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

Good Apple Mac Mini Experience

Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Went in to get my older mini repaired out of warranty, since this one is for my son, the cost was too much on the older Mini Apple offered my son the option of repairing the old one or buying a new 2011 base model for $299.99 so he saved his money all summer (since he was working) and now is the proud owner of a $300 Mini 2011 Base model.

I plan on buying him the 8GB ram so I am going to give him $50.00

Question?

Are the Apple Bluetooth keyboards and tracking pads worth the $140?

Tired of the wired kybd and mouse.

Thanks a lot Apple
 
Apple can really impress me sometimes.

To answer your question, the trackpad is pretty good since you get full access to all the gestures. On the other hand, there's nothing special about the keyboard. Personally, I'm using my favorite old mouse and keyboard with my system. But, I understand that you might choose differently.
 
Can't speak for the trackpad, but the keyboard is a must. Battery life on 2 AAs is nothing short of insane. Been using mine with fresh batteries for two months and it still says 100%.

The keyboard itself hooks in nicely with Lion too. You get access to Launchpad, Mission Control, bwd/play|pause/fwd and volume controls. Eject button is there in case you get an external DVD.

It's pricey but oh so worth it.
 
My family has a mini with the wireless keyboard and I love it, we still use a mighty mouse though so I can't speak for the trackpad part. I would imagine it would be useful though due to all the awesome gestures in lion. I use them every day on my MBP.
 
The keyboard and magic Trackpad are both well worth the money in my opinion especially as, in your case, the Mini is running Lion where the Trackpad and gestures really come into their own.

They are expensive but the build quality of both are exceptional. I link mine together with a magic wand as I use my Mini as an HTPC, but on a desk it is probably better to have them as independent entities.
 
IMO, trackpad is super cool. Wireless keyboard is very nice as well, and I used to have one, but I currently use an HP Touchpad wireless keyboard because it is a similar size as the Apple kb, but matches my monitor and other accessories better being black.

Just throwing that out there as another option - I picked it up for $40, which is much less painful than $70 for a keyboard.
 
THe cost of wireless is worth it whether it's Apple's or not. I use a Logitech DiNovo Edge becasue it's got a built in trackpad which made for a simpler HTPC setup. Cost me about $100. I would have gone Apple and individual products, though, if it had been for a desktop setup.

Can you explain how/why Apple offered you the new Mini at $299? That's amazing and I've never heard of them doing something like this before. Congrats to your son on his hard earned purchase! I know he'll love it!!!
 
Can you explain how/why Apple offered you the new Mini at $299? That's amazing and I've never heard of them doing something like this before. Congrats to your son on his hard earned purchase! I know he'll love it!!![/QUOTE]

The cost was going to be near the price of buying the new unit and when they found out he used his money to buy it, and that they will not repair it, they looked at his face, then the manager went in the back and came out with a new base i5 2.3 and stated we can buy it for 1/2 off plus tax. I helped him because he spent his money on the ram and HDD on the older one, so I felt bad as well. I guess it is just something that will never be explained, but another reason why Apple IMO is good to kids.

He is happy outside of Lion, he loves it...Not sure while Apple decided to change features that we all came to know and use.

When opening Finder and slecting the HDD it used to tell you how much space was left on the bottom of the window, no longer does in Lion

The colorful scroll bars inside Safari and other Apps are now boring Grey and it seems they took the personal features out.

What does not really bother us is the fact that Lion no longer supports Power PC, I for one do not use one product like some others do that is dependant, however I do understand their case. in light of that, I am always looking forward to the newer bigger better stuff even if it requires some changes on my end.
 
Some things like the HDD showing how much free space there is left and others can be changed back to the way they were in Snow Leopard through Preferences -> General.
 
Wicked1 said:
I guess it is just something that will never be explained, but another reason why Apple IMO is good to kids.
Click to expand...

They are good to everyone. That's what kind of company they are. I've had two of my friends get new iPhone 4s after they dropped them and smashed the glass. They didn't lie, they just went in to an Apple Store looking for options.

The Geniuses told one that sometimes they charge $299 for a replacement, but usually waive that (unless you keep dropping them). They have these upgrade deals all the time. While I was waiting at the Genius Bar, the guy beside me had a horrendously beat up 3G. The Genius behind the counter offered him an iPhone 4 for the same $299, unlocked (amazingly, he declined).

They just want you to be happy. That's the bottom line. They will never, ever let you leave upset with empty pockets... ever.
 
philipma1957 said:
THEY ARE THE BEST AT MAKING UP FOR MISTAKES!!! bar none when it comes to computers. I have had many bonus freebies from them over the years.
Click to expand...

Me too. I've only ever dealt with one guy that tried to charge me for shipping back a pair of headphones late. I argued with him for a good 30 minutes on the phone and he wouldn't budge. I was extremely upset since they got the busted headset back, so what if it was late. I hung up pretty unhappy and planning to fight the bill. It never came. They never actually ended up charging my CC.

But I figure it was one bad apple and hopefully he was let go. Every single other experience has been great for me. I've received red carpet treatment at every turn.

My MBPs battery failed to hold a charge. It was 6 months out of warranty and I was handed off to a supervisor on the phone. He paused and said, "I'll send you a new battery, just this one time." I made the call at ~5pm on Friday. The DHL guy was at my door at noon the next day (Saturday). He waited as I packaged up the old and took that away. They overnighted a parcel to me (I live in Canada) that they really had no business doing. A stark contrast to what I went through the other month RMA'ing a busted WD hard drive. (Just the worst experience!)

I have many stories like that. Where they did what they didn't have to do. To call them amazing is an understatement. I wish more people weren't so bitter about big business that they would go and talk to them when there's a problem.

A friend dropped her phone in the bath and since it was her fault, elected to just deal with it. She thought they would make her pay for a new one. Didn't listen to me when I told her to go and just talk to them. 99% chance she would have walked out with a brand new phone.

Sorry, I'm highjacking the thread... but they have made a believer out of me. Their legendary products aside, their customer service was the thing that won me over. Sony makes some great products but they treated me so badly, so many times, that I will never in my life buy another product from them. Ever (been 6 years and still going strong).
 
awesome story, congrats to your kid and thanks for sharing it with us

PS. 140 is a lot, both work really well and I haven no regrets, but it is a lot
 
a good USB keyboard is fine, as is any keyboard. im not a fan of trackpads for the desktop, than again i have yet to use one for a desktop, they are however essential on laptops.

Great story though, congrats! I didn't know apple could even do that ! :D
 
Lokheed said:
They are good to everyone. That's what kind of company they are. I've had two of my friends get new iPhone 4s after they dropped them and smashed the glass. They didn't lie, they just went in to an Apple Store looking for options.

The Geniuses told one that sometimes they charge $299 for a replacement, but usually waive that (unless you keep dropping them). They have these upgrade deals all the time. While I was waiting at the Genius Bar, the guy beside me had a horrendously beat up 3G. The Genius behind the counter offered him an iPhone 4 for the same $299, unlocked (amazingly, he declined).

They just want you to be happy. That's the bottom line. They will never, ever let you leave upset with empty pockets... ever.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Just noticed a small crack, maybe 2" across the bottom corner of my iPad 2 Monday morning, no idea how it happened but also noticed a new scratch on the screen and suspect maybe my kids had something to do with it (I foolishly left it unattended on the counter the previous evening) and figured my fault, just have to live with it. I made an appt at my local Apple store thinking maybe it could be repaired and I'd pay $150-200. Showed the employee the screen and explained what I suspected had happened. He explained screen repair isn't possible, replacement cost is normally $419. I told him cost was a bit too much, my fault so I'd live with it at which point he told me to wait a minute--came back about a minute later with a replacement unit, said it would be no charge to me. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and very grateful.

I've always had terrific experiences with Apple warranty and out of warranty issues over the years and is a huge reason why I continue to give them my business and recommend them to anyone who asks.
 
Mr.C said:
Some things like the HDD showing how much free space there is left and others can be changed back to the way they were in Snow Leopard through Preferences -> General.
Click to expand...

What about that scroll bar blue, is there anyway to get rid of the dull grey one?

I like Lion BC it is snappy and besides the i5 2.3 is quick with 2 GB, just waiting for the 8GB and then it should fly.

I think my biggest issue is just that I am used to things in SL, otherwise I am all for the newest and latest and greatest especially if it works like and Apple product. Now with MS not so, but thanks for the help.
 
tbayrgs said:
I've always had terrific experiences with Apple warranty and out of warranty issues over the years and is a huge reason why I continue to give them my business and recommend them to anyone who asks.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, me too. I love their products but I wouldn't be so eager to get them if they were evil, like Sony. I've converted about a dozen people that are Apple nuts now too (not really a hard sell in my book), so I'd like to think I paid them back handsomely, but still, they are the only company I can say that has treated me like gold. :)
 
Wicked1 said:
When opening Finder and slecting the HDD it used to tell you how much space was left on the bottom of the window, no longer does in Lion
Click to expand...
Enable View->"Show Status Bar".
I don't know why they changed that either. But I've left it off and quite like it now.

The scrollbars are grey as if you have a MagicMouse or TrackPad they will disappear and fade in when needed. If you have a "normal" mouse attached then they stay visible in narrow white containers and do indeed look quite dull.
 
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