Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Can a New Mac mini Do This ?

S

siam

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 1, 2007
214
1
Thailand
My neighbour has been trying out my 24 inch iMac and now wants to get a Mac of his own, he's been to the local Apple reseller and likes the small form look of the new Mac mini , one think he likes about my iMac is the ability to share its internet connection with other computers via its built in AirPort Extreme .

So he wanted to know if he buy's a new Mac mini can it do the same as my iMac and share its internet connection via Wi-Fi to another computer in his house , can the new Mac mini act as a wifi transmitter?


Any advice or coments most welcome

Thanks
 
Giuly said:
Sure, why not.
Click to expand...


Hi Thanks for the quick reply . In my iMac specification it mentions that it has a built in AirPort Extreme which transmits the Wi-Fi signal to other Wi-fi enabled computers , looking at the specification for the new Mac mini , there's no mention of a built in Airport , only the ability to receive a Wi-fi signal

or am I getting it wrong some where :eek:
 
rgarjr said:
Tell him to get an airport extreme wifi router along with a Mac mini.
Click to expand...


Hi Thanks for the reply , so you think I am correct in my assumption that the new Mac mini on its own straight out of the box cannot act as a wifi transmitter :(


thanks
 
siam said:
Hi Thanks for the reply , so you think I am correct in my assumption that the new Mac mini on its own straight out of the box cannot act as a wifi transmitter :(
Click to expand...

No, it will work just like that earlier link stated, just have the mini plugged into ethernet and set it to share ethernet internet over wifi (an ad-hoc network) in System settings.

If you check the tech specs here at Apple's site, the mac mini is listed as having the same Airport Extreme card built in as the iMac's.
 
siam said:
Hi Thanks for the reply , so you think I am correct in my assumption that the new Mac mini on its own straight out of the box cannot act as a wifi transmitter :(


thanks
Click to expand...

Giuly and tag are correct.

There's no need to get the AirPort Extreme if your neighbor doesn't want to.
 
tag said:
No, it will work just like that earlier link stated, just have the mini plugged into ethernet and set it to share ethernet internet over wifi (an ad-hoc network) in System settings.

If you check the tech specs here at Apple's site, the mac mini is listed as having the same Airport Extreme card built in as the iMac's.
Click to expand...

Hi , thanks for this

may be I am seeing it wrong , on my iMac the specifications
shows ..

imac1.jpg


and says ... Built in

and on the new Mac mini it shows ...

macmini1.jpg


and says ... Compatible

I took the compatible as being just able to only ''receive'' from an AirPort Extreme .



trust me to get it wrong :eek:
 
siam said:
and says ... Compatible

I took the compatible as being just able to only ''receive'' from an AirPort Extreme .



trust me to get it wrong :eek:
Click to expand...


Here look on the main features page here . Just for a little more assurance for you it specifically says "The latest 802.11n wireless technology is built into every Mac mini." It is built in and will work just like your iMac, as it is the same card.

I think you are missing the semi colon there in that picture you showed..

AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

It is saying that the AirPort Extreme card is an 'n' card, though it is also compatible with a/b/g 802.11 standards. So it is saying it can connect to any wireless network.


If you go to the iMac's tech page it states the exact same thing with the same wording under "Communications" as in the screenshot of the macmini specs you took with the "compatible" wording.
 
tag said:
Here look on the main features page here . Just for a little more assurance for you it specifically says "The latest 802.11n wireless technology is built into every Mac mini." It is built in and will work just like your iMac, as it is the same card.

I think you are missing the semi colon there in that picture you showed..

AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

It is saying that the AirPort Extreme card is an 'n' card, though it is also compatible with a/b/g 802.11 standards. So it is saying it can connect to any wireless network.


If you go to the iMac's tech page it states the exact same thing with the same wording under "Communications" as in the screenshot of the macmini specs you took with the "compatible" wording.
Click to expand...

A big thanks for the clearing up of my doubts , I knew I should not check things out on my Mac while under the influence of Red Wine :D

Its much appreciated

Siam
 
You CAN share your internet from your Airport wireless built-in.

Say for instance you have an ethernet connected iMac. You can configure your "Sharing" settings as shown in the graphic below to share your ethernet to your wifi (airport) connection which any other wifi device could you. What this will do is provide routing from one connection to another.

The wireless range will be not as great due to the antenna not being as large or perhaps best placed.

Hope this input helps, or at least others who come across this in the future.
zmjcaw.jpg
 
bluedog3401 said:
You CAN share your internet from your Airport wireless built-in.

Say for instance you have an ethernet connected iMac. You can configure your "Sharing" settings as shown in the graphic below to share your ethernet to your wifi (airport) connection which any other wifi device could you. What this will do is provide routing from one connection to another.

The wireless range will be not as great due to the antenna not being as large or perhaps best placed.

Hope this input helps, or at least others who come across this in the future.
zmjcaw.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi and thanks for the info , should the part ive marked in Yellow have read ..Mac mini ?

Imac33.jpg


Thanks - siam
 
Yes, in your case the 'iMac' may be replaced with 'mac mini'. i guess I didn't know which devices you would actually be using. The sharing preference should be made on the computer that already has Internet access.

Then select the Internet connection and choose to share it via the airport networking. Choosing advanced allows setting up a password for access and additional settings.

Then on your other wifi machine you should see and be able to connect to the 'mac mini' (whatever machine is set to share).
 
bluedog3401 said:
Yes, in your case the 'iMac' may be replaced with 'mac mini'. i guess I didn't know which devices you would actually be using. The sharing preference should be made on the computer that already has Internet access.

Then select the Internet connection and choose to share it via the airport networking. Choosing advanced allows setting up a password for access and additional settings.

Then on your other wifi machine you should see and be able to connect to the 'mac mini' (whatever machine is set to share).
Click to expand...
Say "Mac" and don't get misunderstood :)
 
Funny, I was thinking about this and was going to post a similar topic a few days ago.

I myself have a 2010 mac mini connected wirelessly to a home internet network. I have a somewhat old hp pavilion at the same desk as my mini which does not have a wireless card of any sort.

My question is, would I somehow be able to plug an ethernet cable from the pc to the ethernet jack on the mac mini to get the pc to connect to the internet? I'm not sure if this could be done, but right now I have this messy ethernet cable running across the carpet to the pc. :/ It works, but is not all that good for if you have to walk around in the middle of the night. ;)
 
The Internet Sharing preference pane allows you to specify which interface your Internet Connection is on, and which one you want to use to share it. So, you can say "Share my connection from Wireless to Built-In Ethernet" and it should be good to go.

This has been a feature of OS X for almost its entire history. As long as you have two network interfaces, you can share from one to another. (You can even share a network connection over Firewire!)
 
Why couldn't windows ever be that easy. This spring when I would work in a graphics lab, an instructor and myself would talk up and down the walls about how macs just make everything so gosh dang simple. I have been a lifetime windows user, then introduced to macs in the labs, and now I finally got a mini of my own. To me pc's just naturally make networking and driver issues frustrating. I get it how some people like tinkering with all that, but for others like myself, we just want to set it and forget it so we can get back to work. Okay, back on track.

Thanks for the tip, I will have to try that out. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back