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M4 Mac mini's efficiency

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#511

Post by afandian »

4ggr0 wrote: post #497
Suppafly wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't understand why so many people use the discounted price as reference. Or when they only use it to make the Apple pricing seem more favorable and ignore it when it comes to PC pricing. Most PC manufacturers also have educational pricing, whether directly or through some portal provided by your institution. I know my son's college had a deal and also had a list of the tax free days in the state so that you coul…

> tax free days in the state i'm sorry, tax free days?!? am i too european to understand this? does this apply to everything, like groceries, tech, flowers, wood etc., or just corporate transactions?

And are they representation-free too?

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#512

Post by gorbypark »

fulafel wrote: post #447
throawayonthe wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well asahi is going to bring M4 support eventually and there is https://github.com/tpwrules/nixos-apple-silicon also you could just Containerize All The Things on macos idk

There's no container support on macOS unfortunately, except for the frontends for linux virtual machines. (Well they do have a thing called containers, but it's a desktop app security/sandboxing feature that does something conceptually different)

There's an extremely experimental/feature limited 3rd party implementation of macOS native containers. It requires disabling all sorts of security features, though.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#513

Post by baq »

jtwaleson wrote: post #344
HeatrayEnjoyer wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could just solder on a new ram set

The amount of people for whom this is a "just" kind of task is very very low. I don't think "just" should be in that sentence ;)

"just" at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRRNR4HyYaw

Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41631130

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#514

Post by s6af7ygt »

henryfjordan wrote: post #141
1-6 wrote: post #45

“If only they didn't put the power button on the bottom.” While I think Apple was off the rocker on this particular decision, I do respect their org structure that allows this type of decision to occur. Believe me, there are companies where a dozen people or more would weigh in and prevent an unpopular choice. Consensus sometimes hinders a desired result (both good and bad).

It's a way of signaling how the product should be used. Plug it in, hit the power button, put it down, and never turn it off again. For many users that's probably the only time they will ever interact with that button (or want to). I actually think it's a really good choice and shows Apple really understands design. And with the relatively low power consumption it makes sense. It's not like it's drawing a ton of powe…

Zero power draw is still less than a little power draw. A couple million of these babies running on idle is a considerable amount of power. Please, turn off devices when you're not using them.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#515

Post by AshamedCaptain »

GeekyBear wrote: post #219
AshamedCaptain wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We've already seen videos from the usual suspects showing that people who are sufficiently skilled with a soldering iron can replace the flash chips Sure, but I don't think soldering skills is exactly what I'd have in mind when I think "upgradeable".

As noted above, you can simply replace that module with a higher capacity module with just a screwdriver, as iFixIt did. However, there is a real opportunity for those who do have soldering skills to make a quick buck here. You could pretty easily buy the cheap base model M4 and resell it as a custom upgrade build, as long as you were clear that the SSD was no longer stock.

Sorry, but again this is an abuse of the word upgradeable.

You could do the same with many other laptops and even some phones out there - buy from a 3rd party who has resoldered the corresponding parts. The replaceable modules brought you nothing.

Even the economic motive you mention is actually just because Apple overcharges for storage, and has nothing to do with the replaceable modules. As long as there is no cheap 3rd party source of these, a replacement module ecosystem makes no economic sense (someone will always have to bring in his device for resoldering, or you lose the price of one good working base model).

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#516

Post by 4ggr0 »

dugmartin wrote: post #507
4ggr0 wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> tax free days in the state i'm sorry, tax free days?!? am i too european to understand this? does this apply to everything, like groceries, tech, flowers, wood etc., or just corporate transactions?

I can't say for all states but here in Massachusetts we have an annual tax free weekend where sales tax (6.25%) is not applied for "most retail items of up to $2,500, purchased in Massachusetts for personal use" ( https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-sales-tax-ho... ). Also groceries never have a sales tax in Massachusetts but, again, that varies by state.

> tax free weekend where sales tax (6.25%) is not applied

that's such a strange concept for me. i wonder what the historic reasoning there is for it, as it seems like one of those legacy things which were started to increase sales during difficult market times :D

> Also groceries never have a sales tax in Massachusetts

also interesting :) what i knew was that some or most states display the prices without tax, so you'll only know the total of your grocery trip at the checkout. never seen this here over the pond, prices always include taxes.

what's common is that different things are taxed differently. food and beverages have lower tax than non-essential things, except of course if the beverages contain alcohol, etc. yada yada blabla.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#518

Post by aryonoco »

4ggr0 wrote: post #516
dugmartin wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't say for all states but here in Massachusetts we have an annual tax free weekend where sales tax (6.25%) is not applied for "most retail items of up to $2,500, purchased in Massachusetts for personal use" ( https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-sales-tax-ho... ). Also groceries never have a sales tax in Massachusetts but, again, that varies by state.

> tax free weekend where sales tax (6.25%) is not applied that's such a strange concept for me. i wonder what the historic reasoning there is for it, as it seems like one of those legacy things which were started to increase sales during difficult market times :D > Also groceries never have a sales tax in Massachusetts also interesting :) what i knew was that some or most states display the prices without tax, so you…

We don't have tax free weekends in Australia but fresh produce is also exempt from GST (our version of VAT). Anything that has had any "processing" done on it incurs GST though, so oranges are tax free but orange juice is not.

Education and Health are also exempt from GST.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#519

Post by CrumpetDiagonal »

sjoerger wrote: post #358
cchance wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like seriously WTF are people turning it off its 3 watts at idle lol, most power supplies have that much phantom drain lol

Not everyone lives the same way. I am seriously considering a Mac Mini as my next upgrade yet I live in a RV and move frequently. Are there ways that I can keep the Mac mini powered while traveling.. sure, but why would/should I?

Are you not turning off entire circuits to reduce power draw when mobile? I’m actually thinking about one of these for my truck camper and its power draw seems fine, but the stumbling point for me is the additional power draw from the monitor it would require. I think I’m leaning toward an M4 MBP with nano textured screen for maximum power efficiency and ability to work outside when it’s nice, though I have not yet put much effort into researching efficient monitors

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#520

Post by kranke155 »

mullingitover wrote: post #186
AcerbicZero wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah, Tim Cook decision pretty much sums it up; its the kind of thing that wouldn't have lasted 5 seconds when placed in front of Jobs (although there is a strong chance Jobs would have demanded his own nonsensical addition/subtraction to the design).

Jobs would've thrown it out the window, and verbally abused the intern who brought it in, because it has ports in the front. He would've kept the power button on the bottom, though.

Ports on the front are 100% the right decision though.

Thats the thing. You're right, he would've, but also he stopped a lot of good decisions from happening because it just wasn't to his taste.

So like, power button on the bottom isn't the end of the world.

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