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Mac mini review (2012)
More Info Mac Mini updated in two new flavors, at $599 for i5 dual-core and $999 for i7 quad-core server model iFixit opens up new Mac Mini, has no trouble putting it all back together again Mac mini review (mid 2011) October 23rd was mostly the iPad mini's coming out party; an event with one major headliner. But that newborn product didn't enter Apple's ecosystem alone. Amidst the flurry of announcements, there was one other wee hardware relative on hand ready to join in on the launch festivities: a refreshed 2012 Mac mini. Addressing criticisms of last year's model, Apple added USB 3.0 ports, upgraded to third-generation Ivy Bridge Core processors and boosted the standard RAM allotment to 4GB (you can configure it with up to 16 gigs). Perhaps most interestingly, it's now offering a hybrid storage option, the so-called FusionDrive, which combines flash memory with a SATA HDD. One quirk still remains, though: the product's demographic leanings. Just who is the Mac mini for? Is it the go-anywhere, portable desktop best integrated in yachts, airports, automobiles and living rooms? Or, with a starting price of $599, is it the perfect, low-cost migration assistant (pun intended) for consumers making the switch from a Windows desktop? Follow on to see which hat this not-quite-an-HTPC wears best.
NewerTech NuStand Alloy for Mac mini and Apple TV
Placing your computer into a stand offers two distinct advantages: it minimizes the profile your machine takes up on a desktop or shelf, and it offers more air exposure along the sides to help keep your system running cool. NewerTech's NuStand Alloy line ($25 Apple TV, and $25 Mac mini) provides sturdy aluminum stands that have a pleasing heft. They look great and felt good in my hand. They offer non-scratch silicone inserts to hold the devices as well as four stable rubber feet. Design-wise, these are practical and useful. Of course, there are some disadvantages to using vertical solutions like the NuStands. Placing all the ports into a vertical line means your cables tend to run over each other as they hang down from the side. In addition, you tend to see the side of the Mac that Jony Ive really didn't want you to have to look at. In the case of the Mac mini, this is the black circle of the user-service port. While not ugly, it's not exactly something you may want to look at all day. Of the two units I tested, I much preferred the Mac mini NuStand Alloy. It provided space-savings convenience on my desktop. Once all the various cables were plugged into the numerous ports on the back of the mini, however, it wasn't nearly as pretty as the product shot you see in this picture. Things can get pretty busy on the back of a working computer. The "last open USB port" problem is magnified by cable clutter. The Apple TV NuStand Alloy didn't work as well for me. It took a tiny device that's engineered to be almost zero-profile, turned it on its side, and actually made it obtrusive. The stand itself was just as well made as the one for the Mac mini; I just didn't find any compelling purpose for it. If you're in the market for vertical computer stands for the Mac mini or Apple TV, the NuStand Alloy products will not disappoint. They're well-made and offer exactly the functionality advertised.
Phil Schiller on the state of the Mac
After Apple unveiled its refreshed lineup of Mac computers on Tuesday, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller talked to Harry McCracken about the Mac and how it has evolved over the years. "This is what Apple has always been about, and the Mac has been about, from the first Mac and first iMac," Schiller said. "It's always been about making the best Mac we know how." Schiller added that the "approach at Apple has always been to make products we're proud to own and use ourselves." He reiterated to McCracken the same line we have heard from CEO Tim Cook -- that Apple "wouldn't make something cheap or low quality." Schiller pointed out that "when the economy is difficult, people care a great deal about the things they spend their money on" and added that "customers have come to understand that Apple's products aren't priced high -- they're priced on the value of what we build into them." You can read the full interview in McCraken's Technologizer column on Time.com.
iFixit opens up new Mac Mini, has no trouble putting it all back together again
iFixit's been on something of an Apple tear lately -- just a day after ripping into the barely-repairable new 13-inch MacBook Pro (not to mention the new nano and touch), the site has gotten its hands on -- and into -- the new Mac Mini. Unlike like the shiny new notebook, however, the diminutive desktop was apparently a pleasure to open up and put back together again, scoring an eight out of 10 on the repairability front and altogether forgoing the site's use of adorable kittens. The Mini gets good marks for upgradable RAM and drives and a general lack of glue and proprietary screws. Click on through the source link below to see the Intel 2.5 GHz dual-core i5 in all its glory.
Mac mini catches 2010 Mac Pro in benchmark tests
As if we needed further confirmation of the rapidly closing gap between the Mac mini and what is supposed to be Apple's top-of-the-line offering -- the Mac Pro -- it looks like the latest mini refresh has brought the pint-sized PC's performance nearly in line with the previous generation of Apple's tower. According to benchmark tests by Macminiloco, the brand new minis are rapidly approaching the standards set by the 2010 Mac Pro. Apple gave the Pro an extremely modest update in June 2012, adding just a small processor and RAM upgrade. The current Mac Pro is still without features like Thunderbolt or even USB 3.0 support. Meanwhile, the Mac mini -- which starts at $599 -- now comes with 4GB of 1600MHz RAM standard (with the option of 16GB right from Apple), Thunderbolt, four USB 3.0 ports and an optional 2.6GHz quad-core i7 Ivy Bridge processor. The Mac Pro should be getting a full update in 2013, but until then the much pricier Pro will remain a difficult value proposition for many would-be buyers.
New Mac mini tear down and benchmarks from Mac Mini Vault
The Mac Mini Vault has already grabbed a new Mac mini and taken it apart. You can read through the site's teardown and analysis right now. The short version is that much of the mini's design is the same. As you can see above, with the new version on the left and the 2011 version on the right. But because of the upgraded processor and memory, the new version is much faster than the last one, with nearly an extra thousand score on Geekbench tests. Mac Mini Vault (one of a few businesses offering Mac mini co-location) has a few more tests coming later on this week, including benchmarking on a few different operating systems running on the new mini, as well as a look at the new Mac mini server model that Apple has added to the lineup. It's great to see the mini getting some love, as it's an affordable and powerful way to run Apple's excellent hardware and OS in all kinds of different ways.
TUAW TV Live: Talking minis, opening boxes
Welcome back for another fun episode of TUAW TV Live! Today I've got a lot of hot topics: the new Macs -- mini, 13" Retina MacBook Pro, and iMac; the new iPads and the handful of accessories that were announced by Tim Cook and Phil Schiller yesterday. In addition, I have been inundated over the past few weeks with piles of hardware to review. It's everything from iPhone 5 cases to compact disk drives, from web cams to USB hubs. We'll do a little unboxing on the show this afternoon, and you can give me your first opinions on what you're seeing. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. You'll be watching the show in glorious HD! If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. In addition, the live stream and chat will be available through our Facebook page. Just point your browser here to watch the show and chat with other viewers while you're on Facebook. Last, but certainly not least, you can watch here and join the chat with your favorite IRC client. Join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Selecting the specs for your budget Mac mini
If you've been waiting for Apple to refresh the Mac mini line, so you could update your primary system, you're probably working on a budget. So which choices should you make when picking options for your new mini install? I talked with Josh Carr of Rocky Mountain Mac Repair to get his insights on where to get the best value for your money. Chip When it comes to mini, you have three basic CPU choices. According to Carr, the 2.5GHz Intel i5 is a "very capable processor", suitable for anyone looking to buy a budget Macintosh, but if you can spare the extra $200, the quad core 2.3GHz i7 is worth the upgrade for most anyone looking to buy. The better model offers extra processing zip. If you're a developer, as I am, or do any other kind of high-intensity processor-heavy work, Carr recommends the 2.6 GHz quad core i7. It's $300 above the base i5, but a great buy for those who live in the land of Xcode. Memory On modern mini's, RAM is officially user-servicable. Apple writes, "[T]hanks to a removable bottom panel, it's easy to add more. Just give it a twist, and you're in. Pop your new memory into the SO-DIMM slot, and you're out." That's important because a fully loaded 16GB install costs a cool $300 premium. Take that system to a nearby Apple Authorized Service Provider, and you could cut that cost to about $100. Or, if you're up for it, order and install the RAM yourself. This won't void your warranty, but if Apple ever said you had an issue with your memory, you'd be responsible for taking care of it. That's why you might be better off working with a provider you trust, who could follow up with any issues. Storage Apple's Fusion drive costs $250 over the basic 1 TB 5400 RPM Serial ATA that ships with the i7 mini. (Fusion drives are not available for the i5 dual-core Intel mini.) So should you spring for one? That's a bit of a conundrum because you have to decide whether the boot speed plus flexible internal storage is enough of a win to justify the cost. For me, it will be. I have to reboot a lot as part of my work day and the slow/fast access is perfect for what I need. Most users however, would better benefit from installing a third-party SSD drive internally for fast boots and using the USB 3.0 ports for extra storage. The 256 GB SSD adds $300 to your mini if you buy from Apple. That's actually a pretty good price value-wise, but many people don't need that much space on their boot drive. You can save some money by dialing the SSD down to 120 GB or so ($200 at a reasonable AASP) and make up the difference in space using a USB 3.0 external. Carr tells me that USB 3.0 drives are relatively inexpensive these days; a 3 TB external drive from Seagate retails for around $160. "Having the USB 3.0, there's really no bottleneck and you get the full performance out of the drive," Carr adds. If you're trying to balance speed and space, and that's what's making you think about choosing the Fusion drive, an internal SSD plus an external USB 3.0 drive -- possibly one you already have on hand -- may deliver the performance you need.
Daily Update for October 23, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
What didn't we get from Apple today?
While the hype leading up to today's Apple event was clearly centered around the all-new iPad mini, it quickly became clear that the company had a lot more in store. Not only did we get the new, smaller iPad of our dreams -- as well as the anticipated reveal of a 13-inch MacBook Retina -- but also a fourth-generation iPad, a more capable Mac mini and a completely redesigned iMac. So what didn't Apple announce today? The (literal) elephant in the room is of course the Mac Pro. Apple's silver tower of power is due for a refresh, but the company steered clear of even mentioning the product during the event. An email purportedly sent earlier this year from Tim Cook to a Mac Pro owner suggested that an update to the line wouldn't happen until 2013, which now appears to indeed be the case. Apple also avoided any news on iTunes 11, which was first teased earlier this year alongside the announcement of the iPhone 5. The official iTunes page still has its bright orange "Coming in October" banner in place, so it's a bit perplexing that the company chose to keep quiet on that front. Some of our more pie-in-the-sky wishes also fell by the wayside today, including our dreams of an updated Apple TV and perhaps even a MacBook Air Retina. We also didn't get to swoon at the new iPad mini in a range of wild colors, which is something the kid in us really wanted to see. But all told, today's announcements should please a good number of people, and our credit cards are already cursing our names at the prospect of the five new products that just landed in the Apple Store.
New product information now available on Apple.com
Apple has posted new information and new specs about all of the products announced today over on its website. The new iPad mini is probably the biggest news of the day; Apple has squeezed down the iPad into a smaller package, while still holding up the same resolution as the iPad 2 and the same great experience. The price seems a little high to us, but we'll have to see how the new device does when it ships in November. The brand new iMac is gorgeous, probably the most surprising release today. Apple's brought all of its mobile engineering knowledge to bear on a new desktop computer that seems like a bargain starting at $1299. The 13-inch MacBook Pro got a revamp, as well as a Retina display to match its 15-inch brother. The new laptop looks great, and be sure to check out Apple's material on the Fusion Drive option in these new computers. It's a wild combination of hard drive and flash memory that should make loading apps and data faster than ever. The Mac mini also got a very nice update, and don't forget to check out the new server version preloaded with Apple's server apps. And, finally, the iPad got revamped for a fourth generation, less than six months after the third generation was announced. This update was a little surprising (especially for third-generation iPad users), but it makes sense that Apple would want to make sure the full-sized iPad was updated to match its new little sibling. If you already have a third-generation iPad, this probably won't do much for you. But for anyone looking for a new iPad, the latest version looks to be more powerful than ever. All great stuff from Apple today, and be sure to check out the product pages for some neat Easter eggs with the images. These products will ship very soon, so in the meantime, the best we can do is pore over all of Apple's materials on the website, and poke around the couch to find enough money to afford them all.
Apple announces a refreshed Mac mini
Besides a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple also updated its Mac mini line of desktops. The affordable Mac computer keeps the same boxy form factor, but soups up internals with a Core i5 or Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor (dual-core or quad-core configuration), integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, up to 16 GB RAM and up to 1 TB hard drive or 256 GB SSD. Other features include Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI out, FireWire 800, Thunderbolt port, four USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot. The base model starts at US$600 with a 500 GB hard drive and 4 GB of memory. It is available starting today. A server edition will be available for $999.
Mac Mini updated in two new flavors, at $599 for i5 dual-core and $999 for i7 quad-core server model
Apple's smallest desktop, the Mac Mini, is getting a spec update just one year after its last refresh. Apple's rolling out two new Mac Minis with varying storage and processing capabilities -- first a $599 model with a 2.5GHz dual-core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD, and second a $999 server model with a 2.3GHz quad-core i7 Ivy Bridge, 4GB of RAM and dual 1TB HDDs. You can of course kit that out to 16GB of RAM, and you could always add a 256GB SDD should you not get down with spinning discs these days. Graphics are handled by the (rather paltry) Intel HD 4000 GPU, and Bluetooth 4.0 is handling wireless devices. When it comes to ports, four USB 3.0 slots come built-in, as well as an SD card reader and HDMI out. We didn't catch a mention of Thunderbolt ports, but we'd be surprised if they went missing. We'll have more as soon as Apple puts out official word on the device, but it should pop up in the Apple Store when it returns following today's event. Update: Apple says the new Mac Mini will indeed feature a Thunderbolt port, as well as SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800 ports. Shipping models come with OS X Mountain Lion pre-installed. Head past the break for Apple's official wording. %Gallery-169055% For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
NewerTech cradles your Apple TV and Mac mini in the NuStand Alloy (updated)
NewerTech has just announced two inexpensive new additions to their line of accessories, and if you're an owner of either the current generation of Apple TV or Mac mini, you're going to want to pay attention. Update: NewerTech says that the Mac mini NuStand Alloy stand works with the newly announced refreshed Mac mini. The first item is the NuStand Alloy stand for the Apple TV. Priced at just US$17.50, this tiny accessory props your Apple TV up in a vertical position so it looks more like an important media center and less like a rectangular hockey puck. That's not the only new NuStand Alloy from NewerTech (how's that for alliteration?). There's also a version for the Mac mini priced at $19.99, used to hold your mini vertically next to a monitor. As noted by Andy Marken of NewerTech, your Mac mini is less likely to be used as a soda can coaster if it's held vertically. Both NuStand Alloy products are shipping, and TUAW will be reviewing them in the near future.
Daily Update for October 19, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Some fun uses for a remote Mac Mini server
MacStadium does remote Mac mini hosting, offering customers a fully connected Mac mini in a secure, controlled datacenter (just like the folks at MacMiniColo, who we've visited and written about before). If you have a Mac mini already, you can even send it to them for hosting, or you can rent or buy one yourself right from the company. Having a remote server all for yourself can be very helpful, and using a Mac mini for the job can be one of the cheapest and easiest ways to do so. In fact, not only does MacStadium run hosting, but the company has also been putting up blog posts over the last month or so, going through a few different ways to make use of a connected mini for yourself. You could install a remote Minecraft server on it, for example, creating a world that you and your friends can log into anytime. Or you could set up something like Kerio Connect, which serves as a Microsoft Exchange-style way to share and send email, contacts and calendars across a number of different users. Obviously, these tutorials are for MacStadium's hosted minis, but they should work for any Mac mini you've set up to be accessed remotely. Apple's littlest Mac is relatively cheap but still very powerful and MacStadium's tutorials could be a start to help you get the most out of your remote mini.
Motorola's latest ITC complaint against Apple targets newer iOS devices and Macs, messaging and sync
Motorola filed its most recent ITC complaint against Apple so late into last week that the court system couldn't immediately provide more details; we're only just seeing documents now that the weekend is over. As it stands, the case involves seven patents that mostly touch on staple technologies of the modern mobile world, such as syncing messages between devices and bookmarking media playback on one device to resume on another. Does that last technique sound familiar? You might recall it being a cornerstone of the movie and podcast support that Apple has implemented since 2005. Despite reaching that far back into history, Motorola is just as eager to modernize the targeted hardware list to keep its complaints relevant -- the current iPad, the iPhone 4S and other devices are at risk of a trade ban, posing more of a threat to Apple's bottom line than the dust-covered (and near-finished) initial legal challenge from October 2010. Before coming to any conclusions, though, remember that the newer complaint isn't likely to have any speedy resolution of its own. Past ITC cases have usually taken a year and a half to complete, which could leave most or all of today's technology as another distant memory.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Will my brand new refurb Mac come with Mountain Lion?
Dear Favourite Aunt TUAW, I'm using British spelling in honor of the Olympics. I know that I haven't called lately but I've been very busy waiting for my new Refurb Mac mini. It's going to replace my trusty but aging 2007 edition. I've fetched my Firewire cord and have the step by step method of transferring data, etc... and then it struck me - will the new Mini come already equipped with Mountain Lion? How will that affect the migration? I can't sleep as I fret about this, so please offer your expert advice. Thanks... Your 16th favorite nephew, Mark Dear Mark, Auntie's pretty sure that "Aunt" is spelled identically on both sides of the Atlantic, although she should point out that you (and all of her nieces and nephews) have always been her favourite. (See what she did there?) Auntie gave Apple a call and confirmed that refurb minis qualify for the Up to Date program. You'll be able to upgrade for free. What's more an Apple rep confirmed that the migration assistant will work between OS versions, so you'll be able to move your data from the original Lion install to your new mini -- whether you've already upgraded it or not. Cheers, pip pip, and Tally-Ho (two can play at that game), Auntie T. P.S. Uncle Rich is now squirming. Not just because of Auntie's take on the entire British Empire, but also because he's not a huge fan of Migration Assistant's reliability. He writes, "Migration Assistant [redacted] impressively on my iMac. I extracted my MBP HDD and put it in a USB caddy. Told Migration Assistant to use it as the source and let it do its thing. Rebooted; system seemed good. Disconnected the USB drive... and it stopped booting. Something I had on the old OS X install was cross-connected to the USB HDD, and wouldn't start without it! Never did figure out what it was. In the end I did a clean install of Lion, then told Migration Assistant to move only my home directory and not any of the other settings or apps. I had carried my OS X install forward from Leopard onwards, so it was high time for a clean out anyway." #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Dear Aunt TUAW: Disappointed over AirPlay Mirroring hardware cutoff
Dear Aunt TUAW, With the new launch of Mountain Lion and its new features, I have somehow started looking at my old mid-2009 MacBook Pro with disdain. One of the features I looked forward to was AirPlay Mirroring which unfortunately my older model can't support due to hardware limitations. [This is causing no small amount of consternation among Mountain Lion upgraders, many of whom expected the feature to work universally. –Ed.] So my question now is, do I really need a new laptop? My hands are itching to get one. Maybe my question should be, what should be the cycle for upgrading laptops (but this is probably more personal). Would appreciate your help and guidance. Thanks. Your loving nephew, Dare Dear Dare, It's never the wrong time for a nice new Mac, if you can afford it. If not, AirParrot is just ten bucks and gives you the same kind of AirPlay mirroring, albeit with more burden on the Mac's CPU and some quality tradeoffs. In return for your $10, AirParrot offers two killer features that Mountain Lion does not. First, you can limit mirroring to a single window. Second, you can use it with an HDTV/Apple TV combo to extend your desktop! Why just mirror to your HDTV when you can use it as an extra monitor? As for Auntie's laptop upgrade cycle, it goes like this: she only buys hardware when she absolutely utterly cannot avoid doing so. It looks like a new Mac mini is in her future, although she hopes to hold off for a 2012 refresh. If not, she's buying a refurb 2011 mini and upgrading it to within an inch of its life. It will fit in perfectly with Auntie's lace doilies and Precious Moments figurines. Hugs, Auntie T. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Apple sunsets a few 64-bit Macs with Mountain Lion, video drivers likely the culprit
Apple is well-known for wanting a close spread in hardware requirements with OS X upgrades, having dropped PowerPC like a hot potato when Snow Leopard arrived just three years after the Intel switch. Whether or not you're a fan of that policy, it's certainly carrying forward with Mountain Lion. When the newly-finished OS hits the Mac App Store, it will rule out the very first wave of 64-bit Macs: certain MacBook Pros, Mac Pros and other early systems will be denied a taste of 10.8. Some sleuthing from Ars Technica suggests that it's a matter of graphics drivers rather than capriciousness on Apple's part, as the Macs excluded from the mix are using 32-bit drivers that won't play nicely with Mountain Lion's 64-bit Utopia short of a wide-scale conversion effort. It's little consolation to those who dropped a pretty penny on certain Macs just a few years ago. That said, Apple is still going the extra mile to support some systems -- if you're reading this on an original aluminum iMac, you're sitting pretty.
