Mac Mini in the Living Room
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Mac Mini as Entertainment Center
Here's a good article from Anandtech on the Mac mini as a Home Theater PC, a computer that can replace your VCR, DVD player, and stereo. One conclusion is that the mini does better as a video editing platform than as a VCR or DVD player.
AnandTech: The Mac mini as a Media Computer
Here's a good article from Anandtech on the Mac mini as a Home Theater PC, a computer that can replace your VCR, DVD player, and stereo. One conclusion is that the mini does better as a video editing platform than as a VCR or DVD player.
AnandTech: The Mac mini as a Media Computer
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Mac Mini Revisited
The Mac Mini has found a home in the living room. It uses the LCD TV as a monitor and is hooked up to the stereo for sound. The LCD TV only supports a resolution of 800 x 600 and is a temporary solution. My wife complains that the 800 x 600 resolution does not give her enough desktop real estate to view email or browse message boards. Garage Band 2 will work, but a pop-up message laments the lack of a higher screen resolution. iMovie HD is snippier and refuses to come out and play until resolution is at least 1024 x 768.
When we use the computer we put a small tray table and chair in front of the TV and have at it. The only problem I'm having is adjusting to a one-button mouse. I'm doing a lot of mouse clicks + control key to get the context menu to appear.
As someone who occasionally builds computers and is aware of hardware prices, I still feel that Apple charges top dollar on upgrades for memory, hard drives, and optical drives. When purchasing a Mac Mini, you can upgrade to a 4x Superdrive for 11,500 yen. On the Windows side, I can buy a top-of-the-line 16x DVD from NEC for 8,500 yen, but I'd have to install it myself and it would have a tray. I'm on the same bandwagon as the build-it-yourself geek over at aaronadams.net. Also noticed that some people are actually overclocking the Mini. It involves a soldering iron and removing resistors. Here's a performance report from Hardmac.com. Users who want a bigger, faster hard drive can check out replacement options and performance improvements here.
But I am still more than pleased with the Mini. I bought the iWork software for my wife. It arrived yesterday; I installed it and marveled at the way it localizes into English on my side, and Japanese on hers.
The Mac Mini has found a home in the living room. It uses the LCD TV as a monitor and is hooked up to the stereo for sound. The LCD TV only supports a resolution of 800 x 600 and is a temporary solution. My wife complains that the 800 x 600 resolution does not give her enough desktop real estate to view email or browse message boards. Garage Band 2 will work, but a pop-up message laments the lack of a higher screen resolution. iMovie HD is snippier and refuses to come out and play until resolution is at least 1024 x 768.
When we use the computer we put a small tray table and chair in front of the TV and have at it. The only problem I'm having is adjusting to a one-button mouse. I'm doing a lot of mouse clicks + control key to get the context menu to appear.
As someone who occasionally builds computers and is aware of hardware prices, I still feel that Apple charges top dollar on upgrades for memory, hard drives, and optical drives. When purchasing a Mac Mini, you can upgrade to a 4x Superdrive for 11,500 yen. On the Windows side, I can buy a top-of-the-line 16x DVD from NEC for 8,500 yen, but I'd have to install it myself and it would have a tray. I'm on the same bandwagon as the build-it-yourself geek over at aaronadams.net. Also noticed that some people are actually overclocking the Mini. It involves a soldering iron and removing resistors. Here's a performance report from Hardmac.com. Users who want a bigger, faster hard drive can check out replacement options and performance improvements here.
But I am still more than pleased with the Mini. I bought the iWork software for my wife. It arrived yesterday; I installed it and marveled at the way it localizes into English on my side, and Japanese on hers.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
My Mac Mini Experience
Apple computer finally came out with a computer that I can afford. I bought it so I can play with the Mac OS and also for my wife to test drive. If she likes it, it will free up more time on the Windows PC for yours truly.
AnandTech has a good review, written from a PC perspective with lots of photos. You definitely need to increase the memory to 512 MB. I also got the wireless mouse and keyboard set so I could use it in the living room, where I can plug it into the stereo and a LCD TV that doubles as a monitor. I also upgraded to a 80 GB hard drive. The base configuration just doesn't cut it: one wonders why Apple doesn't offer the base model that doesn't scream upgrade me. I suppose they had their price point. I also would have preferred something a little more robust than the 32 MB ATI Radeon 9200. Why not a 128 MB ATI Radeon 9600 SE?
But there is much more to like than to dislike about the Mini Mac. Set up was a snap. It found the wireless Internet connection without hesitation. I set it up a 2-user, bilingual machine for myself and my wife: an English system for me and a Japanese one for her. The only problem I had was not putting things in the right place. In my zeal to set up iPhoto for my wife, I dragged a CD full of photos into the program to get started. Later I realized that I couldn't access the photos from my account. I had to delete the photos from her home directory and reinstall them into the Shared User directory. Now we can both access the photos from our separate English and Japanese versions of iPhoto.
At work I've been fooling around with Linux trying to find an optimum distribution for the average Japanese college student. Panther, the current Mac OS, is based on the FreeBSD 5.0 version of Unix. My first impression of the Mac OS was that it was an uber version of Linux with a slick GUI that didn't demand that the user learn how to work from a terminal. I haven't done much with the Mini besides surfing the net and writing email, but it's fun to use, and I like the fact that it's small enough so I can use it downstairs or carry it upstairs and plug it into the PC monitor.
Apple computer finally came out with a computer that I can afford. I bought it so I can play with the Mac OS and also for my wife to test drive. If she likes it, it will free up more time on the Windows PC for yours truly.
AnandTech has a good review, written from a PC perspective with lots of photos. You definitely need to increase the memory to 512 MB. I also got the wireless mouse and keyboard set so I could use it in the living room, where I can plug it into the stereo and a LCD TV that doubles as a monitor. I also upgraded to a 80 GB hard drive. The base configuration just doesn't cut it: one wonders why Apple doesn't offer the base model that doesn't scream upgrade me. I suppose they had their price point. I also would have preferred something a little more robust than the 32 MB ATI Radeon 9200. Why not a 128 MB ATI Radeon 9600 SE?
But there is much more to like than to dislike about the Mini Mac. Set up was a snap. It found the wireless Internet connection without hesitation. I set it up a 2-user, bilingual machine for myself and my wife: an English system for me and a Japanese one for her. The only problem I had was not putting things in the right place. In my zeal to set up iPhoto for my wife, I dragged a CD full of photos into the program to get started. Later I realized that I couldn't access the photos from my account. I had to delete the photos from her home directory and reinstall them into the Shared User directory. Now we can both access the photos from our separate English and Japanese versions of iPhoto.
At work I've been fooling around with Linux trying to find an optimum distribution for the average Japanese college student. Panther, the current Mac OS, is based on the FreeBSD 5.0 version of Unix. My first impression of the Mac OS was that it was an uber version of Linux with a slick GUI that didn't demand that the user learn how to work from a terminal. I haven't done much with the Mini besides surfing the net and writing email, but it's fun to use, and I like the fact that it's small enough so I can use it downstairs or carry it upstairs and plug it into the PC monitor.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Global Passport
Efforts to revive my cell phone having failed, I journeyed to an AU outlet in search of a replacement. I had used the old phone for more than two years. so there were a slew of new features to tempt gadget freaks. There are some differences in products displayed on the Japanese and English AU websites. I won't go over the individual phones, but here"s a list of the highlights.
There were also some Swiss Army Knife features of questionable value.
Unfortunately features like a 3.0 mega pixel camera with removable storage cost money. I settled for the Sanyo A1305SA. It has a modest 340,000 pixel camera, but comes with the Global Passport stamp. This means I can use it in the U.S. and other countries around the world. The per-minute charge for usage abroad is pricey, but I won't use it that much and it will be much more convenient than hunting up a pay phone and fumbling for change or a prepaid phone card. The phone also includes a bidirectional English-Japanese dictionary and Chinese and Korean phrasebooks that talk. You simply press a button and the phone will ask, in perfect Mandarin, "Where's the restroom?" Unfortunately the phone lacks to ability to understand Chinese and will not translate the listener's response f or you. The A1305SA set me back $40. I received a $10 discount for using the AU points I had accumulated as a loyal customer for 2+ years.
Efforts to revive my cell phone having failed, I journeyed to an AU outlet in search of a replacement. I had used the old phone for more than two years. so there were a slew of new features to tempt gadget freaks. There are some differences in products displayed on the Japanese and English AU websites. I won't go over the individual phones, but here"s a list of the highlights.
- Most of the phones had QVGA screens
- Your average phone now does video clips as well as photos.
- 2 and 3 mega pixel camera models were replacing older models.
- Broadband WIN models have flat-rate pricing for Internet and email.
- Internal flash memory for storage ranges from 3 MB to 40 MB
- A few models had removable storage.
- On some phones you can print directly to a printer using the PictBridge systems, or you can connect the phone to your computer or TV so you can have your way with multimedia content.
- New models had FM receivers and stereo speakers.
- GPS navigation systems are available for use while walking or driving.
- Phones aimed at gamers or people who want to download and listen to music files.
- About half the phones were bilingual; you can choose either a Japanese or English interface.
There were also some Swiss Army Knife features of questionable value.
- Use your cell phone as a TV remote control and rule TVs in airports, public places, and at home.
- The LCD screen doubles as a mirror. Great for touching up makeup or adjusting contact lenses.
- Now your phone contains a small flashlight. You'll never be afraid of blackouts again.
Unfortunately features like a 3.0 mega pixel camera with removable storage cost money. I settled for the Sanyo A1305SA. It has a modest 340,000 pixel camera, but comes with the Global Passport stamp. This means I can use it in the U.S. and other countries around the world. The per-minute charge for usage abroad is pricey, but I won't use it that much and it will be much more convenient than hunting up a pay phone and fumbling for change or a prepaid phone card. The phone also includes a bidirectional English-Japanese dictionary and Chinese and Korean phrasebooks that talk. You simply press a button and the phone will ask, in perfect Mandarin, "Where's the restroom?" Unfortunately the phone lacks to ability to understand Chinese and will not translate the listener's response f or you. The A1305SA set me back $40. I received a $10 discount for using the AU points I had accumulated as a loyal customer for 2+ years.
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