Uses of Mac Mini

I was thinking about getting the Mac Mini as opposed to getting 3 separate things ( Airport , Apple TV and a Backup storage device for time capsule ). My question is .....does the Mac Mini do all 3 of these things and if so how does / would it compare in performance to having all of these separate ? Any limitations or anything that would work better ?

Maybe but the TV should work through the browser ( such as Netflix by browser or HuLu by browser ) plus I figure since the Mac Mini is technically a computer it would do more than just Apple TV would. The slowness of airport you mention could be a bad factor regardless of cost but then I'd be asking is it better to have the Mini for the 2 purposes of backup and as a better Apple TV device" Am I mistaken because from what I think I understand the Apple TV does not also act as a computer and browse the Internet ? It may be worth it to have all the same functionality plus more for even 2 purposes.

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Can I connect multiple displays using a mac mini

Can I connect 2 displays using the mac mini? If so, are there any accessories that I need? Are there certain monitors or connections that I should use?

Hello,
Assuming this is a 2012 Mini...
2nd Display Support:
Dual/Mirroring*
2nd Max. Resolution:
2560x1600*
Details:
*This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI or a DVI display (using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter) and 2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port).
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-2.6-late-2 012-specs.html
If you need more...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/VIDU3HDMIDV/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/VIDU2DVIA/

Installing Win7 on a macbook pro using a mac mini as external optical drive

hi everyone,
My 2 year old son watches movies on my macbook pro. He stuck something in the optical drive making it unusable. Repairing it is 200 to 300 euros (ouch).
I want to install win7 via bootcamp and I'm using my mac mini (october 2009) as an external optical drive. These are my steps:
1.hold the "t" on the mac mini
2.connect it to the macbook with a firewire 800 to firewire 400 cable
3.Power up and hold the "alt" on the macbook
4.I see the optical drive on the boot screen and I choose it
5.Then I get a blank screen and a few seconds later the "missing operating system" message appears.
Am I missing something? Is it possible to install win7 using a mac mini as an external drive?
PS1:I already have partitioned the HD with bootcamp.
PS2:I've upgraded the hard disk drive of the macbook with a seagate momentus 500GB hard disk. Don't think this is the problem, thought I should mentioned it.

Hi Mike,
For reference it is called "IP over Firewire".
Connect the two computers with a fire wire cable. System Preferences > Network > Configure IPv4: > Manually > IP address: 192.168.3.1 (and .2 on other) > Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0. Leave the other fields blank. Do this on both computers on the computer you want to allow access to or both for two way access go to System Preference > Sharing > Select a service to change its settings. Turn remote Login on.
On the MBP go to the Finder Menu > Go > Connect to Server > Type in the IP address of the Mini 192.168.3.2 (Whatever you gave it)
With this configuration you still have full use of the Mini and certain apps can use Xgrid and use the processor of the mini when it is not doing anything. I would keep the Mini as 10.4 unless you really need both machines running Leopard. As noted before you cannot boot the MBP from a HDD that is Apple Partition Scheme and vice versa you cannot boot the PPC from a Guide Partition Table.
Sweet Polly

I am using a mac mini 2011 an 3gs i phone 2010 macbook white 2008 and a new 2013 apple tv box. When i check info on the cloud I get 'upgrade your operating system to the latest. My question is is it possible to use the icloud system without an upgrade

I am using a mac mini 2011 an 3gs i phone 2010 macbook white 2008 and a new 2013 apple tv box. When i check info on the cloud I get 'upgrade your operating system to the latest. My question is is it possible to use the icloud system without an upgrade

iCloud requires OS X 10.7.2.

I want to Connect my Mac Mini as a Slave to a Mac pro Server while at the same time using the Mac mini's thunderbolt ports peripherals ( ie monitor, Sound Card, Hard drives) Creating a poor man's new mac Pro. Can this be Done?

I want to Connect my Mac Mini as a Slave to a Mac pro Server while at the same time using the Mac mini's thunderbolt ports peripherals ( ie monitor, Sound Card, Hard drives) Creating a poor man's new mac Pro. Can this be Done?

Well, I really would love the new unreleased mac pro however , I'm not sure of the expected cost , Everyone speculates from $3,000 to $8,000, in which I may have to wait a while to purchase.
To the point .... I want fully functional thunderbolt ports to be on the current mac pro's .... wonder if anyone had workarounds yet?... or could I chain the the current mac pro to a mac mini to make that happen?

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac?
The question pretty much says it all.
I have a Mac Mini with an attached 3TB Hard Drive used for Time Machine Backups.
I have an Airport Extreme base station which services that machine plus several others.
I would like to backup my new iMac and a MacBook Pro to the Mac Mini.
What do I need to do on the mini to export that hard drive so that it can be used as a Time Machine target from the other systems?
All systems are running 10.6.8.

Well you would have to do backups over a network which is much slower and has highest chance of becoming corrupt. I think your best option would be to get an apple time capsule to act as a network and back if thats how you wanna do that

Can airport extreme connect using a mac mini. the base station is not recognized so i cannot configure it manually

can airport extreme connect using a mac mini. this airport extreme wont connect to internet via my cable modem. I cant set it to bridge mode because it doesnt appear as a base station in airport utitlity...help

First, is your AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) a 802.11n, 802.11g, or 802.11b model? Second, what is your primary goal for using this base station? Finally, is the AEBS the only router in your current network configuration?

Using a Mac Mini for DSP

Hello!
I am wondering how many users are there out there using a Mac Mini for DSP to allow for more processing power.
wondering what types of experiences people have had out there/how well the machines work together. and if you would or would not recommend doing so
i would assume that it would help out with all of the processing and makes things sound better in the end?

I don't do it on a regular basis, but I tested out using an intel mini as a node on a G5, and it worked fine. Probably added about an additional 25% of what the quad could do (so if the quad did 100 of a plugin, the mini added 25 more).

Using a Mac Mini with my Mac Pro

I have a Mac Pro and a Mac Mini, but only one monitor and one keyboard. Can I hook up the Mac Mini so it will appear on the monitor (like another hard drive) when I am using the Mac Pro? I would like to use the Mac Mini strictly as a storage device and be able to drag files from the Mac Pro to the Mac Mini.

Put the Mac Mini in Target Disk Mode (start while holding "T") and connect it to the Mac Pro with a FireWire cable. If you want it to always start in Target Disk Mode:
<http://www.macgeekery.com/hacks/auto-bootto_target_diskmode>

Can you use a Mac Mini to share documents between several devices? iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, etc...? We are a home based business with several locations across the state and are having Google Drive issues, looking into Mac Mini options.

We are having Google Drive issues (some files won't sync) and it's causing us trouble with our business communication. Is there any way to use a Mac Mini to share documents between two people in different areas similar to google drive? Would this just be done through iCloud?

If you use Numbers, Pages and KeyNote it si very easy to sync those document among all the Apple devices. You need montain Lion on the Mac and at least iOS 5 on the mobile devices.
I show those document on my Mac, iPad 4 and iPhone 4S

How do I restrict use of mac mini to one website only?

Hi Geniuses!
I want to set up a Mac Mini in my office that can only be used to browse 1 website and nothing else. I don't want any user other than Admin to have the ability to change any settings, download any apps, install any software or browse the net other than to the specified website we have restricted Safari or Firefox or what to.
The website is an online testing site for my staff training program, so the user logs onto the website with his/her username and password and then can write tests online.
I hope there are some very simple ways to achieve the above. I will be using a Mac Mini which has been set up as a server somehow and running OSX10.6.8.
The startup disk says Server HD so not sure if I should change this machine to not be a server? Or is there a way to log into the second partition which is labelled Macintosh HD2?
I hope to hear back from some of you soon.
Thanks very much all.

Thanks for that advice andyBall_uk I did look in the Library under System and found the ParentalControls.prefPane and when trying to open with System Preferences I got an error message stating:
"You can't open the "Parental Controls" preferences pane because it is not available to you at this time.
To see this preferences pane, you may need to connect a device to your computer."
Any ideas as to what I may have to connect to my computer? I did not download Workgroup Manager as yet.
Hope to hear from someone soon. Thanks, Jason

I want to use a mac mini as a server supporting storage. Can I pair my macair to it for when I need to perform updates and maintenance ?

I want to use a mac mini as a server supporting storage. I have other devices such as an iMac and iPad that will access information from the server. I do not want to purchase a monitor and keyboard as the unit will sit in a cupboard out of sight. Can I pair my macair to it for when I need to perform updates and maintenance ?

I have a 2010 Mac Mini running Yosemite and Server which I use
as a headless home server.
I have is set up to allow screen sharing and can connect to it and
control it with my iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone, and a 2011 Mini Server
that I use as an HTPC.
You can check this out for all the Yosemite Server capabilities:
https://help.apple.com/advancedserveradmin/mac/4.0/
I have iTunes Home Sharing set up on it and have my entire iTunes
library on it. I can then use any of my Macs to play Movies or Songs
from it and only keep locally a select subset of that on my individual
devices.
Rather than and update server, I utilize Server's Caching Service. The caching
server will duplicate any update download (system or MacApp Store purchases)
any time a device that is connected to my network down loads one. The update will
then be stored locally and all other devices will download the update from it which
can be faster than from Apple directly. This has the advantage of only having to download
once with limited bandwidth internet connections. There is also an Update Server service
available, but it is some what more involved in setting up. However, it will download
and store all available updates.
There is another thing as well if you do not care for syncing things like Contacts, Calendar, etc.
to iCloud, you can set Server up to sync these items across devices locally.

I am using a Mac Mini. I want to change the file size in iMovie to MPEG so I can burn the move to a disc. There is no "save As" that I can find . What do i do?

I am using a mac mini. I want to change the file size in iMovie to MPEG so I can burn the movie to a disc. There is no "Save As" that I can find. What do I do?

Stanley Fayer wrote:
... to MPEG so I can burn the movie to a disc. ...
to create standard-conform DVDs = playable on any DVDplayer, there's much more to do than just converting to mpeg(2)...-
you need a DVD-authoring app, as iDVD, Burn, Toast ........... drag any iMovie export into it, 'burn'.

Productive uses for Mac Mini?

Hi all, I remember using my PC to download music back when i had dial up 10 years ago. I used to leave it running all night and in this way it was doing something productive. Now I have broadband and it's no longer an issue.
It seems like new hardware is mainly used for gaming. Can it be used for anything productive? what can I do with a Mac Mini to make my life better/more efficient.
I'm looking for something that I don't need to actively be at the Mac Mini and just want it to work by itself.
Is there anything else I could have my Mac Mini do during the night?
I thought the folks on here would have the knowledge I'm looking for!
I don't mind spending time learning a programming language if it'll give me a chance to use the Mac Mini for something!

Useful for almost anything, as a computer can run scripts or macros to perform tasks automatically; could be used for a total house control system, everything from feeding a kitty to open/close windows, on/off lights, water a yard, mow the lawn, and anything wireless technologies could do.
I even saw where someone put a mini in their car several years ago and it helped keep the owner connected to the internet, had touchscreen, voice communication without a handset, etc. Since it runs off DC voltage, it could run on a DC-to-DC converter, and not need an AC power supply. It could control a solar power grid with backup generation. There are so many devices that control other things. And room for a few more, if you want to put together some parts or make something to perform a task not done a peculiar way, before. With a round world, our night is someone elses day. What can you do for them half a world away? Is your imagination as boundless as it needs to be, to innovate a new or fun thing? Or be one of a few to offer a unique service. Put the mini in a helium balloon and let it go solar power, with backup battery, above the clouds and pollution. Wireless. Like a micro radio station to walk dogs.
If you are looking for a task for a Mini, you could let a server farm host it for you in their own facility. Not sure if that would be profitable to you, though. But then you wouldn't have to look at it! LOL
Good luck & happy computing!

MBA use with Mac Mini

Can I use the Mac Mini as an external cd drive for my MBA?

Connect the computers to the same network, insert a CD in the Mac mini, start File Sharing from the Sharing pane of System Preferences, choose Connect to Server from the Finder's Go menu on the MacBook Air, and log into the Mac mini.
(35587)

Can. I use my MAC Mini in conjunction with my iMac?

Can I use my MAC Mini in conjunction with my iMAC? I can not upgrade the OS of the iMAC due to software that I need and Lion does not support it.
If I could bounce back an forth or use the software from the MAC Mini with the iMAC, this would solve my dilemma.

Before I buy a networked drive can I use the airport to connect with an external
USB drive and set both macs use the drive as a time machine
Can you hook this up? Sure.
Is is supported by Apple? No.
Some users report that this seems to work when they try it.
Others....like me....have corruption problems anywhere from a few days to a few months after I set up a test....which I do whenever a new version of firmware or a new operating system becomes available.
We cannot predict your results, so if you decide to try this, and your backups are valuable, you might want to have a secondary backup plan in place as well....just in case.

Uses of Mac Mini

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