Aside from energy costs/environmental reasons are there pros and cons to using sleeping or shutting down for the mini?
I'm inclined to turn mine off overnight as I'm not using it for any reason then and it doesn't take long to restart.
I turn mine off because I like the feeling that all the computer is OFF.
It will take a slight bit of time, and intention to turn it ON again.
and life is too short and precious to be tied to getting caught up in having it too available - even one step of removal is a good, and for me, spiritual, step.
Its not all about pennies, productivity, and how immortal my hard drive is.
When not in use do you turn your Mac mini off or just put it in sleep mode ?
Also when the Mac mini is in sleep mode , can it charge an ipad/iphone via the USB cable ?
I have a 2012 Mini with 16 GB When I use Parallels, even after closing program my memory will slowly drop to about 1 to 2 gigs free and never increase with all programs closed. I usually only have Safari and Itunes open. In finder no program is listed as using more than 1 Gb. I assume Parallels causes the memory leak. After restart I have about 11 to 13Gb free. So I agree with you about restarting.And how many watt hours of effort will I have to waste providing you with sufficient justification that will satisfy you? (If that is even a possibility...)
I'm concerned about possible fires so I turn mine off when I leave...
Do you also unplug (not just turn off) your laptop, tablet, TV and all your appliances, alarm clocks, hot water heater, and furnace or baseboard heaters when you leave? Because those have an equal or better chance of starting a fire. Especially a laptop, tablet, or phone, since batteries are known to start fires occasionally. The Mini doesn't even have a battery.
I have always left my computers running for days and even weeks. I have a 2012 Mac mini and a windows laptop which just stays at work and when I leave I just lock it.
I have the screen saver set for 5 minutes and turn monitor off after 30 minutes. Never put them to sleep.
Now for those who rarely turn their Macs off, what settings do you use?
Now for those who rarely turn their Macs off, what settings do you use?
I have always left my computers running for days and even weeks. I have a 2012 Mac mini and a windows laptop which just stays at work and when I leave I just lock it.
I have the screen saver set for 5 minutes and turn monitor off after 30 minutes. Never put them to sleep.
Now for those who rarely turn their Macs off, what settings do you use?
Do you also unplug (not just turn off) your laptop, tablet, TV and all your appliances, alarm clocks, hot water heater, and furnace or baseboard heaters when you leave? Because those have an equal or better chance of starting a fire. Especially a laptop, tablet, or phone, since batteries are known to start fires occasionally. The Mini doesn't even have a battery.
Powering-off or restarting a Mac every day or two frees-up RAM that is tied-up and hasn't been released by the OS. When I leave my Macs running 24/7 sooner or later they slow-down because of insufficient RAM. (And I have more RAM than the stock amount...)