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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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It is almost certainly possible.
In 2017, there's a new and different interest in the mini. Plug it in a 4K TV, and those TVs are selling by the millions, so... Apple, wake up.
Which Linux distro do you like? How did you go about selecting it?I've reached my own moment of truth; my trusty 2010 mini has started to throw hardware errors and reboot randomly. At this point, there's really no Apple hardware that really grabs my interest, either in price or performance.Moreover, the difference between macOS and Linux in UI or in available apps is nowhere near what it was ten years ago when I purchased my first mini.
So, surprising as it is to hear myself say it, I have no running macOS devices any more. I have three Linux boxes up and running now, and am starting to piece together a fourth.
The new Mac mini may almost certainly be coming, but until it does (and unless it is a doozy of a machine), I'll be doing my computing on non-Apple devices...
Well, I've been fiddling with Linux (and other offshoots of Unix) for a very long time, so I've had the chance to play with a lot of distros.
Some of the time, I prefer to have a lot of control over the OS when I install it; something like Arch is a great deal of fun if you are a software hobbyist.But most of the time these days, I tend to go between Fedora and Ubuntu. Fedora keeps up a little more with the bleeding edge of Linux releases, but demands a little bit of knowledge about Linux from the user. Ubuntu is going for a complete graphical UI on top of Linux; I've been trying out the most recent LTS (Long-Term Support) version of Ubuntu on two of my machines, and I've been amazed to find that I could probably run them without ever opening a terminal window and touching the command line.
Ubuntu also draws shamelessly from macOS in several of their UI elements -- the dock, the settings app, the menu bar at the top of the screen, and other little items all follow Apple's lead. So, it's a little like I haven't given up completely on macOS.
Sometimes it seems like there are as many Linux distros as there are stars in the sky.
But I think as long as you choose one that has a decent amount of developer support behind it, and allow enough time to learn how the distro operates, you really can't go wrong with any of them.
I think I can hear it! Does it sound like a mosquito?Plot twist: Apple actually released the mini but its so tiny that we cannot see it. And it is user upgradable if you can see it.
So that was the snapping sound I heard when I took a step earlier...Plot twist: Apple actually released the mini but its so tiny that we cannot see it. And it is user upgradable if you can see it.
Thread winner for Best Use Of The Meme 'Almost Certainly', goes to... DesertSurfer.
Yes, Apple built a great little machine, and people ate it up. And has been "debated" here for years, Apple saw the loss of sales of the iMac, MBP, Xserve and MacPro because of it. So what did Apple do? Why they gutted it of course - No quads, Glue/Solder, remove upgradability of storage unless you want to under take a very simple 70 step process, and charged max $$$ for all the upgrades(nothing new, but still).
Only in Appleland - "You can't make something too good that people will actually like and buy in droves"
Bwahahaha, that ship has sailed. Those who needed the MacPros, have mostly moved on. Couple Apple's arrogance with hardware and their extreme arrogance with Final Cut Pro X and is their any wonder why people have left? There are calls for more RAM from the remaining high end pros, and Apple is 'jumping' on that dissatisfaction, maybe in a year or two.
There are a series of these comparisons from this creator, and tons of "watch this inexpensive PC, rip the MacPro a new one" over the years. -
There's the rub. I've setup several family members and friends with Mac Minis, BECAUSE THE COULD BE UPGRADED. I do the work, they just enjoy the Mac. But many are getting long in the tooth, and I'm not letting them buy a 3 year old gimped machine at this point.
So Apple in their infinite wisdom, will be losing several households, because they are afraid of losing a MacPro sale, when these people would NEVER think of looking to buy a MacPro.
Way to go Apple!!!!
Kiss the Mini good bye, such that the only headless Mac is $3000, and Apple is even further away from the Jobs era. Chide back with the "You don't know what Steve would have done" all you like. But one thing is for certain, Steve deeply cared about the Mac, where as Tim is actively telling people to abandon it, even though all the content for his Cash Cow, is created on them.
The Mac is to Tim, as a teenage son is to a stepmom; tolerated, but actively being pushed out of home...
At a minimum, I'd hope that they could just go ahead and make a mini that can compete with Intel's NUC lineup. The Intel SFF boxes consume a similar amount of space as the mini, but (a) have better CPUs, (b) have better GPUs, (c) can hold more RAM, (d) allow the user to easily upgrade their RAM, (e) also allow the user to easily upgrade their HDDs/SSDs, and (f) are less expensive than Apple's minis.
The most amazing thing about the NUCs are that they aren't all that revolutionary; other companies have SFF machines that push the envelope much farther (providing a slot for a desktop-class GPU, or using liquid cooling to support more powerful CPUs, or other wild ideas). Intel's NUC just provides a good baseline for what a SFF machine should be. And Apple is so far behind that baseline now, it's crazy...
Back when I got my first mini, its performance was actually competitive with full-size desktop computers.
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Maybe Apple could put slotted RAM and M.2 ports into a future Mac Mini, BUT only sell Minis relatively maxed out with, say, 16Gb RAM and a 512Gb SSD. Or with mandatory 3 year Applecare? That way, they won't get cheapskates looking to add upgrades at lower cost than Apple sell them for. In effect, Apple get their 'Apple tax' up front in return for a machine that will last the user several years.
And they would be catering for people who actually want slots for replacing defective parts. Like a mini home server?
And they would be catering for people who actually want slots for replacing defective parts. Like a mini home server?
I've stayed up late at night, lost sleep to watch Apple events (happens after midnight here) but this time I am a lot more keen on seeing the next episode of "Better Call Saul" on Netflix available June 6.
Mini ain't coming. A pointless reply from me I guess so I will move on until I see some news.
I've replaced the PRAM battery in my 2011 and 2012 Mini, as well as in an older (Q9550 C2Q) Shuttle SFF box. When it gets old, weird intermittent errors on boot and with hardware start happening.
Here is a quick quide to replacing it: iFixit- Mac Mini Mid 2010 PRAM Battery Replacement
It's a tough call on keeping the 2010 or not. The hardware is still reasonable usable... BUT... the newest stuff has reached the point of having notable gain.. Specifically:
- The CPU in the 2014 Mini benchmarks at 83% faster single-threaded, and offers 2 additional hardware threads.
- Max RAM is apparently unchanged if you go 16GB using non-apple memory
- Disk IO is just Sata 2, so no Sata 3 or M.2 even if you add an SSD
- the 2014 has abort 3x the GPU power of the 2010 mini, plus the added video acceleration.
- The 2010 can't hook up to a 4K monitor
- Nothing is distributed on DVDs anymore
So yeah, the 2010 is showing it age. The path to happiness is could either be continuing on with it or bring the system forward 7 years - it really depends on what you use it for.
I'm not sure if I shared this here before, but here is a pic of one of my dev machines: A Zotac ZBox EI751 underneath a 43-inch 4K monitor.
Before I changed monitors, I had 2011 Mini sitting opposite side where the ZBox is. But the 2011 Mini can't do 4K, and the EI751 is a Quad-core i7 Desktop CPU (i7-5775R).
Now I've got another ZBox on order - an EN1060 - which looks to be slightly larger, but will have 32GB, a GTX 1060, and a 1TB 960 Evo M.2 SSD and share the KVM and dual boot Win 10 and SteamOS. (I'm a professional game developer who prefers tiny machines)
Interestingly enough, I was thinking about finding a 2010 Mini in good condition to use a portable Windows XP machine (as it's the last one that supports XP via Bootcamp) that I can pass around easily among my team for loading up a bunch of older (1997-2007 era) games on from retail CD/DVDs. The 320m GPU looks to be similar in perf to a GT 7950, which in 2007 was the bomb, and everything else is plenty powerful for that era of software.
I think as a game developer your going to really appreciate that new EN1060. As far as XP goes, that's definitely some virus prone OS. Try to keep it off the internet.
Thanks! I'll probably give it a shot, although I'm not convinced that I really have the manual dexterity to do the kind of fine operations it takes to get into the guts of these unibody minis.
I think I may be repeating myself here, but the reason I got a Mac mini in the first place was because I wanted a desktop computer running OS X. At the time, the small form factor seemed like it would be a bonus, but it wasn't really a factor in my decision. More important to me was that I could continue to leverage my investment in monitors, keyboards, and other peripherals -- the concept of the AIO machine just doesn't do it for me.
So yeah, I have no problem putting together some standard tower machines with standard PC parts. Which means I can finally access all those improvements in CPU and GPU technology that have arrived over the last decade, and I can do so without paying an arm and a leg for them...
I think I did see it before, but yes, very nice!
I have to say, the 320m was a remarkably powerful integrated CPU for its day. I've played Civ V for hours and hours on that 2010 Mini; although at relatively low settings, it still works just fine. Older games should be no problem at all.
I think as a game developer your going to really appreciate that new EN1060. As far as XP goes, that's definitely some virus prone OS. Try to keep it off the internet.
Well, how else can I play No One Lives Forever with a couple of the guys who worked on it? That's one of those titles that'll never make it to Digital/ GOG I'm afraid
Seriously though, It'll be staying off the 'net. I don't have any pics handy, but we've got many, many shelves full of older Boxed games, going back to the DOS era, on Floppy and CD/DVD. Some of them get played for fun, others for comparison or research. The newer CPUs can't even run 16-bit code directly anymore (emulation only).
Well, how else can I play No One Lives Forever with a couple of the guys who worked on it? That's one of those titles that'll never make it to Digital/ GOG I'm afraid
Seriously though, It'll be staying off the 'net. I don't have any pics handy, but we've got many, many shelves full of older Boxed games, going back to the DOS era, on Floppy and CD/DVD. Some of them get played for fun, others for comparison or research. The newer CPUs can't even run 16-bit code directly anymore (emulation only).
Don't bother buying a computer for XP. Just install VirtualBox on everything you want to run on and install WinXP on that. After install, disable the networking on the VM
DirectX / 3D Graphics performance takes a big hit in a VM (and is only experimental in VirtualBox 4 I believe). Also, many of the games play their music directly from the CD / Redbook Audio.
A 2010 Mini would be inexpensive and give us a very portable 'miniature console' for older PC games, while supporting HDMI and DisplayPort monitors up to 2560x1600 (which we have a lot of). Windows 7 support isn't perfect, and a lot of those old titles totally fail under windows 10. Almost all the old games in our library don't need a net connection, so I'm happy putting a plug in the RJ45 jack.
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I think as a game developer your going to really appreciate that new EN1060. As far as XP goes, that's definitely some virus prone OS. Try to keep it off the internet.
OH, one other thing. There's a bare i7-6700T CPU sitting on my desk right now, and the EN1060 is socketed... (I just can't resist)
And that right there, is what is wrong with NuApple.
The whole point of swappable RAM and hard drive is the ability to upgrade yourself. It's not about being able to replace defective parts.
If you are forced to buy the maximum specs, might as well solder it.
Was yours an Intel based Mini? I used one of the first Intel minis. I thought they were great for small offices or workspaces. I really do hope Apple do something because SFF and NUCs are now in full bloom. I remember the earliest NUCs came out in mid 2011, and they were rather amazing for their size. Now OEMs are making their own SFF and NUCs.At a minimum, I'd hope that they could just go ahead and make a mini that can compete with Intel's NUC lineup. The Intel SFF boxes consume a similar amount of space as the mini, but (a) have better CPUs, (b) have better GPUs, (c) can hold more RAM, (d) allow the user to easily upgrade their RAM, (e) also allow the user to easily upgrade their HDDs/SSDs, and (f) are less expensive than Apple's minis.
The most amazing thing about the NUCs are that they aren't all that revolutionary; other companies have SFF machines that push the envelope much farther (providing a slot for a desktop-class GPU, or using liquid cooling to support more powerful CPUs, or other wild ideas). Intel's NUC just provides a good baseline for what a SFF machine should be. And Apple is so far behind that baseline now, it's crazy...
Back when I got my first mini, its performance was actually competitive with full-size desktop computers.
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Not to mention it allows for a higher repair cost out of warranty.
If I recall correctly, the first mini I tried out was one of the PowerPC ones. But yeah, the move to the Intel "Core" CPUs was a superb decision, and when they made that move I started touting the benefits of this device to friends and family.
But yeah, I kinda stopped doing that after a while. Apple took the mini (and honestly, all the rest of their desktop computers) in a direction I didn't really like.
While Apple has been turning all their computing devices into "boutique" works of art where form trumps function, other manufacturers have gotten into the game and are moving the SFF forward, as you note.
Perhaps what Apple needs to do is, just once, develop an "ugly Mac". Forget about aesthetics for a single dang moment, and produce a device that is designed to get work done, not just sit there and look pretty...