I want to buy a Mac Mini....

[Jim Campbell]

I recommended that the initial poster get an iMac. Maybe thats why you are confused in your first line.
The mini is not a good buy, especially at a time where it may be getting updated/shutdown.

The OP has already said he intends to hook this up to their existing HDTV. How is paying for the built-in screen that comes with an iMac good value for money, when they already have a screen that is almost certainly bigger than the iMacs?

Cheers

Jim

 

[ob81]

What earthly purpose would an AppleTV serve? It's designed to stream your media library into your living room from elsewhere in the house. We don't have a media library on another computer, so what would the point be?



Jim

The poster DOES have other computers in his home. For the selling points that you mentioned, like, put your CD collection on it, an Apple TV could bring this same feature to his living room TV. For less.

 

[Jim Campbell]

The poster DOES have other computers in his home. For the selling points that you mentioned, like, put your CD collection on it, an Apple TV could bring this same feature to his living room TV. For less.

I'm glad you have nothing better to do than split this rather pointless hair increasingly finely. He asked about the Mini. I have one and am very happy with it, and thought it was worth sharing that positive experience with the OP, since his intention intersects with my experience in several respects.

In some respects, it doesn't, which is why I was very specific about my circumstances, in the hope that the OP would be able to make an informed judgement.

You, however, seem determined to get me to admit that I am, in some way, wrong ... there is no right or wrong here. The Mini is one solution to a set of requirements. Spec-wise, you can achieve the same thing by other methods - a fact I have not contested. There are, however, intangibles that are worth considering and I have tried to explain these as best I can.

You are perfectly entitled to not value these intangibles, or value them differently, but I would appreciate you affording me the same courtesy.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Pointer]

The poster DOES have other computers in his home. For the selling points that you mentioned, like, put your CD collection on it, an Apple TV could bring this same feature to his living room TV. For less.

Indeed I DO have other computers in my home however none of them are a mac. Whilst the premier reason for purchasing a mini is to use it as a media centre with my HDTV (I just downloaded a couple of Planet Earth HD episodes and my god they look amazing on my laptop, they will look GREAT on the TV) the secondary uses of a mac mini are also high on my wishlist.

iLife looks great, I have a daughter and iPhoto and the books you can make from it look right up my street, iWeb looks very nice, iMovie ditto. If I could afford an iMac I would go right on out and buy a 24" model, however I cannot afford one. A 24" iMac is £1349. A Mac Mini is £449 (including £50 for 2gb RAM) and will do everything that I need it to do for that price. I don't need it to play games or do heavy video editing, I just need it to be a media centre and so that I can get an experience of Tiger/Leopard. Given that I have never used a mac before it would be foolish of me to spend a ton of money on one, if I like using the mac mini I may well upgrade to an iMac in a few years time.

Thanks for all the discussion guys it is certainly very helpful, I am currently doing my level best to hold out as long as I can in the hopes of an upgrade or a price reduction.

Pointer

 

[ob81]

Indeed I DO have other computers in my home however none of them are a mac. Whilst the premier reason for purchasing a mini is to use it as a media centre with my HDTV (I just downloaded a couple of Planet Earth HD episodes and my god they look amazing on my laptop, they will look GREAT on the TV) the secondary uses of a mac mini are also high on my wishlist.

iLife looks great, I have a daughter and iPhoto and the books you can make from it look right up my street, iWeb looks very nice, iMovie ditto. If I could afford an iMac I would go right on out and buy a 24" model, however I cannot afford one. A 24" iMac is £1349. A Mac Mini is £449 (including £50 for 2gb RAM) and will do everything that I need it to do for that price. I don't need it to play games or do heavy video editing, I just need it to be a media centre and so that I can get an experience of Tiger/Leopard. Given that I have never used a mac before it would be foolish of me to spend a ton of money on one, if I like using the mac mini I may well upgrade to an iMac in a few years time.

Thanks for all the discussion guys it is certainly very helpful, I am currently doing my level best to hold out as long as I can in the hopes of an upgrade or a price reduction.

Pointer

Hmmm. The apple tv would still work, but it definitely would not satisfy your want of the Mac OSX interface. In this case, the mini would be the best way to go I suppose. I wouldn't base it off of the iPhoto books though. That only goes so far, and there are many similar services offered like that, though they are not built into an OS.
This HD movie thing is the only aspect that intrigues me.

For your situation, the only thing you would be waiting for is to see if the mini gets discontinued or not. As is, it would suit your needs.

I would go ahead and buy.

 

[Jim Campbell]

Thanks for all the discussion guys it is certainly very helpful, I am currently doing my level best to hold out as long as I can in the hopes of an upgrade or a price reduction.

Well, fingers crossed for a specification bump, or a price drop, for you.

Cheers!

Jim