Whither Mac Mini?

[jasnw]

I'm holding out hope for an updated Mac mini, as my son needs an upgrade to the 2008 iMac he is currently using. If Apple disappoints, as expected(as has been commonplace the last 5 years now), then this will start my migration away fro the Apple environment.

I'm holding out for Apple owning up to the fact that it doesn't want to do computers any more and throwing macOS to the open source community. Hopefully starting with Snow Leopard. Then we can get moving on macOS distros that can be easily (not hackintosh "easy", but Linux easy) installed on non-Apple computers.

 

[bingeciren]

Short and simple - R.I.P. Mini

 

[Septembersrain]

I'm sad because I really wanted to experience a MacOS. The mini was really interesting to me. I wish that they'd allow us to use their OS on different hardware. Like the person above the last poster said, I'd love to see it be open sourced.

Do I think this will happen? I really don't know in the long run.

 

[Cape Dave]

I'm holding out for Apple owning up to the fact that it doesn't want to do computers any more and throwing macOS to the open source community. Hopefully starting with Snow Leopard. Then we can get moving on macOS distros that can be easily (not hackintosh "easy", but Linux easy) installed on non-Apple computers.

Heck, they did it with monitors, why not their OS?

 

[bingeciren]

I'm sad because I really wanted to experience a MacOS. The mini was really interesting to me. I wish that they'd allow us to use their OS on different hardware. Like the person above the last poster said, I'd love to see it be open sourced.

Do I think this will happen? I really don't know in the long run.

I seriously doubt that Apple would allow macOS to run on non-Apple hardware. For most people, it is the only thing that keeps them from switching to Windows. Almost all Hackintoshes are cheaper, faster and ultimately upgradable.

If I could run macOS on a hardware of my choice, buying an Apple desktop would be at the bottom of my alternatives.

I was considering to build a Hackintosh Mini from an Intel Nuc but it is still possible to find a second hand Mac Mini at a relatively comparable price to a Nuc, so I dropped the idea. But for a much more powerful desktop alternative, like a Mac Pro level performance, a Hackintosh is a very tempting alternative.

 

[Septembersrain]

I seriously doubt that Apple would allow macOS to run on non-Apple hardware. For most people, it is the only thing that keeps them from switching to Windows. Almost all Hackintoshes are cheaper, faster and ultimately upgradable.

If I could run macOS on a hardware of my choice, buying an Apple desktop would be at the bottom of my alternatives.

I was considering to build a Hackintosh Mini from an Intel Nuc but it is still possible to find a second hand Mac Mini at a relatively comparable price to a Nuc, so I dropped the idea. But for a much more powerful desktop alternative, like a Mac Pro level performance, a Hackintosh is a very tempting alternative.

I wish I had the money and the drive to build a Hackintosh. I'm still considering if I can find a refurbished Mini for a good price. I've still got my old trusty laptop, I'd like to try out a Mac, so a desktop is what I'm aiming for.

 

[bingeciren]

I wish I had the money and the drive to build a Hackintosh. I'm still considering if I can find a refurbished Mini for a good price. I've still got my old trusty laptop, I'd like to try out a Mac, so a desktop is what I'm aiming for.

Check OWC and Amazon. eBay is another source but I don't have much experience shopping there.

My choice would be a 2012 Mac Mini 6,2 or similar. It has USB 3 and drives and the memory can be upgraded.

 

[flyinmac]

I'm in the same boat as you. I purchased a 2008 MP in 2008. Around 2013 I decided that with the way things were going, a quadcore i7 MacMini could replace my 8 core tower, so I waited for the announcement only to be disappointed by the 2 core, soldered monstrosity that they released. I considered buying the 2012 quadcore i7, but wasn't happy with the graphics or the idea of buying a two-year old machine.

So, I decided to keep using my Pro until something better comes along (Which nothing really has)...

The MacPro is upgradable. I went from 4 core 2.8 -> 8 core 2.8 -> 8 core 3.2. I also went from 2 GB ram to 16, added a BlueRay drive, USB 3.0 card, 802.11 AC wireless card, and a PCI mounted SSD drive. Not 2017 tech, but better than it was. I find it boots in 20 seconds or less. I haven't made the jump to Sierra, and am using El Cap. Sierra slowed my MacBook down to the point where it's barely usable anymore, so I am not chomping at the bit to make the upgrade on the Pro.

If there is no MacMini update in 2017, I'll either use my 2008 until it dies (which it shows no signs of) or build a hackintosh. I don't care to buy a computer with built in monitor.

Also, in answer to one of your other questions, I believe you can attach 2 additional displays to the iMac over thunderbolt.

Your story is just like mine. And is how my 2006 Mac Pro got updated to the specs in my signature below after the revelation that the 2014 mini I had been waiting for ended up being a joke.

 

[Septembersrain]

Check OWC and Amazon. eBay is another source but I don't have much experience shopping there.

My choice would be a 2012 Mac Mini 6,2 or similar. It has USB 3 and drives and the memory can be upgraded.

Yeah. EBay only seems good for cases and other assorted small price items. I feel it too risky to buy electronics as many of the sellers have a no return policy.

So you'd recommend a 2012 over a 2014? Is that only because it's able to be modded?

 

[jpietrzak8]

So you'd recommend a 2012 over a 2014? Is that only because it's able to be modded?

Well, if you're willing to shell out for a top-of-the-line 2014 Mini (with 16 GB of RAM and a decent SSD) at the time of purchase, there's very little reason not to get a 2014. It has a somewhat better GPU and a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports. There is no quad-core CPU version of the 2014, however, so if you need serious processor power, there are 2012 machines that have twice as many cores as any 2014 machine.

Of course, with the 2014 machines, the key is that you must buy everything you want right up front. Because what you get out of the box is all you will ever have. You can never upgrade the RAM; and the internal hard drives are locked down with security screws, and there are far more fragile easy-to-break internal connections in the 2014 Mini than in any previous edition.

So yeah, the 2014 machines are not worthless, but they are quite a pain compared to earlier versions. Which is why the 2012 is still so highly sought-after.

 

[Septembersrain]

Well, if you're willing to shell out for a top-of-the-line 2014 Mini (with 16 GB of RAM and a decent SSD) at the time of purchase, there's very little reason not to get a 2014. It has a somewhat better GPU and a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports. There is no quad-core CPU version of the 2014, however, so if you need serious processor power, there are 2012 machines that have twice as many cores as any 2014 machine.

Of course, with the 2014 machines, the key is that you must buy everything you want right up front. Because what you get out of the box is all you will ever have. You can never upgrade the RAM; and the internal hard drives are locked down with security screws, and there are far more fragile easy-to-break internal connections in the 2014 Mini than in any previous edition.

So yeah, the 2014 machines are not worthless, but they are quite a pain compared to earlier versions. Which is why the 2012 is still so highly sought-after.

Thank you for this! Yeah, I'm sure I can learn as I've done a small upgrade of RAM in my current laptop. I probably wouldn't be able to shell out over $500 up front. However, if I can modify it, I can slowly buy what I need. I'll probably have to really look into these threads (I will need advice) as it will literally be my very first Mac and it's way smaller than my laptop.

Edit: It's going to be hard to find I bet as you said, it's more sought after. *Sigh*

 

[bingeciren]

Yeah. EBay only seems good for cases and other assorted small price items. I feel it too risky to buy electronics as many of the sellers have a no return policy.

So you'd recommend a 2012 over a 2014? Is that only because it's able to be modded?

Basically yes. Quad core i7, USB 3, two drive slots and two memory slots. This is otherwise known as the Mac Mini Server model.

 

[Boyd01]

I'm holding out for Apple owning up to the fact that it doesn't want to do computers any more and throwing macOS to the open source community.

I think you are going to grow old waiting for that.

 

[Cave Man]

Basically yes. Quad core i7, USB 3, two drive slots and two memory slots. This is otherwise known as the Mac Mini Server model.

There is also the non-server model that has these same specs. I have it, with a 256 GB SSD and 1.5 TB spinning drive with 16 GB RAM.

 

[Fishrrman]

bingeciren wrote:
"I seriously doubt that Apple would allow macOS to run on non-Apple hardware. For most people, it is the only thing that keeps them from switching to Windows. Almost all Hackintoshes are cheaper, faster and ultimately upgradable."

There's another possibility that I haven't seen mentioned much.

Even if Apple decides that it's no longer worth it to them to design and produce their own Mac hardware, why give away ("open source") for free, what you can still sell?

How difficult for them would it be to revamp the Mac OS to run on generic PC hardware, and then sell it (with some limited "support" thrown in as an extra), as Microsoft sells Windows?

If you couldn't actually -buy- a Mac any more, would you consider paying, say, $100-150 for an up-to-date copy of the Mac OS that will run on most PC hardware you could buy, or build?

 

[bingeciren]

If you couldn't actually -buy- a Mac any more, would you consider paying, say, $100-150 for an up-to-date copy of the Mac OS that will run on most PC hardware you could buy, or build?

Under that scenario, I think I would. macOS is still better than Windows.
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There is also the non-server model that has these same specs. I have it, with a 256 GB SSD and 1.5 TB spinning drive with 16 GB RAM.

I wasn't aware of that. In order to get two drives and the quad core i7 I always had to go for the server model.

With a drive kit (a $40 cable) you could add a second drive to a non server model but by the time you add the price of the cable kit and the second drive, it costed pretty much the same as buying the server model.

 

[Miat]

The only difference between the server and non-server versions of the 2012 quad Mini was that the server version came standard with two drives and server software. Otherwise they were the same.

 

[bingeciren]

The only difference between the server and non-server versions of the 2012 quad Mini was that the server version came standard with two drives and server software. Otherwise they were the same.

Correct, but the non-server Mini did not have the hardware included for the second drive. You had to buy the drive cable and the plastic drive tray separately from a third party supplier like OWC and buy a second drive and mount it yourself.

 

[Lankyman]

Just slipped a second SSD into my Lenovo M900 in under 10 minutes.
Easy as pie.
While I was in there, I noticed that memory fits in sockets, user installable.
Bluetooth card looks replaceable too, so once Bluetooth 5 comes out...

I'm really liking the look of the M900 is that the 'Tiny' model? If so do you know if you can put a HDD and a PCIe flash drive in there? I want to put the OS and programs on the Flash Drive and my data on the SSD.

 

[Miat]

Correct, but the non-server Mini did not have the hardware included for the second drive. You had to buy the drive cable and the plastic drive tray separately from a third party supplier like OWC

Yes, that is true. Fair point.

 

[Cave Man]

I wasn't aware of that. In order to get two drives and the quad core i7 I always had to go for the server model.

With a drive kit (a $40 cable) you could add a second drive to a non server model but by the time you add the price of the cable kit and the second drive, it costed pretty much the same as buying the server model.

But the server model came with identical drives, either two 1 TB 5400 rpm spinning drives or two 256 GB SSDs. I bought the cheapest non-server quad i7 (single 1 TB drive) and put in a 256 GB SSD and 1.5 TB Toshiba spinning drive (largest that would fit at the time) and initialized them as a fusion volume. So, I think the additional cost for the drive kit hardware is a wash.

 

[Partron22]

M900 is that the 'Tiny' model? If so do you know if you can put a HDD and a PCIe flash drive in there?

Tiny model. Doesn't appear to be a PCIe drive, just regular SATA III. Second drive slot is M2. You might look around their storefront. There's a fair number or options. I did not see PCIe in a quick look, but that does not mean it's not available. Lenovo could use a little help in the website design dept.

 

[jasnw]

I think you are going to grow old waiting for that.

Alright! Since I already AM old does that mean this will happen any day now??

 

[bingeciren]

Alright! Since I already AM old does that mean this will happen any day now??

Any day now in our dreams.....

In 2007, when Steve was the CEO, Apple eliminated the "computer" from the company name and became Apple Inc.

Perhaps in 2017, with Tim Cook at the helm, Apple will eliminate the physical computer as well.

Well, maybe not so soon but it seems to me that Tim sees the computer division as a resource hogging burden and would like to get rid of it sooner or later. He looks at the percent revenues of Macs vs the IOS devices and calculates how much he can maximize profits by cutting all resources of the Mac line and diverting it to the IOS line.

It may work out fine in the short term but we have to wait to see the long term effects.

 

[Lankyman]

Tiny model. Doesn't appear to be a PCIe drive, just regular SATA III. Second drive slot is M2. You might look around their storefront. There's a fair number or options. I did not see PCIe in a quick look, but that does not mean it's not available. Lenovo could use a little help in the website design dept.

Thanks for the info. I would be pretty happy using the M2. and SATA III for a HDD. That would provide all my storage needs as well has being connected to my NAS. Let's face it Windows 10 is pretty darn good these days and despite some people's comments in this thread about it being a steep learning curve it's not for me. I have been using Windows alongside my Mac for years now. In fact Windows and I go back to 3.1.

As for ease of use re: Windows 10 - our dog learned how to use it in just one afternoon.