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Geek Culture / Anyone had any experience with the Apple Mac Mini?

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Blue Shadow
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Posted: 26th Jan 2006 23:11 Edited at: 26th Jan 2006 23:12
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Hey guys,

The more i see about the macs the more i seem to like them. I was just wondering what sort of Mac would be best for me. I would want to do basic video and photo edidting in iLife, mess around in garage band and other sound editing stuff, and possibly try some game development for the Mac. Would a Mac Mini be powerul enough for this if i upgraded to 1GB of ram or should I opt for a G5 Mac? I'm on a bit of a budget as I only have a saturday job, but a Mac is really something I would like to have a play around with.

Any experiences or suggestions with the Mac Mini would be really appreciated,

Mike

*** Formerly Code Monkey ***
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Becky
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Posted: 27th Jan 2006 00:08
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It's a bad time to be buying a Mac. They've just launched their new Intel based Mac's which need completely new software. They can run old software using an emulator but from what i've heard the emulator isn't so good where sound & video is concerned.

Whatever Mac you get do make sure you put at least 1gb of RAM in it as you've implied you intend too, as the base 512mb just isn't enough.

I've not used the Mac Mini yet, but as a general rule Apples are well built and reliable. Some models can be a bit of a pig to work inside of if you're that way inclined as they don't build them like PC's, superflous and hidden clips, screws done up tighter than a factory workers pay packet with such a variance of size and screw head type you'd think they where an equal screwhead employer.

OSX is nice though once you get used to it's quirks - although the latest version released last week has a few new bugs to be ironed out - not having to worry about malware is nice.

I've used two tools for programming the Mac so far: BlitzMax which is pretty good but is much lower level than DBP making it harder to work with (and it has terrible docs) and PureBasic which was much more akin to DBP but it's still early stages and has lots of bugs at the moment. Neither has a 3D engine yet.

If you're really serious about getting into the Mac platform it's probably better to go with a PowerPC based system for the moment, but in the full knowledge it's going to be superceded by the Intel based systems fairly quickly.

The iLife software that comes with new Macs has some very nice features.
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John Y
Synergy Editor Developer
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Posted: 27th Jan 2006 10:45
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I started with a Mac mini. It's no speed demon, and you definately need at least 512Mb in it, but to get a start on the Mac adventure, it is perfect.

It comes with lots of cool software, and it really is as simple as plugging in a monitor and keyboard and mouse. I have a powerbook now, but I still use my mini for tasks such as divx encoding, and other tasks that I can leave.


Http://synergyide.thegamecreators.com
http://www.digitalzenith.net
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Blue Shadow
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Posted: 27th Jan 2006 18:25
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Thanks for the help guys. I think it boils down to these two choices:

Emac


or

Mac Mini



I'm thinking the eMac would be a good choice at it comes with keyboard, mouse and 17" display.

*** Formerly Code Monkey ***
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Darkbasic MADPSP
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Posted: 27th Jan 2006 18:29
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Emac yeah

where i went on holiday to
www.portaventura.es and also http://themepark.nl/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB7&Number=661483&page=0&fpart=all
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Becky
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Posted: 27th Jan 2006 22:55
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Well as you're looking second hand (I didn't realise reading before - but when I saw eMac they dont make that anymore)...

Apple's are frustratingly more expensive than PC's in spec per £ when it comes to second hand, they seem to hold their value until they get to the point when nobody wants them any more.

Out of the two you mention the eMac is the clear winner because of the graphics card advantage. I think they're an ugly thing and are very heavy to move about at 25.4kg boxed, they're not safe to work inside of if you're innexperienced so rule out upgrades other than what you can get at via the removable panel which I think just gives access to the RAM slots, i'm not sure about an airport bay on those if you're thinking of wireless.
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Mikey P
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Posted: 28th Jan 2006 00:01 Edited at: 28th Jan 2006 00:03
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Quote: "i'm not sure about an airport bay on those if you're thinking of wireless."


Wouldn't normally post on a topic like this, I'm not Mac expert, but I was just readding the Apple website to find out exactly what an eMac was, and the web page (http://www.apple.com/education/emac/) mentions about shipping WiFi ready. Whether this is just in newer eMacs bought from Apple I don't know, so it still may be worth looking into before you buy.

*would love a mac* heh

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soapyfish
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Posted: 28th Jan 2006 00:58 Edited at: 28th Jan 2006 01:38
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I don't want to start suggesting which model to buy because I'm still quite new to the world of mac.

What I will say is, whatever you decide to spend your money on you won't be disappointed. I've had an iBook for about a month now and have virtually stopped using my Windows box.

I'll agree that they aren't cheap but when you start using your mac you'll realise it was worth it. The ilife package that comes with bundled is also great, the only other piece of software I've bought is mac:office so I'm compatable with windows users, apart from that everything has been freeware or supplied with it. Meaning I can save my money for some of the more expensive, creative stuff.

I've not done much development but have just found a little app called xcode which looks great. I thought I had to buy it seperately but found it hidden away on the os x install disc last night. I'm going to have a crack at "Hello World" in this as soon as poss.

One last thing, if you're worried about learning how to use a whole new os, don't be. Any time I've wanted to know anything I've just typed it into google and got my answer in minutes, top stuff.

EDIT:: Then ofcourse there's Unity. I've yet to have a go at making anything in it but from what I've seen and the docs I've read I'll be a very happy chappy when I do.

I AM A MORON
and won't change my sig until I get off my oversized behind and finish a project.
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Sid Sinister
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Posted: 29th Jan 2006 04:04
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Bah, Macs. Ew. Never did like them. Awesome for media making (Which you intend to do)but crappy for everything else. Although they don't get a hole lot of viruses/spyware, lol. I dunno. I'm just grateful that they're are PC's. You should be happy with a Mac with what you intend to do. But a mac mini? I dunno... Look at some other Mac options.

-Sid

Ew... I'm giving Mac advice. lol.
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Blue Shadow
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Posted: 29th Jan 2006 14:22
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Once again thanks for your help guys. I wasn't planning on a second hand apple, instead opting to buy from the educational part of the Apple Store. I am entitled to do so because I am a student in the UK, and fullfill Apple's Requirements.

I too agree that the eMac would be the best option. I'll leave it a while too see if Apple has any more tricks up their sleeve; and it will give me time to save up.

*** Formerly Code Monkey ***
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DBAlex
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Posted: 29th Jan 2006 19:18
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i have a mac mini, its a nice PC... dont expect it to be insanely fast though, i have a 1.5ghz model (they updated some of the 1.42 models) and its still not that fast (Im considering a RAM upgrade).

It depends what your using it for though, i got mine because i wanted to use it for heavy graphics work (Photoshop, Quark, Illustrator etc) but for stuff like web design/web browsing and maybe 2D or low end 3D games porting it should be fine.

XCode is great too, but havent had much to do with it yet. (I do more art than programming)

I would definately go for the mac mini over the eMac though, what if the emac screen breaks? could be very costly...

You could also consider a G4 PowerMac Quicksilver... Might be less powerful that a normal mac mini though...

Hope this helps...


AMD 64 3000 + 512mb RAM + 80GB HD + Radeon 9600se 128mb
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