September 14, 200719 yr Ok, I am after a new developement machine... I want it to run quickly, and more importantly to run Linux (Ubuntu).. a dual boot isn't too important, so the OS isn't much of a problem (however I am sick of Windows atm). I have looked at the Mac Mini deslktop and the Toshiba L30-10X laptop. So here is list of pros/cons for each, please add to them: Mac Mini : £400 + stylish + small + good specs for the price - not portable - requires a screen Toshiba L30-10X : £ 320 + portable + good specs for the price (near same as Mac Mini) + has its own screen... - ugly ... well not as pretty as the Mac so whats your opinions etc.
September 15, 200719 yr Author kip0130: be aware that I will be wiping the hard disk of either of these the moment I recieve them ... I will be installing Ubuntu on them.. as such any fan-boy comments are useless... try and explain why you make a choice rather than just go with what Mitchell & Webb tell you.
September 15, 200719 yr Hello I'm a mac, and I'm a laptop. Buy me. No, buy me...I prefer the American ads to the English ones...sorry back on topic. If you don't already have a good quality screen to go with the mac then once you add that price on to it then its going to be more...if you do discount this statement the Toshiba is more portable then the mac mini, so I would consider that a plus point. Even if you have no plans of it leaving where you place it, its still a good plus point simply because plans could change. If you want to go for style over substance and price then obviously buy mac, although the Toshiba isn't as good looking as the mac mini when you compare it to other windows based laptops it is pretty... A personal choice if I was going to change the operating system would be to go for the Toshiba, simply because it is more portable then the mac mini and if you are changing the operating system on it anyway then all you have with the mac is a pretty little box, as really we are just looking at specs and style over operating systems.
September 15, 200719 yr Ok, I am after a new developement machine... I want it to run quickly, and more importantly to run Linux (Ubuntu).. a dual boot isn't too important, so the OS isn't much of a problem (however I am sick of Windows atm). I have looked at the Mac Mini deslktop and the Toshiba L30-10X laptop. So here is list of pros/cons for each, please add to them: Mac Mini : £400 + stylish + small + good specs for the price - not portable - requires a screen Toshiba L30-10X : £ 320 + portable + good specs for the price (near same as Mac Mini) + has its own screen... - ugly ... well not as pretty as the Mac so whats your opinions etc. Not portable? The Mac Mini is so tiny. I got mine between my two monitors? But I suppose not portable as in you need to bring the monitor and keyboard with you? I'd go for the Toshiba here as it's easier to bring along, it has the monitor and screen attached to it. I wouldn't worry about the look of a development machine. I've got three desktop computers, a Mac Mini and a laptop. The laptop I only use when I'm out traveling, but it's very useful. The Mac I only bought because I wanted to test websites on the OSX system as well as develop gadgets on it. With the new macs using Intel hardware they're the same as PCs these days. And if you intend to wipe out the OS I wouldn't bother getting a Mac as Apples products are overpriced due to their brandname. I found it hard to even get a sane price on my second hand Mac Mini. People charge, silly priced for even outdated hardware just because it got the Apple name on it.
September 15, 200719 yr dude get a MAC! What more can I add? used a PC for years.....and then swapped to Mac Using a PC is like smashing your head against a wall....it's nice when it stops!
September 15, 200719 yr Not portable? The Mac Mini is so tiny. I got mine between my two monitors?But I suppose not portable as in you need to bring the monitor and keyboard with you? Well yes that and it needs to be near a socket, so really it isn't as portable as a laptop. What more can I add? used a PC for years.....and then swapped to Mac Using a PC is like smashing your head against a wall....it's nice when it stops! Isn't that more of an OS thing rather than it being a PC thing...or are you talking about when you ran Linux on a PC compared to when you ran it on a mac? Helpful advise if you are, not so helpful if you are comparing them based on windows vs OSX.
September 15, 200719 yr Author the Mac Mini is a good price for a small form factor pc. I am sick and tired of having a huge bleeding tower sitting next to me, humming like a 6 year trying to p*** you off... If i were to build a SFFPC from scratch with the same specs, it would cost me >£600 However, a laptop is very useful for things like lectures and client meetings and so on... I thnk i will look for a desktop-replacement PC. Maybe even the Dell Vostro 1000 for £200 lol
September 15, 200719 yr What more can I add? used a PC for years.....and then swapped to Mac Using a PC is like smashing your head against a wall....it's nice when it stops! I use PC, with Windows and Linux, also got a Mac. Don't have a problem with either. Only thing that really matters is the software that runs on the OS. Mac got an advantage as they only use a select set of hardware and can optimize better for it. But using Windows or Linux you got more choice and at a better price. The bottom line is that OSs are a matter of personal preference. Windows, Linux and OSX are all good stable OSs. (Sorry for going a bit OT.)
September 15, 200719 yr My real issue with the PC is that of reliability - lots of error messages, illegal operations. Don't know if they have improved?? My Mac is now years old and (almost) runs as well as it did when I got it. I know I made a really sweeping statement and all but ignored the original thread but I just feel very strongly about being sold something that didn't work. If a car manufacturer had as many problems as Microsoft with their products it would not sell any cars but somehow everyone just goes back for more. In some ways I am eternally grateful to them...without Windows "ordinary" guys like me would never have been able to use a computer because they made the interface user friendly. They may also have strangled the opposition for many years through their monopoly.
September 15, 200719 yr kip0130: be aware that I will be wiping the hard disk of either of these the moment I recieve them ... I will be installing Ubuntu on them.. as such any fan-boy comments are useless... try and explain why you make a choice rather than just go with what Mitchell & Webb tell you. well lets see macs are awesome machines with an awesome OS but since your wiping it it dosent mattter. But the mac minis are so much more powerful and small to be that. But the toshiba is more poratble But laptops loose ther Umph after a few years battery loss and such and toshibas tech support isnt the best in the world the mac mini comes with the Genuis bar for all your mac needs
September 15, 200719 yr My real issue with the PC is that of reliability - lots of error messages, illegal operations. Don't know if they have improved?? Windows has been very stable and reliable since Windows 2000. In most cases it's buggy third party drivers or software interfering with the system. Microsoft has tried to address this by now giving a strong warning if you try to install drivers that isn't signed. With 64-bit Vista they've gone even further an simply refuse the users to install drivers that hasn't been signed. You only get a driver signed when it's been tried and tested thoroughly.
September 16, 200719 yr I think I will go via a third route: get both Heey! I like your thinking man!
September 16, 200719 yr Author well, i did another price check on mini-pcs I can build myself (and anyone else lol) a mini PC for about £250... here are the specs: 2.4 GHz AMD 64 X2 1 GB RAM (fast and good) 160 GB HDD (fast also) ultra-quiet fans ultra small case (not as small as the mac mini) plus im not paying for an OS license I don't need.
September 16, 200719 yr Get a mac! macs are cool but I'n my household we have 2 minimacs a G4 a mac bookand a pc. Minimacs are so horrible, its all the small things that get on my nerves with them. for one the vga cable adapter that comes with them to use a none mac monitor on them is this lillte block thats too heavy for its own good and weighs down. Dosent create a stable connection between the monitor and the mac giving blue screen and yellow screen until you fiddle about with it. this is just a taste of some of the little things that bother me so with them. evan the macbook i bought less than a year ago has cracked at the edges just through typying on it. So after less than 6 months of using it as intended its allready cracking and such. only thing thats still going strong is the G4 after years. My advice buy a apple tower system if possible all the other will only give you a headach. P.s I'm realy hung over today and in no mood to produce well structured comments sorry in advance. so todays post from me will be more like brain farts than anything else.
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