[Cialug] OT: mac-mini?

Thu Oct 20 13:21:32 CDT 2005

All,

I'm a long time lurker, first time poster.

At the office, we recently received some Mac Minis to help replace some old sun gear that we had
on our desktops.  For me, this is my first time using a mac as my primary work station.  There
were certain things that have taken a little getting used to.  Copying and pasting is a little bit
different.  Users coming from a windows environment are probably used to hitting ctrl-c & ctrl-v 
but I'm used to using the mouse for all of that.   Some of my main concerns were multiple desk 
tops which I had become accustom to with  Window Maker under X.  I found a nice utility called 
Desktop Manager off of  macupdate.com which has provided me everything that I was looking 
for.

My one recommendation is to upgrade the to 1GB. You'll be a lot happier.  You can do this either
when you purchase it or after the fact.  But be  forewarned, I've heard the minis are a b*tch to 
open on your own.   I haven't tried it myself, but that is the general rumor.  And based on that 
nice tight fit that they seem to have, I could see how it could be an issue.

Overall, I highly recommend OS X for the desktop.  I know that this is a linux list and I still run
linux on all my servers and my workstation at home.   But Apple has really made something
sweet for the Unix geeks out there.  It is easy enough for the wife and kids to use but still geeky
enough that I can do all the things that I want to do with it.

Matt Patterson
matt at usrlocal.com

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 11:59:50 -0600 (CST), Tony Bibbs <tony at tonybibbs.com> wrote:
> Steve, built-in nic...airport optional.
>
> --Tony
>
> Dieke, Steve wrote:
> > I have been thinking about it as well but also have been hesitant.  How
> > is the networking aspect?  I assume it can connect to XP and *nix
> > systems with relative ease?  Also how do you like Safari?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On
> > Behalf Of Tony Bibbs
> > Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 12:37 PM
> > To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
> > Subject: Re: [Cialug] OT: mac-mini?
> >
> > Yeah, simple application.  Figured it'd be considerably cheaper than a
> > G5 laptop.  Got the keyboard/mouse taken care of.
> >
> > --Tony
> >
> > Bryan Baker wrote:
> >
> >>Don't have a mini, but do know Macs.
> >>If you're not expecting a screaming gaming rig, the mini should be a
> >>good way to dip a toe in.
> >>One caveat, the KB & Mouse will need to be USB - you probably have a
> >>mouse that fits the bill, but maybe not a KB and the mini is BYOKB&M.
> >>It should come w/ a DVI to VGA adapter, so an existing XGA or DVI
> >>monitor should work fine.
> >>
> >>One bonus, if you decide you don't like it, you could use it as a
> >>fancy DVD player/media center, and there's always PPC linux. Macs also
> >
> >
> >>tend to hold a bit more resale value than PCs.
> >>
> >>One other down side of the mini's is they are G4's, but as I said, if
> >>your needs are modest, they're fine.
> >>
> >>On Oct 20, 2005, at 11:56 AM, Tony Bibbs wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>I've been hesitant to jump into a mac desktop or laptop for the sheer
> >
> >
> >>>cost and the change it would impose on me.  However, my wife and I
> >>>are looking at buying or building a relatively cheap PC for our kids
> >>>and one we could wire our ipods up to.  I immediatley thought this
> >>>might be a good excuse to buy a mac-mini...it would help me determine
> >
> >
> >>>if I like mac's, has decent games for the kids and, obviously, would
> >>>work fine with our ipods.
> >>>
> >>>Figured I'd ask if anybody on this list has a mac-mini and, if so,
> >>>what they think of it.
> >>>
> >>>--Tony
> >>>_______________________________________________
> >>>Cialug mailing list
> >>>Cialug at cialug.org
> >>>http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> >>>
> >>
> >>--
> >>Bryan Baker
> >>Technology Advocate
> >>Iowa Legal Aid
> >>Suite 230
> >>1111 9th Street
> >>Des Moines, Ia 50314-2527
> >>
> >>(515) 243-2151 (x1635)
> >>
> >>http://www.iowalegalaid.org
> >>bbaker at iowalaw.org
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
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