The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[sublunar]

Interesting, hadn't thought of that. But it runs just fine under parallels on my 2018. Meanwhile, the 2012 is now a linux-only machine, MacOS is no longer installed at all (but I have a bootable clone on an external SSD).

I've been thinking of making my 2012 a linux machine at some point - it's low on my priority list right now though. You run it with no GUI at all?

With Intel Macs going over the hill slowly the focus will soon land on the M1 Macs and what becomes of them and other Apple Silicon machines. Makes you wonder what happens when Apple inevitably make them obsolete if you need up to date OS. It's another reason not to overspec machines I guess.

 

[Basic75]

But it runs just fine under parallels on my 2018.

Of course it runs fine, it doesn't have to directly deal with the T2 chip, or any other potentially troublesome hardware, when run in a virtual machine.

 

[Boyd01]

I've been thinking of making my 2012 a linux machine at some point - it's low on my priority list right now though. You run it with no GUI at all?

I really just want something as close as possible to the server that I lease, which has no GUI. I started using BSD unix in 1985 (on a VAX 11/750!), so I'm comfortable with the shell - although I'm all for easier ways to do things.

I was impressed with how easy it was to install Ubuntu on the Mini - I would say it's even easier than updating MacOS and the GUI looked pretty good. Just not what I want though. AlmaLinux is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and primarily used for servers (I guess?), so probably not the choice for someone who wants a user-friendly machine.

I ended up installing the GUI version, after having problems with an older release of the basic version initially. Looks pretty good but a little rough around the edges maybe. I installed their web console last night though and have been impressed with that so far. This is what it looks like in a browser on another Mac.

Here's one of the individual service screens

Sorry, I'm starting to wander a little far from the thread topic. But these older Mini's might be worth a look... even though the new Mac Mini is almost certainly coming. 😀

 

[Boyd01]

Mini 2018 has a T2 chip which can be a challenge for Linux so buyer beware.

Well, I've accepted the challenge and ordered a maxxed out 2018 Mini from OWC yesterday for $560! This one is in "excellent" condition, could have gotten "very good" for $540. Guess I'm not the only one who likes this deal, when I checked this morning, they only had one left for $620 in "good" condition. They have 2018 i3/8gb/256gb Mini's for $169 if you need a "stocking stuffer" for the holidays. 🤣

The real reason I could justify the purchase was redundancy for my 2018 Mini, that I rely on heavily for both Windows and MacOS. But I can't resist the temptation to put linux on it in the meantime and am encouraged by some quick research, including a guide for installing Ubuntu.

I'll start another thread about linux on the 2018 Mini after it arrives, so we can get back to discussing the new Mac Mini (which is almost certainly coming).

 

[Corefile]

I had a 2018 Mini since they were released and they're fine machines. I know the stock kernels in Linux don't have a lot of built in support for HW so fans not spinning up under load might impact you. I use it less as the M4 Mini is great for Linux containerization now so solves my use case.

I'll start another thread about linux on the 2018 Mini after it arrives, so we can get back to discussing the new Mac Mini (which is almost certainly coming).

Given you've ordered the 2018 Mini then I'd say you Mini is almost certainly coming.

 

[Boyd01]

...fans not spinning up under load might impact you.

Yeah, that would be my primary concern after some quick research. Most of the other T2 linux problems seem to be laptops with built-in keyboards, trackpads, screens, bluetooth, wifi, etc and those shouldn't be an issue for a headless Mini server connected to ethernet. And 64gb/2tb is massive over-kill for my own web app development usage, wouldn't expect it ever to be under much load. Also ordered a 4tb T7 so I can fully mirror my leased server.

We'll see... worst case, it will just go back in the box and sit there as a backup that I can quickly drop in place if my primary 2018 Mini dies.

 

[sublunar]

Steering it slightly back on topic too: How would an M4 mini compare with an Intel mini for running a Linux (especially if on the M4 it's done under some sort of virtualisation)? I'd assume that due to hardware support issues on Apple Silicon performance might suffer?

 

[EugW]

US$500+ seems like an awful lot of money to spend on a Mac that is no longer supported with new OS updates (aside from security updates), unless you have a very specific reason to get it (like running Linux natively on it).

Steering it slightly back on topic too: How would an M4 mini compare with an Intel mini for running a Linux (especially if on the M4 it's done under some sort of virtualisation)? I'd assume that due to hardware support issues on Apple Silicon performance might suffer?

If you're going to do it this way, of course it means using up a lot of memory. If you allocate significant memory the VM, then even a 24 GB Mac mini might not be enough depending upon what you want to do with it.

BTW, one advantage for Parallels is that you can easily drag and drop files between the VM and macOS whereas I've read it's much less polished on UTM. Parallels is also reportedly much, much faster than UTM, but UTM is free whereas Parallels is not. Caveat: I personally have never used UTM and have only used Parallels, but my personal experience with Parallels is on Intel Macs not Apple Silicon Macs.

 

[Boyd01]

US$500+ seems like an awful lot of money to spend on a Mac that is no longer supported with new OS updates (aside from security updates), unless you have a very specific reason to get it

Sorry if it wasn't clear. I use Windows in a VM to run specialized GIS software. I previously used separate Windows boxes but have found myself much more productive keeping it on the same machine. Would like to continue as long as Apple supports the 2018 Mini (2 more years maybe) but have been concerned that it could die, so this makes me redundant, with an identical Mac I could quickly switch to. I think a computer with 64gb RAM and a 2tb SSD that is still supported is a pretty good deal for $500.

But as long as I've got it, will try installing linux since I just got almalinux running on my 2012 and have been impressed. All my files will be on a 4tb t7 ssd that can easily be moved between different headless linux machines.

 

[Corefile]

Steering it slightly back on topic too: How would an M4 mini compare with an Intel mini for running a Linux (especially if on the M4 it's done under some sort of virtualisation)? I'd assume that due to hardware support issues on Apple Silicon performance might suffer?

The built in hypervisor for macOS on Apple Silicon easily supports ARM64 based builds of Linux from a plethora of VM options (e.g. VMWare Fusion, UTM, etc).