Mac Mini destined to be your Media Center?

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the Mac Mini since seeing it pop up today through the MacWorld Keynote IRC feeds and finally reviewing the specs on the Apple site and store. While it certainly would make a great Mac if you are a developer looking for a small footprint machine or a second mac at home (actually even as a first mac), I think the real application this box wants is a media server.

People are already using their macs as media servers through various other tools like an Eyehome or a Squeezebox, but this is a standalone super capable device that could easily be used (perhaps in conjunction with an EyeTV for DVR functions) as a full media center Mac. The only thing that seems to be missing in the box is a digital audio out option.

What’s really needed now though more than anything is a simple application or User Interface for the bigger screen that would enable dare I say the 10 foot experience you’ve heard quite a bit about from Microsoft. If I was Slim Devices, or El Gato or probably quite a few others who have been playing in this space, I would be all over the opportunity to customize the Mac Mini into a media center. I actually just noticed that El Gato is about to release something called eyeconnect, which looks quite promising! Perhaps a great start to the Mac Media center foundation…