Mac mini 2010
Tue 2010/07/06 15:01 JST
Been looking for a replacement of the WDTV Live unit I had before because I was not totally happy with using a small remote to browse through my anime collection. Was thinking about something cheaper like the Acer Revo Atom based net top computer. But didn't want to have to continue servicing a Windows machine. So this is what it came down to....
Great little aluminum box measures 7.7" square, 1.4" tall.
Deboxing....
Minimal packaging.
The bottom can be opened and lets you access the memory chips.
Connected to the TV via an HDMI cable. For more deboxing photos, visit here.
Ooh, i've wondered about the HDMI capabilities on this little machine...so how's it like using your tv as a screen instead? Is the definition a lot clearer than that of a regular screen?
I am not using the TV as a monitor screen, I use it to watch movies and anime. So the crispiness of text is not as critical. With the Mac mini, Apple has supplied a special Screen resolution preference pane that allows you to choose 720p or 1080p instead of the width x heigh resolution. I only have a 720p TV so the text appears to be coarser than that in my iMac (1080p equivalent resolution). The only reason HDMI matters to me is because I am hooking it up to a TV. HTH.
That's good to know at least, i wanted one to stream videos and such.
Very nice. Been looking at mini to be act like a media server for movies and such as well. Guess Apple is thinking the same since added the special resolution options to the OS.
I also installed AirVideo Server on the Mac mini. With the AirVideo client installed in my iPad, I can stream the anime to my iPad anywhere in the house. The Mac mini is plenty fast enough for real time converting 720p videos. If you ever get the Mac mini, let us know what tips and tricks you have to enjoy your movies. Cheers.
Can you recommend any other Mac apps?
I like to squeeze as much out of my computers as possible.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
I use Hazel to help me organize files with ease. It is like Automator on steroids. I also use Coda for some PHP and CSS coding, I found it to be a friendlier experience than BBEdit. I am sure you have heard about QuickSilver, VLC, Handbrake, and Skype. If you like to monitor your network activity in and out of your Mac, LittleSnitch is a small little utility kinda like ZoneAlarm.
Thanks :)
Found a lot of good apps here . .
http://en.softonic.com/mac/disk-files/2
Looks like a good resource, thanks!
I picked up my first Mac 3 weeks ago. A Macbook Pro 15" i5 500gb. I'm enjoying it so much that my studio will be using Mac's as the key machines. I have a Quad core, Core 2 Duo and Dual core and these will become backup machines to my MBP and a Mac Mini. The Quad will still be used for 3D rendering though but will only be switched on when needed.
People might see Macs as a little overpriced. Sure one can put an equivalent PC together for almost half the price but once you've used a Mac in day to day real life you will realise that Mac's are of a quality that is totally missing in the PC scene.
Firstly, Mac's are 64 Bit
Second, the screens are delicious
Third, the touchpads are so PC-untouchpad like and are like a completely new hyper-useable interface
Fourth, the keyboards are real fast to type on
Fifth, networking works very well, none of the PC hastles
Sixth, Mac's come with lots of software including developer utilities and compiler
Seventhly, OSX has some cool features such as cover flow, acceleromators, simple menus, an easy to understand doc, expose, dashboard, time machine and whole lot of other cool features.
Additionally Apple are always thinking of new ways of doing things and making things easier.
The devices they've released make this fairly obvious -re... iphone, ipod, ipad. They're revolutionary.
No doubt Apple achieved this by being a closed system, having authority over both the hardware and software. The payoff is bigtime usability and reliability.
If you haven't tried a Mac yet and you have the money, try one. You will not regret it.
I omitted the fact that Mac's are almost completely quiet and they're sturdily made.
Mac's are ready to use in about 30 seconds and switch off in 2-3 seconds.
Resuming from sleep in 0-2 seconds and power management is superb.
mac r good but not the be all and end all of machine. i have been using MBP since the days of the titanium, for the price u can get so much more from a pc laptop and the worst thing i hate about OSX is Finder is useless compared to Explorer on windows - not explorer the web browser.
I, too, find Finder not very user friendly. If you have time, give PathFinder a try. it is much better than Finder.
Path Finder is awesome. Thanks for that!
On the PC I use Free Commander which makes Windows Explorer look like DOS.
Finder takes a bit of getting used to. I've learnt to change views from list, columns and cover flow when needed.
I like the places feature, but if Apple added multiple folder support that would make it easier.
Cool, what do you do on your Mac? Looks like you are a power user :)
3D modeling and rendering, intense Photoshop, print graphics with vmware and Corel Draw, Splicing and design of webpages in Fireworks and Dreamweaver, planning and tracking of tasks using iGTD - I Get Things Done, Journler and iCal, processing of libraries of images using Jalbum, ThumbsUp, research and development of websites using the superb Quicklook function and GrabberWindow, remote blogging using Qumana, plus many other things with software I thought the Mac lacked.
One fear that kept me from buying a Mac was the thought of not having an app to execute my exact needs. Everything seems to be there except for Corel Draw as Corel has chosen to focus on PC only. I will be exploring illustrator, inkscape and Freehand. I've used these before but need to see how they handle professional print work.
BTW I used Windows 7 for a few hours a few weeks back and didn't like it at all. It seems like MS has made it beginner focused and there was unnecessary info and a few intermediary steps that didn't exist before. Came across as awkward. Currently don't have a good impression of it. Maybe should watch a few Youtube videos on it before passing judgment. OSX has impressed me greatly though.
I use Windows 7 at work and it is okay. Not as fast as I like it to be. I run it on a laptop so maybe that is where the speed penalty comes in, but I still don't understand why it wold take 3 minutes for it to be completely ready from a cold boot. I am glad I don't have to think about that when I get home. I have been using Things and it is pretty good for what it does. I like the fact that I can sync the tasks to my iPhone.
My Win XP Quad core machine boots in 5+ minutes.
I know I have a lot of apps installed but still. I normally switch on and then go make coffee and hot chocolate then boot up my Mac, start working on the Mac and then XP is ready. So long. :(
A couple of things I do regularly on my Win7 notebook: defrag and optimize weekly using UltraDefrag, and using Soluto to delay loading applications so that they are not part of the startup sequence. Hope this will help you with your WinXP load time.
I have been wondering for awhile now...what exactly is this Mac mini? Can anyone explane it to me? please?
A Mac Mini is a small box of a computer which you plug into an LCD monitor or an HD TV. It works like a normal computer but uses Apple's operating system Snow Leopard OS X. You can do word processing or spreadsheets on it or something more creative using Photoshop or Corel Painter. Due to Apple's focus on media consumption it has a variety of tools to allow one to browse, purchase and watch movies or listen to music tracks. In terms of ease of use, features, speed and smooth interaction Mac's are in a league of their own which is why Microsoft are eager to follow Apple's example and are trying to learn as much as possible from the Mac Operating System and how Apple conducts its stores.
The Mac mini is the most affordable Mac. Next is the Macbook, iMac, Macbook Pro and Mac Pro.
Performance-wise they are all extremely capable machines.