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[POLL] Do you use Windows/Linux/OtherOS on your Mini?
- Thread starter ActionableMango
- Start date
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I only use OS X, and mainly use iLife / iWork apps.
If I wanted to use operating systems other than OS X, and associated apps, I would not have got a Mac.
If I wanted to use operating systems other than OS X, and associated apps, I would not have got a Mac.
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I use OS X most of the time (90%), and Ubuntu Linux (dual boot.)
Once I get a new Mac, I'll be moving this Mac Mini to all Linux
Once I get a new Mac, I'll be moving this Mac Mini to all Linux
I'm currently using a 2007 Mini as an HTPC, and I've still got it on OS X. However, since Apple stopped supporting it years ago, I'm planning on moving it to Linux fairly soon.
I have Widows 10 running on top of OS X via Parallels 11 VM with coherence enabled which puts the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
I can run apps from either OS at the same time and also share files.
I also have Linux Mint and Ubuntu installed as VMs also.
I can run apps from either OS at the same time and also share files.
I also have Linux Mint and Ubuntu installed as VMs also.
Too much effort to use anything other than OSX and why would I want to anyway?
Personally, I love OSX. I don't particularly love the hardware that OSX runs on. Linux provides total hardware freedom; run it on any desktop, on any laptop. (Or heck, on any cell phone, any embedded device, any workstation, any supercomputer...)
If Apple ever decided to give users a little more flexibility in their hardware options, I personally have no doubt that they could overwhelm the PC market and push pretty much all other competitors out of it (just as IBM did with their PC back in the 80s). OSX is that good. But right now, the operating system is a sparkling gem hidden away in a set of awkwardly designed, non-upgradeable, slowly moldering devices...
I love the hardware for Mac Pro and Mac Mini, up to 2012.
After that...well, I guess I'm not Apple's target market any more.
Apple has a mono-mania about finding a niche and exploiting it (probably due to Jobs world-view). While this has served them quite well in "disrupting" markets, it has not served them well in maintaining a presence in those markets. Apple's entries in the personal computer market are, honestly, quirky -- a small-form-factor PC, an all-in-one PC, and a totally over-the-top workstation. Rather than use this foothold as leverage to dominate the center of the PC market -- the flexible and expandable desktop tower -- they've doubled-down on that quirkiness. They've made their SFF PC green to an absurd extent; they've designed the AIO to be as thin as a cellphone; they've turned the workstation into a tube whose very shape makes it impossible to use standard PC components.
In my opinion, Apple doesn't give a hoot about maintaining customer loyalty. They're still just striving to locate new market niches to play in. So yeah, you're exactly right: Apple doesn't care about us, the people who have purchased their devices in the past. They're moving on to new markets. And so, I'm moving back to Linux...
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Nope, OS X Server only on my mini. I have Windows 7 on the 2011 Air that I use sometimes in my classroom, and Windows 10 on my 2010 Mac Pro at home, neither of which I really boot into often.
I bought a second user 2012 MacMini and installed Windows 10 on it - I didn't use boot camp, preferring to install natively using UEFI. I like the hardware. I find OS X UI rather dated and clunky and much prefer Windows 10. I bought a MacMini because I like the hardware and can boot into OS X on a USB 3 drive should I ever wish to.
I find this interesting -- I've gotta ask, just what is it about the Mac hardware that you find preferable? Unless you got a real deal on that second hand purchase, Apple's hardware is generally very expensive; you can find better hardware at lower prices from many other manufacturers. The most significant advantage to using Apple's hardware is that you get to use OS X; without that, I don't really see the point in buying a Mac...
I tried to use a windows laptop on my mini, but it didn't work very well, kept sliding off.
I still have OS X on my 2011 mini. It's getting pretty long in the tooth - but since the mini hasn't been updated since 2012, it's really only a year old! I was thinking about selling it, or giving it away, but I'll keep it for a while. I do like OS X, but Windows 10 is very good.
I recently bought a new full size tower PC, with Windows 10, Skylake i7 6700K, GTX980ti, and as much expandability as the 2012 Mac Pro. I've already added another 5 USB 3 ports and an 8tb internal drive to hold my iTunes library, which was previously on two 4tb external drives in a software raid on my mini.
It cost a little less than a new retina MacBook.
I recently bought a new full size tower PC, with Windows 10, Skylake i7 6700K, GTX980ti, and as much expandability as the 2012 Mac Pro. I've already added another 5 USB 3 ports and an 8tb internal drive to hold my iTunes library, which was previously on two 4tb external drives in a software raid on my mini.
It cost a little less than a new retina MacBook.
Beastly maxy computer.
and you know what's sorry about that is you can't even get a 2014 spected out Mini for that. lol
I bought the Mac Mini because it was good value compared to equivalent Windows computers - I initially bought a Dell all-in-one at three times the cost of the used MacMini but returned it because the fan literally hurt my ears with a particularly nasty whine. I looked at the Intel mini PCs but by the time I'd specified it to my requirements it was more expensive than the Mac Mini. I got the i5 Mini for a good price, popped in more memory and an SSD drive. I have the option of OS X should I ever need it, I wouldn't have this option with a PC. I see Apple as a hardware company anyway so have no issues running Windows on Mac hardware.
Hmm. Much of the price of an all-in-one computer is, indeed, tied into the integrated monitor. Thus, Apple's own AIO machines are generally twice as expensive as their Minis. Not sure you can easily make a direct comparison here. (Nor would I consider non-Apple-AIOs to begin with, as most of the ones I've seen have fairly low quality construction. Then again, I'm not a fan of AIOs in general...)
I'm rather surprised that you couldn't find a decent deal on an Intel NUC. After all, you'd have to look for used NUCs from at least four years ago to get hardware comparable to the 2012 Mini; Intel has been much more scrupulous than Apple in keeping their hardware up to date. The 2012 Mini has 3rd gen (Ivy Bridge) intel i5/i7 CPUs & the HD 4000 GPU; the latest NUCs are using 6th gen (Skylake) CPUs & HD 520 / Iris 540 graphics (and the Skull Canyon has Iris 580 graphics). And all the NUCs were specifically designed for use with SSDs. I just can't see the value proposition here on hardware alone.
Long story short: The cheapest prices for 2012 Minis at OWC is still about $550. You can get a brand new Skylake NUC (with RAM and SSD) for that amount of money. (The NUC won't come with a copy of Windows, but then neither does the Mini...)
My used Mac Mini was equivalent to $459 - here in the UK we pay 20% tax (VAT) on new items on top of paying prices considerably higher than in the US - making the Intel NUC more expensive for something above the basic clock rate. After researching the market I felt that I was making the right choice, especially given that my initial intention was to use OS X. I'm not a gamer and don't do anything graphically intensive so the older generation of i5 with Intel HD4000 is more than enough. IMO later generations of Intel chipsets have incremental value, nothing major. I think I have a very acceptable setup for what I paid.
Tell me about it. Back then I thought Apple was just milking it for profits, and would upgrade the mini eventually. But who buys them now? It's absurd. They're throwing away an entire market because... I don't know why. Because it doesn't have nearly the profit margin of smartphones, I guess. I love OSX as much as any fanatic, but linux is good enough for most desktop stuff. And actually better in some ways.
When I started this poll, I had a wild guess in my head that maybe 15%-30% used an alternative OS. I am surprised to see it at about 50% (at the time of this post).
I am also surprised to see that someone checked "other". I wonder what OS that is.
I am also surprised to see that someone checked "other". I wonder what OS that is.