Is mac mini worth the price

i am thinking of get a mac mini in the near future i am wondering if it is worth the 599 canadian and i have a old monitor that uses vga and i have usb keyboard and usb mouse that are designed for windows and desktop pc

I have wanted a Mac since the first version of OS X came out. (Before that, I didn't really care for 'em.) I've been a PC guy since the early 80's and have used all versions of DOS from 2.11 up, all versions of Windows and several flavors of Linux. I messed with MacOS back in college (pre X), and it was *okay,* but after OS X, I knew I wanted one. I finally got the opportunity less than two weeks ago ;-)
Anyway, I purchased the i7 2.3GHz 4GB model and absolutely love it!! I have a 22" 1080p display I use with it (via HDMI) and my Windows keyboard and wireless mouse. If necessary, you can purchase a VGA adapter to use your old monitor. I replaced one of the two 1TB drives with an SSD and my boot time from hitting the power switch to the login screen is 11 seconds. All my apps open nearly instantaneously, and frankly OS X is just a nice looking and powerful OS. (This is DEFINITELY recommended, but not necessary. It ran fine, albeit a bit slower with the HDD.) As a side, I'm using the 1TB drive I took out as an external Time Machine drive.
I will be purchasing a mechanical keyboard made for Mac, as I don't really care for the chiclet-style keyboards Apple currently offers. (But to keep cost down, the PC keyboard works just fine.)
To summarize: Yes, it's definitely worth the money, but I suggest getting a full-throw keyboard (or use your existing one) if you do a lot of typing, as I do.

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Is an mac mini worth the money

(i only have windows computers

Hello,
It can be, & is for many, but...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4986648?tstart=0

Is a MacBook Pro w/ Retina display worth the price?

Apple community-
    Looking at purchasing portability for school- going to work on an MFA in graphics/web/new media, and need some assistance. I've an iMac from 2007, seems to run flawlessly, but looking at options for taking school with me while at work- I'm currently travelling five different states in my current position. The new MacBook Pro with Retina display looks stunning, albeit expensive, but has many features that worry me.
    For instance, everything is completely bolted/soldered/non-upgradeable, so any desire of modification needs to be purchased pre-production, right? Also, the big issue with their PCIe "Flash based" storage... exactly what is this, and why is it so freaking expensive? I've read different reports on Apple using various manufacturers, so not every MacBook as the same storage model, no third party attempts at upgrades, etc.. If I'd like to install numerous, monstrous programs, such as the entire Adobe Creative Suites, 3D Max, Maya, Final Cut, and so forth, I'll need a high capacity memory drive, as I assume most, if not all of these, need a root drive to install, and not simply an external hard drive. I still make CDs/DVDs, so a SuperDrive is another $80.
    Chatting with an Apple representative, she stated that there is "only one model that will run my software at peak performance," which was the 15-inch model, starting at $2k; also, my software needed a "dedicated graphics card," I'm not too certain that it needs all that, and a high-end PC laptop could certainly run all of my demands- but let's face it, this is an Apple discussions community, and I'm plain simply accustomed to working on an Apple computer. Plus, I don't really care for Windows 8.
    Should I possibly aim to purchase an older model used, something without Retina, but with more storage? Is Retina that big of a deal for a laptop? I also considered the possibility of just toting a Mac Mini with a 13-inch Cintiq tablet; though it does need a constant power supply, it's still quite portable.
    Thoughts? Am I just overthinking this? I've been expecting a MacBook to be expensive, but this could be pushing it a bit.
Cheers!

guiparent,
whether it’s worth the price or not is an entirely subjective opinion. My own choice was to buy a used non-Retina 13-inch Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, and replace its hard drive with a SSD; but since I don’t use graphic-intensive apps such as the Adobe Creative Suite, my own choice would most likely not be best for you. Given your graphic design background, if you find the non-Retina displays sufficient for your needs, I’d recommend that you consider a used 15-inch Mid 2012 MacBook Pro. That model has memory sockets, so you can replace/upgrade the RAM if needed; its internal disk can be replaced by/upgraded with any 2.5-inch 9.5-mm-high SATA hard disk or SSD; and it has a built-in SuperDrive.

Any chance the Mac mini and the Apple TV will be combined into one unit?

Any chance the Mac mini and the Apple TV will be combined into one unit?

No.
The Apple TV is the guts of an iPad without the screen or battery running a different build of the OS. Ie, its very cheap to make and runs an ARM processor (like all iDevices)
The Mac mini is 6x the price and is a full intel computer running the OS X.
Now, it could be that the Apple TV gets more powerful and its OS more diverse and "computer like" (apps + iCloud for example), but for now they're still coming from totally different directions.
They just happen to look alike

My mac mini shows the first octet of its ip address as the name of the machine in Finder

Now for something really strange. Up until about yesterday my Mac Mini showed the main disk in Finder as something beginning with James, maybe James Mac Mini. Now, today, it shows 192, which is the first octet of its IP address. The only change I've made today is to try and get Time Machine running again - or rather, to fix it so that I can see the time machine backups.
I see, incidentally, that the machine directory on Time Machine is also 192.
It may be worth my while mentioning that there is a strong hypothesis around that the NVRAM battery is dead or dying, but I haven't been in a hurry to change it as it's the last thing you take out of the case when you make any repairs. I'd be more willing if a thing like that sat a little nearer the memory chips.

its nothing to do with itunes, its movies form the internet. i got the file preview by taking an image off the internet, pressing command c and pasting it on top of the small icon in the get info section

Iv bought a touchpad app for my iPhone 5 to use on my Mac mini, all the functions work accept the zoom one, how can I fix this problem

Iv bought a touchpad app for my iPhone 5 to use on my Mac mini, all the functions work apart from the zoom one. How can I fix this please

Iv bought a touchpad app for my iPhone 5 to use on my Mac mini,''
Considering the app for the iPhone is for iOS, you may have problems using it on the Mac (Mac OS X)
Two different operating sysems.
From iTunes for the touchpad app:
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 5.1 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
From here > https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touchpad/id297623931?mt=8

I want to link my Mac Mini through my independent hifi system, which forms part of my home tv system which is the monitor I am using with the Mac Mini. The hdmi cable I am using comes from the receiver of the tv. I cannot get sound from the Mac Mini. Do

I cannot link my new MacMini with my TV's sound system. It's a Pioneer screen & receiver with an independent Pioneer Amp. The Mac Mini does not pick up the sound through the hdmi cable, so how do I get sound going through the MacMini so I can appreciate the music and films I want to hear. Do I need another piece of Apple kit? I have seen 'Express' on Apples web site. Surely I dont have to pay for this as well?
I used to have an Apple TV box which had a seperate audio connection from my Pioneer Amp and it worked great.
Help will be appreciated

The Mac Mini is going to be used for an Internet connection on the Pioneer Plasma/receiver so I can also play stored films from a seperate hard drive. The receiver has an HDMI connection which I have connected the Mac Mini too. the picture is fine, but there is no sound. I have checked the 'sound' settings on the Mac Mini and it registers the Pioneer PDP receiver is connected but states it has no audible connection?

How do i connect my new mac mini to the thunderbolt display

how do i connect my new mac mini to the thunderbolt displa, It arrives tomorrow?

It has a built-in Thunderbolt cable, see here: http://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html
So assuming your mini has a thunderbolt port (you said it's new so I assume it does), you'd just plug the display's thunderbolt cable into the mini's Thunderbolt port.

I have no audio from the mac mini to the hdtv via hdmi cable.

This started immediately after the latest "apple software update" I updated it automatically on 6/24/2011. I have an elgato eye tv connected to the mac mini that provides BOTH audio and video through the HDMI to the HDTV. The elgato eye tv works fine. I get both audio and video.
However, I only get picture and NO sound from the mac mini to the HDTV via the HDMI output. No streaming audio either - only picture. Ive tried pandora, netflix, hulu, etc. I even put in a DVD into the mac mini and again I receive a picture through THE HDMI but no audio.
I've shutdown and rebooted. I've disconnected power and reconnected power. I've gone into the system preferences, audo, and highlight the SONY HDTV as the output. But still nothing. I do notice when I toggle between the "internal speakers' and the HDMI option, the audio arrow on the lower right is bright blue during the internal speakers option but is grey when the HDMI option is connected.
I called apple care. Since I'm 98 days past my 90 days of coverage there is no help via human being. They offered me to set an appointment at the local apple store but they suggested I bring down my 60 inch HDTV with me to the store to be sure it is not a "Sony" issue. I hope someone can help me resolve this without having to put this mac mini on craigslist and taking a $ hit.
This was not an issue yesterday. It became an issue after the latest and greatest "update" to prepare our machines for the lovely lion.
Thanks.

I have the same issue. I also have the 2010 mac mine and use hdmi for audio to my receiver. I get audio from eye tv with no problems, but it seems to lock the path so that only it can use that path for audio. If I restart the computer and do not start eye tv everything else works with hdmi audio. I have tried using the system settings and changing the source there but it doesnt seem to matter.
David

I just bought a mac mini over the weekend. I saved items from my old G4 to an external hard drive. I go to plug in the external hard drive and the new computer is not recognizing it. Help.

I just bought a mac mini over the weekend. I saved items from my old G4 to an external hard drive. I go to plug in the external hard drive and the new computer is not recognizing it. Help.
Here is the information I have. The external hard drive is a 120GB Acomdata. It has both USB and Firewire. When I go to plug in to the mac mini through USB, it is not being recognized. When I switch to Firewire on the old computer I can see it, however when I go to USB it is not being recognized (even on the old computer).
I'm at a loss as to what to do. Any advice would be helpful.

Shalese wrote:
Have you ever tried the FW 400 to 800 adapter?
I have used them on multiple occasions and they work just fine.
Try this (maybe you already have):
-Boot Mini with drive disconnected.
-Do not connect drive but turn it on
-wait a few seconds for drive to spin up
-plug cable into the Mini then into drive.
This is an old drive and may have some timing
issues.
I had an Acomdata drive a long time ago. It
worked fine with FW but USB was flakey.

Can i use 2gb memory in one slot in my 2006 Mac mini as the 2 slots of 1gb only reports only 1gb memory, both memory work ok in the one slot

Can I use 2gb memory in one slot in my 2006 Mac mini as the 2 slots of 1gb only reports as 1gb memory, both memory work ok in the one slot as I have swapped them over

To my knowledge 1GB modules are the max. size for the 2006 Mini.
2GB modules are not recognized/useable.
Sorry
Stefan

I have a Symphonic 32' HDTV (Dolby Digital Plus). can someone help me figure out how to configure it optimally with my Mac Mini? the display and sound is off. Do I need drivers/software? I'm new to macs.

I have a Symphonic 32' HDTV (Dolby Digital Plus). can someone help me figure out how to configure it optimally with my Mac Mini? the display and sound is off. Do I need drivers/software? I'm new to macs.

Hello, since nobdy else has replied...
Long shot, but...
Open Audio Midi Setup in Applications>Utilities, see the input & output options & KHz setting there.

Mac mini and the old mac iBook clamshell

Does anyone know if the old iBook clamshell can be used as the monitor and keyboard with the Mac mini? I've got one and I'd like to be able to use it.
What about the the old iMac blueberry bubbles/OS 9.2. Can I use this with a Mac mini as the monitor, keyboard and mouse?

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
The simple answer to your question is that no, your iBook or iMac can't be used the way you hope. Neither has any way to get the mini's video output into the iBook or iMac for display purposes. Obviously the iMac keyboard can be used with the mini, but not the iBook's.
This question comes up regularly here in one form or another, with users hoping to use laptops or iMacs as input/out devices for a mini, but it can't be done. What can be done in many situations is to connect the mini and 'host' system by ethernet and use a VNC solution (such as Chicken of the VNC http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/) to control the mini from the host. basically the mini appears in a window on the host system's desktop. However most, if not all, VNC-type solutions will require that the host is running MacOS X, not OS9 or earlier, and even when it does work, performance is really not that great. Aside from that, a screen, keyboard and mouse is required for the mini's initial out-of-the-box setup anyway.

I am going to buy a mac mini i7 with 3 thunderbolt displays for forex trading. the question is if i use bootcamp and run windows on the mac mini will the displays still run the same way as if i was running it on Lion?

I am going to buy a mac mini i7 with 3 thunderbolt displays for forex trading. the question is if i use bootcamp and run windows on the mac mini will the displays still run the same way as if i was running it on Lion?

No idea if Windows will do it, but you can run Windows without Bootcamp & have OSX available at the same time, which should give you all the Monitors that OSX uses.
Parallels...
http://www.parallels.com/
VmWare Fusion...
http://www.vmware.com/mac

I have a airport time capsule, an older airport extreme, and an airport express. I want to hard wire my Mac Mini to the network. What is the best arrangement of the devices? which ones should be hard wired to optimize extending the network?

I have a airport time capsule, an older airport extreme, and an older airport express. I want to hard wire my Mac Mini to the network. What is the best arrangement of the devices? which ones should be hard wired to optimize extending the network?

I am using TM Unifi with an ASUS RT-N18U Wi-Fi router. I would like to know could I use Apple AirPort Time Capsule to extend (repeater, booster) my Wi-Fi to a part of the house where the Wi-Fi signal is poor
Yes,, if you plan to connect the AirPort Time Capsule to the ASUS router using an Ethernet cable connection that will remain fixed and permanently installed at all times.
No, if you were planning to have the AirPort Time Capsule connect wirelessly and extend the Asus WiFi signal, since it would not be compatible with another manufacturer's router for that purpose.
Another way of saying the same thing here would be that if you want to extend the network wirelessly, it will take two Apple routers to do so

Is mac mini worth the price

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