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A Portable Mac Mini?

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Bioguy35

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2011
17
0
Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone has tried to use the mac mini as a portable computer.

I'm a teacher about to purchase my first mac, but I'm not sure if mac is right for me since I work in an environment that is heavily PC. I was thinking of purchasing a mac mini to carry back and forth to school for a trial period to see if I can make mac work in my pc world (I would have to find, and possibly purchase, mac versions of email, mark manager, smartboard and report card programs that are used in my school board). I currently have two sets of peripherals (one at home and one at school), so all I would be carrying is the mini and powercord.

I would use it for lesson planning; internet researching; music; and very light gaming, photo, and video editing. Buying a mac for $579 at the education store seems like a minimal investment to get me started. Eventually, if things work out, I would make the mini a permanent desktop at home, and buy a MBP to carry back and forth. If things did not work out, the mini would make a pretty nice home theatre computer.

What are your thoughts?
 
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It won't kill the mini and tbh it's goin to be alot more robust than a MBA or mbp due to the lack of screen.
 
Bioguy35 said:
Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone has tried to use the mac mini as a portable computer.

I'm a teacher about to purchase my first mac, but I'm not sure if mac is right for me since I work in an environment that is heavily PC. I was thinking of purchasing a mac mini to carry back and forth to school for a trial period to see if I can make mac work in my pc world (I would have to find, and possibly purchase, mac versions of email, mark manager, smartboard and report card programs that are used in my school board). I currently have two sets of peripherals (one at home and one at school), so all I would be carrying is the mini and powercord.

I would use it for lesson planning; internet researching; music; and very light gaming, photo, and video editing. Buying a mac for $579 at the education store seems like a minimal investment to get me started. Eventually, if things work out, I would make the mini a permanent desktop at home, and buy a MBP to carry back and forth. If things did not work out, the mini would make a pretty nice home theatre computer.

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

I know someone who is travelling a lot by plane, got fed up with having his laptop squashed in the overhead luggage. Now carries a mac mini (mid 2010) as hand luggage, uses the hotel's TV (HDMI), carries a wired keyboard and trackball in his checked luggage. He reckons it has given no issues and less problems than when he used a laptop. I suppose the Panasonic Toughbook may be a better option but at what weight penalty and then screen size is another option. (Just like myself he has eye problems, I suspect from staring at a computer screen too much)
 
well as a teacher, it would be great as a portable but unless you get tired of having to set it up to a monitor and power supply every time this is a good choice
 
If you're worried about the PC world - you can use bootcamp to start the machine just like a PC, or you can use Parallels and run Windows within Apple OSX at the same time.

So I wouldn't be too concerned with that aspect.

While the Mac Mini is cheaper - I'd suggest getting an Apple laptop in the first place. If it turns out you don't / can't use it - you'll likely recoup most of your $ by selling it.

I just can't see having to plug / unplug the power, keyboard, mouse, screen, audio and what not every day. Connectors wear out, especially ones that were never intended to be cycled several times a day.

That said, to each their own, good luck with whatever you go with.
 
MJL said:
I know someone who is travelling a lot by plane, got fed up with having his laptop squashed in the overhead luggage. Now carries a mac mini (mid 2010) as hand luggage
Click to expand...
I guess I don't understand this. The mini is no more durable than the laptop. Both have unibody construction. What exactly was the problem he was having, and how did the Mac Mini solve this problem?

Also, wireless keyboard and trackpad seems better for what he's trying to do.

Seems like a lot of inefficiencies rolled into your friend's decision.
 
Popping in here, I have another question concerning mobility of the Mac Mini:
Does anybody know a case/bag specifically for the Mac Mini?

Thx

alq.
 
neko girl said:
I guess I don't understand this. The mini is no more durable than the laptop. Both have unibody construction. What exactly was the problem he was having, and how did the Mac Mini solve this problem?

Also, wireless keyboard and trackpad seems better for what he's trying to do.

Seems like a lot of inefficiencies rolled into your friend's decision.
Click to expand...

Agree on the wireless keyboard and mouse.

However I suspect you may not have travelled a lot on planes where the other passengers use force to push their luggage in soft bags in the overhead compartments. I have on a number of occasions had my laptop damaged as a result - there are people who do not care about someone else's computer.
 
@adnoh - thanks for the link, unfortunately only the Waterfield bag is available and in my opinion it misses the Mini's dimensions.

@MJL - I know exactly what you are talking about, I hate those ignorant kind of people :confused::mad:
 
Here's a new and possibly easier way...

...to use a Mac Mini in a portable fashion. Duet Display is an iPad/iPhone app that allows the use of an iPad (or an iPhone) as a second monitor. Generally, it's being marketed as a two-screen option for the MBA and the 13" MBP. I dug a little deeper into the FAQ section of the site and found that it can be used with a Mac Mini (with some setup beforehand) to make the iPad the single monitor for a portable Mac Mini setup.

I am aware that there are hacks all over the web to accomplish this and there are also USB monitors...but, if--like me--you happen to already have an old iPad (I have an iPad 2) that you can upgrade to at least iOS 7 and a Mac Mini to run it, why not?
 
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