Mac Mini is Perfect for Not SoTech Savvy Mom?

[100Teraflops]

I am taking my Mom computer shopping tomorrow to replace a windows machine that is running on its last window, pun intended, and I want her to buy a Mac Mini. She is not computer savvy and this would be her first Mac.

She contemplated the purchase of an iPad, but instead has decided to buy an iPhone during the summer. I switched from the dark side last month, but I wanted to switch, as someone did not pressure me to switch to OS X. She has a monitor that was purchased a month ago and she "prints" maps a lot for my step-dad. LOL She checks her emails through her provider's servers, so she is not even using outlook etc.. She has no substantial experience with any software other than Office. Possible Mac green-thumb!

I think the mini will be a perfect fit for her, as she is environmentally conscience, one of my selling points, it is light, and very basic. No offense to Mac Mini users, as these attributes should be complements Furthermore, I do not want to be pushy, and then find out she hates OS X and her Mini.

So, do people think I might be asking too much of dear Mom? Given the situation, what do some of the seasoned Mac users and recent switchers think? Thanks in advance, the "salesman son."

 

[zap2]

The Mini sounds perfect for her, if she wants to go Mac, and I highly suggest she do that.

If not, there are some nettops she could look get...very cheap, low power(so good for energy usage), not a ton of horse power, but she doesn't seem like she needs it.

But honestly, the Mini seems like a good fit for her. You could have her wait for the new iX Mac mini, but as a non-power user, the C2D are likely more power then she needs, plus the graphics cards in the current Minis are likely to be better.

 

[100Teraflops]

The Mini sounds perfect for her, if she wants to go Mac, and I highly suggest she do that.

If not, there are some nettops she could look get...very cheap, low power(so good for energy usage), not a ton of horse power, but she doesn't seem like she needs it.

But honestly, the Mini seems like a good fit for her. You could have her wait for the new iX Mac mini, but as a non-power user, the C2D are likely more power then she needs, plus the graphics cards in the current Minis are likely to be better.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I agree she does not need tons of horse power and the iX Mac Mini may be to far down the pike anyways. We will look at similarly priced Windows machines too.

 

[vincenz]

How about an iPad instead?

 

[steadysignal]

How about an iPad instead?

unless the mom prefers the desktop style form factor.

but the ipad is compelling in this situation....

 

[zap2]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I agree she does not need tons of horse power and the iX Mac Mini may be to far down the pike anyways. We will look at similarly priced Windows machines too.

You can definitely get a cheaper, fast PC. But the thing is form factor, PCs in the Mac Mini's form factor are hard to come by. It comes down to how important is the tiny form factor to you.


(I'm in college, so space is limited, I wouldn't want a large PC desktop for the little desktop computing I do)

 

[100Teraflops]

How about an iPad instead?

unless the mom prefers the desktop style form factor.

but the ipad is compelling in this situation....

She likes the iPad, but requires a traditional computer. Although the iPad is not a horrible suggestion. Thanks for the replies!

 

[100Teraflops]

You can definitely get a cheaper, fast PC. But the thing is form factor, PCs in the Mac Mini's form factor are hard to come by. It comes down to how important is the tiny form factor to you.


(I'm in college, so space is limited, I wouldn't want a large PC desktop for the little desktop computing I do)

I agree. She likes the size of the Mini.

She has two more weeks to decide as something came up, so we will shop at the end of the month. I think the Mini is a great machine! How hard is to swap ram and the hard drive?

 

[mdgm]

I agree. She likes the size of the Mini.

She has two more weeks to decide as something came up, so we will shop at the end of the month. I think the Mini is a great machine! How hard is to swap ram and the hard drive?

RAM is easy to swap in the 2010 Mini and is now user replaceable. The hard drive is difficult to replace (even harder now in the 2010 Mini than it was before) and should be professionally installed.

 

[100Teraflops]

RAM is easy to swap in the 2010 Mini and is now user replaceable. The hard drive is difficult to replace (even harder now in the 2010 Mini than it was before) and should be professionally installed.

Thanks for the help. I might buy 8 GB of ram that way she has some extra speed on tap. That sucks about the HDD though. Oh well, cannot have it all.

 

[zap2]

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Yea, I'm a little bummed out about the HDD, I was hoping to put in an SSD, but 8GB of RAM for an easy install is great. I'd advise to waiting those two week so you can have a chance at iX Mac Mini.

I have hopes for iX Mac Mini soon, I'm looking for upgrade soon(my desktop is a Core Duo, but I need a little more horsepower on my desk for when my Air isn't enough to encode a DVD.

 

[100Teraflops]

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Yea, I'm a little bummed out about the HDD, I was hoping to put in an SSD, but 8GB of RAM for an easy install is great. I'd advise to waiting those two week so you can have a chance at iX Mac Mini.

I have hopes for iX Mac Mini soon, I'm looking for upgrade soon(my desktop is a Core Duo, but I need a little more horsepower on my desk for when my Air isn't enough to encode a DVD.

It would nice if the iX Mac Mini launched meanwhile, you never know with Apple!

 

[Transporteur]

Just buy her one, you won't regret it!

Last year I did exactly that. My moms old Windows machine was getting really slow (old Celeron) and she said that things could really go a little faster.
I always told her that a new Mac would solve all her problems but she said that she is to old to learn how to use one (she's almost 60 years old).
So the other option would have been a PC, but one with the Mini's performance and footprint is almost impossible to find. The only viable option would have been the Dell Zino, which was actually more expensive.

So one day I surprised her and just replaced the Windows machine with a Mini (2009 model with 4GB of RAM and Intel SSD) without letting her know.
Although she was immediately pleased with the speed, size, and footprint of the machine, she said she has to get used to it (like iWork etc.).

Half a year later she said that she definitely doesn't want to use a different computer again (which means Windows). No more tech support via phone for me and no more annual anti virus payments. Best 1000 quid I've spend last year.

 

[SortKaffe]

There's absolutely no reason to think she needs to use OSX just because she's buying a mac mini? I bought a Mac Mini 2010 for my grandma last year and she had no interest in learning how to use OSX so I just installed Windows 7 on it.. Nice and simple and only took 45 minutes. Personally I like Windows 7 just as much as OSX and I think both operating systems have their upsides and their downsides.

I can say from my own experience that my grandma loves the Mac Mini with Windows 7 on it and since apple has made it nice and simple to install and load all the drivers onto it instantly after installing things couldn't be better. I know alot of people say there's no point in buying a mac if you're not gonna use OSX but my grandma will tell you that that's bullsh--t. Like you pointed out it's pretty much the most environmental low energy small desktop out there and the price and hardware is decent enough to justify the purchase plus if Apple has already made it so easy to choose whether you want mac or windows on it there's no reason to force OSX down someones throat.

 

[100Teraflops]

Just buy her one, you won't regret it!

Last year I did exactly that. My moms old Windows machine was getting really slow (old Celeron) and she said that things could really go a little faster.
I always told her that a new Mac would solve all her problems but she said that she is to old to learn how to use one (she's almost 60 years old).
So the other option would have been a PC, but one with the Mini's performance and footprint is almost impossible to find. The only viable option would have been the Dell Zino, which was actually more expensive.

So one day I surprised her and just replaced the Windows machine with a Mini (2009 model with 4GB of RAM and Intel SSD) without letting her know.
Although she was immediately pleased with the speed, size, and footprint of the machine, she said she has to get used to it (like iWork etc.).

Half a year later she said that she definitely doesn't want to use a different computer again (which means Windows). No more tech support via phone for me and no more annual anti virus payments. Best 1000 quid I've spend last year.

Cool story! Most likely I will have to pitch in some quid. I have to call her tonight, mention the Mac Mini again and go from there.

 

[100Teraflops]

There's absolutely no reason to think she needs to use OSX just because she's buying a mac mini? I bought a Mac Mini 2010 for my grandma last year and she had no interest in learning how to use OSX so I just installed Windows 7 on it.. Nice and simple and only took 45 minutes. Personally I like Windows 7 just as much as OSX and I think both operating systems have their upsides and their downsides.

I can say from my own experience that my grandma loves the Mac Mini with Windows 7 on it and since apple has made it nice and simple to install and load all the drivers onto it instantly after installing things couldn't be better. I know alot of people say there's no point in buying a mac if you're not gonna use OSX but my grandma will tell you that that's bullsh--t. Like you pointed out it's pretty much the most environmental low energy small desktop out there and the price and hardware is decent enough to justify the purchase plus if Apple has already made it so easy to choose whether you want mac or windows on it there's no reason to force OSX down someones throat.

Thanks for sharing your story! I did not think about installing Windows on the Mac Mini. I will ask her if she wants to learn OSX or stick with Windows.

Excellent suggestions folks.

 

[Seydlitz]

I think the mini will be a perfect fit for her, as she is environmentally conscience, one of my selling points, it is light, and very basic. No offense to Mac Mini users, as these attributes should be complements Furthermore, I do not want to be pushy, and then find out she hates OS X and her Mini.

What is basic about the Mini? It's a Mac that runs OSX... it's not more basic than any other Mac.

I would seriously consider a Macbook White. Same OS (simplicity) and a greater mobility. When you are done, put it in a drawer. It even uses the same interface to an external display, so you can use it in clamshell for exactly the same functionality as a Mac mini

A Macbook is a much better device for productivity than a Mac mini.

 

[100Teraflops]

What is basic about the Mini? It's a Mac that runs OSX... it's not more basic than any other Mac.

I would seriously consider a Macbook White. Same OS (simplicity) and a greater mobility. When you are done, put it in a drawer. It even uses the same interface to an external display, so you can use it in clamshell for exactly the same functionality as a Mac mini

A Macbook is a much better device for productivity than a Mac mini.

Thanks for the reply! I will show her a MacBook too and go from there. The Mini it is the minimalist's Mac, no frills, monitor etc.. She might like the MacBook, but unless we buy a refurb, it is out of our price range. Nothing is set in stone yet, as she has to checkout the machines. She might not like OSX!

 

[Apple OC]

Thanks for the reply! I will show her a MacBook too and go from there. The Mini it is the minimalist's Mac, no frills, monitor etc.. She might like the MacBook, but unless we buy a refurb, it is out of our price range. Nothing is set in stone yet, as she has to checkout the machines. She might not like OSX!

She will love OSX ... even more when she gets her iPhone

 

[100Teraflops]

She will love OSX ... even more when she gets her iPhone

Sorry for the late response, but I agree. Well, regarding the iPhone at least.

 

[satcomer]

Yea get her the mini then maybe get her the book Switching to a Mac. The reading is easy, informative & tries to be funny. It will be a great reference book for your switching Mom.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

If you're mom is expecting to use Office a lot, then I'd recommend a Windows machine. Office for Mac might confuse her a little, not to mention it's inferior to the Windows version. Just something to consider.

 

[smithrh]

If you're mom is expecting to use Office a lot, then I'd recommend a Windows machine. Office for Mac might confuse her a little, not to mention it's inferior to the Windows version. Just something to consider.

Or emulation (Parallels, etc) and Office for Windows. You'd still have Mac hardware and mainly Mac apps.

 

[Primejimbo]

I would also look at the Apple Refurbished store for a Mac Mini. You can get them for $100 off.

 

[100Teraflops]

Yea get her the mini then maybe get her the book Switching to a Mac. The reading is easy, informative & tries to be funny. It will be a great reference book for your switching Mom.

Thank you for the book recommendation. I will buy the book, as I will read it first.

If you're mom is expecting to use Office a lot, then I'd recommend a Windows machine. Office for Mac might confuse her a little, not to mention it's inferior to the Windows version. Just something to consider.

She uses Office at work, not at home. Thanks for the logical response though.

I would also look at the Apple Refurbished store for a Mac Mini. You can get them for $100 off.

This is a good idea and I have my eyes open. I check every few days to see if the basic machine is available. I might have missed it though. Thanks for sharing this huge piece of savings.

EDIT: The not so tech savvy Mom ended up with a base 21.5" iMac. She is doing well understanding the basics and she is very happy. She changed her mind after using an iMac in a store. If my Mom can learn to use OS X, then your Mom or Dad can too! I set up the printer and other tidbits for her and she is set!