Mac mini or macbook pro retina or imac??

hey guys.... i need your help... i am about to get a mac but i dont know which..... my question is should i buy a mac mini, macbook pro retina 13'' or imac 21.5''??? thx!!!

I appreciate all the responses. I don't do anything graphic heavy on my computer, although at the same time, I've never had a computer powerful enough to run those types of programs. I also use a console for games, but that could change if I had a computer powerful enough to run things smoothly. It is disappointing that the hardware found in the current offerings is much more highly priced than many competitors. However, I'm not a fan of Windows, and I do realize that with Apple's price premium you get great customer service and the ability to bring a malfunctioning computer directly to an Apple store with results that are, on the whole, much better than you would find at a 3rd party repair service for PCs. I also find Apple's OS grossly headache free with a very nice user experience. I'll see what changes may be made soon to the aforementioned devices and I guess I'll go from there. Although I could swing for a rMBP in 15 inch, and typically use computers for years and years before replacing, if I can save money, I always go for that option.

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Connecting Mac mini to MacBook Pro retina?

Hello,
I just purchased a 13" macbook retina. I was wondering if I were to purchase a Mac mini, can I connect it to the MacBook Pro using that as a display through Target Display mode?
Thanks.

TDM is only supported in iMacs.

Do Mac Mini and Macbook Pro Retina use the exact same i7 processor?

If not why do I get the exact same info from both computers:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3615QM CPU @ 2.30GHz
Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Isn't it strange that they are using a mobile CPU in a desktop computer?

One way to tel is the the specs for the laptop
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/
Says it has
Intel Iris Graphics
While the specs for the Mac Mini
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP659
Say it has
Intel HD Graphics 4000
The graphis for both are integrated with the CPU chip
Also, the wifi's for the Mini and laptops provide more detail inof
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini

How can I share my LR catalog between Mac Mini and MacBook Pro?

How can I share my LR Catalog between my Mac Mini and MacBook Pro?

Your Lightroom license key is
a. Single user / owner
b. You are allowed two active installations, with one in use at any point in time.
c. It is cross platform Mac and or PC.
d. You can install / uninstall as many times it is necessary, as long as you meet the criteria above.
The latest updates can be accessed from the link below.
Product updates

Will microsoft office for mac run on macbook pro retina?

title asks the full question. i will receive a macbook pro retina next week and have heard that
microsoft office for Mac will not run. is this true? i understand that iwork update X is out in a few
weeks, but i need a Word program on my mac

I would look for an answer/ask in the office for mac forum: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac?auth=1

Mac Mini and Macbook Pro

Hello there,
I wonder if you could help. I have a new macbook pro with the largest HD I can get and faster processor. It's a lovely piece of kit. But the problem is that that I edit a lot of films and have lots of stuff already on it so I have almost maxed out my HD space. I don't want to delete anything and I know that I will add more stuff onto it.
I thought of having a separate machine on which I can store and manage all my media - use this to edit films as well as store movies for my ipad.
Could the Mac Mini be the answer, plugging it into my macbook? Or should I just buy a whole new machine and delete all the raw films from my first macbook and only store films on the new one?
I don't want a massive display or anything as my place is short on space.
I hope you can help!!
Bianca

I may be misunderstanding what you are wanting to accomplish but it sounds like you need more disk storage rather than another computer. Getting two larger capacity external hard drives, one for your video files and one for backup should solve your full internal drive problem. If you are storing irreplaceable video you would want to get another drive so you would have two backups. Newer drives don't take up much space. For example, my 2TB LaCie Quadra is relatively small (4 5/8" x 7 5/8" x 1 5/8").
The Mac Mini's specs aren't really heavy video editing friendly if you are wanting a second computer for that purpose. You would want to buy the fastest specs your budget and space allows.

Share cinema display between Mac Mini and MacBook Pro

Hello -
I am keen to get an LED cinema display to use on my new MacBook Pro - but I share my study with my children - so want to give them a MacMini to use.
How easy is it two swap between the MacMini and the MacBook Pro ? I guess there is only one input in the LED cinema display ???
Thanks in advance.
Andrew

Interesting - I have the same idea: sharing a 24" cinema display between a Macbook Pro for myself and a Mac mini for my wife.
The only problem I see is that the display doesn't have any Firewire ports. So if I want to use an external harddrive (or a mini-DV camcorder) on both computers when connected to the display, then I'd have to plug that into the computer instead of the display ...

Will a current Mac Mini or MacBook Pro run Final Cut Pro 5.1.4?

My old G5 is really showing its age ...
I have FCS 1 - which was Universal Binary (Both PowerPC and Intel).
So will my old FCP work on a Lion, Intel Mac Mini? (Or Macbook Pro, for that matter!).
Thanks.

So will any Snow Leopard version do?
And is it still available in the App Store, and for how much??
(I can't tell as I'm stillon Leopard...)
Thanks.

Mac mini to MacBook pro

I would like to sync the contents of my new mac-mini to my macbook pro. How can I do this "on the cheap"? I see the migration tool doesnt do that...
thanks so much...
Steve
PS-The min is OS 10.5x
the Macbook is OS 10.4.11

Well, then, that means you want a clone of the one on the other. You have several alternatives.
1. Get an external hard drive and clone the source machine to the external drive. Move the drive to the target machine and boot from the external clone. Erase the target drive and clone from the external drive to the target machine.
2. Connect the two machines together via Firewire cable and boot the target machine into Target Disk Mode. Boot the source machine normally. After startup the target machine's disk drive will appear on the source machine's Desktop. Clone the source machine to the target machine.
3. If you have a local network and both machines are on the network then activate File Sharing on the source or the target. You can then sync files using any backup utility. However, you will not be able to clone since both machines will be booted into their respective systems and you cannot clone onto an active startup volume.d But you can sync Home folders.
4. If your syncing only the Home folders, then you can do this via Target Disk Mode, on your network, or using an external drive as a go-between or a USB flash drive if your Home folder is small enough to fit on one.)
Suitable backup/sync utilities include:
Backup Software Recommendations
My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. Carbon Copy Cloner (Donationware)
6. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
7. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
8. Data Backup (Commercial)
The following can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Apple Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

Connecting Both Mac Mini and MacBook Pro to single LED display

Is it possible to dock two mac computers to the same monitor, and have the ability to switch between each computer on the fly?
I am trying to dock both a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini to the same 24" Apple LED display. I would like it to be as close to a "switch" solution as possible, where it takes only a single button push to change between which computer is being displayed on the monitor. I am used to a PC, where I can hook two computers up to the same monitor, and change the input in the monitor to switch between the two computers that are hooked up to it.
Since there are not any buttons on my monitor, and I am not used to Mac's yet, I am not sure how to easily switch? I was told I could do it when I bought it, but now the help desk is closed....
Message was edited by: colsonjm

I was hoping there was a better option. I have the wireless keyboard and mouse, and the two computers. I doubt there is a way to switch the wireless keyboard/mouse without disabling and reconnecting the bluetooth connection (and I really do not think there is a KVM switch for bluetooth devices yet)...
That being said, I was hoping to continue to control the laptop with the laptop keyboard, and the mini with the wireless devices, and NOT go the KVM switch route... I was hoping there was a way to have the mini and the macbook both connected, and either push a button or access a menu to switch between the two...
So am I hearing that this is not a viable option? I need to invest in a potentially expensive KVM switch, or run one of the two computers remotely from the other?
The reason I am frustrated is that I was told when making the purchase that it was very much possible (by multiple employees over the phone and in store). I was also told by the tech people over the phone that everything I needed to do so would be in the box (no extra cables or anything needing purchase).
Message was edited by: colsonjm
Message was edited by: colsonjm

How do I sync files on Mac mini and MacBook pro

I want to sync files between my Mac Mini and my MacBook Pro. Is there a way to do this? Primarily, I want to access photos in my LightRoom Catalog from both platforms. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Note that there's a difference between sharing and syncing.
Sharing will allow you to access the files on your Mini from your MBP, but the files won't be on your MBP when you take it somewhere else.
Syncing is making both Macs have identical copies of files, so that a change on one Mac makes a change on the other Mac.
If you've got a large LightRoom catalogue and limited space on your MBP, then you want sharing. The link above should get you started with that.
For syncing, I recommend BitTorrent Sync, which is free. It's basically "DropBox without the cloud". You select a folder to sync, and then whenever your two Macs are on the same network, any file in that folder that changes is synced to the other Mac.
I use it to keep my entire Documents folder synced between my Mini and MBP.
http://www.bittorrent.com/sync
You may need to be careful about modifying the same document on both computers at the same time, though I believe BS does handle this in some way. Also, if you're syncing an app's data library, then some database files (e.g. with computer-specific data like file path names) may not sync well.
Of course, you could use DropBox, though you'll need to subscribe if you want more than a couple of GB.

How can I synchronize the photos and videos on my iphone with my mac mini or macbook pro?

Hello,
I took some pictures and videos with my iphone 4s. Now I want to synchronize them with my mac mini and my macbook pro.
But when I try to sync it via iTunes I can only sync from mac to iphone but not from iphone to mac.
If I import them via iphoto all videos are shown as pics and I cannot play them.
Can anyone help me?
Best regards,
Jürgen

Hi there ashleyyy7,
You may find the information in the article below helpful.
iOS: How to transfer or sync content to your computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1296
iBooks: How to sync iBooks between devices
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5826
-Griff W.

Connect Mac-mini to Macbook Pro to iPad 2?

Has ANYONE found a use out of connecting any apple device that isn't an iPhone?
I own a new Macbook Pro, iPad 2 and I just bought a mac mini for my flatscreen. I connected all three together via Bluetooth but after they connect and form a path they are no longer connected. They have a special path laid out for each device but they aren't actively connected.
At the same time I have a Bluetooth track pad and keyboard for the mac mini and they are both connected and working. Is there any way to have an active connection between the Mac mini, iPad 2 and Macbook Pro and if so is there anyway for it to be useful? File sharing, extended screen or anything?
Thanks for any help. With these top of the line techs I thought they'd work with each other better....

Probably easier with WIFI on your local network. Also, it depends on what you need it do with the Mini. OSX already has a screen sharing option that allows you to share screens and file sharing option to share files between each other, so if you want the Macbook to control the Mini for your media playback, you can. But then, it's probably easier for you to control all this via your iPad 2. The software you want to use it called Splashtop. It's a remote screen sharing software that not only duplicates the screen on both Macbook and Mini if both machines run the Splashtop server, but it also do sound as well. This way, you can use the iPad 2 to control your Mini, browse the net, watch Netflix, copy files, download movies from iTunes etc. I do this with my iPad 1 and my old Macbook Core 2 Duo attached to my flatscreen. Skipped Apple TV 2.

Coonecting Mac Mini to Macbook Pro

Hi, I upgraded from my Mac Mini to the Macbook Pro a year or so ago, looking to become a bit more mobile with where I work from, is it possible to use the Macbook Pro screen to run the Mac Mini through? Effectively using the Mac Mini as a second hard drive for the Macbook so I can access all the files and programs I have stored on it? Not sure if that is too ambitious, if so am I best enabling Bluetooth on both so I can drag files over from the Mini?
Thanks in advance

Mike X Y Z wrote:
is it possible to use the Macbook Pro screen to run the Mac Mini through? Effectively using the Mac Mini as a second hard drive for the Macbook so I can access all the files and programs I have stored on it?
It is extremely easy to use the mini "as a second hard drive for the Macbook". All you have to do is hook the two computers up with a firewire cable and start up the mini while holding down the "T" key. The mini's HD will then appear as a hard drive on the MBP . Alternatively you can (almost, but not quite, as simply) network the two computers over ethernet, firewire or wireless to access the mini's drive. Either way it is possible to set it up so that you can access every file on the Mini drive from the MBP.
This isn't quite the same as "using the MacBook screen to run the Mini", though. There are ways of doing this, up to a point, through things like "Screen sharing", or even by providing a video input over firewire or USB to the MBP, but we are then getting into a bit more complex process. In this sort of case we are talking using the mini's own processor, rather than the MBPs. Which is it that you really want to do? Simply access files, or us ewth MBP as a a 'screen" for the Mini without using the MBPs own processing power?
The best way to go is going to depend to some extent, too, on what sort of Mini we are talking about here. Is this an Intel or PPC mini? Does it still have a screen of its own? What do you yourself particularly want to achieve through these processes beyond simply accessing the data on the Mini HD?
Cheers
Rod

How do I transfer data from Mac Mini to Macbook Pro

How do I transfer data from a Mac Mini (10.6.8) to a Macbook Pro (10.7)?

Hi David,
When you first start the MBP, run Setup Assistant and connect the two machines with a FireWire cable.

Mac mini or macbook pro retina or imac??

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