MAC Mini /dual core

[gnogin]

Sorry,Mr.Gates,
but i love my MAC!!!
:hammer:
Are there any OptiBoarders with new MACs?
I just switched from IBook G3 to MAC-Mini dual core:idea:
Anyone wants to share their thoughts?
My 2 cents- I just love it !
By the way,
has anyone seen the new Apple ads?
funny,funny.
http://www.apple.com/getamac/
be well and drive safe:cheers:

[Snitgirl]

My husband is an IT Consultant for both PC & MAC but our household is strictly MAC.

Imho, MAC is by far the best computer that I've ever used and owned. Talk about worry free!! Ya, sure they can seem expensive but in the long term it’s a great investment.

Hubby just upgraded to the Mac Book Pro 17" Intel Dual Core. I’m soooo jealous... Guess its my turn next year... lol

It’s either a new Mac for me or upgrade from my compact digital camera to a digital SLR. I think I’m going to head towards the SLR… We have 4 MAC'S..... honestly I don’t need another one. lol

Congrats on your new purchase..:cheers: It’s definitely worth it!

[gnogin]

As far as the prices- MAC vs. PC-
by me, its OK to pay extra for sure thing.
Its like buying +2.00 DS OU korean mass-produced half-eye or spending big bucks for a hi-gold content drill-mount:drop:
The only bug that i have with Mr.Jobs-
his company's international shipping policy----the Apple "pooters" has only one authorised dealer in Israel,although one can buy some products at other computer stores, but all repairs and upgrades are done at only one location.:finger:
The prices are 20-40% higher than in US.
I had to ask my niece to buy a Mini for me at the Apple store in NYC,with memory and HD upgrade and 12 months world wide warranty it came out
20% less than if i were to buy a "naked" Mini here .:angry:
Well,here it is---
my first job in a retail optical shop in NY -
an old-timer guild optician and his wife ran the show-
he'd open a door ,check the shoes,rings,earings,hand bag,a watch, as well as the tie and the odor that the potential patient had--
and than ,looking not directly in the eyes but aiming his gaze at the "third eye" -he'd ask-
"Would you prefer something good or cheap?".
This opened many doors...
At the and of the day his wife would lock up the shop
and on her knees ,with a magnet stick , she 'd pick up all the screws and other miser stuff from the carpet, before i'd vaccuum the damn floor...
this was way back in 1980.:hammer:
;) I still love my MACs- 2 at home and dosens (IMacs,Ibooks ,EMacs) at work--animation and grafic design classes, as well as others-industrial design and architecture.

[hcjilson]

My first was an Apple II then to the original Mac /128k for memory. Currently I own an iMac graphite, G4 titainium powerbook, and last summer got a 13" MacBook 2GHZIntel Core Duo with a gig of ram. Awesome! Admittedly I did have a 3 month problem with sudden shut down but Apple finally solved the problem with a new machine. Its been great to date and the built in camera is wonderful!

PS I think Rinsie is also driving a Mac,

[rinselberg]

Thanks for the "ink" (publicity) ... Harry.

Courtesy of my younger (smarter) brother, I use (but he owns) a Mac mini (desktop model) with the 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 GB RAM, 80 GB hard drive, large SGI flat panel color monitor, Labtec mini stereo speakers and subwoofer and DSL Internet access. And the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse. It's a very stylish unit (as pictured below), with a 6.5-inch square footprint and only 2 inches of vertical dimension. (I guess I could say 2 inches "high", but somehow that doesn't sound perfectly scientific ...)



It's endless fun, although the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse have not fully lived up to our expectations. They have the right "touch" (tactile or haptic) and we like the unimpeded movement, but the mouse runs the batteries down faster than we would have thought. (We may switch to rechargeables.) Every once in a while something seems to "clog up" the Bluetooth (wireless) channels and forces us to recover by rebooting the computer. Seems to happen about once or twice a month. More frequently, the keyboard goes offline for a moment and sometimes takes more than a moment to recover itself. So my brother wonders if he could have done better with a wireless keyboard and mouse from Logitech.

This was one of the first Macs with the new Intel architecture. If it has a weak point, it must be power consumption - which translates into running "hot". I don't know whether subsequent hardware revisions have improved it any in this regard.

For many users it wouldn't be a problem. If we didn't keep the BOINC science programs running 24/7, the CPU temp would track a steady 120 degrees Fahrenheit (installed software to monitor it) and the internal cooling fan would not be running (or at least not fast enough to be audible).

But we have it set to run three of the science programs, and with the dual CPU architecture, we let it run two science work units in parallel. It cycles through all the possible combinations of two different work units from three different projects. (The cycling is automatic.)

One of two states will always prevail. When two work units are running, but not one or two SETI work units, the CPU temp stabilizes at about 180 degrees (F). Pretty warm compared to many PC boxes that are doing the same kind of work. Maybe even outright "hot". When one or both of the work units are from the SETI project, the Mac's cooling fan runs at high speed (I can hear it) and that stabilizes the CPU temp at about 140 F. A SETI software expert told me it has to do with the L2 cache - whatever that means.

I've checked online, and I don't think that this is a malfunction. It's in line with reports from other Mac users. But this is what gave rise to the "Only you can prevent CPU fires" tag line that I appended to some of my posts. (The poster of a thousand tag lines ...)

Like all Mac users, we don't see as many software applications to select from, compared to PC users. First and foremost, no more Internet Explorer. Which means that some of the more specialized text fonts on certain web pages are not rendered in the intended way on any of our browsers - Safari, Camino, Firefox and Netscape Navigator. Not a "biggie". And the way we're set up, my brother uses the Apple Mail program and I use the third party Thunderbird email software - only way we could figure out how to both have email and not interfere with each other.

Viruses? Trojan horse attacks? None that I have noticed. We've been running all of this hardware and software 24/7 from day one back in April. We just have the regular Apple-installed security features - it's not something that I have ever looked into.

I used the CD drive a lot at first and then hardly any of late. Exactly one time recently there was some kind of malfunction with the CD drive, but it did not damage the CD that I was trying to use. It just made a "not good" kind of mechanical noise until I recovered. Don't remember exactly what I did to recover. I wouldn't be surprised if this would happen again though.

So there you have it: Another Mac user on OptiBoard.



Ask not what science can do for you ...

[Grubendol]

I have a Mac Mini from 05. Slow compared to the new ones but I do so love it. Working on the wife to get her into a macbook.

[DragonLensmanWV]

So I guess what you're saying is that Macs are fast now because they're running Intel hardware and also now have the ability to run PC progs?
<G<D&R>
:bbg:

[gnogin]

So I guess what you're saying is that Macs are fast now because they're running Intel hardware and also now have the ability to run PC progs?
<G<D&R>
:bbg:

Yes...:drop:
http://www.apple.com/getamac/
one can partition the HD and have 2 OS' (:hammer: two left eyes?:hammer: ) -Windows and Tiger run on ONE dual core processor....the faster speed,
i think, is because of 64 byte vs 32.

[bt5050]

as for my opinion -

Mac Os X crushes anything windows - hands down -

I made the switch 3 yrs ago - whn it was time to barry my desktop PC -
it was a huge step for me- and at that time- with the old motorola chips - running 2 operating systems ( os x and windows ) was not possible -

I did make the leap - and i have no idea why i was so scared -
anyways- it is time for me to update my laptop - and i have been watching closely - and as soon as the new lepored is relased - my order will be in -

I have decided to go with the power book model - over the new macbook - since for the power - and cost - it is a much better buy - and not that i carry my feelings about poly - outside eyewear -
It is clear that the poly used for the ibook - and new macbook - becomes easily worn - and not very visually appealing - and that alone - is a major factor in my choice to go with the powerbook line -

does anyone here have a opionion on which software system to purchase to be able to run windows along side the os x - ? To my understanding os x lep. - when relased will have built in software - so that 3rd party will not have to be bought to load - and partition the drive - however - if os x lep. is not released by jan - i will have to go the route of byuing the 3rd party software - or going with freeware - to accomplish it -

so therefore any suggestions on which compnay to use would be appreaicted - i have seen semi good reviews on "parrels"--

as for those - who seem to think macs - are either slower - or inferior to the windows os - one day - when you want a system that you dont have to worry about updating anti - virus or critical updates you may see the light - and i am sure you to will feel as all mac user do - that it is by far the best choice -

I find the "pc test - out of the box - very interesting - that by taking a pc out of the box - hooking it up and letting it sit there - that with in 30 minutes - it is infected with a whole host of problems - i know that the anti virus company's must love this - however most customers - it beocmes a problem - that never goes away -

[Grubendol]

I would amend that slightly. Having Intel makes it faster hands down, but a big part of the reason it's so much faster than the old Mac Mini was the old Mini wasn't even running the G5 processor, it was still G4...much slower architecture and the RPM's are down on it too. I have a LaCie stackable hard drive to go with it and boot from that directory to boost my speed.

[gnogin]

all new MACs come with BootCamp-- software that partitions HD.
I really have no need for Windows XP at home, so i did not partition HD in my Mini.
anyone ?

[Grubendol]

Oh and for what its worth any mac user simply must have the mighty mouse. It is the most perfect addition they've ever made.