerned. Like the kid in the middle that fades into the background, neglected and ignored, the Mac Mini also received a grand total of four updates from Apple - including one that the company didn't even bother to write a press release about. Add to this the fact that the Mac Mini's processors had always been more than a step behind from its bigger, shinier cousins (the iMacs and MacBooks). It's a recipe for disaster, and Apple itself was the one to whip it up.

To be fair, Apple tried to give the Mac Mini a shot in the arm, with plans of a built-in iPod dock - but that too was canned even before it left the drawing board, replaced instead with Apple TV. People see this as the final act of letting go, or the trigger-pulling, so to speak. The little Mini was left to continue on its downward spiral towards obscurity.

It's great that Apple regularly puts out great new products that everyone falls in love with (at least after a significant price drop anyway), but they have to love their products back, most of all. It's like Apple is the computer world's Nintendo - but without the continuous support and love for its older children.

Atleast that's what AppleInsider thinks. Do you think the Mac Mini is dead? Let us know what you think.

Don't have enough money for an Apple TV? Don't have a next-gen gaming console? Well, if you have a Mac Mini, then you can still enjoy watching online videos and similar stuff on your TV, thanks to this short little tutorial from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).

As we stated earlier, you'll need a Mac Mini for this to work. And a TV, too, of course, but not just any old TV. According to TUAW, a TV that accepts HDMI, DVI or VGA input probably is easiest, but an old composite TV can still work. Finally, you'll need a cable that goes from either DVI or VGA, depending on your Mini's video out port, into the kind of input supported by your TV.

Once you've got everything ready, just click on the "read" link below to get your MacMiniTV up and running. Still not convinced? Here are this setup's advantages as put forth by TUAW:

• You save the cost of an Apple TV (almost $300) using a mini you already have on-hand. You are only out the cost of a cable. (eBay! eBay! eBay!)
• If your mini has wireless abilities (and it probably does), you can connect wirelessly to other computers on your network and play back content from them. Without Apple TV!
• You can play back a lot more formats than Apple TV.
• No silliness about "up to five authorized machines".
• You can even surf the net on your TV. And do Google and all of that other stuff.
• No useless little "Apple Remote" (unless you want to use it with your Mini). You've got an entire keyboard and mouse to command your mini. That's Power computing!

What're you waiting for? Hit the read link. The tutorial also includes a short how-to about using the Apple Remote with your Mac Mini.

  

Streaming television is a growing market that features industry giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Sony vying for a place right in your living room. But all the hype has left you stumped: the Apple TV has come out and you're wondering if you should change plans on purchasing a brand new Mac Mini with a cheaper, more dedicated Apple TV.

Well, it's really about what you think is right for you. Cost aside, the Apple TV and the Mac Mini are not in the same product category. The Apple TV is an appliance, while the Mac Mini is a compact computer. The compact and sleek Apple TV box shovels video from your computer to your television, while the slightly larger Mac Mini can run a full instance of Mac OS X, allowing you to view movie content encoded in DivX, XviD and VIDEO_TS.

The Apple TV can play anything an iPod can, though it does not fully support 5.1 surround sound. A Mac Mini has 20 GB more of hard drive space, 256 MB more of system memory, three more USB ports, a Firewire port, and room for a decent DVD-writer. The Apple TV does have NVidia-powered video compared to the Mini's Intel integrated feature, and does sport the 802.11n wireless connectivity, making streaming large files smoother.

Aside from all the technical specifications, you might also want to consider that the Apple TV is pretty easy to use. A user-friendly GUI menu and intuitive interface can get you streaming television in no-time. But some people have discovered that the HD capability of the Apple TV is slightly so-so, having problems keeping up the proper frame rate while streaming HD TV in some cases. The Mac Mini, being a computer, requires maintenance, though it is more useful in other things such as serving as a backup file storage.

An Apple TV or a Mac Mini? It's a tough one, but you could probably do with either. On a personal note, you couldn't go wrong with a Mac Mini, if you can afford it.

Have you ever heard of the "Carputer"? Yep, that one where the Intel Mac Mini is installed in a Subaru? Not yet? Then read up, 'cos this post's about it.

That image posted below is actually the "final" product. Sam, over A GThing Science Project, has apparently been cooking up this project for quite some time now ( five blogs' worth, in fact). And at last, after ripping his car, frying not but a few parts and soldering a whole lot of stuff to make the product car-friendly, it's finally finished.

And it sure looks like a whole lot of hard work was put into it. So, if you want to check out exactly how this guy did it, and all the pains that he went through for it, you can check out the site over at the Read Link. We'd have to say, this "homemade project from scratch" sure gives a whole new meaning to the word "perseverance".

Now you can have LightScribe drives in your Mac. Announced by LaCie earlier today, their drives are now Mac-compatible, along with the release of its LightScribe Labeling software.

LightScribe is the software which allows you to create labels on your burned CDs or DVDs without the need for those printer or sticky label papers. The drive has a "direct-to-disc" label technology that etches it right on the disc itself. You can even make it funky by putting in an artwork or whatever design you may be so inclined to put. The announcement is particularly fantastic, because although there are already some Mac users who have had the LightScribe drives for a while now, it is only now that LaCie's software allowed for it to be Mac-compatible.

The drives are already available for just under US $100, while the software comes free with the drives. The LightScribe labeling software is also released for Linux.

Looking for an IP-PBX solution for your needs but can't find something that both works and appeals to your sense of aesthetics? Well, maybe this time we've got the answer for you in the form of Berlin-based 4S newcom GmbH's iBlue.

iBlue is an IP-PBX system based on the company's own software-based 4S IP PBX software. The whole thing uses SIP for VoIP and runs on a Mac Mini. In order to use the Mac Mini as an IP PBX, the iBlue boots off of an iPod Shuffle, which has been engineered to host the complete system, from OS to IP PBX. 4s's complete system is so small that even the 512MB Shuffles still leaves room for almost 4 hours of music, so once the iBlue has been booted up you can unplug the iPod Shuffle and enjoy the tunes you put in there.

Slick, eh? It's pretty-looking too, what with the simple design and the eye-grabbing iPod Shuffle sticking out of it. The iBlue is also pretty small, and even though it's not the smallest IP-PBX system out there, it's certainly small enough not to get in your way.

Takers can grab this baby (the package includes both the Mac Mini and the iPod shuffle) for Â? 2,999 (US$ 3,766) when online sales commence on November 6th. If that price tag sounds a bit too steep for you, keep in mind that 4S is also throwing in five snom300 VoIP phones, with the software licensed for up to 250 users and 30 parallel calls.