Apple to Launch New Mac Mini at Next Week's Media Event?

Apple is reporting that Apple will announce a new version of the Mac Mini at next week's rumored media event, alongside the 13" Retina MacBook Pro and the iPad mini.

These new Mac minis are said to begin shipping immediately after announcement. Apple last redesigned the Mac mini with a unibody aluminum enclosure in 2010, and last updated the computer with faster processors last summer. These current Mac minis are on last-generation chipsets and lack USB 3.0, so we should be seeing those components updated in these new models.

According to the report, the Minis will come in similar configurations to current Mini models, two standard versions and a third setup that runs Mountain Lion Server.

The Mac Mini is overdue for an update; the last refresh occurred in July 2011, some 450 days ago.

Set Location Based Reminders with Siri

Siri is getting more and more useful, and one of the better uses for Siri are location based reminders. With location reminders, you can have Siri remind you to do things like make copies when you get to work, feed the cat when you get home, and just about any other task that would be helpful to be reminded of upon arrival or departure. This tends to work best with iPhone, but it works with iPad too as long as Siri is enabled.

For Siri to adequately serve you location based reminders, you will need to have locations defined for yourself for places like Home, Work, School, etc, and addresses set for contacts. Don’t worry, if Siri doesn’t know the address for a contact or common place, you will be asked to provide one. You will also need to have Location Services turned ON for Reminders and Siri. This can be done through Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

Create Location-Based Reminders with Siri
To set a new location dependent reminder, summon Siri as usual then use verbiage like the following:

Remind me to ___ when I get home
Remind me to ___ when I leave home
Remind me when I get to school to ___
Remind me to ___ when I leave work
Remind me to ___ when I get to work
Remind me to ___ when I get to ___ house
Remind me to ___ when I leave here
Example Reminders Dependent on Locations
Here are a few practical examples of how such phrases could work:

Remind me to overfeed the dog when I get home
Remind me to get gas when I leave
Remind me to say happy birthday when I get to Moms house
Remind me to pick up milk when I leave work
Remind me to turn in my assignment when I get to school
For the last example, you do not need to specify a location because Siri will assume you mean leaving your current location as determined by GPS or internet. The reminder will therefore appear whenever you depart the current location, regardless of where or what it is.

As mentioned before, if Siri does not know the address for a location you request or a contact you mention, you will be asked to provide one by adjusting that contacts details.

Though Siri is still in beta, Siri is undoubtedly becoming more and more useful, and if you aren’t using it yet to perform common tasks you should start doing so now, intelligent assistants will only be getting better.

Oh and finally, if you don’t have Siri, remember that Mac users can also set Location Reminders with OS X 10.8 and later, though they are dependent on internet access in order to know where you are. If you do have a Mac and an iOS device with Siri though, any created reminder will sync across everything as long as the same iCloud account is used on each device.

Apple's 'iPad Mini' Media Event Reportedly Scheduled for October 23

AllThingsD reports that Apple appears to be planning to hold a media event on Tuesday, October 23 to introduce the "iPad mini", Apple's smaller tablet device said to be carrying a display measuring 7.85 inches diagonally.

As AllThingsD reported in August, Apple will hold a special event this month at which it will showcase a new, smaller iPad. People familiar with Apple’s plans tell us that the company will unveil the so-called “iPad mini” on October 23 at an invitation-only event.

That’s a Tuesday, not a Wednesday, so this is a bit of a break with recent tradition. It also happens to be just three days prior to the street date for Microsoft’s new Surface tablet.

Physical mockup of rumored iPad mini design
The location of the event is unconfirmed, but the report suggests that it is likely to be held at the company's Town Hall auditorium at its corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California.

AllThingsD has an excellent track record regarding Apple media event rumors, giving this claim a high probability of proving true. Given past history, Apple would be expected to send out invitations early next week if the event is to be held on October 23.

Update: The Loop's Jim Dalrymple weighs in, confirming the date with a "Yep."