Cheers to the Mac mini, Apple most versatile computer (Macworld/Jason Snell)

At Macworld Expo in January 2005, miniaturization was on Steve Jobs’s mind. Since the world was in the midst of iPod fever, most of the focus was on the tiny iPod Shuffle. But 21 years ago, Apple’s CEO also unveiled one of the most notable new Macs of all time. Yes, the Mac mini is now old enough to drink.

As someone who has owned many different Mac minis over the years, I’m about to extoll the virtues of Apple’s tiny, versatile Mac wonder. But even I, a noted Mac mini lover, have to admit that the most important thing about the Mac mini was its price.

It cost $499, which is still the lowest list price ever for a brand-new Mac. (The cheapest starting list price for a current Mac at the moment is the $599 Mac mini.) As Jobs pointed out, this price meant that Apple was cutting all the frills out of the Mac mini’s packaging: This was strictly BYODKM, or Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse.

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