When Apple made a surprising deal, in 2014, to work with IBM to deliver mobile apps for the enterprise, it was certainly a sea change from the original dynamic between these companies. Back in the mid-1980s, IBM built PCs running Microsoft’s MS-DOS text-based operating system. This was years before Windows took over, after becoming good enough with the Windows 95 release.

To Apple, IBM was “Big Brother,” yet another faceless corporation delivering gear that was difficult for regular people to use. For the best possible computing experience, they should buy a Mac, with is pretty graphical user interface.

But as PCs became more commoditized, and it became possible to buy near-identical gear from several companies at lower and lower prices, IBM in 2005 sold off its ThinkPad notebook line and other products to Lenovo. Big Blue decided to concentrate on mainframe gear and services. With its Apple deal, not only were special mobile apps developed for the iPhone and iPad, but IBM began to offer employees the choice of Macs over PCs. It was even announced that, although the initial purchase price might be higher, the total cost of upkeep favored the Mac, resulting in estimated savings of $273 to $543 per unit. PCs were simply more complicated to manage.

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For quite some time now, we have been witnessing the agony of Adobe’s multimedia browser plugin, Flash Player. While the platform has for a long time refused to go in peace, its end is finally in sight: Adobe has recently announced that it will “end-of-life” its flawed and bulky browser plugin by the end of 2020. The fact that Adobe itself is encouraging content creators to migrate to the new, open formats preferred by the giants of tech, like Google, Facebook, and Apple, is speaking clearly of the platform’s future (or lack of it). But there’s one thing that still bothers the crowds of online fun consumers out there: does this mean the end of browser games as we know them? Well, the answer is most likely no.

There are alternatives

Alternatives to Flash were in the works even before Apple’s Steve Jobs published his famous “Thoughts on Flash“. Unity, one of the most popular game engines today, has seen its first version released in 2005, and HTML5, the cross-platform, plugin-less alternative, has been in the works since 2009. The first one is similar to Flash, relying on a browser plugin to run content, while the second is nothing but a markup language with advanced capabilities to play audio and video, along with performing more complex operations, relying on the browser’s own capabilities and JavaScript (a client-side scripting language).

This means that browser games will not die with Flash – they will be able to migrate to a different platform.

Cross-platform browser games

One of the best examples of HTML5 gaming is the slot machines and other games in the mobile version of the Wild Jack Casino. For lack of a better alternative, the Wild Jack was forced to build its mobile offering on HTML5 – and it made the most of the new platform. Today, players on any device with an HTML5-capable browser can play slots on Wildjack with no need to download and install anything, yet getting the complete – and entirely secure – gaming experience they expect. And the Wild Jack’s HTML5 version can be enjoyed not only on desktop computers but smartphones, gaming consoles, and basically any other device with an internet connection.

Browser games are not dead

Web browser games have always been a quick and casual alternative to “proper” video games, easily accessible and playable to millions of people all over the world. Now that the final warning of the “end-of-life” was issued, game developers can “translate” their existing games and projects to one of the many alternatives, making them available for future generations, too. So, browser games are not dead – they will be reborn in a new form.

Apple’s cheapest Mac arrived in 2005, only weeks after Apple claimed, during a quarterly conference call with financial analysts, that it would never produce a cheap Mac. Well, they actually labeled cheap PCs as “junk,” but the Mac mini was definitely not junk, even though it was, at $499, fairly cheap.

It was no frills in another respect since it didn’t come with a keyboard, mouse or display. No doubt Apple wanted users to make do with the accessories from a PC, since it was a perfect way to switch to the Mac without paying for that stuff all over again. Someone with an older Mac might also find it an inexpensive upgrade path, and I know a few people who made that choice.

The low-profile design, however, wasn’t user friendly when it came to upgrades. The tech media quickly realized you could pry it open with a putty knife or something similar, and, once you had it open, you didn’t have a huge problem upgrading RAM or replacing the hard drive.

When Apple switched to Intel, the Mac mini was updated with a slimmer case and, finally, the ability to easily remove the bottom cover and replace RAM. The price was raised to $599.

The Mac mini was sometimes deployed as a cheap home media server, and some datacenters put banks of them in cabinets for use as low-end web servers. Equipped with an SSD, and maxed out with RAM and the speediest Intel i7 quad-core processor offered by Apple, it actually did a pretty decent job.

As a test, once, I actually switched my sites to a Mac mini for a few months. Our traffic in those days was less than it is now, but still fairly high. The mini handled it with aplomb, and I never received any warnings that the server was overloaded. But remember that a regular web server, such as the Super Micro used by many businesses including web hosts, can be configured with redundant power supplies and extra drives for the reliability required to run 24/7 at full bore.

The Mac mini, good as it was, was meant to be cheap. The best configuration was an external drive, in case your server malfunctioned, so you could easily move the drive to another mini and get on with your business.

With the 2014 upgrade, some of the charms of this low-end Mac were lost. Apple restored the price to $499, but cheapened it otherwise, by soldering the RAM, and removing the quad-core CPU option.

There it stood until now. It was fair to speculate that it was going to be discontinued. Yet during that April roundtable with several tech media reps, marketing VP Philip Schiller was positive about the Mac mini, saying it was”an important product in our lineup.” But he also set it aside with the comment, “We weren’t bringing it up because it’s more of a mix of consumer with some pro use.”

The “pro use” no doubt refers to its deployment as a low-cost server.

Although Apple has upgraded all other Macs since that meeting, the mini appeared to be destined for the closeout bin. Well, until a MacRumors reader wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook about its fate.

Clearly Cook knew his comments would be quoted, and he more or less repeated what Schiller said earlier this year, with perhaps a few more wrinkles. He repeated that the Mac mini was “an important part of the product line going forward,” but refused to “share any details” about Apple’s plans.

Of course, that’s Apple’s usual posture about future products. Nothing is said, or admitted, except for an occasional hint, until there’s something to announce or ship.

Since that comment comes so late in the year, it would also be highly unlikely to see a new Mac mini in 2017, or maybe not. I suppose it’s possible one might be announced when the iMac Pro is released in December (assuming it arrives on schedule). That is, if it’s just going to be based on the current model.

It seems more likely that there will be a new Mac mini in 2018, around the time the next Mac Pro arrives. I suppose there’s a slight possibility that Apple might be working on a more robust redesign that could be configured as a low-cost workstation, a cheaper alternative to the Mac Pro for those who can’t afford the latter. Maybe it’ll be closer to an headless iMac.

If that’s the case, the new Mac mini might be designed to reflect older generations that could be easily upgraded in some respects. The $599 price may be restored, but there would be options, such as more powerful CPUs, more RAM and bigger SSDs, that would make it top out at two or three times that price. With a more robust design, it would be a safer bet for the datacenter.

I’ve made various predictions about headless iMacs before, and even suggested Apple look to the HP Z2 Mini Workstation as a possible inspiration for a Mac alternative.

But this is just speculation. I do not have any inside information, but obviously Apple wouldn’t drop hints about the Mac mini’s future unless there was something under development. Otherwise, why even mention it?

Special Feature

There’s no question about it, online gaming sites are big business these days. The industry’s advanced light years from its earliest days in the late 1990s and competition is fiercer than ever.

Some of the big players have tried to counter this with a series of mega mergers but new entrants to the market have to rely on getting everything right from the start if they want to be in with a chance of success. So if you want to be the next big noise in online gaming here are some do’s and don’ts that it would be a good idea to follow.

DO make sure that you have a strong and distinctive theme. With so many sites competing for a slice of the action you’re going to have to stand out to get noticed. Sure you can do this by making great introductory offers but to keep players loyal it’s going to have to offer more than just that.

DO make it easy and intuitive to use. No one wants to have to struggle to navigate their way round a site or find it confusing. Wink Slots ensure that they pay great attention to what’s known as the UX – that’s short for User Experience – by building an online community and having a huge variety of games they appeal to an enormous amount of people. Through offering a brilliant UX they successfully retain many of the varying groups of people that they attract.

DO make sure that your bounce rate is minimised. This links to the previous point but there are also many more reasons why users don’t hang around on a site as long as they might do. So keep on testing even while it’s in development by getting users to try it out for you and identifying when and why they’re tuning out.

DO invest in SEO. Because if you’re invisible online no-one’s every going to find you. For example there’s a frightening drop-off rate for searches once you get to page 2 of Google. That’s why the very best online gaming sites use a variety of techniques to maintain a high position in the search engines.

So that’s it for the do’s but, you’ll be pleased to hear, there are fewer don’ts that you have to worry about – and you can work both of them out from the tips that have gone before.

DON’T make any aspect of your site complicated. That goes for everything from the offers you’re making to new players to the games themselves. And remember that more people play on mobiles than on PCs these days so it must be simple to play on the smaller screen too.

DON’T make it boring. Attention spans are short and novelty is what fuels online gaming. So make sure that once your site is up and running it is constantly changing and evolving. That way you’ll create interest and, more importantly, generate loyalty too.

There’s no denying that it’s a long and sometimes thankless haul when you’re setting up a site but hopefully by following these simple principles it will make the journey simpler and quicker – and if you don’t try you’re never going to succeed. So go for it and within a few years you could well be wondering what all the fuss was about as your brand continues to grow and thrive!

There’s no question about it, online gaming sites are big business these days. The industry’s advanced light years from its earliest days in the late 1990s and competition is fiercer than ever.

Some of the big players have tried to counter this with a series of mega mergers but new entrants to the market have to rely on getting everything right from the start if they want to be in with a chance of success. So if you want to be the next big noise in online gaming here are some do’s and don’ts that it would be a good idea to follow.

DO make sure that you have a strong and distinctive theme. With so many sites competing for a slice of the action you’re going to have to stand out to get noticed. Sure you can do this by making great introductory offers but to keep players loyal it’s going to have to offer more than just that.

DO make it easy and intuitive to use. No one wants to have to struggle to navigate their way round a site or find it confusing. Wink Slots ensure that they pay great attention to what’s known as the UX – that’s short for User Experience – by building an online community and having a huge variety of games they appeal to an enormous amount of people. Through offering a brilliant UX they successfully retain many of the varying groups of people that they attract.

DO make sure that your bounce rate is minimised. This links to the previous point but there are also many more reasons why users don’t hang around on a site as long as they might do. So keep on testing even while it’s in development by getting users to try it out for you and identifying when and why they’re tuning out.

DO invest in SEO. Because if you’re invisible online no-one’s every going to find you. For example there’s a frightening drop-off rate for searches once you get to page 2 of Google. That’s why the very best online gaming sites use a variety of techniques to maintain a high position in the search engines.

So that’s it for the do’s but, you’ll be pleased to hear, there are fewer don’ts that you have to worry about – and you can work both of them out from the tips that have gone before.

DON’T make any aspect of your site complicated. That goes for everything from the offers you’re making to new players to the games themselves. And remember that more people play on mobiles than on PCs these days so it must be simple to play on the smaller screen too.

DON’T make it boring. Attention spans are short and novelty is what fuels online gaming. So make sure that once your site is up and running it is constantly changing and evolving. That way you’ll create interest and, more importantly, generate loyalty too.

There’s no denying that it’s a long and sometimes thankless haul when you’re setting up a site but hopefully by following these simple principles it will make the journey simpler and quicker – and if you don’t try you’re never going to succeed. So go for it and within a few years you could well be wondering what all the fuss was about as your brand continues to grow and thrive!