A couple of weeks ago, we had a chance to check out Plasticsmith’s mini Tower, a clear acrylic Mac mini mounting accessory we thought was an unmitigated success. As it turned out, the company was simultaneously showing a clear horizontal mount (the mini Skirt), and we immediately thought, “hey, that would go really, really well with a glowing blue light.” It turned out that Plasticsmith was already working on one, and it’s just been released.
The mini Skirt glo ($29.95) is actually available in both blue and white versions, the latter a bright(er) complement to the minimalistic white power lamp on the Mac mini’s front.
But the blue version offers the dramatic sort of neon glow that fans of modern customized cars and computers will love, casting light at all angles off the Mac mini’s bottom. Power is supplied by one of the Mac mini’s USB ports, and there’s an on-off switch, just in case you want to flip the lamp off without physically disconnecting the plug. Four rubber tips on the Skirt’s top keep your Mac mini’s bottom vents open.
We love the look and the price of the Skirt glo – admittedly, we’re suckers for blue lights, an addiction started by Griffin’s PowerMate and fueled by earlier acrylic offerings from MacMice. If the illumination concept works on any Macintosh, no doubt it’s best suited to the Mac mini, which is cheap enough to leave even students with cash on the table for accessories. The only issue: USB ports on the Mac mini are precious, and some people won’t or can’t occupy one with a purely decorative accessory.