Monday, January 31, 2011

# 1: Apple Mac Mini Desktop MC270LL/A

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 2, position 8571.
Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 9172.
98 of 104 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful machine and great to work with, June 16, 2010 This review is from: Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop (Personal Computers) We've already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they're great. A few things to know:

-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)

- If you're looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you'll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it's a great fit.

- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.

- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.

- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they're great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.

- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.

All in all, a good upgrade.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? 
176 of 192 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars MM GOOD + BAD, July 26, 2010 This review is from: Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop (Personal Computers) The Mac Mini was updated on June 15th 2010. There are some upgrades and minor changes between the 2010 Mac Mini and 2009's model, detailed below.

UPGRADES

HDMI audio/video output (HDMI version 1.3 and supports up to 1920-by-1200 resolution and multichannel audio.) Allows you to connect the Mac Mini to your HDTV easily.

Nvidia Geforce 320 M integrated graphics processor. More powerful than last years Nvidia Geforce 9400 which was in the 2009 Mac mini. Useful for content creation.

320 gb hard drive - Last years base model had a 160gb hard drive.

Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot - Useful for transferring photos and videos from Cameras.

Unibody aluminum body.

STANDARD FEATURES - from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets) are

Core 2 Duo Processor ( 2.4 ghz - up from 2.26ghz )
2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Ram
8x slot-loading SuperDrive DVD burner

Mini DisplayPort video output with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
Combined optical digital output/headphone output
Four USB 2.0 ports (1 less than the 2009 Mac Mini)

One FireWire 800 port
Wi-Fi - 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

As one can see, not much has changed. Apple is using older Core 2 Duo processors while the majority of the computer industry has moved on to using Intel's "i" series of processors and it's still shipping the Mac mini with 2gb of ram which is inadequate for multi-tasking effectively.

However, whatever little has changed, is for the better.

Apple has finally acknowledged that people connect their Mac Mini's to HDTV's and use them as media centers. So it's added an HDMI port to the machine. This makes hooking up your Mac mini to a HDTV really easy. No Blu-ray drive though.

It's also included an SD card slot at the rear (Which also supports SDXC cards) - so you can transfer your photos / videos / data directly from an SD card without having to connect your camera / card reader to the machine.

Also, new in this year's Mac mini is a removable panel on the bottom of the Mac mini which allows you to easily upgrade the ram. This is a welcome addition considering that accessing the ram slots in earlier Mac mini's was a tedious and time consuming process. And since the Mac mini only comes with 2gb of ram, a ram upgrade should be one of the first things you choose to do. Kingston Apple 4GB Kit (2x2GB Modules) 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM iMac and Macbook Memory (KTA-MB1066K2/4GR) for $101 currently. The operating system STRUGGLES with multi-tasking when there's only 2gb of ram present. Note to Apple. Stop skimping on the ram. Thanks.

Unfortunately, there are some negatives too.

First up is the power supply unit. In the 2009 Mac mini, the power supply was an external power adapter, which meant if anything went wrong with it, you'd take the adapter for servicing, not the whole machine. However, the power supply unit is now inside the June 2010 Mac mini. This may look better / cleaner from a design / clutter point of view but it also means that if it ever malfunctions, instead of the power adapter, you'll have to take your Mac mini in to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Store Provider and leave it there for repairs which may lead to more downtime.

The SD card slot is at the back of the machine, and reaching behind to insert a card gets tedious fast.

Also, the machine is STILL not designed to not let users access the hard drive easily (or without voiding the warranty). This forces the customer to be dependent on Apple for servicing, replacing or upgrading the hard drive. Considering the amount of confidential data customers store on their computers, they should be allowed to take out the hard drive when they need or feel like instead of being forced to take their machines into an Apple store if there are any issues. This is definitely a privacy / security risk for many customers and Apple should address this in the next iteration of the machine.

The price has also gone up by $100. Cost is an important aspect to consider. If you decide to upgrade the ram and also need to purchase a LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse, once you total it all up, the Mac mini will end up costing almost as much as a Macbook(which is more portable) or the entry level iMac (21.5 inch screen, 4gb of ram, dedicated graphics and bigger hard drive). If that's the case, you better off examining those machines as purchase options instead of buying a Mini.

The Mac mini is a capable machine for general tasks such as watching videos, working on documents, listening to music and surfing the web. It's small and occupies very little space. It's also very energy efficient which is good for the environment and your energy bill. I would have loved to rate it 4 stars but I can't ignore Apple still including only 2gb of ram which is inadequate for multitasking, not including a Blu-ray drive, STILL not allowing customers to access the hard drive AND increasing the price by $100.

If the issues mentioned above don't affect you in any way and you want a small, power efficient and capable machine (After upgrading the ram) the Mac Mini may be the machine for you.

Hope this helps!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? 
42 of 46 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Very Impressive Little Guy!, June 22, 2010 This review is from: Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop (Personal Computers) The new Mac Mini has been an impressive little beast so far!

It sits on your desk and looks so small, yet it packs a powerful punch inside.

I bought a Mini Displayport to VGA connector to integrate this into my KVM setup with the intention of only using it on one of my three monitors, and when I realized that I could also use the HDMI port to hook up a second monitor, it was like a new world.

The new Nvidia Graphics card handles my 24" and 22" monitors just fine.

I also picked up Parallels 5.0 software from Amazon as well, and I don't flinch when I say that this little Mac Mini is running Windows 7 Professional better than my Quad Core PC does!

I am also going to throw Ubuntu on here as well to play with.

The Snow Leopard install is very snappy, and opens programs and installs things in a breeze.

This little guy is also handling syncing to my iPad and iPhone like it was nothing, and it amazingly will handle multiple programs open with no problem.

This is actually the first Mac I have owned, and I am so impressed that I may be converted forever.

The SD card slot, HDMI, and new Graphics card is what really sets this apart from the older models.

The new case is also a very nice piece of engineering! I have no idea how they fit the power supply in there! No more power brick laying around on the floor!

So user friendly, and could be the pinnacle of a Home office or be a great HTPC in the living room!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? 

View the original article here

No comments:

Post a Comment