The whole idea of a $499 Mac is to offer a cheap opportunity for non-mac users to test the Mac OS X Panther experience: Unix goodness with user-friendly top notch digital media applications.

That covers the great applications that come with OS X (iCal, iChat AV, Mail, Sherlock, Preview, Address Book) along with bundled extras such as iLife (iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes and GarageBand) and Appleworks, for no extra charge.

Think of the Mac mini as a $499 software bundle with a free computer.