# Any reason I shouldn't get a Mac Mini to replace my old pc? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314 "2005-08-09T18:31:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/61 "2005-08-14T07:23:17Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > What I call “reliable” - it can open multiple browsers and handle multiple grinding tasks at one time without freezing or crashing erratically (no checkmark for my eMachine in _that_ box); it isn’t susceptible to the billions of viruses, trojans, spoofs and worms out there; it can run any program that I can buy for it that is supposed to work within its parameters without freezing or crashing (yet another lack of checkmark for my eMachine). You are going to _so_ love a Mac. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/62 "2005-08-14T19:07:02Z")
> [@](#): > > …You are going to so love a Mac… - - - Especially if she hates having money in her wallet. Any home-PC from that era probably shipped with WinME on it. If she wants a slow computer with a stable OS, she could get some RAM and WinXP for about $130. Even adding $50 for a antivirus program–that’s still $320 ahead of buying a Mini… with a new 7200-RPM hard drive (100-Gig for about $80 or so) its gonna run faster too… > [@](#): > > …Its slooooooooow. I don’t care what anyone here says about that. I know from first-hand use of Macs and PCs that they seem more sluggish. Also note that the intel PCs that are running OSX now are actually much faster. Microsoft Word and Excel are reeeeeeaaaaally slow… -Told ya! 😃 …Apple has engaged in massive bullshit about their products’ performance for many years now. There was no good way to make direct comparisons, and Apple was probably quite happy about that. They used to insist that yes their hardware was technically slower, but their brilliant OS architecture more than made up for that… and then… they tossed out their home-grown OS and adopted BSD for OSx. -So then what happened to the brilliant architecture? The funniest part of all this “OSX on PC” business is that Mac users are finally going to see what lame hardware Apple has been sticking them with all this time. - And I’ll bet–many professional Mac users are going to be switching to PC hardware. _Speed is good_. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/63 "2005-08-15T00:43:48Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > Its slooooooooow. I don’t care what anyone here says about that. I know from first-hand use of Macs and PCs that they seem more sluggish. Well, a 1.4GHz G4 is going to seem slow compared to your Athlon. One does not buy the mini to get the fastest Mac hardware available, that’s for certain. As for Office on the Mac: it’s a sad fact that few software publishers spend nearly as much time optimizing Macintosh-compatible vsns. of software apps. Office is no exception. This can be an especially glaring problem when it comes to games: Not only do the Mac ports come out no less than six months later, they’re usually more buggy and unrefined than the WinTel counterpart. It can often take a year or more before Mac games perform as well as they should on current hardware, and by then, the title is old news. Economics essentially preclude any other scenerio. It’s not at all certain that the MacTel migration will solve this problem. Apps that are properly optimized to take advantage of PPC hardware (Photoshop is a star example) perform remarkably well compared to PC iron, on a cycle-for-cycle basis. > [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > But what I’d really reccommend is to wait on the purchase of that Mac mini. As you may know, Apple is moving to Intel cpus in the near future. I believe the first ones are expected early 2006. That’s a long time to wait for a PC but I think it is seriously worth it. From what I learned they will be updating the lower end of the line first (eg minis and ibooks) It’s not impossible that this is actually true, So Sayeth the Gospel According to Steve. The reality facing any Mac purchaser: There is no reality. What the future holds is a secret garded with almost paranoid jealousy, and, given the very fact we’re discussing switch to Intel at all, Gawd Only Knows what’s truly coming next, or when, exactly, oustide of the Infinite Loop. Whatever we’re told is what Apple wants us to believe, not necessarily what is. If one is unwilling to wait more than a few months to make a purchase, one should simply buy the best of what’s available now for the least money. Again, I heartily recommend buying a used or refurb iMac at this point, as you’ll get a cut rate on a very decent machine that will not really feel obsolete for a couple more years, at the earliest. The mini is a curio that’s obsolete today. > [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > This would take care of both of my concerns in one fell swoop. It will be faster due to the intel chips and the lack of games will likely be negated due to the fact that its easier to make ports to the Mac. If not there’s always running emulation or even dual booting. Apple has said they won’t do anything to prevent people from booting windows. Why should they? They make their money on the hardware. I’m not sure about the software ports. OSX and Windows have rather different APIs, etc.; so, depending on what compilers vendors are using, it will either be slightly easier, or just as difficult, to port to the Mac platform as before, and the economic impediments to optimization will still be there in full force. You are correct, though, that it will probably be a lot nicer in the future running Windows on a Mac. Probably it will be no worse than running Windows on a Linux box using the sundry virtualization packages available, and might even be better. I expect Microsoft will have a vsn. of VirtualPC for MacTel ready by the end of 2006-early 2007, and it will be interesting to see how that performs. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/64 "2005-08-15T02:34:27Z")
I spent the bulk of the afternoon playing IT for my Mother in law. We purchased an external HD to back up her stuff as her LIVELYHOOD is stored on that laptop. My first impression was how pig slow the laptop was. (A not too old Celeron) Then I noticed her Internet Temporary Items folder was 2.1 _Gb_…considering everything else on the hard disk came to 9Gb, it seemed a little odd. Moreso if you listed the files in the directory. A file list shows 411 files at 5.7 mb useage. The _properties_ tab for the folder shows _92,000_ files at 2.1 Gb. Boot to safe more, nuke the folder and sonofagun if stuff does run better! Golly what a valuable benefit in owning the most popular, fastest, cheapest hardware. It may be faster, but only if the gears aren’t gummed up. Alas, I get to do this for one family member or the other every three to 5 months. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/65 "2005-08-15T03:36:11Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - Especially if she hates having money in her wallet. Any home-PC from that era probably shipped with WinME on it. If she wants a slow computer with a stable OS, she could get some RAM and WinXP for about $130. Even adding $50 for a antivirus program–that’s still $320 ahead of buying a Mini… with a new 7200-RPM hard drive (100-Gig for about $80 or so) its gonna run faster too… > \ I’ve maxed my RAM out and turned my temporary Internet files to the lowest setting - my speed isn’t great, but it isn’t bad. It’s the erratic freezing and crashing and not running programs that’s pissing me off. Oh yeah, I’m running Windows 98, too - which I’m actually happy to do, because viruses aren’t that backwards compatible (usually - fingers crossed). I don’t believe I can upgrade 98 to XP, and I wouldn’t if I could. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/66 "2005-08-15T04:11:44Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > with a new 7200-RPM hard drive (100-Gig for about $80 or so) its gonna run faster too… Uh Uh, I bought a new 7200-RPM hard drive on Friday for $79.99. 200GB not 100GB. This is a good time to upgrade because of the back-to-school sales. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/67 "2005-08-15T11:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > …I don’t believe I can upgrade 98 to XP, and I wouldn’t if I could… - - - Well, if you installed on a new hard drive, then nothing of the Win98 OS would be involved anyway–that only happens if you upgraded the same OS on the old hard-drive. You could connect the old drive as a slave later and copy off any files you wanted to transfer. - When you say “the RAM is maxed out”, do you mean that the motherboard is already running as much as it can? Or that all the RAM slots are occupied? 512 megs was a common motherboard limit at the time, but if you’ve got two or three slots and each has some-smaller-value-than-256-megs in it, then you see what I’m getting at. You’re better off chucking the old RAM and buying two sticks of 256-meg. - Also, you’d want to have a broadband or DSL connection and a router firewall to get the initial OS updates on, and download and install ZoneAlarm and any other big freeware programs you like. There is some bother involved in getting an XP PC rolling, but it’s a one-time-per-install deal and it’s still considerably less money than the Mini. XP=$82, 120-gig Seagate hard drive = $82, 512 megs of DDR RAM = $50, even including antivirus software for $50, that totals only $262. For something that will use all the software you’re used to and very-likely run faster than either Mini (the PC having a faster hard drive). ~ ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/68 "2005-08-15T15:14:25Z")
I use a Mini as my primary machine, and it does get sluggish when I’m working with large files (like 200+ MB Photoshop files), but other than that, it’s just fine. (I should mention that it has 512 MB of RAM, which is okay, but I am aiming for 1 GB of RAM since I know it will speed up things considerably.) I have a few PCs that are about 4 years old, (Windows XP, 512 MB of RAM) and the Mini runs faster than them. Even with large Photoshop files (typically the Mini’s weak area), it is still a _little_ faster. Microsoft Office X (especially Word, which I use a lot) runs _fine_ on the Mini. (Can’t speak for Office X 2004, since I haven’t tried it.) ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/69 "2005-08-15T15:51:26Z")
I would imagine that Apple doesn’t want OSX running on any 'ol intel machine, because ensuring it’s stability for every possible hardware configuration would be nigh on impossible (see Windows). With it limited to their box they can more easily anticipate all hardware combos. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/70 "2005-08-15T20:09:09Z")
I was thinking of this thread and **DougC** when I [read this.](http://csswindow.com/site/mac/goodbye-xp-hello-tiger/) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/71 "2005-08-15T20:50:06Z")
> [@](#): > > …I was thinking of this thread and DougC when I read this… - - - That’s nice to know. - This guy is fluff, 100%: when someone points out that minor detail of the WinXP “show desktop” button, he responds with- > [@](#): > > “…This is true. Though it is just not as cool. Mac’s have cool transitions. Plus I don’t have to click an idiot button to show my desktop. _**(as if an idiot rollover icon is any great improvement?)**_ Not that Windows is useless… it just doesn’t have the style a Mac does. Once again… “PLEASE KEEP THE COMMENTS POSITIVE!” This is no place for a flame war and I will not put up with such nonsense…” -Fluff. “I want _style_!” The Hot Corners he thinks are so fantastic others write that they have problems with. > [@](#): > > “…The best part of it all is the ability to jump right in a CLI terminal and start shelling around…” - Yea, you’re right. It’s impossible to just jump into a CLI terminal in WinXP, you have to reboot like thirty times. _Oh wait_–no you don’t. And here’s a gem: > [@](#): > > “…So after all that (can’t you tell I’m a mac madman now) the reason for my stopping in to write is that I am finally saving to get a brand new, fully loaded, Mac Mini! It may be only 2″tall and 6 1/2″square but these little buggers can perform. I’m currently looking at the 1.42Ghz model along with, 1GB RAM, Superdrive(CD-R/DVD-R combo), Airport Extreme and Bluetooth built-in. Everything I need! …not so fast…” - Well, no they don’t perform, compared to a similarly-priced PC. The hard-drive and CPU are known to be slower than what a comparably-priced desktop PC would have. Even slower than what most-any PC laptop comes with now. When you actually pick apart most Mac arguments, the hardware is slower and has been for a long time, and the “great OS” got tossed out when they went to BSD for OSX–but now OSX is the “great OS”. :rolleyes: So which one is better then? The one they threw out, or the one they have now? …The only good argument for a Mac is if you want or need to use software only Macs have–but even then, _the Mini is a lousy deal_. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/72 "2005-08-15T21:12:56Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > The one they threw out, or the one they have now? > > …The only good argument for a Mac is if you want or need to use software only Macs have–but even then, _the Mini is a lousy deal_. > ~ I’m gonna have to call bullsh—er-horsepucky on this. I’m a security professional. I live sleep eat and breath this stuff for a living. I futzed with Macs’ pre-OSX and they weren’t anything special. POST OSX however, they’re the best aspects of a GUI based OS PLUS the best aspects of Unix. you get to run any MAC app, connect transparently to any windows or unix resource, run any X11 app, any open source app, and if it’s not compiled for the Mac, chances are a ‘./configure; make; make install’ will get it running on the mac. So, I can spend $3500 for Etherpeek NX for the PC, or I can compile Ethereal for free. > [@](#): > > - Well, no they don’t perform, compared to a similarly-priced PC. See, I _still_ to think you understand. Your computer is spending 99.999% of it’s time WAITING for you. While THAT’S happening, I can watch a DVD, hit the expose button and WATCH the movie CONTINUE to play, while it shrinks to show EVERYTHING else that’s currently running on the computer. I can do this because it takes advantage of the video hardware acceleration…on a piddly old card. And you STILL won’t be able to do that on the PC til Vista goes on sale, late next year. I had to spend some time cleaning out the cruft on my PC. I had to do this because my printer, webcam, dvd burner, media player, UPS, and god knows what else all decided they HAD to be running to help me. That stellar quick bootup my 7500 rpm 3 Ghz P4 had devolved to three minutes because of crap OTHER folks thought I should have. In my experience, I’ve gotta do that every 8-12 months on the PC. Don’t gotta do it on the mac tho. My poor slow box is just as snappy (yes, I said snappy) as the day I took it out of the box. I don’t know how to fight this ignorance any harder Doug. You’ve got some preconceived notions of what’s important and nothing I’m gonna say will sway you. Pity. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/73 "2005-08-15T21:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > -Fluff. “I want _style_!” The Hot Corners he thinks are so fantastic others write that they have problems with. Windows does not have an equivalent to Expose. It does let you minimize all windows at once, but that’s not really the same thing. Expose lets you either hide all the windows temporarily to view your desktop, or it temporarily resizes and repositions all your windows so you can see all of them at once, and pick the one you want. The fact that the guy can’t adequately defend his opinions doesn’t change the point. And the person who said he has trouble with the hot corners is an idiot. His complaint is that he can’t remember which corner does what. Please… > [@](#): > > - Yea, you’re right. It’s impossible to just jump into a CLI terminal in WinXP, you have to reboot like thirty times. _Oh wait_–no you don’t. And here’s a gem: Yes, but the Windows CLI is next to useless. On Mac OS X, you get to use the Unix shell of your choice, along with nearly every Unix command-line utility ever written. > [@](#): > > the “great OS” got tossed out when they went to BSD for OSX–but now OSX is the “great OS”. :rolleyes: So which one is better then? The one they threw out, or the one they have now? Err…they were both great, but the new one is better? No one ever praised the previous OS for its technical advantages - hell, I think it sucked from that perspective. People liked it because of it’s usability. And OS X combines the technical strengths of BSD with the usability of previous Mac OS’s. > [@](#): > > …The only good argument for a Mac is if you want or need to use software only Macs have–but even then, _the Mini is a lousy deal_. You’re absolutely right. No one buys Apples for the hardware. They buy them for the operating system and software. That’s been true for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/74 "2005-08-15T21:24:00Z")
And you know, even though you dismiss it, style matters. It’s much more pleasant to come down the stairs and see a Maserati in your garage, versus a Toyota Echo. Mac OS X is simply more pleasant to look at and use than Windows. Everything is smooth, polished, attractive, and fluid. All the animations feel natural. Application interfaces follow the same interface guidelines and are nearly always well-thought out, consistent, and intuitive. Drag-and-drop works seamlessly _everywhere_. I’m as much of a die-hard techie as anyone, but I’ll admit it - at the end of a long day, all that makes a difference. Have you ever even used a Mac since they came out with OS X? I absolutely hated the previous releases - though I suppose they were easy to use, they were also horrendously limited in functionality, and diagnosing technical problems was almost impossible. But about a year or so ago, after drooling over OS X since it came out, I switched and never looked back. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/75 "2005-08-15T21:34:24Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Mac OS X is simply more pleasant to look at and use than Windows. But what some people seem to forget is that aesthetics are a peculiarly personal thing. While i admit to not having tried the latest version of OSX (Tiger), i have used earlier versions of OSX on a number of occasions, and i always felt that the OS looked like something you would design in order to gain the attention of someone who likes shiny toys. It looks like a kids’ program. And i’m still not a big fan of the way the thing at the bottom of the screen is designed to enlaqrge the sixe of the icons when you mouse over it. Admittedly, i’m a bit conservative when it comes to my computer desktop’s appearance. I don’t even like the look of Windows XP, and the first thing i did when i got it was set it up to look like Windows Classic. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/76 "2005-08-15T21:42:23Z")
> [@](#): > > …Yes, but the Windows CLI is next to useless. On Mac OS X, you get to use the Unix shell of your choice, along with nearly every Unix command-line utility ever written… - **Absolute** - - - Yea, after hitting send I did realize this is true. But then again–how many average home-PC users ever need to do remote UNIX admin? What’s the OP’s favorite shell? If you gathered 100 typical home-computer users, how many would have even used a UNIX shell? Not a lot I’d bet. Is being able to run software you will never need any advantage? * * * > [@](#): > > …you get to run any MAC app, connect transparently to any windows or unix resource, run any X11 app, any open source app, and if it’s not compiled for the Mac, chances are a ‘./configure; make; make install’ will get it running on the mac… …So, I can spend $3500 for Etherpeek NX for the PC, or I can compile Ethereal for free… - **Unintentionally Blank** - This is true too–but there’s two points I’d raise with this: first is that you could do all this for free on a Windows/Linux dual-boot anyway, you just coudn’t do it from inside Windows–and secondly–(smiliar to above) most typical home-computer users NEVER have to run ethereal anyway. Most of the lower-level networking and admin utilities available on open-source are things that regular home-PC users never need–and so being able to natively run them is really no advantage anyway. Pretty-much all the biggest and best-developed programs have Windows versions available anyway–things like FireFox, OpenOffice, FileZilla, GIMP and Inkwell. And as far as commercially-available software, Windows apps are far more widely available and the market is much more competitive than Mac. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/77 "2005-08-15T23:56:08Z")
I’ve had these debates before, **DougC**. We can come up with 99 responses to you, and you’ll always dodge to the next one or dismiss them as ‘unimportant’. I think the OP has MORE than enough information to make an informed decision. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/78 "2005-08-16T00:06:08Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > While i admit to not having tried the latest version of OSX (Tiger), i have used earlier versions of OSX on a number of occasions, and i always felt that the OS looked like something you would design in order to gain the attention of someone who likes shiny toys. It looks like a kids’ program. And i’m still not a big fan of the way the thing at the bottom of the screen is designed to enlaqrge the sixe of the icons when you mouse over it. You can turn that off, you know. And there’s [Shapeshifter](http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shapeshifter) if you want to theme the UI. I never bother, myself; for some reason, I find most third-party themes to be hard to look at for a long time. Now if I can only find something a tad less Fisher-Price than this Windows XP setup… ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/79 "2005-08-19T15:11:39Z")
$10 of Mad Dog 20/20 will get your more drunk than than $10 of Chateuneuf du Pape $10 of crank will get you more wasted than $10 of beer $600 of PC will get you more raw performance than $600 of Mac Mini Feel free to choose your user experience and pay your money. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314/80 "2005-08-19T15:48:49Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Yes, but the Windows CLI is next to useless. I’m curious why you say this. What would you like to do in Windows from a command line that you find you are unable to do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-i-shouldnt-get-a-mac-mini-to-replace-my-old-pc/316314.md?page=5)