Mac Mini Questions Thread

[prodigyblue]

the mac mini sure looks nice, sure it's the cheapest mac ever offered but for 499$ I feel I should be getting more ! OS X sure looks nice and from the demo on the keynote 10.4 is just amazing compared to XP. but 256mb and 32mb video card is really cheap move by apple !!! you can tell they want to make that 45%+ proffit off of those. Paying premium to run OS X is not good enouch of a

reason for me to get one and I think other people feel the same.

[BTallack]

I really can't picture myself drive 150KMs to the nearest Apple retailer just to get them to install a piece of RAM that I as a certified computer tech could easily install myself. Sure I'm not Apple certified, but I don't think that would stop me.

[Southern Patriot]

i was thinking of getting a mini mac sometime wheni can afford to spend the money

but id want to use a kvm as i dont have enough desk space for a second screen.

only problem is all the ones ive seen have ps2 connectors for keyboard and mouse but i want to use usb keyb/mouse is there a kvm that can support use keyb/mouse (that and the mac doesnt have any ps2 ports)

585282638[/snapback]

You can get a USB to PS/2 adapter for the Mac to give it PS/2 ports. I have one that I've used with my iBook and it works fine. They are usually pretty cheap, around $5 to $10.

[Bling3k12]

cswadner: Installing RAM myself is no problem, but to keep the warranty in check, I guess I won't run the risk of installing it myself. My question is, if I took it to the Apple Store, would they charge me to install the RAM that I bought? Would they even install it? I can get good quality 1GB RAM for hundreds less than Apple wants to upgrade from 256MB to 1GB. What I don't want to do is pay them $50+ to do a simple task that would only take 5 minutes tops.

[Southern Patriot]

the mac mini sure looks nice, sure it's the cheapest mac ever offered but for 499$ I feel I should be getting more ! OS X sure looks nice and from the demo on the keynote 10.4 is just amazing compared to XP. but 256mb and 32mb video card is really cheap move by apple !!! you can tell they want to make that 45%+ proffit off of those. Paying premium to run OS X is not good enouch of a

reason for me to get one and I think other people feel the same.

585283340[/snapback]

256MB and a 32MB video card is pretty standard on machines in this price range. In fact, most Dells and HP's in this price range use integrated Intel video with shared memory, which is much worse than what is in this system.

[chavo]

256MB and a 32MB video card is pretty standard on machines in this price range.  In fact, most Dells and HP's in this price range use integrated Intel video with shared memory, which is much worse than what is in this system.

585283556[/snapback]

Now that is just wrong. A 499 dollar PC from Dell gets you much more than this ->

Intel? Pentium? 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB)

Microsoft? Windows? XP Home Edition

40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive

FREE (3-5 Day) Shipping!

FREE Memory Upgrade to 512MB!

FREE 15" Flat Panel Monitor Upgrade - Online only!

You get 512M of Ram, 2.8Ghz CPU, Free shipping and a 15" LCD monitor.

Plus you get, keyboard, mouse and a full size case. Not some little toy.

Now I'm not knocking the people that go out and spend extra money on an Apple computer. There is absoultely nothnig wrong with this. But you can't be spreading misinformation like it is fact.

[mikedc1760]

Now that is just wrong. A 499 dollar PC from Dell gets you much more than this ->

Intel? Pentium? 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB)

Microsoft? Windows? XP Home Edition

40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive

FREE (3-5 Day) Shipping!

FREE Memory Upgrade to 512MB!

FREE 15" Flat Panel Monitor Upgrade - Online only!

You get 512M of Ram, 2.8Ghz CPU, Free shipping and a 15" LCD monitor.

Plus you get, keyboard, mouse and a full size case. Not some little toy.

Now I'm not knocking the people that go out and spend extra money on an Apple computer. There is absoultely nothnig wrong with this. But you can't be spreading misinformation like it is fact.

585283604[/snapback]

Well, I do see your point BUT you are getting OSX and not a Windows machine. I don't want too turn this into a Mac vs PC thread so I won't get into the differences because I am sure we already know them all to well.

[mojomonkee]

this is where he got that dell information:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/f...s=19&l=en&s=dhs

that spec sheet data you posted doesn't say ANYTHING about a video card (which leads me to believe it's integrated intel Xtreme graphics). also, it's folly to compare cpu speeds between x86 and PPC (i.e. saying that a P4 2.8 is exactly twice as fast as a G4 1.4).

moreover, you are paying for portability with the mac mini. the mere fact that the mac mini is small is what makes it such a bargain at that price. miniturization is the reason that laptops and desktops aren't the same price... it costs more to produce parts that take up half the space. if apple was selling a mac with these specs in a machine the size of a G5 desktop, then i'd side with you but in this case, the mac mini is so small that the price and size are very impressive.

to summarize:

the dell has more RAM and a 15" LCD monitor.

the dell has less video RAM, is way larger, doesn't have a cd burner or dvd drive (mac mini has a combo drive) , and comes with what is, in my opinion, an inferior operating system... yes that is quite subjective.

Edited January 13, 2005 by mojomonkee

[thetman]

when i fist heard rumors about hte low price and small size of a this mac, i thought it would be cool to use it as a "media center", since it doesnt have svideo or anything what are my options for hooking this up to a tv?

[Southern Patriot]

Now I'm not knocking the people that go out and spend extra money on an Apple computer. There is absoultely nothnig wrong with this. But you can't be spreading misinformation like it is fact.

585283604[/snapback]

Exactly what misinformation was I spreading? I simply stated that MOST Dells and HP's in this price range have similar specs, and have WORSE video cards. Have you ever used the Intel Extreme video that comes standard on most low end machines? I have, and it quite honestly blows, and would be no match for the Radeon 9200 in the Mac mini. Yeah, you found a good deal on that Dell, congratulations. But the fact remains that it's still a Windows PC, it doesn't have a dedicated graphics chip or graphics RAM, doesn't have FireWire, and wouldn't be considered by most of the people that Apple is marketing the Mac mini to (people who want to replace a PC with a Mac for as little money as possible).

[Southern Patriot]

when i fist heard rumors about hte low price and small size of a this mac, i thought it would be cool to use it as a "media center",  since it doesnt have svideo or anything what are my options for hooking this up to a tv?

585283735[/snapback]

One of the optional accessories for it is a DVI to composite video adapter.

[.....]

i was thinking of getting a mini mac sometime wheni can afford to spend the money

but id want to use a kvm as i dont have enough desk space for a second screen.

only problem is all the ones ive seen have ps2 connectors for keyboard and mouse but i want to use usb keyb/mouse is there a kvm that can support use keyb/mouse (that and the mac doesnt have any ps2 ports)

585282638[/snapback]

There's actually a Belkin KVM Switch on the Apple store that has USB (it's listed on the accessories page for the Mac mini too, I think)

[chmsant]

cswadner: Installing RAM myself is no problem, but to keep the warranty in check, I guess I won't run the risk of installing it myself. My question is, if I took it to the Apple Store, would they charge me to install the RAM that I bought? Would they even install it? I can get good quality 1GB RAM for hundreds less than Apple wants to upgrade from 256MB to 1GB. What I don't want to do is pay them $50+ to do a simple task that would only take 5 minutes tops.

585283518[/snapback]

They may or they may not. It is up to the individual stores for decisions such as that. As I mentioned earlier, find another service provider (non apple store) and i'm sure you can get it done for really cheap. http://wheretobuy.apple.com/locator should help you out with that.

[fukachu]

i just want to simply thanks those for comming here and posting information on this lovely machine. while i will personally wait for tiger b4 i seriously consider spending the cash im finding the information very useful, so thank you all. and trolls im sure you must have something better to do, we all like different products etc, so there is no need to come into a mac zone and complain :)

thanks again those who helped answer peoples questions here.

[DjmUK]

Finally read all the replies and here's the bottom lines:

- Tiger is due for release June 30th 2005

- Tiger is both 32-bit & 64-bit (so it will work on the Mac Mini)

- 3rd Party RAM will work (hardware tricks are unconfirmed, but I guess we'll find out soon)

- If you wanna' upgrade the RAM yourself you will void the warranty (but it's easy to do), located at the side of Mac Mini

- If you wanna' upgrade the HDD yourself you will void the warranty (but it's easy to do), located at the rear of Mac Mini

- If you wanna' upgrade the Optical Drive yourself you will void the warranty (but it's not so easy to do), located on top of Mac Mini

- USB KVM Switches exist (www.ebuyer.com for 3rd party)

- DVI KVM Switches exist (haven't searched the net as yet)

- Power Supply (aka 'Dells Brick') is external (good move, leave the heat away from the Mac)

- USB 2.0 Hubs will definately work (expanding your USB 2.0 or even USB 1.1 ports)

I'm going to wait until June(ish) for:

- 2nd revision

- Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), no doubt they'll offer this free with all new macs

- Gonna' buy the 512MB version (only ?50 up from 256)

- 3rd Party RAM <-- I doubt it, this would be my first Mac and I do NOT want to hurt it...just yet;))

P.S.

I love this new Mac (and I'm still a Windows user);)) (so I'll get a KVM and integrate it into my current network)

[tiagosilva29]

My question is: how on earth have they managed to make it so cute?! (#^_^#)

[richlin71]

anyone got links of cheap 3rd party ram replacements? crucial.com sells the 1gb for about $226. the specs i've gathered are:

DDR PC2700; CL=2.5; UNBUFFERED; NON-ECC; DDR333; 2.5V; 128Meg x 64, non-parity, 7.5ns

though i'll probably install it myself, how much does the Apple Store charge to do it?

[kainashi]

anyone got links of cheap 3rd party ram replacements? crucial.com sells the 1gb for about $226. the specs i've gathered are:

DDR PC2700; CL=2.5; UNBUFFERED; NON-ECC; DDR333; 2.5V; 128Meg x 64, non-parity, 7.5ns

though i'll probably install it myself, how much does the Apple Store charge to do it?

585286834[/snapback]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductdesc....-141-166&depa=0 ;)

[SerialStorm]

Some of my co-workers went to the Expo and one of them told me the case was similar to iPod.

This means that the case is not as accessable as some of the other Mac's.

To be safe I would have a certified apple Tech work on it and install the ram if not preinstalled.

[heesey1010]

I have a question:

I don't want to install AirPort Extreme right now, but I do plan on having wireless capabilities later on. Are there any external adapter of sorts for the mac? I know there are tons(not really, you get the idea, though) on Windows, but I only found one or two usb adapters that are 802.11b (bleh). Should I install AirPort Extreme during order then? I ask, because I don't want to spend too much right off the bat.

One more extraneous question: i'm at the local apple store and don't see the iPod shuffles. I got word they're coming in Orlando the 22nd. Any reason why? :(

[S.MULLA]

I'm going to wait until June(ish) for:

- 2nd revision

- Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), no doubt they'll offer this free with all new macs

- Gonna' buy the 512MB version (only ?50 up from 256)

- 3rd Party RAM <-- I doubt it, this would be my first Mac and I do NOT want to hurt it...just yet;))

P.S.

I love this new Mac (and I'm still a Windows user);)) (so I'll get a KVM and integrate it into my current network)

585285864[/snapback]

exactly what i'm gonna do to. wait till Tigers released, and most likely they will have a rev2 out by then.. and get a decent dvi-usb kvm switch.

and wait till all this fuss about memory upgrades etc.. :))

[abrooks]

I'm adding this because it something I've read about but its unconfirmed so don't burn me in hell and if anyone has anything to add or correct feel free to do so.

Of course you can buy 3rd party RAM and install it yourself but it will break the Warranty sticker and you'll be screwed for onsite or offsite repairs, but for someone who's experienced that shouldn't really be a problem, but I did read something about the case being very special, as mentioned above I'm under the impression that it has no screws much like the iPod, and having seen pictures of the inside of the case it seems like they are clips but they are in fact not, they are EMF fingers

.... EMF fingers basically help form a faraday cage for the computer.... the reason they are located where they are is because for a faraday cage to work the innards need to be completely metal enclosed in a metal or mesh cage.... the metal fingers preven stray electromagnetic field lines from going in or out of the computer......this becomes increasingly important as clock speeds go up and computers nowadays require them....

most likely there are 4 long #4-40 machine screws (or similar thread pitch and size, maybe smaller knowing apple) that attach the innards to the top cover..... when you pull it appart the metal fingers will slide down and pop outwards when released ... then you replace the RAM and push the fingers back in (they are like leaf springs) when sliding the innards back into the case.

Once again feel free to add or correct anything said here :)

[DigitalFreedom]

cswadner: Installing RAM myself is no problem, but to keep the warranty in check, I guess I won't run the risk of installing it myself. My question is, if I took it to the Apple Store, would they charge me to install the RAM that I bought? Would they even install it? I can get good quality 1GB RAM for hundreds less than Apple wants to upgrade from 256MB to 1GB. What I don't want to do is pay them $50+ to do a simple task that would only take 5 minutes tops.

585283518[/snapback]

I don't know about the Apple Store, but ussually the Apple Authorized resellers that have an apple authorized service center do ram upgrades for free FROM MY EXPERANCE

[richlin71]

i'm mostly interested in running iLife and manipulating music/pictures/video files that are on my pc hard drive (via SMB).

- does iphoto have any problem with using an image library over the network?

- can imovie/idvd output to file so i can use my pc's dvd burner to do the burning?

[DjmUK]

i'm mostly interested in running iLife and manipulating music/pictures/video files that are on my pc hard drive (via SMB).

- does iphoto have any problem with using an image library over the network?

- can imovie/idvd output to file so i can use my pc's dvd burner to do the burning?

585287884[/snapback]

1.) Unknown, but I'm sure it can be done as simple as drag/drop.

2.) iMovie can output to various file formats (including HD), so I don't see why you can't use your PC to burn the outputted file.