Scott, I think that I agree with you in principle. The Mini is great for accomplishing basic tasks. It is great for someone that wants to try Mac. It is a neat little computer for the price and size.
All that I'm saying, though, is that I don't think that it is the best value. If you want to get the most for your money, the entry level iMac and MacBook do a lot more than a Mini would at the same price. So, switchers and people that are trying out Mac will have a good affordable time with the entry level Mini. If someone wanted to try Mac, though, they should get the absolute basic Mini configuration, so that they can take advantage of the very low price. If they start upgrading the Mini's processor, memory, and hard drive, they'll spend so much on the upgrades that they would get more computer for their money by buying an iMac or MacBook instead. That's what I mean when I say that, with $1,200 in hand, using that same money will get you an iMac that is twice as powerful as the Mini that you'd buy for the same price. Bryan -----Original Message----- From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Howell Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 5:55 AM To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: My Mac Mini Bryan, I'm not looking to turn this into a pissing contest because in general I find your posts and such of value and informative. You however are really down on the Mini and for no good reason. Your a power user, so the Mini simply is not for you, but in no way does that mean the Mini is useless. Sure it is an inexpensive way to get into Mac and sure if you want the extras like the Apple keyboard and mouse, you have to purchase those separately, but you aren't required to purchase these items either. I say again and will continue to say that for what most folks are interested in, the Mini is a viable machine. If all you do is surf the web, read e-mail, rip/listen to audio, and even some light-duty photo editing, the Mini is more than capable of all this. The Mini can even handle running Fusion and of course the more VMs you want to run, the more horsepower, drive space, and ram you will require. I really think you are not being objective and are very bias against the Mini for whatever reason. I think you see it as an underpowered toy, which is simply not the case. I have an older G4 Mini sitting here that I have converted to a LInux box and despite the fact it's only a 1.4Ghz processor, 512Mb ram, and 80Gb storage, it works great. I said before it has more to do with needs and I think that is a valid argument. The whole point here Bryan is to make potential switchers understand that the Mini is a viable option for someone who is not a power user such as yourself. Otherwise, some may believe that the Mini is so inadequate, that they would not consider purchasing a Mac because the Macbook or iMac is beyond their Financial reach. Does this make sense? On Apr 3, 2010, at 1:23 AM, Bryan Smart wrote: > The only things that the Mini has going for it are that it is the least > expensive Mac, and that it is the smallest Mac. > > Being inexpensive doesn't mean that it is a good bargain, though, only that > it is the least expensive way to get some kind of Mac. > > Being small is important for some special situations, like if you want it to > be a component in a living room entertainment center, or if you plan to stash > it away on a shelf in a closet. > > Neither of these things make it a good desktop Mac, or even a good deal. If > you have no idea if you'll even like a Mac, it is the cheapest commitment to > try it out. If you're sure that you want to use a Mac, though, it doesn't > make financial sense. > > The entry level iMac, the 21.5 inch model with the 3Ghz Core Duo CPU, 4GB of > memory, 500GB hard drive, and accessories, costs right at $1200. This iMac > comes with the full Apple desktop experience. You have a real Apple keyboard > and a Mighty Mouse. You don't need to worry about a monitor, because it's > built in. Its still a very small computer. The difference is that your Mini > lays down on your desk, and the iMac stands up. In some ways, this actually > saves you desk space over the Mini. > > What do you need to get a Mini like that? The Mini doesn't even have a 3Ghz > CPU. The 2.66Ghz is the best you can get, and that Mini starts at $949. Pay > another $100 to get a 500GB hard drive, like on the iMac. Of course, you'll > need a keyboard and mouse like are included with the iMac, and so add an > Apple keyboard and magic mouse. Your Mini has no monitor, though, and you'll > have to buy one, so you'll need a video adaptor. Final check out is > $1,196.00, the exact same thing that you would have paid for the iMac. Not > only that, but unlike the iMac, you still don't have a monitor. You can go > buy a 20 inch one new for $70 at an office supply store, but it will be a low > quality LCD, not the nice wide screen LED display in the iMac. Everything > together will cost you almost $1,300. > > So, when you're finished, you've spent more than you would on an iMac, you > have a slower CPU, a slower hard drive, and a lower quality monitor. Not only > that, but you have a separate monitor/CPU, instead of a combined unit. That > means that your Mini with monitor and keyboard is far less portable than the > iMac would have been. > > Also, for almost the same amount of money, you could have purchased a MacBook > with 4GB memory and a 500GB hard drive for $1,249. That would have matched > the Mini's performance, since the Mini uses laptop guts anyway, except the > MacBook would be extremely portable. > > Even if you got the cheapest Mini, but still got a $70 cheap-o monitor and > accessories, you'll spend over $800. Yes, you saved $400 over getting an > iMac. But you have a 2.26Ghz CPU instead of 3Ghz, you have 2GB of memory > instead of 4GB, and you have a tini tiny 160GB hard drive. To me, that's > pretty much cutting the Mini's performance to half the level of the cheapest > iMac, and only saving $400. Not a deal at all. > > Of course, if your goal is to spend as little as possible on a Mac, then this > will do it. It most certainly, though, is not a deal. > > Bryan > > -----Original Message----- > From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Dan Roy > Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:17 PM > To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com > Subject: Re: My Mac Mini > > Brian, the mini uses a 2.26GHZ processor and, while that isn't as much as the > 3.06GHZ that the IMac uses,it's certainly close. Yes, the internal drive is > a laptop drive, therefore, it runs at 5400 RPM instead of 7200RPM, however, > for some people who just use the internet , listen to music, rip CD's, and > occasional word processing, it's enough. > > Your right though, it shouldn't be such a big deal, but, with the other > supposed limitations, we knew about them before we bought our mini's, but, > the monitor thing, well, it would have been nice to know. > > On Apr 1, 2010, at 9:25 AM, Bryan Smart wrote: > >> I think that people are getting the concept of the Mini all wrong. >> >> The Mini is not a laptop. If you try to use it like some sort of portable, >> then you're of course free to try, but Apple has not designed it to be a >> portable computer, and so, if it doesn't work like that, they won't care >> that you can't make it suit that purpose. Its also not intended to be a >> headless Mac for blind people. >> >> The Mini is designed to fit two types of situations only. >> >> 1. You don't know if Mac is for you, and you want a cheap way to try it out. >> >> 2. You need a low-powered Mac to handle some basic tasks, such as being a >> home or small office server. >> >> That's it. >> >> If the Mini feels underpowered, it is because its underpowered. It is >> powered by a mobile processor, uses laptop memory, and slower laptop hard >> drives. >> >> If the Mini sucks at being a portable computer, it is because it isn't a >> portable computer. Its a cheap desktop Mac. >> >> If the Mini sucks as a headless Mac, then that is because it isn't designed >> to run without a monitor. People are supposed to buy a Mini to use with >> their existing PC hardware, as part of evaluating if they'd like to really >> use Mac in the future. Of course, using a Mac with a PC keyboard and mouse >> means that you miss out on a lot, also. Still, it is a way to try this stuff >> to see if you'll like it, or if it will be a waste of money, without forcing >> you to pay a lot for the chance to try it out. >> >> If you're serious at all about using the Mac, you probably won't stay with a >> Mini for very long. The internal hard drives are slow, the capacity won't go >> any higher than 500GB, the memory won't expand very far, the processor is >> underpowered, so on and so on. >> >> Not trying to rain on your parade. I love hacking around with what's >> possible in equipment. The thing is, if, after using a Mini, you've become >> serious enough to get frustrated with what it can't do, then it is time to >> sell your Mini to another newbie, and upgrade to a MacBook, an IMac, or a >> Mac Pro that will do more. >> >> For example, if you're moving a computer from room to room to browse the >> web, then you really should be using a MacBook. >> >> Bryan >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com >> [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris G >> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 8:30 AM >> To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com >> Subject: Re: My Mac Mini >> >> Hi, >> >> It makes it more convenient to move the mini from room to room within ones >> house. Now you need to move a monitor just to browse the web. >> >> Chris >> >> >> >> On The, 1 Apr 2010 07:23:44 -0400 >> Ricardo Walker <rwalker...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> >>> I was just wondering why people find this so important? Monitors are very >>> cheap and you can even hook up Your Mac to newer TVs. >>> On Mar 31, 2010, at 10:23 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote: >>> >>>> I myself have not reported but I might even though I own a macbook. >>>> >>>> Take care. >>>> On Mar 31, 2010, at 5:34 PM, E.J. Zufelt wrote: >>>> >>>>> Good evening, >>>>> >>>>> Has this issue been reported to accessibil...@apple.com? Perhaps there's >>>>> nothing that they can do, but it might be worth sending a quick message. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Everett Zufelt >>>>> http://zufelt.ca >>>>> >>>>> Follow me on Twitter >>>>> http://twitter.com/ezufelt >>>>> >>>>> View my LinkedIn Profile >>>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 2010-03-31, at 8:31 PM, Dan Roy wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Yes, that's definitely true, I wish I had known that before I purchased >>>>>> the mini, but, live and learn. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Mar 31, 2010, at 8:35 AM, M BROWN wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Several months ago I bought a Mac Mini without a monitor. Everything >>>>>>> went well until I tried to use Safari to browse the web. To say the >>>>>>> least, it was painfully slow, and at times refused to open the web page >>>>>>> at all. All I got was Safari busy. However, when I attached a monitor, >>>>>>> all the above problems went away. Even though I do not have the monitor >>>>>>> powered up, it still works perfectly. So, just a warning to anyone >>>>>>> buying a Mac Mini who intends to browse the web, forget it unless you >>>>>>> have a monitor attached. >>>>>>> Kind regards >>>>>>> Martin >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >> >> >> -- >> Chris G <cgrabowsk...@gmail.com> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
