Omniquity

I’ve been using my beloved MacBook Pro for more than four years. It’s a great machine but overworked and bit long in the tooth. Plus, I have been using it as a desktop more than 95% of the time since I got an iPad. Time for an update and a rethink.

In choosing my new computer, I’ve tried to follow the advice that I give to others when they ask me technology questions: choose the device that will best help you with the tasks you most often do. In my case, I spend most of my time in the browser, do a fair bit of photo editing, manage my music collection, and work occasionally in MS Office apps. I don’t need a laptop, and I don’t need a desktop tower, either. So what to choose?

The Mac Mini!

Frankly, I would not have considered a Mini in its previous incarnation—not enough of a performance difference to justify the expense. But Apple just refreshed the design, and when ordering through the Apple store online you can get an Intel i7 clocked at 2.7 GHz. With 4GB of RAM, a 7,200 RPM hard disk, and a dedicated graphics processor it should provide a serious boost relative to the MBP.

By the way, I initially considered 8GB of RAM, but decided to get the 7,200 RPM disk instead. It’s less money, and the RAM is user-upgradeable (the only component on the Mini that is). So if I decide I need more RAM, I can upgrade with third-party memory later.

As with most things Apple, there are some curious compromises with the Mini. The lack of an optical drive has had the most press and it is a little annoying, but I only use the drive occasionally to rip CDs. It’s a decent design tradeoff to swap the drive for the graphics processor.

I’ll be back in a few weeks to let you know my initial impressions of the Mini.

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