Please sir - I want some more...
We bought an original line Mac Mini G4 when they were first released. We were tired of Win2k/XP and really wanted a change; something capable and elegant yet fun.
The base model seemed good value even if a little more pricey than the equivalent spec PC. The promise of an essentially open sourced OS plus a generally willing attitude to make stuff work nicely - especially with our Nokia S40 & S60 phones - was a big factor in deciding to quit MS/PC land. Its ability to work with HD video as standard was definitely a big plus and, if we remember rightly again, ahead of its time.
There was even a complementing DTV/Firewire receiver which Apple marketed with gusto at the time (although this has sunk without trace since) as a well as the Griffin FireWave - a 5.1 Dolby AC3 interface. We couldn't afford it at the time but the promise of having a novel and capable home theatre/gaming platform was certainly something to look forward to.
Plus it could run Halo!
Upgrades were pricey: If memory serves it cost us £399 for the base model with 512MB RAM and the basic superdrive which could read but not write DVDs. The options for 1GB and DVD burner were outrageously expensive - another £150 or so. We waited about a year and fitted our own RAM and optical upgrade for less than £50.
It served us well as our main desktop and did loads of photo's and video which would have been more tedious on a PC platform. But when Apple hobbled it after just a couple of years by ending support for PowerPC - no Snow Leopard too - we couldn't really see sense in plowing more money Apples way. It's a shame because the rest of the world was really warming up to the Apple ecosystem at the time with hardware & peripheral support getting better.
We considered an upgrade, perhaps to the iMac, but with Steve Jobs' stubborn refusal to incorporate Blu-Ray into the range we decided not to bother with Apple any further.
Our Mac Mini still lives on as a basic file and print server and it works delightfully still. But with the initial outlay and its subsequent assassination by Apple we can't help feeling we deserved better for the dosh - maybe we're not alone?