what's the practicality of a Mac mini?

i was just thinking... browsing the Apple website...

what's the practicality of a mac mini? why buy it? i just don't see how it is worth it/practical?

I thought about it becuase I do have tv/monitors but i just don't see how this is practical... or if there is anything that you could do extra with it? Just want you guys' opinion and knowledge

thanks

If you had an existing keyboard, monitor, and mouse you could have a decent Mac for under 6 bills. That in itself seems pretty darn inviting to me. I have tons of family members that won't spend several thousand bucks like I did for my new 17" MBP.

true... i guess so... but now a days laptops i think are a way to go... imac i can understand because it is "space" saving...

thanks mdfuller!

IMAC"s have the glossy screens that some of us don't like.

Mini's are fine for 90% of what most folks do. The cost is great, especially on a used one. I use mine to host my media files to my AppleTV and to host my Time Machine HDD for my 2 MacBooks.

AudMan said:

imac i can understand because it is "space" saving...

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Space saving? I think the Mini is pretty good at saving space .

The Mac Mini (Especially the new model) is every bit as good spec wise and performance wise as a Macbook. Look at the specs. Same 1066 Bus, Same 9400M Video Chipset, Same 2.0Ghz CPU. I do not like a Laptop for a desktop system. For less $$$ a Mini gives me a small desktop computer that does everything the Macbook does for less $$$ and I can use my Display(s) and keyboard and mouse.

There is nothing wrong with the Mini at all. What more do you want in a Mac with that small size and lowest price of any Mac?

Only time I would purchase an the lowest cost Macbook over the Mini is if I had to have a laptop and could not afford anything anything besides that.

AudMan said:

I thought about it becuase I do have tv/monitors but i just don't see how this is practical... or if there is anything that you could do extra with it?

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After coming back to your post, I'm a little confused about this statement. If you have a monitor, how is it not practical? Also, what do you want to do extra with it? Clean your clothes?

Many people use it with their TV's as a media hub. Stores music, movies, tv shows, etc. But if you don't need a beefed up mac with the best possible hardware inside, mini is a good option. Especially because you already have everything else to hook it up to.

wi wouldn't get an imac over a mini, especially the new ones. You can get the mini, plus a better keyboard and mouse with a bigger screen for less than the base imac....I think thats a great deal!

i have finished this project since this picture was taken but it was the only one i had handy to show.

i put a small shelf that has no supports on the wall next to my LCD in my bedroom and use my Mini to surf the web and stream videos from my external HDD connected to my apple extreme.

i really like this Mini.

to make it look better which is why there is unfinished parts of the wall on that photo i put a cable line out and electric right next to the shelf so that there are no wires coming down to the ground.

if you want one to do something like i did and dont want to spend a lot of cash then do what i did.

i kept looking on craigslist until i found a cheap "INTEL" mini that someone that didnt know any better would sell cheap since it was old and had an old processor. i picked it up for $125 and it was an Intel 1.5 Single Core Processor. i then bought a 2.16 Dual Core 2 off of ebay for $210 and put that in place of the original.

i now have a mini that screams and only have $335 in it. it doesnt have the new graphics card that is offered but it has DVI out and handles 1080P movies that look great on the 32" LCD.

Mini's Rock!!!!!!

it turned out great and i will post some better pics when i get a chance

ooh the reason for all that patch under the tv and mini shelf is that my stupid wall had studs going horizontally as well and i had to drill holes through it from the outside wall in order to feed my cable and electric line through. there is also patch above the tv as i initially had it to high on the wall and i felt like i was in a hospital bed

whoa... thats what i was looking for... I already have a two powerbooks, and i hook up the laptop to my TV in my apartment room to watch Movies on itunes and etc. but i got to find that the process of hooking up my laptop in and out to be annoying... hence I began to look at minis... posed the question as how practical it is because obviously they made it not to just serve as a computer?

If all you want the mini for is to hook up to your TV to watch movies, you'd do better to purchase an AppleTV.

They're designed for that application, have a much slicker interface and can stream media from your powerbooks.

Plus they're a lot cheaper than a Mac mini!

i was looking at an Apple TV when i found the deal on this Mini. i HIGHLY recommend you look around for a good deal on a Mini before you buy the Apple TV. your mini will play anything without hassle or tweaking and the Apple TV will require a lot of tweaking if you are like me and want to play .img's, .iso's, .mkv's, etc... video without a bunch of work.

just my thoughts

i think mac mini would be good for this because you can also get a wireless mouse and keyboard and just chill elsewhere with a big blown up tv screen

anyways... i don't quiet get the Apple TV? you can watch w/e on your iTunes? or... lets say i have bunch of movies on my hard ddrive... can that stream that to apple tv?

can someone explain a lil of what that can do/

AudMan,

Yes, the AppleTV can stream movies which are in compatible formats straight from your iTunes library wirelessly. So if you have a WiFi network set up, you can just point your AppleTV to your iTunes library on one of your computers (Mac or PC) and using the Apple Remote, choose what you want to watch/listen to from your iTunes library.

It's really not that much bother converting things to compatible formats, programs like Handbrake make it very straightforward, and the speed depends on what processing power you have available. It doesn't take me long at all.

There's the added bonus that you can rent or buy movies and buy TV shows from the comfort of your chair using the AppleTV, you can watch a trailer, decide you want to rent the movie and then press the button and be watching it within a minute (depending on the speed of your connection to the internet)

If you're going on Holiday, you can also sync content onto the drive of your AppleTV. It's nice and slim compared to a Mac mini, so just pack the device and some connecting cables and you can plug the AppleTV into a TV in a hotel room or whatever and enjoy your movies/tv hows/podcasts/photos/music.

cool thanks for the breakdown!

question tho... so then the files i have that are .avi can be converted to iTunes formatting? using that Handbrake?

so to watch something via AppleTV, i have to convert files to iTunes... OR movies i bought from itunes?

you will either have to wait while your stuff converts to something iTunes can play which is what your Apple TV can play or you will have to hack the Apple TV. i am not against the Apple TV but i simply dont like to have an entire season of a tv show or a movie (mostly AVI files) and having to convert them all before i can watch them.

an Apple TV is $329 with the decent sized HDD and i guarantee i can find another mac Mini like mine and within $50 to $75 of that Apple TV have a rockin Mini that will run a full OS and not have to ever deal with any converting.

if the Apple TV ran around $150 then i would not even try to compare the 2 but it is just too expensive for what it does out of the box. granted you can hack it up and make it much more useful.

my 2 cents

AudMan said:

the files i have that are .avi can be converted to iTunes formatting? using that Handbrake?

so to watch something via AppleTV, i have to convert files to iTunes... OR movies i bought from itunes?

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Yes Handbrake can convert many AVI formats to AppleTV/iTunes compatible format.

Yes, in order to watch something on AppleTV it must meet the specifications for video of the AppleTV. This includes files converted for use with iTunes/iPod/AppleTV and things purchased from the iTunes store.

From the AppleTV site:

Video formats supported:

H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p

MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

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I know this is a Mac site right? So a Mac Mini is an APPLE computer. So why are any of you bashing it? I love mine & its more than capable doing some serious work if I so chose. So here are some points.

1) It's real small & it will fit anywhere.
2) It's a DVD player & burner.
3) It is upgradable. I can put 2 1TB cards in it & get external HD's with a lot of extra ports.
4) If you have a dorm room & space is tight you can use it with a huge LCD TV. (I have a 32"). You are stuck with the monitor of the iMac Or laptop.
5) My Mini is fast enough & I can get it to where I can do anything your iMac can do.
If I wanted the best iMac, I mite as well get a Pro & upgrade it as money allows.


Jimbo