What to do with Mac Mini

[mac mini n00b]

I bought a Mac Mini just to learn about this OS. But I'll admit I'm still a hardcore Windows (pc) user. The breadth of software out there still keeps me tied to Windows. Sure I like the Mac, its nice and all but now that I pretty much know OSX and all now, I cant find much use for this machine anymore.

I know Apple is gaining ground (slowly) and with the x86 versions to come that will help as you will be able to dual boot in OSX or Win. But I still cant find a reason to stick with this machine anymore. Part of me feels i wasted $500 but i did learn some stuff but its just not being used, so i may end up selling it. And I do use quite a few programs that are opensource and crosscompatible (gaim,firefox,thunderbird) but a lot of progs I use are windows only. I find myself seeing it as a hinderance to keep up on 2 different OSes, but at first i thought it would help me somehow, as Apple is doing some cool stuff and all.

So is there some useful things I might be able to do with this Mac Mini?

Please no jokes about giving it away, thats not gonna happen

 

[tapjpa]

But I'll admitAnd I do use quite a few programs that are opensource and crosscompatible (gaim,firefox,thunderbird) but a lot of progs I use are windows only. I find myself seeing it as a hinderance to keep up on 2 different OSes, but at first i thought it would help me somehow, as Apple is doing some cool stuff and all.

So is there some useful things I might be able to do with this Mac Mini?

Please no jokes about giving it away, thats not gonna happen

Obviously you have not looked around much because there is alot more open source software for the Mac then for Windows. For Every single Windows app I used to use I have found a Mac replacement that matches or excedes the functions of their Windows counterparts. Try looking at Version Tracker or even Google you might be surprised at what you find. After you have spend a day doing this then come back and ask again what you might be able to do with your Mac. If you still haven't found anything box it back up and send it back to Apple because you then obviously don't deserve or understand what you have.

 

[symphonix]

So what programs that are "Windows only" do you use and consider to be really important. Because frankly, if it were me worrying about keeping up two different computers, I'd be looking at ways to get rid of the Windows machine.

 

[Giaguara]

gaim? www.adiumx.com
firefox? or camino

www.versiontracker.com is your friend. any software you are looking for Macs is listed there. 10,000+ ..

 

[jmartin724]

well, to be honest, people have different preferences. while i am a die hard mac guy, and will never give up the mac, maybe the windoze machine is your choice. i am also a designer, so i love everything that apple does, the thought that went into the packaging, the actual products, it is very meticulous.

you should be able to find a program to do anything that can be done on a PC. but if after all the searching, you still like the PC, then that's all there is to it.

 

[ora]

I agree with the consensus, the only areas that i find i am limited to windows in are high spec games and the more advanced exchange server functions (Entourage, despite its claims, lacks features). Also try www.sourrceforge.net , sicne OSX is unix based we get access to a whole bunch of linux based open source fun that doesn't make it to windows.

 

[Johndoemanny34362]

Since i am OC, the mac OSX won't cut if for me. Too many little things i am nit picky about. But i am a FPS gamer so i remain with Windows. Also just the general speed of working is faster with Windows (im a mac noob so i can't go very fast).

 

[nixgeek]

Since i am OC, the mac OSX won't cut if for me. Too many little things i am nit picky about. But i am a FPS gamer so i remain with Windows. Also just the general speed of working is faster with Windows (im a mac noob so i can't go very fast).

I don't know, but my iMac G5 seems to be pretty fast. And the games it has run quite fast as well. Heck, I'm even running MAME on it better than I've run it on any other platform.

I am looking to test out some other more current popular games on the Mac end. Of course, this will require me to switch my bluetooth Apple mouse for my Logitech mouse from my PC for the gaming as the extra buttons do help, but for general use, the Apple mouse does me just fine.

Seriously, I never understand it when people who have always used a PC and have barely ever used a Mac think that it's underwhelming. You say that the general speed of using Windows is faster than on the Mac. However, wouldn't that really be based on your USAGE of Windows as compared to the Mac (which is exactly what you mentioned at the end of your post)? I use both Macintosh and Windows quite extensively and I personally don't find Windows to be any faster than OS X or even other open source alternatives out there.....and we're talking on a P4 with HT that I have at work as well as my Athlon XP system at home!

Yes, you can't overclock easily on the Mac as you can on the PC, but there are people that have done it. Of course, it requires more technical expertise and even more caution, but it can be done. If you don't believe me, check out Accelerate Your Mac! You might even want to check out this specific link on the Mac mini since that is what the topic was about:

http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/macmini/

mac mini n00b, if you feel that OS X has done enough for you and you are left wanting more, why not try out one of the many PowerPC based Linux distributions out there? I recommend Ubuntu or it's KDE brother, Kubuntu. The latest version is VERY easy to install and runs very well. It will detect all of your hardware and you will barely have to use the Terminal for everyday tasks. However, you have to understand that software which you thought wasn't as extensive on the Mac OS X side will be even more scarce while running Linux/PPC.

There is much more software available on the OS X side than you will find on any Linux distro for the PowerPC. And when compared to Windows, don't believe the hype. Any software that you find useful on WIndows you will find for the Mac as well. Office, web browsing, anything that you can do on the Windows side you can do on the Mac side. And if you can't find the exact same software from the Windows side on the Mac, there's always a suitable alternative which is equal and sometimes greater than what you would find on Windows.

And don't forget that most open source software is available for Windows and Macintosh as well as the other open source operating systems.

 

[Rhisiart]

If you still haven't found anything, box it back up and send it back to Apple because you then obviously don't deserve or understand what you have.

Well good on you for trying a different OS.

I don't think Mac OS is perfect. As a Windows XP user most of the week (and a Mac user on my days off) I find both systems perfectly adequate for my needs. The Mac is more aesthetically pleasing, there is no doubt about that, but I can navigate around Windows with just as much ease and I do find windows a little faster.

What I get really fed up with is the instability of the Windows OS and the fact that the system is so vunerable security wise. These factors make the Mac the ultimate winner.

 

[nixgeek]

If you still haven't found anything, box it back up and send it back to Apple because you then obviously don't deserve or understand what you have.

Well good on you for trying a different OS.

I don't think Mac OS is perfect. As a Windows XP user most of the week (and a Mac user on my days off) I find both systems perfectly adequate for my needs. The Mac is more aesthetically pleasing, there is no doubt about that, but I can navigate around Windows with just as much ease and I do find windows a little faster.

What I get really fed up with is the instability of the Windows OS and the fact that the system is so vunerable security wise. These factors make the Mac the ultimate winner.

The instability is part of the reason the OS is slow. Consider that your antivirus/antispyware apps, as well as any other apps like a software firewall if you use it, are all running using up memory that could be used for your applications. All this on top of the usual Windows bloat makes using a Windows computer a sluggish experience for me. And this is on a 3 GHz P4 with HT and 512 MB RAM at work! My iMac G5 has 512 MB and is running Tiger and other applications just fine without any worries of slowdowns! Of course, since Mac OS X is Unix-based it does a better job of memory management than Windows does (with all of it's memory leaks, still after all this time), it makes the most of the memory I have installed. Heck, I've gotten better performance on a PC with Linux running KDE than with Windows XP.

Not to totally bash XP, I think it's the best version of Windows to date. However, as an OS in general it still leaves a lot to be desired. ::sleepy::