Apple Mac mini MB138LL/A
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend The Mac Mini features the powerful 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It has two cores, so it's like having two 1.83GHz processors in one! Another great feature is the suite of applications in iLife '08. A full-featured collection of programs that are designed to let you easily take control of your creative projects. iPhoto organizes your digital pics, and has a cool feature that groups them by event. iWeb makes it easy to create… Product details and pricing info |
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61 Customer Reviews Posted
- BYE BYE PC AND WINDOWS!!!
- Not much to say here, other than I am replacing all of my PC's with Macs. This is long overdue, and I hope to never lay hands on a Windows based machine again. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Microsoft is the devil. Get out while you can!
btw...you can upgrade the RAM in the Mac Mini very easily with a couple of putty knives and an order from Newegg. There are guides all over the internet showing you step by step how to do it. Saves you hundreds! - 2008-08-12, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- I am very much happy with this product ! just need to extend the RAM to 2 GB ;-)
- I am very much happy with this product ! just need to extend the RAM to 2 GB ;-)
- 2008-07-27, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Back To Mac
- I have been a Mac user on and off over the years. Like Mac better, but overpriced. I decided to try the Mac Mini with my 40 inch LCD and Voila! I now have a Mac with a 40 inch screen with WiFi and linking to ITunes and Internet with Safari and Leopard. Easy as pie. My daughter uses this in the living room and it adds another computer to the household for little money. Not a powerhouse, but if you want to use for surfing and other non-heavy duty purposes, this is the way to get back to Mac. Wireless keyboard and mouse allow us to sit on couch and use with ease and comfort. Very glad I purchased! I am writing this on my Compaq notebook and have an old E Machine too. Like the Mac Mini the best. If Apple ever lowers their notebook prices to more competitive prices, I will buy then. Hope this helps.
- 2008-07-26, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Walt from Dallas
- Apple Mac mini MB138LL/A (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive)I have used a PC for many years: My first PC was a 1987 Zenith, the first portable on the market and a weighty 18 lbs: with DOS. I am on my 5th PC.
Since this was my first Apple computer, a MAC Mini, I decided to spend the $150 for a 3 years tech-service and warranty.
1) During research on Apple's website on the Mac Mini I noted that the applications in Leopard did NOT include a word-processor. I entered a search "word processor" but the only result was their iWorks an added cost option of $ 80. A friend who has an iMac told me the name of the software is "TextEdit". I was told at the Dallas Apple store that TextEdit is in fact part of the Leopard offering and was confirmed by an on-line chat. No where on Apple's website is a users manual listed. After I setup my Mac I checked out TextEdit and found it comparable to Windows WordPad: This was confirmed in a borrowed "Mac for Dummies." I have used Word-Perfect and Microsoft's Works & Word and expected that TextEdit was similar. Apple was too ashamed to list TestEdit in Leopard, but for a reason: When you get your Mac they have a sucker-punch offer for you: You get a free 30-day trial of their word processor. So, I gotta lay out $80 extra for their iWorks word processor. Not a good way to earn creditability with a first-time customer.
2) During my telecom with a Tech, I was given instructions on how to install my Logitech wireless 2-year old keyboard/mouse which is designed for OS X. Some 20 minutes was spent on the installation process and the Rep gave up saying: Your keyboard/mouse can NOT be installed. We than installed my old hard-wired keyboard/mouse. So, now I have a $100 Logitech paper-weight. So far I have "lost" $100 on buying the Mini, and will need to spend another $80 for iWorks. Total now: $180
3) When I visited the Apple Store for a second time, I asked what `preparation work' must I do to make my Works files capable of migrating to TextEdit. He said, and later confirmed by an Apple instructor, that I would need to change the code from ".wps" to either ".doc" or ".txt"
I told the telecom Tech that I wanted to migrate some of my Works files, and told him about the scenario involving "change wps: to doc or txt" And he responded you need to call Microsoft for instructions on how to migrate "Works files." More $$ need to be added to my un-expected incremental increase of $180. Only once did I find it necessary to spend $40 for a Microsoft engineer's "fix" of my computer: money well spent. I told the Rep that I spent $150 for your Apple Care Protection Plan, which now is very apparent that I needlessly spent $150 for being told, "we are not capable of installing your OS X wireless keyboard/mouse" And "We at Apple are not capable of migrating your word-processor files, but for more $$ I could buy Apple software to accomplish this. On their website the following information is found: Copying the files from your PC onto external or removable to storage media and then use that media in your Mac to transfer the files to your hard drive. And, further states: If you don't want to install Windows and Boot Camp on your Mac, you can move just your Windows files to your new Mac and use them with Mac applications. This is a lotta Apple B.S. Again, I told 5 Apple "experts" that I only want to migrate some Works files and Pictures to iPhoto. After all this disappointment with Apple I did not find it worthwhile to talk about iPhoto. The Tech-Rep was pleased that I took the time to fill out two forms: "email account settings for my mac" and "My Mac Cheat Sheet."
4) Notoriously absent from their website is any information regarding internet security software (Search), yet other companies offer it is for sale. My own Trend-Micro just announced the availability of Mac software.
5) On my 4th startup, the keyboard & mouse would NOT function.
So here is my tally of "$ 370 down-the-toilet," if I choose to keep the MacMini:
$ 100 wireless keyboard/mouse: great software; + $ 80 iWorks; + $ 40 Microsoft Engineer; + $ 150 AppleCare." Bogus "truth in advertising" on website.
-- unanswered is: Will I find in the future, a need to spend more money for Apple's internet-security ? Stay turned for an expected announcement from Apple on its new internet security software.
UPS just picked up the MAC Mini. - 2008-07-22, 4 of 13 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Coolest MAC around!!
- This weekend I picked up a Mac Mini (with the above mentioned specs..) after doing tons of research and truly looking at my overall needs. Originally my thought was to pick up a Macbook but after focusing on my needs and seeking a cheaper alternative to jumping into the MAC arena I decided to go this route. After being a PC user for many many years the thought of learning a new operating system seemed rather intimidating but having friends who have made the jump made the task seemed a bit less daunting..
I spent many hours perusing You Tube for Mac reviews...everything from Macbook AIR..to PRO..to Macbook and eventually MINI. There's a lot of good informative stuff out there!! Also reading the reviews on this site and many other online reviews I felt I was armed with enough knowledge to finally visit an APPLE store and ask some intelligent questions. Fortunately I ran into 2 young sales guys who knew their product well and tried to be as objective as possible about the product they were selling...I got the feeling they were truly interested in making sure I understood the differences between Windows Vista and Leopard and spent a great deal of time showing me features in ilife and Leopard in general. This made a difference to me in that the APPLE store staff exhibited such "refreshing" professionalism. I think that in itself made a big difference in helping me make a decision to try APPLE products. Their support was top notch compared to the experience I had received in the past from other vendors.
After I picked up my Mac Mini...set up was a breeze. I had a Dell 17" 1703 monitor that was formerly coupled to my Dell Dimension 8300 that I hooked up to with no problems. I had a made a decision to get the APPLE keyboard due to the Command features and the fact that I liked the way the keys felt and am glad. Dell speakers and a Logitech wireless mouse completed the set up and I was off and running! The OS booted up so quickly that I immediately thought I'll never be able to go back to VISTA again..LOL! And setup was effortless..wireless..email..all very intutive and painless. No wonder APPLE has so many people switching!
Once everything was set up I was working within the OS within minutes and what's cool is on the APPLE website there are many informative video tutorials as well as written support that helps a lot.
For video & pictures the OS recognized both my Sony digital & video cameras and I was able to download all my files seamlessly with iphoto and imovie. Here is where I can see the advantages of having additional memory but generally it wasn't too much of an issue..I will eventually upgrade my memory in the near future..
Overall for the weekend spent acclimating myself to this amazing little computer, the experience has been pretty darn good! I still have much to learn and will follow up with a more detailed review further on down the road...
But for first impressions I'm pretty happy! The bottom line is...look at your computing needs and budget and work within those parameters. You don't really need to pump out a couple of grand for an ideal APPLE experience..If you have a good monitor, keyboard and mouse..and are looking to change to the APPLE OS this would be the best and economical way to go! - 2008-07-14, 5 of 5 people found this review helpful, Rated:
