A few questions about the Mac mini

[JD92]

Hi all, I'm wanting to upgrade my 400mhz iMac DV to something a bit faster, so I decided that the mac mini would be perfect, but I've just got a few questions:

1) Is it possible to plug it into my iMac DV and use it as a monitor?

2) If not,I heard that you got an adapter with the mini to plug it into a TV, is this true? Does it work on PAL?

3) Do you think that I should wait for a while for the mini line to be updated so that it can take advantage of Core Image? Core Image needs 64mb of VRAM, deosn't it?

4) I've heard that upgrading RAM in the mini is difficult, is it really as difficult as everyone is saying?

5) If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, what colour is that tree (be you werent expecting the second part of that question )

 

[shadowmoses]

Hi all, I'm wanting to upgrade my 400mhz iMac DV to something a bit faster, so I decided that the mac mini would be perfect, but I've just got a few questions:

1) Is it possible to plug it into my iMac DV and use it as a monitor?

2) If not,I heard that you got an adapter with the mini to plug it into a TV, is this true? Does it work on PAL?

3) Do you think that I should wait for a while for the mini line to be updated so that it can take advantage of Core Image? Core Image needs 64mb of VRAM, deosn't it?

4) I've heard that upgrading RAM in the mini is difficult, is it really as difficult as everyone is saying?

5) If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, what colour is that tree (be you werent expecting the second part of that question )

1.No
2.Yes you can with an adapter but the resolution will be so poor its not worth it.
3.Mini is not likely to be updated for 2-3 months and it is perfectly fine for the mean time....
4.If you have a decent knowledge of computers replacing the ram will be a piece of cake

SHadow

 

[JD92]

thanks shadowmoses, what sort of resolution do you get on a tv with the mini?

 

[CanadaRAM]

It depends on the TV, a "tube" with a composite or S-Video input the best you can hope for is 640 x 480.

If you have an HD-compatible TV or one of the LCD TVs that has a DVI input, you may be able to get 1280 x 720 (720p) HD resolution.

 

[mkrishnan]

It depends on the TV, a "tube" with a composite or S-Video input the best you can hope for is 640 x 480.

Yeah, the image will definitely not be overly pleasant.... TV is not the way to go unless it's an LCD or Plasma and/or HDTV....

This is the device you would need:
link to Apple Store UK

 

[aussie_geek]

5) If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, what colour is that tree (be you werent expecting the second part of that question )

Well, that is a question of perception isn't it. Logically, I could not answer that question as I would assume there are other trees that have fallen at the same time as your tree, and because no-one was there to witness the event it would be impossible to see which tree was the tree you are talking about



aussie_geek

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I'm pretty sure the first question you asked can be answered positively. You can open up an imac and find where the screen part of the computer plugs into the motherboard - it uses what I think was an old standard apple connector (their rival to vga). If you can find an adapter I'm sure you could use the display - although an extension lead leading out of the mac would probably be required. I was thinking of possibly getting a mac mini and converting / hacking an old imac 333 that I've got lying around into a mac mini dock with screen. I've got an adapter that lets me use another screen with the imac - i.e. apple connector -> vga so a connecter that goes the other way round shouldn't be too hard to find.

Open your imac up and you'll see what I mean. Its really not that hard to do and is pretty idiot proof to take apart or put back together. You're looking for a wire with an end and a socket that's wider than a vga socket (about 150% as wide as vga) and only has two rows of pins as opposed to the vga's three.