# have i made a mistake buying a mac mini now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951 "2006-02-11T01:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/1 "2006-02-11T01:40:58Z")
My Averatec laptop is suffering the fate of many - most? - Averatec laptops: the power jack came loose from the motherboard just after the waranty came up, and I’m not savvy enough to break the thing open and solder it back together myself. I’m having savvier friend look at it, but I’m tired of budget laptops and enamored of OS X, so I bought a budget Apple - a Mac Mini 1.4ghz, 1 gig of ram. I didn’t go for the superdrive because I figured an external burner, should I need one, would be cheaper and more versatile anyway. The tiny size appeals to me; I’m around spare displays pretty much all day long, so I can lug the mini around when I want to without losing a notebook’s portability advantage. (I have a very nice campus job that requires me to do practically nothing. Except homework.) My question is: Have I been too hasty, given Apple’s Intel transition? Should I have waited until the minis transfer over? Will performance be bearable, given that I won’t make high demands on it? Should I worry that Universal binaries will be eschewed, and that a year from now software will be unavailable? I ask because it won’t ship until next week - I can still cancel it, if I want to. Advice is appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/2 "2006-02-11T02:26:51Z")
I work in IT and have to judge these things professionally. You will be fine. In computing, there is always the “next big thing” right around the corner. You should just buy what you need when you need it and ideally adopt new technology after the kinks are worked out. Those transitions take a while to stabilize anyway and support won’t go poof suddenly one day. There will still be many more people like you out there for a long while than people adopting new technologies. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/3 "2006-02-11T02:30:56Z")
As long as you don’t need to run some particular bit of software that is only available for Windows, you’ll be fine, I would think; there’ll be a bit of a learning curve because although MacOS and Windows are similar in some ways, they’re rather different in others. But you’ll be fine. Stop worrying. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/4 "2006-02-11T02:52:30Z")
Not an Apple fan, myself, but whatever floats your boat. I would have probably gone for the iBook instead of the Mini, if I was really going to be carrying the thing back and forth to work all day. Or even once a month. It’s just that more flexible, and not a helluva lot more expensive. If you want my honest opinion, though: go with a low-end Thinkpad R or Z series. Better hardware for basically the same price as the cheap Apple stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/5 "2006-02-11T03:12:46Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There will still be many more people like you out there for a long while than people adopting new technologies. That’s reassuring, thank you. Also oddly reassuring is that Adobe/Macromedia won’t be issuing Intel binaries until 2007 - at least somebody important thinks the PPC models will be relevant for a while. > [@Mangetout](#): > > As long as you don’t need to run some particular bit of software that is only available for Windows, you’ll be fine, I would think … Well, that’s not an issue, really; I’m quite familiar OS X. I’ve just never owned a Mac personally. > [@black455](#): > > I would have probably gone for the iBook instead of the Mini, if I was really going to be carrying the thing back and forth to work all day. Or even once a month. It’s just that more flexible, and not a helluva lot more expensive. That’s a pretty good point, but cost really did enter into the equation. the mini cost $700 with the ram upgrade; an iBook with a gig of ram - and a slower processor, and a smaller hard drive by half - comes to $1100. Since I’m around displays and peripherals I can mooch off of all day (really) I’m not worried about portability too much. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/6 "2006-02-11T03:14:27Z")
I should note that my concern is mostly whether I should until the budget model Apple computers are switched over to intel, though I welcome - and thank! - any other related comments and advice. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/7 "2006-02-11T03:17:50Z")
> [@Paranoid Randroid](#): > > I should note that my concern is mostly whether I should until the budget model Apple computers are switched over to intel … should WAIT until. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/8 "2006-02-11T03:18:00Z")
I have one. It does fine, as long as you have enough RAM, and you do. I don’t play games or do any work on it though. Just iTunes and iPhoto and web surfing. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/9 "2006-02-11T04:05:09Z")
I think it’ll be at least a year before the Intel Macs are truly at parity with the PPC models in terms of software availability. With millions of PPC Macs still in use, moreover, apps are going to remain PPC-compatible for a long time to come. You made a fine decision, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/10 "2006-02-11T06:28:26Z")
The answer is “No, you made a mistake buying it in the first place.” ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/11 "2006-02-11T13:49:31Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > The answer is “No, you made a mistake buying it in the first place.” Funny, that’s what my girlfriend said. 😉 I suppose the above was meant to take a swipe at Macs? If not, I’d be grateful for your advice; if so, I’ll alert you to the fact that there may be a very nice girl on the market soon, shamed by her former boyfriend’s love of OS X. If that’s your thing. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/12 "2006-02-11T14:50:04Z")
I don’t know what the love is with these new Intel Mac dual cores. I recently just bought an iBook, and I bought one after the macBooks came out. I don’t see the advantage of it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I used to hate apples, and laptops. But my fiancee loved them, so I bought him one for Christmas, and that changed my mind. Apple machines (and especially their portable devices) are awesome little things. If a screen really isn’t a problem, get a mac mini, the dual core will be more expensive if/when it does come out, and the potential gains, IMHO, are just all sales hype. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/13 "2006-02-11T15:22:28Z")
> [@Go You Big Red Fire Engine](#): > > I don’t know what the love is with these new Intel Mac dual cores. I recently just bought an iBook, and I bought one after the macBooks came out. I don’t see the advantage of it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I think it has mostly to do with the G5 chips being completely inappropriate for small, battery-powered devices, and IBM’s inability or reluctance to fix the situation. My understanding is that there is some performance gain from the Core Duo over the G5, but it’s mostly, as you say, marketing hype. It’s more the performance gain of the core duo over the G4 that worries me. But I suppose it won’t matter with the kinds of things I’ll be doing - web browsing, email, text adventures[1], playing around with Java/Ruby … [1]Is it sad that one of the primary reasons I originally became interested in OS X was due to the high-quality text adventure interpreters that are available for it? Probably. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/14 "2006-02-11T15:25:43Z")
Can’t resist… [http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/just\_plain\_stupid/mac\_equals\_suck/](http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/just_plain_stupid/mac_equals_suck/) \<— Will load a video that plays in the browser (work friendly, it may play a 15 second advertisment before showing the video) ---
**Author:** ![broken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@broken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broken)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/15 "2006-02-11T22:50:27Z")
The mini itself is a decent little computer, with the ram upgrade it should get fair performance. The mini-market is more geared towards itunes/browsing/watching movies though. In other words, don’t expect insane gaming performance (not that the mac has many games) or snappy performance in something like photoshop. Concerning the portability aspect of the mini, it’s not exactly “light” but it sounds like you’ve worked out that issue. To somewhat mirror what you said yourself Randroid, Adobe/Macromedia isn’t making the move to a universal binary until their next software updates. From the reviews i’ve read, Rosetta is pretty decent at translating simple software for the intel macs, but high-end software (like adobe’s) runs pathetically slow. Not to mention Apple is somewhat gouging their customers on their own professional software, those universal binary updates won’t be free. In other words, your mini would be a good investment because the transition to intel is going to take quite some time, if it ever happens completely. Besides, if you ever ditch your mini, you could always use it in something like an entertainment center. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/16 "2006-02-11T23:42:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Can’t resist… Was it really so hard? I found at least 2 actual lies\* in that presentation which you wouldn’t pick unless you used a Mac. But hey, if you want to come into a thread asking advice about Macs and throw in some anti-Mac propaganda, go right ahead. But it’s really not nice, and that applies to you to, **Eleusis**. > [@broken](#): > > not that the mac has many games It has plenty of [games.](http://www.insidemacgames.com/)😕 \*They might’ve been true in earlier distributiions of the OS, but does anyone else remember Windows ME? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/17 "2006-02-12T00:33:13Z")
[Moderator Underoos On] **Eleusis** and **Whack-a-Mole** , your posts definitely break the “Don’t be a jerk” rule-knock it off.[/Moderator Underoos On] ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/18 "2006-02-12T00:40:09Z")
I hope you haven’t made a mistake, 'cause I recently spent $6,000 on a new G5. And I absolutely love everything about it (at that price, I’d better). ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/19 "2006-02-12T01:54:32Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I hope you haven’t made a mistake, 'cause I recently spent $6,000 on a new G5. > > And I absolutely love everything about it (at that price, I’d better). I presume you got a very, very large display with that? The most expensive Mac Apple makes starts at $3200 or so in a decent (although somewhat memory-poor) configuration. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951/20 "2006-02-12T02:06:04Z")
Games are a non-issue for me, anyway: I’ve never been able to afford a computer that could play recent games, usually _at all_. The Mac will actually be a bit of an upgrade in that respect for me - as I ran Linux on my notebook. Took me forever to get dri to work, only to tire of Tux Racer after about twenty minutes … Thanks for most people in this thread: I am reassured. I won’t fear obsoletion. For now! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-a-mistake-buying-a-mac-mini-now/343951.md?page=2)