HP Mini

[dogslobber]

http://bgr.com/2016/04/01/desktop-computer-deals-windows-10-sale/

Would this give the Mac Mini a run for its money? All these mini PCs are smaller than the Mini nowadays. Surely Apple needs a redesign?

 

[jpietrzak8]

Would this give the Mac Mini a run for its money? All these mini PCs are smaller than the Mini nowadays. Surely Apple needs a redesign?

Even the top-spec version of this HP, the one with the i3 processor, appears to be much less powerful than the bottom-specced 2014 Mac Mini. (Although it features standard SO-DIMM memory slots, so that's one advantage it does have over the Mac.)

I could see Apple going this route I suppose, but it'd mean that the Mac Mini would become basically unsuitable for any serious number-crunching work. (Although, I guess, it's only barely suitable now as it is...)

 

[AZhappyjack]

http://bgr.com/2016/04/01/desktop-computer-deals-windows-10-sale/

Would this give the Mac Mini a run for its money? All these mini PCs are smaller than the Mini nowadays. Surely Apple needs a redesign?

The biggest negative of any of these mini computers is the lack of ability to run OS X.

 

[Jtludwig]

The biggest negative of any of these mini computers is the lack of ability to run OS X.

Well no sh*t..they aren't made by Apple.

 

[jbarley]

The biggest negative of any of these mini computers is the lack of ability to run OS X.

Which by the way OS X seems to be heading may be a good thing.

 

[Meister]

Comparing this HP to a mini is like comparing a bicycle to a porsche:

The bicycle is much smaller, lighter and cheaper. And it gets you from A to B.

Sounds like bicycles give cars a run for their money.

 

[ActionableMango]

The HP is deceptively small compared to the Mac Mini because the HP is significantly less powerful and it has an external brick power supply, as opposed to the Mini's internal power supply.

 

[MRrainer]

It's a Pavilion. I would never, ever buy something from HP's consumer-line.

They have the EliteDesk and ProDesk systems with form-factors similar to the Mini (and comparable or better specs). Those I'd actually take a 2nd look at, if for whatever reason I didn't want to run OS X at home anymore.

 

[crsh1976]

The size is impressive (tho this is not a new design/model, it came out a good while ago), but in terms of horsepower this thing ranks much lower than a Mac Mini.

For all its faults and soldered RAM, the Mini is a useable and polyvalent desktop computer that's capable to running everything without choking (except demanding games), this Pavilion Mini is only good for basic computing (or to make a decent media box/server). It does have a few things going for itself, namely the price and allowing the user to replace some parts.

And for having made the error of buying consumer-grade HP products before, good $deity spare yourself the pain and frustration, and get something else.

 

[Lankyman]

The biggest negative of any of these mini computers is the lack of ability to run OS X.

With the advent of W10 that argument no longer holds water with anyone serious about computing. Both systems are equally good.

 

[jpietrzak8]

With the advent of W10 that argument no longer holds water with anyone serious about computing. Both systems are equally good.

How well does W10 run Unix apps? I like the fact that OS X is based on a derivative of BSD Unix, and includes most of the tools and command-line utilities I've been using since I got my Computer Science degree years ago.

Of course, it's possible that I'm just not serious about computing.

 

[Jtludwig]

With the advent of W10 that argument no longer holds water with anyone serious about computing. Both systems are equally good.

I've always been a Mac guy, but I decided to give a Lenovo M900 Tiny with Windows 10 a try.

I use it as my home media/Plex server and it's great.

It has a fast quad core processor, 16GB ram, ssd drive, and supports three external displays.

I got all this for less than a low-mid range Mac Mini.

 

[Lankyman]

How well does W10 run Unix apps? I like the fact that OS X is based on a derivative of BSD Unix, and includes most of the tools and command-line utilities I've been using since I got my Computer Science degree years ago.

Of course, it's possible that I'm just not serious about computing.

jtludwig post 12 should be able to provide you with some pointers. Obviously your degree didn't include anything about having the ability to embrace change then?

 

[jpietrzak8]

jtludwig post 12 should be able to provide you with some pointers. Obviously your degree didn't include anything about having the ability to embrace change then?

Ah, you're absolutely right! My studies included compiler construction, relational algebra & calculus, and analysis of algorithms. I completely missed the course on Plex servers. My apologies, I bow to your obviously superior ability to embrace change.

 

[Lankyman]

Ah, you're absolutely right! My studies included compiler construction, relational algebra & calculus, and analysis of algorithms. I completely missed the course on Plex servers. My apologies, I bow to your obviously superior ability to embrace change.

Yes well not your fault I suppose, it's one of the downsides of geeky-ness - well known. Simply a case of getting out more and meeting real people and trying new things.

 

[Micky Do]

With the advent of W10 that argument no longer holds water with anyone serious about computing. Both systems are equally good.

I'm not serious about computing….. don't want to muck around with hardware and software. I just want to do stuff. In my experience I can still do so with less hassle using OS X.

I do most of my work at home, using OS X on a Mac Mini and Mac apps. I do a little in the office on campus, on various computers using Windows 10.

 

[Lankyman]

I'm not serious about computing….. don't want to muck around with hardware and software. I just want to do stuff. In my experience I can still do so with less hassle using OS X.

I do most of my work at home, using OS X on a Mac Mini and Mac apps. I do a little in the office on campus, on various computers using Windows 10.

So tell us what things you can do with less hassle?

 

[Osty]

The biggest negative of any of these mini computers is the lack of ability to run OS X.

They run Linux though with minimal effort; it's nice to jump off the MS and Apple bandwagon, give it a try.

Which by the way OS X seems to be heading may be a good thing.

Exactly, you get it.

How well does W10 run Unix apps?

Very well apparently thanks to a partnership between Canonical and Microsoft to bring the Ubuntu userland to W10.

Apple used to crow about Unix but they are actively trying to abstract users more and more from that legacy. As a company, they've lost interest and incentive to make OS X anything more than a halo for the iOS world. Their vision for personal computing is not OS X.

OS X is a means for them to hedge their bets; something to fall back on if their great iOS gamble fails to become the OS of choice.

Given Apple's pushing Swift on Linux, I wouldn't be shocked if Apple ports Xcode to Ubuntu and abandons desktops computers.

 

[paulrbeers]

Ah, you're absolutely right! My studies included compiler construction, relational algebra & calculus, and analysis of algorithms. I completely missed the course on Plex servers. My apologies, I bow to your obviously superior ability to embrace change.

I guess I fail to see what this has anything to do with whether Windows 10 has equaled OSX? Quite honestly, I was a "Mac" guy and now have a Windows 10 Machine (a Surface Pro 3). To be honest, I don't love the Surface Pro, but Windows 10 is not the piece of Junk that say Windows 8, Vista, etc. were (Windows 7 wasn't terrible I guess?).

To be honest, I find that Windows has come along way and OSX has gone downhill bringing both very much on par with each other.

Now whether you can run a particular piece of software on Windows 10, that I can't speak for. But my guess is that many people in your "line of work" have been using Windows Machines for years..... Just because you choose to only snub your nose at anything that isn't Unix, doesn't mean other OS's haven't come along way.

 

[Queen6]

If I wanted a small desktop I would be looking at this, definitely not a Mac Mini, given that Apple`s done such a magnificent job of crippling it.

http://anandtech.com/show/10152/intels-skull-canyon-nuc-is-official

Q-6

 

[Osty]

To be honest, I find that Windows has come along way and OSX has gone downhill bringing both very much on par with each other.

I agree.

Linux, with its steady pace of continual improvement has eclipsed them both in my experience. I regularly use all three and don't 'love' any of them. Linux performs better on the same hardware, has equal or better functionality in the user land and is the only desktop operating system that you can tailor 100% to your preferences and workflow.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Now whether you can run a particular piece of software on Windows 10, that I can't speak for. But my guess is that many people in your "line of work" have been using Windows Machines for years..... Just because you choose to only snub your nose at anything that isn't Unix, doesn't mean other OS's haven't come along way.

Alright, yeah, it's true -- I have been snubbing Windows. Personally, the OS I first used was Apple DOS (on an Apple ][+ ). I started using both Unix and Windows in college (back around the time both Windows and Linux appeared), and for a while, both were decent tools for getting work done. However, while the business world adopted Windows fairly quickly, Microsoft also pushed harder and harder to add gratuitous features and endless bits of UI code into their OS, where Unix & Linux maintained a fairly clean separation between the OS layer and the UI layer. The amount of bloat in Windows became truly staggering, bugs became frequent, and the thing just became a hacker's playground.

I kind of gave up on Windows around the Vista era. I hated the idea that you had to constantly pay protection money to an anti-virus company in order to ensure your machine would keep running day to day, and honestly, it just wasn't fun to develop on Windows any more. And with the advent of OS X, tying together the clean design of Unix with the business-friendly environment Apple provided, there really wasn't any need to run Windows. Major consumer applications finally started becoming available on a Unix platform.

I understand that Windows 10 really does appear to have a much, much nicer UI than Microsoft has provided in years. And, from what I've read, it has plenty of enjoyable features. However, to my eyes, it still has many of the same problems -- gratuitous bloat, unnecessary UI-OS linkages, and a deep tie to the anti-virus protection racket. Of course, there's no reason you can't get work done with Windows; it's just that, I don't yet see a convincing argument to bring me back to the Windows world. OS X / Linux can still do everything just as well.

 

[Micky Do]

So tell us what things you can do with less hassle?

Almost all the apps I use come preloaded with a Mac; dunno what the situation is with Windows, but time was that most needed to be acquired and loaded.

Pages and Numbers may not have all the features that Word and Excel have, but they have all that I need (and I guess many others) and are a lot easier to use. iPhoto (now Photos) is fine for my photography needs (which includes some published work). I use Garage Band a bit; dunno what what equivalent is offered for Windows, or how easy it is to use. Peripherals just seem to work with Mac, whereas in my experience they need to be installed with Windows.

Both Windows and Mac run iTunes, an increasingly messy app that just about everyone has to live with.

Not an issue for me, as I have no other iDevices, but it seems that for folks with iPhones and iPads connectivity is fairly straight forward. Dunno how it is with others.

The Windows computers at work often seem to need attention to something. I have had my Mini in the shop a couple of times in 7 years for a clean out, and installed extra RAM and Mountain Lion the first time. With no credit card, and very poor connection speed DIY at home was not a goer.

Sure the Mac may cost a bit more for similarly specced hardware, but I am happy to stump up the cash and do away with the hassles that come with Windows.