It's always sad to see someone cut down in their prime, so brace yourself for some depressing news: if current rumors are true, the smallest member of the Mac family, the young Mac Mini, may be headed the way of the 12" Powerbook. AppleInsider is reporting that the diminutive Mac is set to be phased out of Apple's hardware lineup, the victim, it seems, of the company "evaluating the market segments in which it wishes to participate and those which it does not". It's not hard to see that Apple has shown a lack of interest in the device: in its almost 2-year lifespan it has seen only 4 updates and the current lineup sports 1.66GHz and 1.83GHz Core Duo processors--chips that look extremely dated next to Apple's other offerings. What's more, Apple spokespeople have often claimed that the company has little interest in participating in the sub-$800 PC market and given its comparatively thin margins, it certainly wouldn't come as a surprise if Apple decided to leave the Mini behind. Though the site does not reveal its sources, it assures readers that "AppleInsider believes in all sincerity that the Mac mini is dead."

For more on the headless Mac's impending date with the guillotine:
- see this AppleInsider article [1]