What to do with an old Mac mini?

[xxFoxtail]

I no longer have a need for my M1 Mac mini anymore, since my partner and I decided to share her M1 MacBook Air as she doesn’t really use it anymore.

Before I pack it up and sell it, what are some things I could still use it for? At the moment, its only use is an AltStore server. I don’t need Plex, or any kind of media server, and I don’t really think I need local file sharing since iCloud Drive works fine for me.

 

[fisherking]

paperweight. decorative shelf item. dining table centerpiece. or send it to me...

 

[adam9c1]

Time Machine backup destination for the MacBook Air
Apple cache server (not sure if you will benefit from this)

or

Sell it on swappa.com

 

[macsound1]

Personally, I love having my TV connected to a Mac Mini. (like instead of an Apple TV)
The biggest reasons are

1. looking at things on a large screen like photos in emails, furniture to buy for the house, when booking travel so we're not looking over each other's shoulders
2. having a real keyboard and mouse for things like searching the web, looking up Youtube videos, figuring out which streaming website has the tv show or movie we want etc.

Maybe you like sharing a mac for day to day but to think there's never a time you'd want a second mac seems imminent, even if it's just in an off chance when someone's traveling.

 

[EmlynDewar]

Sell it. It's not so old, and you don't have much use for it.
Buy something to complement the use of the Macbook with the money.

 

[xxFoxtail]

Personally, I love having my TV connected to a Mac Mini. (like instead of an Apple TV)
The biggest reasons are

1. looking at things on a large screen like photos in emails, furniture to buy for the house, when booking travel so we're not looking over each other's shoulders
2. having a real keyboard and mouse for things like searching the web, looking up Youtube videos, figuring out which streaming website has the tv show or movie we want etc.

Maybe you like sharing a mac for day to day but to think there's never a time you'd want a second mac seems imminent, even if it's just in an off chance when someone's traveling.

Yeah, that’s a good point. I’m probably going to hold on to the Mac mini anyway. It’s still nice having an always-on computer. I can just sit at my desk and start working, I don’t really need to make sure I have the laptop with me.

I did find a game-breaking bug in the game I’m developing - which only appears on the Macbook Air. Can’t figure out why since both Macs are identically spec’d, applications are both up to date, and I have the same file opened on both. The application is run through Crossover, so there’s an additional layer, reinstalled both and didn’t fix anything. The bug isn’t seen on any other computer I have access to. So, the Mac mini is going to stick around anyway - at least until I can find a Windows system I like.