It would not be my primary computer - I’m a Windows person, and I’m not looking to change at this time, if for no other reason that my job requires it.
However, I’m intrigued at the whole iPhone SDK, and apparently it’s only available for Macs. Also, at some point in the next 6 months or so, I might want to set up a fancier home theater system, and Apple TV might be involved. And it’d be nifty to have a Mac around to play with.
So… what Mac do I buy? The last time I seriously did anything Mac-wise was 1992. I understand things have changed since then.
I’m intrigued by the Mac Mini, cuz it’s small, and I have a few monitors laying around. But is it robust? I don’t need the most blazing fast machine out there; I’d rather go middle-of-the-road. Or cheap. Cheap is good. The only real requirement right now is that it runs the iPhone SDK.
I’m gonna talk to Apple, don’t worry about that. But I’d like the opinions of all you smarties out there as well.
A Mac Mini would probably fit your needs, if you maxed it out with RAM. The rumor going around is that both the iMac and the Mac Mini will be updated soon with Penryn processors, and the Mac Mini will likely get a new GPU.
If all you’re planning to do is use the iPhone SDK and iTunes, basically, I don’t see why the Mac Mini wouldn’t suffice. If you’d like to add things like Photoshop or video editing software, though, I’d recommend the iMac. Again, the most important thing is to put as much RAM in as possible - and don’t buy the RAM from Apple; their memory is horribly overpriced.
I’d also recommend going to the “Deals” portion of the Apple Store online. They have refurbished items at 10-20% off the original price. They come with the same warranty as new products.
I would consider getting a refurb MacBook from the Apple store. Faster than a Mini, and has the nifty portability aspect. Can run dual monitors, which the Mini can’t.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
Once you start using a Mac, there is a very good chance you will become disappointed with Windows and everything Microsoft. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Yeah, the new Macs are all being shipped with Bootcamp loaded in them. I use Bootcamp to work on a landscape design programme in Windows on my Mac, and it works just fine.
My first and foremost advice if you’re going to stay in both worlds is keep surfing and email strictly limited to your Mac. Welcome to the world of not worrying about viruses and trojans! I design in Windows on my Mac, drag and drop my design to my flashdrive, and move it over to my Mac side or to the copy shop or whatever without ever hooking Windows up to the internet. PithHelmet to limit your exposure to online ads is also kicking ass for me.
It’s a little thing, but I wish to hell Windows would adopt it - clicking on the third button on my scroll mouse brings up all the windows I have open at once, and I can just select which one to switch to. I’m always trying to do this at work.
FWIW, I have a Mac Mini that we (the company) bought for work. Cost us $600 but it was well worth it just to be able to check how sites perform in Mac browsers. Ours is the first generation of the Intel processor Minis I believe.
I set it up to just sit idly on my network, and it has OSXvnc (which is now called Vine Server I guess) on it, and I connect from my Windows machine using RealVNC and it works like a charm. You can set OSXvnc to start up on boot, so the Mac Mini just sits there like a little book on the shelf until I need it and I fire it up every so often and connect. No extra monitors or keyboards needed!
Look guys, I’m just (maybe) buying a Mac because the iPhone SDK is not available on Windows; I’m not applying to join the Mac Fanboy club. 99% of what I do - including surfing the web and email - will stay on my Windows box. Even if I wanted to change (which I don’t) realistically I couldn’t, because my work requires me to be Windows compatible. And my other main use for computers - gaming - sucks on the Mac. So you can quit with the warnings.
re: the Mac mini. I assume it will use a standard monitor (that is, one of the flat panels I have sitting around hooked to Windows boxes). I also assume that it will not work with Windows keyboards/mice. Are those assumptions correct?
Also, what about Networking? Will all the Apple models play nice with my Linksys wireless router? (the iPhone does, so I assume a real Mac will)
I do appreciate the hints on the models. Keep 'em coming!
Well hell. That’s exactly what I want. I assume you can just bring up the remote connection in a window and just Mac away?
How hard was it to set all that up? Assume I’m an idiot re:Macs and semi idiot re: Windows networking. (OK, I’m not really an idiot about Windows networking, I just utterly despise doing it so I’m always looking for the easiest way to get everything going).
So what’s the drawbacks of a Mac Mini? Is it slow? Some of the earlier posts seem to indicate that it’s not as robust as the other Macs. Do I care?
The Mac Mini is essentially a notebook computer in a desktop case. It uses the “slowest” processors in Apple’s lineup. Even so, it’s plenty fast for most things, especially if you bump up the RAM. I think the Mini is a great machine - we have two in our household, including one that’s a dedicated DVR / multimedia player. This one has a large external Firewire drive, which speeds things up quite a bit.
I love my Mac Mini…it does a lot more than advertised. I regularly use Photoshop and After Effects and don’t necessarily close them while watching HDTV (via USB tuner) or a movie. And that’s with the crappiest graphics card known to man. If you’re just programming, then I think you’re golden.
You mention getting an apple tv in the future…why bother? Just hook the mini up to the tv and use it’s remote…it’ll be a better media center than an apple tv.
And check back 6 months after you get it and let us know how much time you spend running windows.
Yep, exactly like Windows’ Remote Desktop if you’re familiar with it. Your Mini is in a window on your desktop and when the window is active your mouse controls the pointer on the Mac Mini. I do believe the clipboard persists across the two, also.
One note is that when I start up my Mac Mini and VNC into it, it complains about searching for a bluetooth mouse (since there’s no mouse connected to the Mini at all). But all I do is close out that notice because my mouse works perfectly fine over VNC.
Same here. I have a LinkSys router too. I am SORT of fuzzy on how we set it up but we also went the extra mile of setting up a way for my partner in Georgia to access it over the Internet.
Give your Mini a static IP from your router. Like 192.168.1.40 or something. Hunt around for “Network Settings” - it’s surprisingly easy.
You install OSXvnc on your Mini and set it to run at startup so that it’s on and ready for connection when your Mini is turned on. Here’s the FAQ for OSXvnc. You may want to password protect the connection if you want it available outside of your network.
Install the free version of RealVNC on your Windows machines. You should get an icon on your desktop. Click it, enter the IP address of the Mini (the LOCAL address, if you’re on the local network: 192.168.1.40 or whatever you assigned it) and click connect. When it connects it’ll ask for the password if you set up a password. And there’s your Mini.
To make it available outside of your network, configure your router to have a DMZ at the IP you assigned to the Mini. When someone wants to connect from outside your network, they would type in your network’s IP and I think the port too (which i think is 5900…xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5900)
If you decide to do this and you run into any insurmountable problems, lemme know.
I can’t really answer this, someone else will…for me it’s fine as I am just browsing Web sites on it. It seems slow but the VNC connection/video rendering might be partly to blame.
There is also a Windows -> Mac learning curve, if you’re really good with Windows (which you are). I CAN attest to the “it just works” aspect of it. Aside from having to find out where shit is and learn that “close” != “exit”, plugging it in and plugging in a network cable was all I needed to make it go.
Other than a bad experience with an AT&T 686 in law school (what can I say, they offered a great deal through the university bookstore), I’ve always had Macs and have never been disappointed. I’m writing this on a four-year-old iMac that still runs like a dream. I use a PC with MS at work and, while it’s OK, it’s not nearly as intuitive, reliable and fun as Macs have always been. Heed beowulff’s warning, my friend.
I bought a Linksys broadband router which was specifically Mac & PC compatible, and used it for awhile.
My wife decided she wanted wireless for her PC, went out and got a Linksys wireless router which was not Mac compatible. We hooked it up and my Mac acted like nothing had changed. Meanwhile wife had to spend an hour or so using the install & setup disc to get it working on her PC.
