# Apple's New Mini Mac tempts me **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344 "2005-01-12T04:58:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MontrealChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@MontrealChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MontrealChick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/21 "2005-01-12T20:59:15Z")
I’m looking to replace my home pc in the coming weeks and would greatly appreciate any additional information on the difference between macs and ibm compatible. I’m sure it’s been covered before but unfortunately I can’t search the forums yet… The appeal of a better functionning computer sounds fantastic to me, but I’m not a fan of changes and I still have questions about certain issues. 1. I play a lot of online games, mostly cheesy ones. i.e. yahoo. It seems that most (if not all) of their games aren’t compatible with macs… Are there good equivalents for the mac players out there? 2. Internet surfing. I hear that one of the downsides to owning a mac is that some sites aren’t mac friendly and certain parts, pages or even entire sites aren’t accessible. How true is this and if so, which type of sites aren’t mac friendly? 3. Is it harder to find mac software or mac versions of what is on the market for ibm compatible? 4. Is designing a website going to be a completely new thing if I switch to mac? It took a bit of time to learn how to do what I know so far, how much of this would I have to “re-learn” if I switch? Thanks, MC ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/22 "2005-01-12T21:03:47Z")
Pardon me if I’m wrong, but you don’t need an eject key with the Mac mini. It looks like a slot-drive to me, so if the drive is empty, just shove the disk in. If you want the disc out, just drag it from the desktop into the trash. Problem solved. This, of course, means nothing in relation to more traditional drives like on the G5 tower, but I thought it was worth a mention. Anyone know if the Mini is as easy to open up and put stuff in as a G5? ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/23 "2005-01-12T21:09:38Z")
> [@MontrealChick](#): > > 1. I play a lot of online games, mostly cheesy ones. i.e. yahoo. It seems that most (if not all) of their games aren’t compatible with macs… Are there good equivalents for the mac players out there? > > 2. Internet surfing. I hear that one of the downsides to owning a mac is that some sites aren’t mac friendly and certain parts, pages or even entire sites aren’t accessible. How true is this and if so, which type of sites aren’t mac friendly? > > 3. Is it harder to find mac software or mac versions of what is on the market for ibm compatible? > > 4. Is designing a website going to be a completely new thing if I switch to mac? It took a bit of time to learn how to do what I know so far, how much of this would I have to “re-learn” if I switch? 1. If the games are Flash based, you’ll have no problem. If they’re ActiveX based, you’ll have some issues. If they’re downloadable/installable type games, you may be SOL. Still, you should be able to find Flash equivalents to anything Yahoo has to offer. 2. I’ve never run across a site that I could get to open. Some sites admittadly don’t work/look right (gmail required a ton of reloads to show up every time in Safari), but Firefox has solved that problem for me (gmail works flawlessly in Firefox). 3. Depends on the software. Any “big name” software is available in both flavors (any Macromedia or Adobe product with the exception of Premeire for some reason). I’ve found that Apple specific software is better than the IBM counterpart. iDVD, iMovie, and iPhoto being good examples of great software that you can’t get on an IBM. 4. I do web design on a Mac for a living. Depending on how you do your web design, it should be an easy switch. I use Dreamweaver while keeping the code up top visible so I can change things when necessary. I don’t believe there’s Frontpage for Mac, but that’s okay since Frontpage sucks. ---
**Author:** ![MontrealChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@MontrealChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MontrealChick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/24 "2005-01-12T21:22:06Z")
> [@wasson](#): > > 1. If the games are Flash based, you’ll have no problem. If they’re ActiveX based, you’ll have some issues. If they’re downloadable/installable type games, you may be SOL. Still, you should be able to find Flash equivalents to anything Yahoo has to offer. I can live without yahoo if I can find some equivalents elsewhere, so that is good news. I take it then that macs do well with java? > [@](#): > > 1. I do web design on a Mac for a living. Depending on how you do your web design, it should be an easy switch. I use Dreamweaver while keeping the code up top visible so I can change things when necessary. I don’t believe there’s Frontpage for Mac, but that’s okay since Frontpage sucks. I really don’t do much or very impressive webdesign and yes I use frontpage, lol! I tried with dreamweaver at first and was frustrated because I wasn’t able to work with it. I have progressed quite a bit since then and think I would be able to switch to a better program now anyways. Thanks a bunch for the info, MC ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/25 "2005-01-12T22:07:21Z")
Do people really still call them “IBM Compatibles?” Freaky. [sub]Note: IBM no longer makes IBM Compatibles. ;)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/26 "2005-01-12T22:13:57Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > It all evens out, since Linux users are better than either of us. 😃 I wouldn’t say that. Part of the reason I moved to OS X (and after a week of having it will never go back) is that it’s “really” BSD. Partly why I liked NeXT back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/27 "2005-01-12T22:16:06Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Do people really still call them “IBM Compatibles?” Freaky. > > [sub]Note: IBM no longer makes IBM Compatibles. ;)[/sub] Properly they’re “PC compatibles”. I used to own a PC, but almost nobody else I know ever did. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/28 "2005-01-12T22:39:04Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > [hijack] > C’mon! Be a man. Use the terminal. > > Barring that, have you tried [Fetch](http://fetchsoftworks.com/) ? > [/hijack] If you just need to download, Finder will mount an FTP site as read-only quite nicely. Also, try [Cyberduck](http://icu.unizh.ch/~dkocher/cyberduck/). Unlike Fetch, it’s actually free, so it won’t nag you to register. Also, it’s got a much nicer look to it, and the UI is more intuitive, IMHO. Plus it has a picture of a rubber ducky as its icon. That alone should pretty much sell you. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/29 "2005-01-12T22:50:09Z")
> [@MontrealChick](#): > > I take it then that macs do well with java? Java works fine on Mac. I’ve found a few Mac-specific idiosyncracies, but they’re more in the class of implementation differences than outright bugs. I doubt any mainstream applets/apps would be affected. Regarding website compatibility on Macs, I’ve tested this quite a bit lately because I’ve had some sites that reportedly did not work properly on Macs. In every case, the problem was more an issue of old browsers than Mac platform. I don’t know if it’s still true, but a lot of Mac users were using the MSIE browser, and the Mac version is at least a version behind the Windows version, so designing a website for the Mac is really an issue of designing for an old browser (in terms of style sheet support, etc.). Obviously this isn’t the case for clueful users who install better browsers. ---
**Author:** ![adirondack\_mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@adirondack\_mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adirondack_mike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/30 "2005-01-13T01:06:08Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > You void your warranty by opening the thing up. But another option may be to bring it in to an apple store or authorized service place (assuming you have one nearby), and ask them to swap out the memory with a chip you bring in. I’m going to wait and see how this pans out before I get one. > > But, yeah, Apple tends to ream you on the add-ons. You can add these [components](http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86812) to iMac G5, and RAM and airport card to the iMac G3 and iMac lampshade variety. Except the lampshade has one RAM chip that needs service to replace. Have always added my own RAM. I didn’t see any information on the apple site regarding the mini except how to buy one. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/31 "2005-01-13T01:41:21Z")
> [@kevsnyde](#): > > Nitpick here: Apple has added a tiny “alt” above the bigger “option” on the key, but in the Mac universe, that key is still referred to as the Option Key. No kidding? All mine just say “alt” – I haven’t seen an option key on a new Mac in years. Must be a UK/US difference. I wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![eyewitness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@eyewitness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eyewitness)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/32 "2005-01-13T06:23:35Z")
The Mac mini is appealing, but I have a question for the Mac experts: What is Apple’s history with respect to the reliability and utility of new products? Is it safe to go out and buy a mini now/soon, or will a “new, improved” version be along in three months to fix problems in the original release? Also, does anybody (legitimately) sell Macs at a discount? The stores I’ve seen, both brick and internet, seem to adhere pretty closely to the list price. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/33 "2005-01-13T07:59:47Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > Properly they’re “PC compatibles”. I used to own a PC, but almost nobody else I know ever did. Not a good term. “PC” stands for personal computer. Macs are personal computers too. “Windows-based” is a better term. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/34 "2005-01-13T08:09:10Z")
Windows-based is equally flawed, because you’ll get a horde of Linux fanatics coming after you with torches and pitchforks. “IBM Compatible”, however, is extremely funny, because IBM helped design the chips… for Macs. I guess PC’s should be called “IBM Incompatibles”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/35 "2005-01-13T08:30:29Z")
I just ordered my Mac Mini. (Yay!) I would recommend getting the upgrade to 512 megs of RAM. I think OS X (like Windows XP) runs better on 512 megs. I prefer 1 GB but the RAM upgrade is just too much right now on the Mini. I am sure that the prices will go down, and when that happens I’ll get it put in. As far as getting around on a Mac, I made the switch (well, sort of–I still use a PC) a few years ago. There were a few differences that bothered me at the time (I was using Windows 98 and the Mac I got was using OS 8.1) but overall, I really loved the Mac and decided to delve more seriously into them. I now consider my Macs to be my “main” computers, but I still get a lot of stuff done on PCs (though I can go through periods where I don’t turn the PC on for weeks). I recommend getting the 512 megs of RAM, get a two-button mouse, and get a “Missing Manual” book on OS X. Transitioning to a Mac is great, but change is, well, _change_, and sometimes it takes adjustments. Don’t expect to instantly fall in love with the Mac. What I mean by that is, don’t have unrealistically _high_ expectations. Expect to like it (a lot) but also expect that there will be a few things that will require getting used to. Give yourself time to make that adjustment. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/36 "2005-01-13T14:18:00Z")
By the way, opening up a Mac doesn’t necessarily void the warranty. The Power Mac G5 I use at work has instructions in the manual for installing memory, hard drives, and expansion cards. This may not be true of other Macs, but generally, they are set up for you to make standard alterations. My old G4 even had an easy-open door for quick access to the internal componenents. Apple can’t guarantee that third-party components won’t mess up your system, though. Read the fine print, anyway. Probably the exorbitant cost of a RAM upgrade is for the convenience of not having to do it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/37 "2005-01-13T15:52:49Z")
> [@SPOOFE](#): > > Windows-based is equally flawed, because you’ll get a horde of Linux fanatics coming after you with torches and pitchforks. Just call it x86. Even though Intel no longer names these CPUs “???86”. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/38 "2005-01-13T16:13:54Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Probably the exorbitant cost of a RAM upgrade is for the convenience of not having to do it yourself. It seems that only the 1Gb memory option is outrageously priced, at $425. The 512Mb upgrade is a much more reasonable $75, and the other options are similarly priced. Color me curious as to why 1Gb is such a big premium. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/39 "2005-01-13T16:27:43Z")
> [@](#): > > …3. Depends on the software. Any “big name” software is available in both flavors (any Macromedia or Adobe product with the exception of Premeire for some reason). I’ve found that Apple specific software is better than the IBM counterpart. iDVD, iMovie, and iPhoto being good examples of great software that you can’t get on an IBM… - - - I got into a discussion about this on another board: by manufacturing both the hardware, software and OS, Apple is essentially creating a rift that makes it less and less likely that big-name software will be ported to Macs. - The reason that Premier is not available for Macs is because _Adobe gave up_. Apple makes their own iMovie product, and sales of the Adobe Mac-version Premier were so small that Adobe decided that it was not profitable for them to port it to Mac at all. - Apple did the same thing when they bought Logic–a software company that published a popular audio-processing application. The program was formerly available for both Windows and Mac, but Apple discontinued the Windows version totally, even that was where most of the sales of it were. This did two things: first of all, it pissed off a lot of people on Windows who liked the software, and second of all–it makes it very unattractive for outside companies to do development of similar applications on the Mac. Apple’s own applications have a huge sales channel advantage and could be optimized for closed portions of the OS that outsiders can’t get access to. * * * - For all the talk about how bad Microsoft is for being “a monopoly”, _Apple is worse_. If you can imagine a future day when (in practical terms) the only place you can buy _any_ Mac-platform software is from Apple, then you will see how buyers are being set up for a major reaming. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344/40 "2005-01-13T19:04:24Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It seems that only the 1Gb memory option is outrageously priced, at $425. The 512Mb upgrade is a much more reasonable $75, and the other options are similarly priced. Color me curious as to why 1Gb is such a big premium. The new Mac mini appears to have only one DIMM slot, so you’re popping a 1 GB chip in there, not 2 cheaper 512s. From what I’ve gathered, the Mac mini is not user serviceable or upgradeable **at all** , meaning if you want to put some aftermarket RAM in, you need to schlepp it down to an Apple store or a Microcenter and have them install it for you. I believe the Apple stores will do it for free, but I’m not positive. > [@DougC](#): > > - The reason that Premier is not available for Macs is because _Adobe gave up_. Apple makes their own iMovie product, and sales of the Adobe Mac-version Premier were so small that Adobe decided that it was not profitable for them to port it to Mac at all. iMovie doesn’t have shit to do with it. Adobe Premiere was a big seller on the Mac, as it is on Windows. (You knew Premiere was made for Macs too, right?) Folks who work in video will tell you that for a while there was nothing better—and that became the problem. Adobe got lazy and was slow to improve the product, and Apple took advantage of that by releasing Final Cut Pro. Despite being more expensive, FCP has pretty much eaten Premiere’s lunch, and the pros I talk to are unanimous that Final Cut has been the better product for a while now. So it’s true that Adobe couldn’t compete—not against Apple’s freebie iMovie (Christ, have you used iMovie? Comparing iMovie to Premiere is like comparing MS Paint to Photoshop.), but to a non-bundled, more expensive competitor. They then try to bullshit their shareholders that the Mac market is too small to compete in. Right. Last I heard, Apple has about 50-60% of the mid- to high-end video market; yeah, far too small to bother with … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apples-new-mini-mac-tempts-me/284344.md?page=3)