Apple Mac mini (MA206LL/A) Desktop
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- Form Factor: Desktop Slimline
- Operating System: Apple MacOS X 10.4
- HDD Size: 80 GB
- Installed Memory: 512 MB (DDR2 SDRAM)
- Processor: Core Duo 1.66 GHz
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Super Compact, Super Fast, Super Quiet, Super Computer
Pros
Fast, quiet, compact, beautiful, great software
Cons
None
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Mac mini is fast, compact, and beautiful, one of Apple's best designs.
I have wanted a Mac mini ever since Apple first announced them in January 2005 but I knew that Apple would soon upgrade them and add new features so I held off for awhile. It was worth the wait. The new Mac mini Core Duo is a fantastic computer, not only because it's super compact, but it's also a powerful machine capable of running just about any programs you could want.
After ordering directly from Apple my first surprise was the blazingly fast shipping. I ordered a customized machine and I opted for the Free Shipping that Apple stated would arrive in "3-5 business days", the computer was here TWO DAYS after ordering! Well done Apple!
The next surprise was the tiny, tiny box it arrived in. I was expecting a much larger package, and I didn't even think it was the Mac mini when I picked it up because it was so light. Part of the fun of an Apple computer is opening the package, Apple always does a great job with that.
Once I got the computer setup and turned on I was greeted by Apple's nice little "Welcome" video and went through the registration process. The computer automatically detected my wireless internet and set it up. Apple also downloading my information from my Apple.com account so I didn't need to bother filling that in. I was also offered a Free 60 day trial of .Mac.
Turning the computer on is blazingly fast as well, boot up is around 20 seconds, half the time of my G4 PowerBook. The computer is incredibly quiet and I couldn't even hear the hard drive spinning. The fan is too quiet to hear as well.
Apple included their fantastic iLife '06 software with great applications to do pretty much anything you could ever want with a computer. iCal, iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iWeb, and GarageBand, a better suite of applications then you could ever buy for Windows. All are easy, and fast thanks to the Core Duo processor.
I was also surprised to find a lot of little applications not advertised on Apple's website, especially the Big Band Board Games pack, with fun games and amazing graphics. You also get Omni Outliner and Comic Life (a fun application to turn your photo collection into a comic book. You'll also get trials of Microsoft Office and Apple's iWork '06 suite. These applications coupled with iLife make this one fun and useful computer.
The internet flies thanks to Airport Extreme along with Safari. Transferring files to and from the Mac mini is simple thanks to the built-in Bluetooth. You can use this to link up with other Bluetooth computers as well as cellphones, PDAs, and other devices.
The SuperDrive is great as it can burn Dual Layer DVDs which gives you more than 8GB of space, more than enough to create full featured DVDs in iDVD, or burn your entire MP3 collection from iTunes. Burning files is a piece of cake with Mac OSX's Burn Folders, or simple dragging and dropping files to the disc through the Finder.
The Mac mini comes with a full compliment of ports, such as 4 USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port, 10/100/1000 ethernet, digital audio out, line in, and DVI/VGA. This is a huge improvement to the original Mac mini which only had 2 USB, and 10/100 ethernet. Well done Apple!
A fun feature included with the Mac mini is Apple's new Front Row software with Apple's remote. This makes it easy to control your Mac mini from across the room in order to get at your videos, music, photos, and DVDs. The interface is very similar to an iPod, so iPod users will easily jump right in to the Front Row experience. Newcomers will find the design much easier and faster than Microsoft's Media Center. Front Row is also capable of connecting to other computers in the area with shared media and stream the data to your computer. This allows you to listen to music or watch videos on your other computers without having to move the data or burn discs.
The Mac mini is a great first computer for people new to the Apple world, or great as a second or third Mac in the household. The Mac mini has plenty of horsepower thanks to the Core Duo processor, and is well suited to run almost any Mac application. The compact design allows you to set it up anywhere in your house, office, or even car. The full compliment of ports lets you hook up anything, from an iPod or camera, to a printer or an external hard drive. The slot-loading SuperDrive easily allows you to burn CDs or DVDs.
To sum it up, the Mac mini is a great computer, get out there and buy one!
After ordering directly from Apple my first surprise was the blazingly fast shipping. I ordered a customized machine and I opted for the Free Shipping that Apple stated would arrive in "3-5 business days", the computer was here TWO DAYS after ordering! Well done Apple!
The next surprise was the tiny, tiny box it arrived in. I was expecting a much larger package, and I didn't even think it was the Mac mini when I picked it up because it was so light. Part of the fun of an Apple computer is opening the package, Apple always does a great job with that.
Once I got the computer setup and turned on I was greeted by Apple's nice little "Welcome" video and went through the registration process. The computer automatically detected my wireless internet and set it up. Apple also downloading my information from my Apple.com account so I didn't need to bother filling that in. I was also offered a Free 60 day trial of .Mac.
Turning the computer on is blazingly fast as well, boot up is around 20 seconds, half the time of my G4 PowerBook. The computer is incredibly quiet and I couldn't even hear the hard drive spinning. The fan is too quiet to hear as well.
Apple included their fantastic iLife '06 software with great applications to do pretty much anything you could ever want with a computer. iCal, iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iWeb, and GarageBand, a better suite of applications then you could ever buy for Windows. All are easy, and fast thanks to the Core Duo processor.
I was also surprised to find a lot of little applications not advertised on Apple's website, especially the Big Band Board Games pack, with fun games and amazing graphics. You also get Omni Outliner and Comic Life (a fun application to turn your photo collection into a comic book. You'll also get trials of Microsoft Office and Apple's iWork '06 suite. These applications coupled with iLife make this one fun and useful computer.
The internet flies thanks to Airport Extreme along with Safari. Transferring files to and from the Mac mini is simple thanks to the built-in Bluetooth. You can use this to link up with other Bluetooth computers as well as cellphones, PDAs, and other devices.
The SuperDrive is great as it can burn Dual Layer DVDs which gives you more than 8GB of space, more than enough to create full featured DVDs in iDVD, or burn your entire MP3 collection from iTunes. Burning files is a piece of cake with Mac OSX's Burn Folders, or simple dragging and dropping files to the disc through the Finder.
The Mac mini comes with a full compliment of ports, such as 4 USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port, 10/100/1000 ethernet, digital audio out, line in, and DVI/VGA. This is a huge improvement to the original Mac mini which only had 2 USB, and 10/100 ethernet. Well done Apple!
A fun feature included with the Mac mini is Apple's new Front Row software with Apple's remote. This makes it easy to control your Mac mini from across the room in order to get at your videos, music, photos, and DVDs. The interface is very similar to an iPod, so iPod users will easily jump right in to the Front Row experience. Newcomers will find the design much easier and faster than Microsoft's Media Center. Front Row is also capable of connecting to other computers in the area with shared media and stream the data to your computer. This allows you to listen to music or watch videos on your other computers without having to move the data or burn discs.
The Mac mini is a great first computer for people new to the Apple world, or great as a second or third Mac in the household. The Mac mini has plenty of horsepower thanks to the Core Duo processor, and is well suited to run almost any Mac application. The compact design allows you to set it up anywhere in your house, office, or even car. The full compliment of ports lets you hook up anything, from an iPod or camera, to a printer or an external hard drive. The slot-loading SuperDrive easily allows you to burn CDs or DVDs.
To sum it up, the Mac mini is a great computer, get out there and buy one!
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