Should i buy a mini mac?

Question

help should i buy a mini mac?
or a pc with media centre software?
i use my crrant pc for the internet
photos ,music kids homework
dont know a great deal about computer jargon
buyt looking to upgrade
please help
malcs

Answer 1

Pos, what an enumeration ! I think that your point of view is slightly biased, and that some "statements" need a bit more explanation.
Mac OS X definitely looks great (we're talking about the graphical user interface - after all, when browsing Microsoft's website, you could very well say that Windows looks great and because it works as it should and doesn't get in your way like Windows often does, it feels great to use this system.
It is UNIX-based, which means it relies on a well-known, reliable foundation (UNIX). The core of the system, Darwin (which is basically Mac OS X w/out all the user interface and bundled applications), is Open Source, which means that its source code is available to anyone, and can therefore be thoroughly analyzed and tested by any knowledgeable person who wants to - thus helping detecting issues (or bugs, if you prefer) and fixing them, which results in greater reliability and security for OS X.
I disagree with No hacking and Bulletproof and stealth security : it isn't entirely accurate, and can be misleading. Mac OS X is not hacker-proof : it can be hacked, just like any other operating system, in many ways. However, it does inculde a software firewall which has a good reputation, and offers an option called "Sealth Mode", which will make your Mac invisible to hackers. It should be enough to protect you from many threats, and if you use a router to connect to the internet, it probably has a (hardware) firewall of its own.
On the other hand, Mac OS X is definitely more secure than Windows. It has less security holes, and since Macs don't run Windows applications (and Windows PCs don't run Mac apps), and that viruses are nothing else than very compact applications, a Mac cannot be affected by Windows viruses and worms. There are some viruses targeting previous versions of the MacOS, but Mac OS X is an all-knew operating system and isn't affected by them (as long as you don't run OS 9 through Classic - but that's only necessary if you want to use old Mac apps, and as a switcher you are unlikely to do so). Viruses, and pieces of malicious software targeting OS X are very rare, and often remain a "proof of concept" ...
Any new Mac comes with a lot of bundled software, including word processing applications (such as AppleWorks, which is kind of outdated now - but many other are available, including Microsoft Office:mac 2004 and a version of OpenOffice.org) and the iLife suite :
iTunes is a well-known application which is also available for Windows;
iPhoto is an app to manage your photo library, it isn't great, but isn't bad either and is well integrated with the other iApps;
GarageBand allows you to make or record your own music, with your keyboard (with software instruments, it's not very practical) or external instruments connected via USB or FireWire
[Warning : this is an application that uses a lot of resources, if you want to run it on a Mini, you might need more than the standard 512 Megabytes of RAM for smooth operation, and a more powerful Macintosh such as the iMac would definitely be a plus];
iMovie HD can edit homemade movies (you need a digital camcorder, and to store the video on your Mac, you'll need a large hard disk usch as an external FireWire one) : you can add transitions, rearrange the order of scenes, add text, chapters, etc.
[in order to edit HD -stands for High Definition - video, you'll need an HD digital camcorder, and probably more processing power than a Mini can offer];
iDVD, which will be of no help to watch DVDs (there is an application called DVD Player that will do this), but create your own DVDs, with chapters, etc.
[if you want to burn these DVDs to disc, you must order your Mac with a Superdrive or add an external FireWire or USB DVD burner].
Apart from the iLife suite, Mac OS X comes with other apps, including Mail (an email client like Outlook Express - just a lot nicer), Safari (a web browser, note that Firefox is also available for the Mac), iSync to synchronize your cell phone or PDA, and many others.
Coming from the Windows world, I'd say that the Mac platform can do almost everything the Windows platform can, often better. The area where the Mac is inferior to the Windows PC is gaming (a Mac is capable of running games, but Mac versions of games often come long after the PC version and aren't as nice).
If you choose the Mac, then the Mini is a good, relatively unexpensive Mac, which is very capable and will browse the web, manage you photos and your music well. The iMac is more expensive, but will offer a lot more power, and a Media Center-like application called Front Row (but it's easier to use than on the PC). In both cases, I think everyone would agree to say that it is wise to wait for Steve Job's keynote at the Macworld Expo (on January 10, 9 A.M. PST) : new products are likely to be announced, and even if the new "Macintels" (Mac with Intel processors, like on the PC) aren't released, iLife '06 should be bundled with every new Mac after the Expo (otherwise you'd get iLife '05 and will have to pay if you want to get the latest - the current version is great but if you can get the new version for "free", it won't hurt, will it ?).
Mac mini | 1.25 Ghz G4 | 1 GB RAM | 40 GB HDD | AirPort Extreme   Mac OS X (10.4.3)   External 250 GB LaCie HDD | LaCie FW DVD-RW DL 16x | 20 GB iPod w/Color Display