Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
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Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy
Or, if you dont want to use Office 2004, you can get iWork, which is an add on to AppleWorks. I read it makes a good competitor to MS Office.
Originally posted by: halfadder
I ordered the base model (1.25 GHz, 256 MB, 40 GB). I'm away from home at the moment and don't have the exact model, but it's a Seagate 5400 RPM 8MB. Feels quite a bit faster than the 80GB 4200 RPM 2MB in my year-old PowerBook.Originally posted by: fuzzyuu
Hey, what HD's came in your Mini's? I read that they were all supposed to be 4200rpm HD's.
Originally posted by: Eug
The Mac mini's BTO options have changed.
Mostly it's price drops, but the SuperDrive is now 8X. (UJ-835 I'm guessing.)
BlueTooth/Airport Express combo now $99.
1 GB RAM now $325.
80 GB hard drive upgrade now $50.
Schweet. Maybe they had some 4X drives left over they wanted to get rid of, but you lucked out.Originally posted by: Childs
I think that Superdrive shipped with my Mini last week! System Profiler shows MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-835F.
Can you post a photo of the Mini sitting on top of the Shuttle case? It would be fun to visually see the size difference.Originally posted by: AU Tiger
I'll have to check my hard drive when I get home. I picked up the basic 1.25 model from my local Apple store this past Saturday. Only played with it one evening so far, but so far I like it. It sits nicely on top of my Shuttle SB75G2 case.
It should work, but I dunno for sure. If it was Firewire I'd say yes for sure, but I don't have much experience with USB 2 burners.Originally posted by: hscorpio
I want one!
As a mac noob, could anyone tell me if an external(usb2) nec-3500a burner will work with the mini mac?
The upgrade price to the superdrive seems ridiculously high, actually all the upgrades seem way to high.
Originally posted by: hscorpio
I want one!
As a mac noob, could anyone tell me if an external(usb2) nec-3500a burner will work with the mini mac?
The upgrade price to the superdrive seems ridiculously high, actually all the upgrades seem way to high.
They've been more liberal with +R support in desktops already.Originally posted by: Commodus
I'd go with the interal Superdrive option too, if just to avoid clutter (which is part of why one gets a Mac mini in the first place, right?).
And by the way, has anyone noticed that Apple has seemingly become more liberal in its attitude towards hardware with the advent of the Mac mini. The mini itself is the biggest - Apple no longer feels that consumers "need" an all-in-one on the low-end. But they've also abandoned the notion that DVD-R is the only viable format. If you have iLife 05, you can burn pretty much any DVD format you want. I don't know if the iApps now officially support 3rd-party burners, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did...
Cuz it takes up space. The NEC drive is even bigger than the mini itself. Small form factor is nice.Originally posted by: metalmania
Even at $100, external NEC3500 is much better. Sure you can get the internal one with Apple's warranty, but for what? The external DVD writer (1394/USB2.0) can be used on PC also, it's an easy switch. In fact I just use one 1394/USB2.0 DVD writer between an ibook and 3 PCs. That's handy.
Originally posted by: Eug
Cuz it takes up space. The NEC drive is even bigger than the mini itself. Small form factor is nice.Originally posted by: metalmania
Even at $100, external NEC3500 is much better. Sure you can get the internal one with Apple's warranty, but for what? The external DVD writer (1394/USB2.0) can be used on PC also, it's an easy switch. In fact I just use one 1394/USB2.0 DVD writer between an ibook and 3 PCs. That's handy.
And I say this as someone who owns an external Firewire LG 16X dual-layer burner.
Originally posted by: Eug
BTW, Ars has published A mini-guide to Mac OS X for new Mini owners.
Originally posted by: Eug
Originally posted by: Commodus
BTW, I don't know if iDVD '05 supports external burners directly, but a new feature is built-in support for DVD images. Actually, that feature (as well as external DVD burner support) was also built into previous versions of iDVD, but you needed extra files to activate it, so it was hidden to most users.
You can burn DVD disc images created by iDVD with Apple's Disk Utility (free) or else Roxio's Toast.
Is it a .iso image or a proprietary format. In other words can you transfer it to an external fw drive and burn it with dvddecrypter for instance. I'm guessing not. (see question E)
Also someone mentioned 40GB is 5400RPM which is correct but 8MB? How do you figure the model on seagates website says something like has optional 8MB cache. (see question F) Anyway here's my questions:
Thinking of getting one but before I max out the cc here's some questions/comments.
a) I like that MacOS X is BSD based and mac mini is competitively priced
b) read all 3 reviews Anand Lal Shimpi posted
c) quiet (my shuttles with 200W were quiet but since upgrading two of them to Silent-X 250W and buying one with a Silent-X 250W) that Silent-X is an oxymoron. I cannot do video encoding at night and sleep in the same room. Nearly impossible. 85W for mac mini is simply awesommmmmmmmmmme. Only dvd makes some noise but that's acceptable and normal.
d) iDVD does it encode DD 2.0? On the comparison page it doesn't mention Dolby at all. Is it just PCM which is a huge waste of space? "Combining iMovie HD with iDVD, you can create not just a run-of-the-mill DVD, but a blockbuster." So by stating that it should include Dolby encoding correct? http://www.apple.com/finalcut/
e) iDVD Can it export to an .iso which can be burnt on windows if transfered over, thus eliminating the $100 4X DVD±R if only doing occassionaly dvd burning. Finally Apple doesn't restrict to DVD-R only and allows burning DVD+R. Question does it allow book-type bitsetting though for DVD+R media?
e) Tiger 10.4 upgrade will be $129? Hmmm should one just wait 5 months and get it for free? Of course you have to ordered it before April 12th to get that $90 Epson printer. Will Tiger even work with 32MB video card, doesn't sound like it. At least the party about rendering every pixel. Universal search thing no problem though.
f) 1.25GHz vs. 1.42GHz ...now granted it sure doesn't seem worth the extra $100 ($50 actually if the 80GB hd is worth $50 upgrade). I wonder if the 1.42GHz really is worth it. It just seems like if I had a Pentium 500Mhz would I upgrade it to a Pentium 700Mhz for $100...I doubt it.
g) I know Mac has RTCW but only if it had ET I'd truly be in heaven.
e) cheapest bluetooth keyboard on newegg was $123...anyone know of a cheaper bluebooth keyboard for under say $50? Just in case I decide to get the $99 airport/bluetooth bundle. Guess if they're this expensive only worth getting airport for $79. Cheapest is Apple's wireless keyboard combo $99? Also on apple store it has Kensington Wireless Optical Desktop for Mac $79.95...hmm is this bluetooth or RF?
f) Read the 40GB Seagate is 5400RPM/2MB cache. However, the 80GB Toshiba 4200RPM/8MB cache. Now considering this I think I value a 4X larger cache hd memory to a slower by RPM. Maybe that $50 upgrade for $80 is worth it after all? All my hd's purchased last 2 to 3 years have all been 8MB as to me it makes a difference (not super huge but a difference nonetheless).
g) Everytime you view a .mov does Quicktime in Mac OS X have the "Upgrade Now or Later" crap that windows quicktime has?
f) Does that free rebate for an epson printer include free shipping?