Mac Mini?

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

Just wondering if any of you have one and your opinions on it. As far as I can gather it's the equvilant of a tower with no optical drive, am I correct? I really want to make the jump from pc to Mac so I thought this might be a good way to try it at my own pace and to see if I can get it to work for me before I drop a few g's on a Macbook Pro. Basically is it worth the money and use it with my hdtv and purchase a keyboard and mouse or do the iMac's really offer another $600 worth of value. I would only be purchasing the baseline model of either one because if I can finally figure out how to use the OS in all it's glory I want to purchase a top of the line Macbook Pro. Thanks in advance for your help and opinions

 

[anon(631531)]

Just wondering if any of you have one and your opinions on it. As far as I can gather it's the equvilant of a tower with no optical drive, am I correct? I really want to make the jump from pc to Mac so I thought this might be a good way to try it at my own pace and to see if I can get it to work for me before I drop a few g's on a Macbook Pro. Basically is it worth the money and use it with my hdtv and purchase a keyboard and mouse or do the iMac's really offer another $600 worth of value. I would only be purchasing the baseline model of either one because if I can finally figure out how to use the OS in all it's glory I want to purchase a top of the line Macbook Pro. Thanks in advance for your help and opinions

I went from a PC to a MacBook Pro a couple of years ago, and i'll never go back. IMHO, it's a much smoother OS (i have lion), and just a better overall experience.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I'll answer even though you hate my guts...lol!

The mac mini is what me and my wife have running our entertainment unit...we have a 2010 model (so ours has the optical drive), it is running OSX 10.8 and is currently controlling our entire entertainment network (3 hard drives full of movies, TV shows and what not), is used constantly on TV to watch YouTube, Netflix and other online streaming video feeds. We play a fair amount of games on it online and obviously its used to browse the internet and stuff (which is cool to do on a big screen, especially when you're showing pictures and stuff off to family or friends). It's connected to our main plasma TV via HDMi cable and was easy and effortless to setup for 1080p (a little box pops up on your top menu bar with all the settings for TV's you could ever need).

Ours has 1 HDMi input, 4 USB inputs (but we have a splitter which made things easier), and some audio connectors that don't get used (we run ours through an HDMI cord from the TV to the surround sound so we can get digital sound via Optical audio, which the Mac Mini doesn't offer). So far, it's been awesome, and we've had no problems out of it...it still has the original 320GB hard drive in it but that hardly ever gets used because there are 3 hard drives connected to it that are each 2TB...lol. It has a magic mouse and keyboard, both of which are phenomenal for everything except really precise graphic arts stuff (my wife does a good bit of post production video work and has to use a much more reliable and detail oriented mouse to get anything going wirelessly).

To add, it has a very good WiFi setup (and can connect to 5Ghz networks easily), all of our internet gadgets are in the same entertainment unit so ours is hardwired to the router, makes for better connections but they were perfect wirelessly too.

All in all, it's been a little trooper, and i can't imagine our entertainment unit without it...we were planning to replace it with a newer one, but haven't really had a need to because we've experienced really zero slow down on it (this might be an issue if you were looking to use it as a primary computer for your home)...it's also nice to have the optical drive right on the unit, but i think the USB powered optical drive from Apple is like $50 online if you look hard enough...so no big money to add that.

 

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

I don't hate you LOL, I just think you have came across rude but hate is a strong word and I def. wouldn't use it about someone on the internet I have been wanting to switch to Mac because everyone I know never has any issues but I anytime I have tried to use one it always takes me forever and I get confused lol. I figured it would be a good way to have it in my home to try and figure out the os in my own time and if I hated it, it wouldn't be a substantial amount of money that I lost if it didn't work out. Thank you for the info and sorry if I was rude to you, hopefully we can be on better e-terms

 

[anon(4698833)]

I can drink to that...to better e-times! (i also apologize for coming across brash, i can certainly be a big horses ass sometimes, but i mean well most times, lol)

The great thing really about any Apple product is that the moment you decide it's not for you, the value it holds will not hurt you too bad if you decide to resale it. That said, i can't imagine anyone wanting to get rid of a mac once you see how well it integrates into something you use as often as your TV. You will literally find yourself using things like YouTube in ways you never imagined before, watching channels on YouTube like TV channels...its weird, and while it's certainly not limited to macs to integrate like this into home theaters, they definitely make it more user friendly, setting up a home theater with a Windows based computer is not anywhere near as simple (i did my mother and father in laws and their setup took a while to work fluidly like ours did...and some things are still wonky even now).

 

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

I own a all the bells and whistles smart tv, I barely use netflix and have a streaming device in my bedroom so I'm not sure if i'd get a ton of use out of it for those things but you never know. I don't think I would have issues with slow preformance, it would only be used to browse the internet really I am so used to having everything be portable I don't think I'd want to change that which is why I want a MacBook Pro but I have always wanted a desktop as a secondary computer for the larger screen at home without having to sit in the floor and super close to the tv because my hdmi cord doesn't reach the couch. My only other questions would be would this support an external optical drive as well as a webcam? Also from what I gather you won't get sound unless you use surround sound speakers?

 

[anon(631531)]

I'd like more info about the Mac Mini for my wife. As i've stated in another forum, she needs a small size device, with wifi + internet, and the ability to plug a thumb drive directly into the device. She wants Apple only, and i agree that they make the best computers.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I own a all the bells and whistles smart tv, I barely use netflix and have a streaming device in my bedroom so I'm not sure if i'd get a ton of use out of it for those things but you never know. I don't think I would have issues with slow preformance, it would only be used to browse the internet really I am so used to having everything be portable I don't think I'd want to change that which is why I want a MacBook Pro but I have always wanted a desktop as a secondary computer for the larger screen at home without having to sit in the floor and super close to the tv because my hdmi cord doesn't reach the couch. My only other questions would be would this support an external optical drive as well as a webcam? Also from what I gather you won't get sound unless you use surround sound speakers?

Yes, it will support really any USB device (including an optical drive and webcam).

The easiest way to use the audio out on the Mac Mini is to get one of these 922-6540 | Monster 6ft Cable - Mini to Optical Toslink for Airport Express/G5 iMac | The Mac Store ...outside of that, you can use the 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA adaptor...you'll get sound, but it it'll be stereo channel at best.

@grunt0300...the mac mini supports the newest WiFi settings (and 5Ghz band routers) so wireless internet is no problem...they also have 4 USB inputs (that can be expanded with a USB hub), so yes, you have plenty of usb real estate. The Mac Mini's are pretty awesome little machines, and ours just continuously stays on (downloading what not, and obviously being used), and we haven't even had as much as a hiccup from it.

 

[anon(631531)]

Yes, it will support really any USB device (including an optical drive and webcam).

The easiest way to use the audio out on the Mac Mini is to get one of these 922-6540 | Monster 6ft Cable - Mini to Optical Toslink for Airport Express/G5 iMac | The Mac Store ...outside of that, you can use the 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA adaptor...you'll get sound, but it it'll be stereo channel at best.

@grunt0300...the mac mini supports the newest WiFi settings (and 5Ghz band routers) so wireless internet is no problem...they also have 4 USB inputs (that can be expanded with a USB hub), so yes, you have plenty of usb real estate. The Mac Mini's are pretty awesome little machines, and ours just continuously stays on (downloading what not, and obviously being used), and we haven't even had as much as a hiccup from it.

Thanks Sean. Could you please give me a price range? This may be a great Christmas present.

 

[anon(4698833)]

Thanks Sean. Could you please give me a price range? This may be a great Christmas present.

I think the new one starts at like $599...but you can get a mid '10 model for like $350-$400 range, upgrade the internals a bit (more ram, HD if you need it) and be set for next to nothing. You'll need a keyboard and mouse too if you don't buy new, price on that just depends on what range of features and manufacturer you go with.

 

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

Thank you for all your help, I think I will be making a trip to the Apple store this week