Thinking about switching to Intel Mac Mini... questions for the cognoscenti

Greetings:
I've been checking out the new Intel Mac Minis and I was thinking of purchasing one to replace my AV computer (PC) in the living room, which the GF currently uses. She's a typical user: watches video files/DVDs, uses iTunes excessively , sends web email and surfs the Net.
I've fairly decided on an Intel Core Duo Mini. Since I know the basics about Mac, I had a few questions:
1. What's an appropriate amount of RAM for a non-power user? Would 1 GB be more than enough or overkill? I'm used to running 1GB in a Windows machine. Plus, I'm also used to popping in memory when I needed to upgrade, and I see that's not really an option on the Mini.
2. How would I integrate it into a Windows network? Would the Mini be able to share files with a Windows machine and vice versa?
3. Regarding network integration: how easily would the Mini integrate into an existing Linksys 802.11g home network?
Lastly, this isn't really an (easily) answerable question, but how easy do you think it would be for an average computer user to get up and running on a Mac after having used Windows machines all their life?
Thanks, I look forward to your responses.
-Craig
Homebuilt   Windows XP Pro   2GB PC 3500 RAM, 500GB SATA RAID (2x250), ATI AIW 9700 Pro, Athlon XP3200

Hello, I can only really answer Q's 1 & 3 as I've only owned a mini for the past 24 hours.
I purchased the Single Core after taking advice of the Apple Store staff in Manchester, they were quite helpful. I only really produce music (have used Ableton, Acid Pro etc on PC for quite a while), surf the web, do my banking etc so was advised that the Single Core with 512mb would be sufficent. I work for an ISP and have 10 years plus knowledge of Windows but I was prepared to listen and learn having never used a mac before. From my own experience, I'm used to having to use a pc with minimum spec ie min 1.2GHz processor, 1gb ram in order to produce music without any pops or clicks (latency), though sound cards also play a part. I've also had to keep internet activity well away from any PC that I produce music on in that respect. Anyhow, I'm going off on a tangent here but I was playing around with garageband last night and I've never known music production to run so smoothy on 512mb RAM, never known it before so was extremely impressed and certain I made the right purchase opting for Solo Core. You may not actually NEED the full 1gb though this depends what you're doing. To answer your other question, my mac slotted straight into my home nertwork without making any additional configuration.
i.e how long does it take to get used to a mac, I've found there is a learning curve but it's not THAT difficult, it's just the odd thing such as no right click of the mouse that takes some getting used to.

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    Intel Mac Mini Core Solo   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
    Intel Mac Mini Core Solo   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

    i recenetly purchases 2 gigs of memory off of ebay from approvedmemory
    i called the apple store to get it installed, they do not intall 3rd party memory. so I called fry's and asked if they could do it. One store said no, but the Burbank, CA store has a guy who could do it. It took him 20 minutes to do it and it cost me $29.00
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    http://www.super-natural-films.com
    http://www.naturalprinting.com
    http://www.midimark.com
    mac mini duo intel 1.66/2gb ram/80 HD   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   also own Mac, Mac Classic, Power PC, quadra 650, & G4 silver bullet... yay!

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    Unlike some of the other big companies, HP seems to have made the transition from Classic MacOS to MacOS X seamlessly. Their printer driver software works just as well on MacOS X as it did under MacOS.

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  • The Intel Mac Mini uses on-board graphics... how good are they?

    I'm seriously considering getting an Intel Mac Mini and telling all my friends to get one, too. However, there's one problem - the graphics.
    The whole reason I'd want an Intel Mac would be so that I could dual-boot into Windows Vista (when it comes out) in order to play the latest games.
    How suitable are the on-board graphics for gaming? Would it be able to play Halo and Command & Conquer Generals well?
    Basically, I want to know if it's the equivalent of a 64 MB graphics chip in speed, or if having on-board graphics makes it a bit slower. Does it have hardware acceleration? And is it suitable for smooth casual gaming at an average resolution?

    I am very uneasy about finding integrated graphics in the new mini too.
    When I first saw the new Mini website on Apple's website I was so excited "intel processor", "4 usb ports", "faster drives" but something was missing from the website; the "graphics" sub-category. I instantly wondering what was up with that, thinking right away obviously the graphics weren't good enough to brag about. I was right. On Apple's MacMini website, on the "Intel Core" sub-category page, bottom of the page, right side there's a weee comment on integrated graphics, "oh." was my only thought.
    It's really disappointing to see integrated graphics in the new Mini. That AND the increase in price. The price of the Intel iMac dropped by $100 when it got introduced, but the Intel Mini's price goes up $100 upon introduction, further closing the price between the iMac and the Mini and making the iMac looking more and more attractice in terms of features-performance-price-value. I better run out and buy a Intel iMac before Apple removes the miniDVI-out port (which I'm predicting it will be removed in the next iMac revision)
    Hopefully some Intel MacMini review tests in the coming weeks will reveal better-than-expected graphics performance.
    I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this but... doesn't anyone here see that Apple has given us a preview of what's to come by putting integrated graphics in the new Intel MacMini? -- Anyone? I'll tell you -- we're going to see the exact same integrated graphics in the upcoming Intel iBooks, that's what.
    Mac Mini   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

  • Need help with Intel Mac mini... potential logic board failure...

    Hey everyone! For the past couple years, I've been using an Intel Mac mini which I was able to afford before rough times hit for me. It has been a champ for a long time, until recently. In the past week, the clock would lose time ever so often, and last week, whenever I'd try to power it up in the morning (as I shut it down every night), it wouldn't start up most times (meaning, you hit the power, nothing... no LED, no fan, nothing on screen, nada). After a while, I would somehow manage to get it to start. I assumed at this point, the lithium battery (coin type CR2032, not the traditional 1/2 AA purple battery) was shot. Since I'm in the middle of a job transition, I was waiting until I had time to put in a new battery, which I was planning to do this weekend. Then Wednesday happened...
    I go to start it, nothing... A week before this, I started losing time and sometimes it would not boot. I figured eventually I would be able to start it since I was able to sometimes get it to start after a half hour or more. That didn't happen. So I decided to go ahead and swap in the new battery. I do that, power it up, nothing. I reset the SMC (same as PMU on the PPC Macs), to no avail. I reseated the RAM, and did everything I could think of, but it's deader than Elvis. I also had took the power supply to a guy who had a voltimeter. He said voltage was getting to all pins.
    I went back and read some of the archives on this board. Someone mentioned something about a repair exception. It mentioned that sometimes if you call AppleCare (even if you don't have it) and ask for a repair exception, sometimes they'll agree to have the logic board replaced due to it being a documented problem. How true is this and who should I contact?
    Can anyone suggest anything here? If I can't revive the mini, I may have to drag my iMac back out and try to set it up to run OS X. I can't no where near afford another computer at this point. I'm praying the mini can be fixed. I would appreciate any and all suggestions!
    Thanks in advance!
    Tommy

    It does sound like the logic board has gone bad. However, there are no current repair extension programs open on the Mac Minis.
    This page lists the open extensions:
    http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/
    So that's not an option. I assume that the Mini doesn't have AppleCare (whoops.), so I would not count on Apple covering it, but it's always worth a shot. You can call AppleCare (1-800-275-2273) or visit your local Apple Store

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