The Mac mini Dilemma

[nathansz]

Absolutely, but I can’t exactly pop it in my pocket, at least not in my coat pocket. Plus, it doesn’t come with a 27" display. Once you’ve gotten used to a 27" display at a comfortable distance, you really wouldn’t want to go back, would you? It’s hard to beat that kind of screen real estate!

This comment literally makes no sense. Maybe you responded to the wrong post?

You were lamenting the MacBook pros not having a Matte display and I pointed out that they can

…

I don’t have any pockets that can fit any laptop or a 27” all in one

So not sure what you’re trying to say

 

[marstan]

A 4K monitor will never look as good on macOS as a 5K.

That may be true but my 4k EIZO looks damn good on Mac OS. I use integer scaling and have a bit less real estate than 5k but it suits my eyes perfectly from the distance at which I sit. It also is much more adjustable and I bet as good or better in terms of panel uniformity (brightness, color etc) across all areas of the screen than Apple's or just about any other monitor. Oh, and it is matte (which I greatly prefer) and has a superb color calibration software program. Obviously designed for still images which it does exceedingly well (with a price tag to match of course).

 

[IvyKing]

There’s also just a simple fact that as we become more mobile in our computing, we want our actual ports to get smaller and smaller. And USB-C is significantly smaller than USB-A.

While it does make sense to use USB-C on the likes of a laptop, tablet or phone, but I contend that USB-A still has a place on desktop computers. In the embedded worl, USB-A is much more common than USB-C, in large part due to USB-A being simpler and more rugged than USB-C. I've got > $20,000 piece of test equipment at work that uses USB-B on the unit and the manufacturer is showing no signs of converting to USB-C.

Another point on ruggedness is that Apple is going back to using Magsafe for their laptops, albeit with USB-C as a secondary charging method.

One reason for keeping a couple of USB-A ports on a desktop is that waking from sleep by a key press doesn't work with a good number of hubs.

 

[CharlesShaw]

The 2024 Mac mini has clearly disrupted the peaceful enjoyment of those who were happy with their other Macs or their plans to get other Macs in the future. It's perfectly understandable why, after the announcement, people were asking if it would make a good replacement for an Apple TV. They don't need a Mac mini, but it's just so dang cute and affordable* that one wants to make a use case for it.

 

[nathansz]

By the way, I’ve been tinkering with the "Magic" mouse for a bit, pondering how to make it more comfortable. I’m not one to dismiss something just because it’s poorly designed. I reckon a case around it would help, so it feels more like a proper mouse and less like a toy. I also discovered that it works quite well when the back is raised at about a 20° angle. So, you’d need to create a wedge at the bottom that allows the laser to have access to the table surface. When the "Magic" mouse is bulked up and elevated at the back, your palm would rest nicely on the top curved surface of the mouse.

You could also add a bit of padding on top of the Apple logo. That way, it would provide extra comfort while using the mouse, making it feel even more ergonomic.

However, after discovering how comfortable it is to use a trackball mouse with my wrist resting on some padding, whether I’d go back to the "Magic" mouse is another matter entirely.

MouseBase Ergonomic Base for Apple Magic Mouse 2, Increased Comfort and Control (Light Gray, Lightning Port, Clip-On, v2)

www.amazon.ca

 

[nathansz]

One reason for keeping a couple of USB-A ports on a desktop is that waking from sleep by a key press doesn't work with a good number of hubs.

It works with Bluetooth, thunderbolt 4 and many usb hubs

Just because you can buy bad usb hubs don’t mean computers need legacy ports

 

[chmania]

MouseBase Ergonomic Base for Apple Magic Mouse 2, Increased Comfort and Control (Light Gray, Lightning Port, Clip-On, v2)

www.amazon.ca

Wrong link.
Anyway, who’s going to pay whatever MouseBase is demanding? I paid the equivalent of $30 for the MM from that disgruntled Mac user.

I'll have a go at redesigning the MM when I have some time, but for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying the new trackball mouse I picked up for the equivalent of $10! While it may look like a mouse, it certainly doesn’t scurry about like one.

 

[nathansz]

Anyway, who’s going to pay whatever MouseBase is demanding?

I definitely wouldn’t

I just think it’s funny that apple’s mouse is so ergonomically bad that there are dozens of different products you can buy to add on to try to make them better

That was just the first one that came up

For me nothing beats the Mx master anyway

The side scroll wheel and side buttons are so perfectly place everything is effortlessly

The Magic Mouse is basically a weirdly shaped trackpad that you have to move around. It’s never really made any sense to me

I don’t like trackpads either

 

[marstan]

I don’t like trackpads either

The trackpad on a desktop machine is great for swiping quickly between virtual desktops.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

It's perfectly understandable why, after the announcement, people were asking if it would make a good replacement for an Apple TV.

At the moment that only makes sense if someone only watches their shows and movies from a locally stored collection. actually using modern streaming services is always going to be a better experience on an actual Apple TV with actual native streaming apps.

with the Mac you're kind of restricted to three very Mediocre ways of accessing streaming content, through a web browser, through one of the very rare native or just ported iPad apps, or through some type of screen sharing protocol like airplay or iPhone mirroring.
Back when "Front Row" existed and the Mac Mini actually had a built in DVD drive with an included remote they made a lot more sense as a media center, but now they only make sense in very specific and rare cases.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Back when "Front Row" existed and the Mac Mini actually had a built in DVD drive with an included remote they made a lot more sense as a media center, but now they only make sense in very specific and rare cases.

Good memories. My very first Mac was purchased in 2006 for that very purpose. Netflix was still only mailing DVD's and Blockbuster was still thriving. I purchased all of my music and music videos on iTunes (I was a cord cutter, hehe, living without cable. Elgato connected to Mac mini with antenna) and wish my M4 Mac mini had a modern version of Front Row. My iPad is the preferred "kitchen counter" device for watching Youtube or terrestrial TV via my network tuner using an iPad app* and the Mac simply is too "clunky" for that. But the iPad cannot display a bunch of windows on my external monitor and let me set them just the way I like for my aging eyes, so I'll live with both for now. Also, I'm enjoying the Mac when it's idle and displaying ATV screensavers which give some life to that space when I'm not using it.

*edit: I wish I could run ALL of my iOS/iPadOS apps on the AS Mac. I'd be happy if I could have iPhone (and iPad) Mirroring that didn't time out. **another edit: keep checking the Mac App Store, as my favorite app that did not show up last week is now there.

 

[Tago]

The trackpad on a desktop machine is great for swiping quickly between virtual desktops.

Haven`t had the need to swap a lot in MacOS, but I used it a lot in Linux (Thinkpad/Dell 27/Logi mouse and Lenovo TrackPoint separate keyboard), and mostly used alt+arrows. Haven`t kept track of the development of these features due to lesser need, but just about everything I have seen is a variation of the extensive features made available by Compiz/Beryl until Ubuntu chopped it`s head off. Many saw it as a toy, but on limited screensizes it can be really useful

Dare argue using the keyboard is way more efficient, particularly with Thinkpad TracPoint keyboards. With MacOS`extensive command functionality, someone proficient in the usage would likely handle that without using the pad. I think.

 

[jakey rolling]

Nobody asks you to upgrade any of your gear, and if you want to, you can easily find solutions caretaking that.

"Easily finding solutions" (ie, buying dongles, adapter cables, and/or hubs) is still expending time, energy, and money to get back to exactly where you were before. Unless there is some significant improvement in user experience (increased speed, decreased latency, more reliability, etc.), you're not gaining anything for that effort.

The world however, is moving forward.

Again, "the new hotness is better than the old broken" is not a good reason, unless you can explain how the former is better than the latter. I'm still waiting for you to answer that relatively simple question.

And when purchasing new pherperials, it makes sense to pick something more future proof.

See, this is the related problem with the idea of "future proofing" anything. There is really no such thing as "future proof", for exactly the reason you gave me. "the world is moving forward". Eventually, people will be telling those of us who bought those "future proof" USB-C devices that you should be moving on to USB-D because "the world is moving forward". It would be reasonable for you, also, to ask those people "what's in it for me?"

No reason for Apple to go M - Intel will do (what does energy consumption and battery time matter anyway).

I mean, you almost get the gist of my argument right here. You obviously know that there are clear benefits to moving to Mx processors. You list two of them right here. I'm just waiting for you to do the same for my USB-A devices.

 

[jakey rolling]

It’s not necessarily about benefits in terms of speed in most cases, more about USB-C actually being somewhat universal.

Remind me, what does the "U" in USB stand for again?

 

[Tago]

"Easily finding solutions" (ie, buying dongles, adapter cables, and/or hubs) is still expending time, energy, and money to get back to exactly where you were before. Unless there is some significant improvement in user experience (increased speed, decreased latency, more reliability, etc.), you're not gaining anything for that effort.


Again, "the new hotness is better than the old broken" is not a good reason, unless you can explain how the former is better than the latter. I'm still waiting for you to answer that relatively simple question.


See, this is the related problem with the idea of "future proofing" anything. There is really no such thing as "future proof", for exactly the reason you gave me. "the world is moving forward". Eventually, people will be telling those of us who bought those "future proof" USB-C devices that you should be moving on to USB-D because "the world is moving forward". It would be reasonable for you, also, to ask those people "what's in it for me?"


I mean, you almost get the gist of my argument right here. You obviously know that there are clear benefits to moving to Mx processors. You list two of them right here. I'm just waiting for you to do the same for my USB-A devices.

That`s right, things will continue to develop (all anticipated benefits of everything wireless have not arrived. It took some time, but Apple figured that out eventually)

Meanwhile, the more or less voluntary move towards USB-C as a common connector will continue to simplify things even more in the future. I just got rid of a lot of USB A/Micro/++ stuff like cables and chargers for recycling last week, and when I make the transition to Mini M4 I will loose more.

What`s in it for me?
One portable charger
One set of cables - by the looks of it I might have to purchase one with no rush IF I replace my backup SSD.
One (+spare) Yubikey dongle
I can keep one USB C cable attached to the Mini for backup/charging rather than swapping cables every time.

But hey, everyone has their preferred setup and various gear. I`m not telling YOU to get rid of your stuff and streamline your setup. You can keep that as long as you like and find solutions to circumvent the obvious future to your preferences.

What I do advocate are the obvious advantages of a common port for everything which by the way things looks now will provide backwards compatibility for the variety of protocols and what not using the USB C ports. Well aware of that, I`m getting a TB4 Mini and know the next one after that will be TB5. I do hope (yeah right, when I can bring an parasol to the South Pole), the whole USB shebang gets unified and streamlined too. Would hopefully reduce the variation in cables making sense to my setup by 50%.

 

[nathansz]

The trackpad on a desktop machine is great for swiping quickly between virtual desktops.

I do this with mouse by holding thumb rest button and moving mouse left of right

 

[marstan]

I do this with mouse by holding thumb rest button and moving mouse left of right

On the Logitech Mx?

 

[nathansz]

On the Logitech Mx?

indeed

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

What you said about the Studio display is true, but until it gets promotion, it's dead to me. Absolutely pathetic such a premium priced display in 2024 has the scrolling smoothness of a $199 ipad. Currently using a 144hz 4K LG oled with my M4 mac mini that's over 60% cheaper than the studio display.

The only thing I don’t like about most 4K monitors is that they’re physically too big and have crappy pixel pitch. That’s why I ended up with my studio display (that and it was a refurbished model).

 

[Adelphos33]

The lesson here is that as long as you can get by with a 24” screen, which most people can - that the current iMac is an excellent machine. It doesn’t mean that the Mac Mini isn’t a great product - but what it means is that the current iMac is underrated, particularly by people who post on forums like Macrumors and who write for the Apple press.

 

[zico21]

I bought a M2 Mac Mini Pro a year and a half ago, bought a 32" 4K Samsung monitor, VESA mount for Mac mini, Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, MX Master M3 for Mac, Roku 4K Soundbar and Anker 7 in 1 USB-C hub. I use my iPhone as my web cam using the Continuity Camera feature, but not often. This is my first Mac and I couldn't be happier.

 

[HiVolt]

Well, you could also argue the magic starts to go away when you start noticing the bad bits of Apple.

• Magic Mouse is a genuinely ****** mouse.
• Magic Keyboard is a mediocre laptop style keyboard at an inflated price.

Yeah the only benefit of the Apple keyboard is Touch ID. And I agree, I can't freakin type on those things, I much prefer the long key stroke of mechanical keyboards. And don't even get me started on the mouse lol.

 

[zico21]

Yeah the only benefit of the Apple keyboard is Touch ID. And I agree, I can't freakin type on those things, I much prefer the long key stroke of mechanical keyboards. And don't even get me started on the mouse lol.

The Touch ID feature makes logging into sites a breeze and quickly justified the cost for me.

 

[JuicyGoomba]

I'm sorry but for starters, looks are subjective. MacOS is more consistent, but better looking? It's honestly a bit dated in the design department. We use current version of Windows/Ubuntu/ChromeOS at work and honestly all 3 of them have overtaken MacOS when it comes to modern design principles. Whether that's preferred though? That's entirely subjective and down to the user to decide for themselves.

As for smoother? Unfortunately that has been factually incorrect since around the time "retina" screens became a thing. I use an M3 Pro 16" for work and what is now a pretty low-mid range gaming PC for everything else (3060ti, 5700x3d).

MacOS IS NOT smooth. It's horrendously optimised from a GUI standpoint. Every animation lags or stutters. Fantastic if you or your father dont notice these things, you can continue to enjoy your devices.

But the fact is MacOS hasn't had an love when it comes to general polish for the best part of a decade now.

It pains me using the 120hz screen on the 16" Pro with the crazy amounts of stutter when switching between desktop spaces and basic scrolling in either Safari or Chrome. Not to mention the sheer amount of beachballs I get even on fresh installs of both Sonoma and Sequioa.

The keyboard on the MacBook Pro is also by far the worst I've used on any keyboard, significantly worse type feel than the unreliable butterfly keyboard, but I digress this thread is for desktops.

As many others in the tech space already say, Apple do make lovely hardware, but the more tech inclined folk would love something other than MacOS. But it's okay we don't need optimisation, we have Stage Manager /s

 

[Corefile]

My father has just bought his new M4 Mac Mini base spec, and he is starting to notice the Apple style of doing things. Everything is just a bit classier, smoother and better than on Windows, he says. However, he recently visited me, and saw my setup of an M1 iMac. He noticed the colour-matched accessories, the minimal look of the desk, and inquired after the webcam and the speakers… he began to see that thoughtful, designed look extending beyond the software and hardware of his new Mac Mini.

Since returning home my dad scratched his head about his scruffy-looking desk in a messy spare room, and he has started clearing things away. He also started looking at wireless keyboards and mice, at which point I had to inform him that this was the thin end of the wedge… a nicer keyboard and mouse would lead to him wanting a nicer screen, and before he would know it he would have spent another 1000 euros on nicer gear.

The Mac Mini is a beautiful object, but it’s only cheap as long as you don’t feel the need to pair it with a Studio Display and Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse.

You can pick up a base Mini, a 1080p LCD, cheap USB keyboard/mouse combo, 1TB of NVMe storage, and a dock all for about 700 bucks in total. Just use the Apple edu discount will save you 100 bucks. It's a fallacy that you need to spend extra for post Apple lookalike devices.