Buying a Mac Mini

[Zipster90]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and buying my first mac, since my radio, TV and film classes will slowly get into more mac material. I also work in computer support at my university, and I'm grossly undereducated on the ways of OS X. Sure, I can navigate my way around, but when it comes to fixing something, forget it.

What I mainly want to do with my mac is to just familiarize myself with the interface and then the nitty-gritty technical stuff later on. I've also been salivating over iWork ever since it came out, mostly because of Keynote. I would also like to dual-boot Windows 7 with Boot Camp, since my old Dell laptop can barely run Vista. Also, the mac would connect to my Linux box, which serves as my music/video/big-time storage machine.

So, since this is my first mac, I just want some reassurance. Is the low-end mini a good choice for these uses? I guess the mini would end up acting as my general interweb surfing, paper typing machine, as well as a frontend for my music and video library. Any purchase advice is appreciated. Thanks!🙂

 

[ymarker]

Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm seriously considering taking the plunge and buying my first mac, since my radio, TV and film classes will slowly get into more mac material. I also work in computer support at my university, and I'm grossly undereducated on the ways of OS X. Sure, I can navigate my way around, but when it comes to fixing something, forget it.

What I mainly want to do with my mac is to just familiarize myself with the interface and then the nitty-gritty technical stuff later on. I've also been salivating over iWork ever since it came out, mostly because of Keynote. I would also like to dual-boot Windows 7 with Boot Camp, since my old Dell laptop can barely run Vista. Also, the mac would connect to my Linux box, which serves as my music/video/big-time storage machine.

So, since this is my first mac, I just want some reassurance. Is the low-end mini a good choice for these uses? I guess the mini would end up acting as my general interweb surfing, paper typing machine, as well as a frontend for my music and video library. Any purchase advice is appreciated. Thanks!🙂

It's actually ideal for what you stated you want to use it for. It's real quiet and uses very little electricity. Just make sure you've got monitors/keyboard/mouse.

 

[theMaccer]

See if you can land a refurb 2.0GHz Mini with 1GB ram and 120GB HDD. It only costs $429, and it is pretty much the same machine as the new $599 mini after you upgrade the ram and HDD.

 

[gkarris]

I upgraded my 1.66 CD Mini to 2 Gig and it was great. Now with Snow Leopard, it totally rocks!

Get the Mini. Everyone I've told to get a Mini (they all had a PC monitor that they liked and wanted to keep) really love it and still use it (some are PPC versions).