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New Mac Mini with M4

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Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#711

Post by _mlbt »

skydhash wrote: post #248
1propionyl wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For professionals who use computers for work, Linux is really the only option that doesn't eventually get in your way. I really hope you're not expecting anyone to take you seriously with this. On principle I get what you're saying but in practice no one who works as a professional in any field has the time (or expertise) to be worried about configuring their operating system. As a Linux evangelist who begrudgingly…

Most professionals use only a handful of software and don't really care about the OS other than what the OS should do (file management, connecting to the internet, launching software,...). Apple and Microsoft insists on doing other stuff that impedes you while not allowing you to do basic stuff you want. The main issue with Linux is hardware support (which no one other than the manufactures can solve properly) and pr…

What stuff is Apple doing that is keeping me from doing what I want?

I think it's a good thing for 99% of computer users to not be able to just run any random software they download off of the internet. Gatekeeper, XProtect, and notarization are unfortunately necessary in the hostile computing environment we live in today. Aunt Tilly will happily download "PhotoShop" from that sketchy Russian Warez site and infect her machine if these protections didn't exist.

For power users that know what they're doing it is trivial to just use something like Homebrew or to bypass these protections on a case by case basis as needed. I can also run software in a Linux VM quite easily as well for open source software that isn't well maintained on macOS.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#712

Post by Writingdorky »

etempleton wrote: post #702
Writingdorky wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats actually a really good price. The mac book air with the M chip was absolutly a steal already. I'm surprised by this. Is that some thing to allow cheaper MX / Arm architecture in DCs? Is getting Apple affordable oO?!

I have to think economies of scale are coming into play for Apple. They can cut deals for chips and other components at a scale no one else is really capable of and they have the luxury of being able to pay up front in advance if they need to.

I mean yes for sure but apple always had a high margin. I'm pretty sure they did not suddenly become 'nice'.

Would be interesint to know though if the margin stayed the same and they literaly just save a lot of money.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#713

Post by whynotminot »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #654
whynotminot wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

… you see how massive that comp you posted is, right? You see it, don’t you? You’re comparing a used Tower to an Apple TV sized device.

Is this a problem? My PC sits under my desk. I only see it when I vacuum the floor.

You’re right, your setup is the only one that matters.

I wonder why Apple bothers making small, efficient things when you don’t need it?

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#714

Post by myrandomcomment »

architect64 wrote: post #439
e63f67dd-065b wrote: post #330

With educational pricing this thing starts as $500, and at 16GB of RAM (finally) I think this easily beats any sort of desktop PC you can buy at that price (let's exclude custom builds, they're not the same market). I think this just became the go-to recommendation I'll give to anybody wanting an entry-level desktop computer of any kind. In fact I might buy one for my parents right now to replace the old mac mini the…

One issue to watch out for: Sub-4K res monitors look surprisingly bad on newer versions of macOS with Apple Silicon Macs. And no, it's not simply a matter of non-Retina obviously not looking as nice as Retina monitors - something like a 1440p monitor will look much worse on macOS than it would on Windows or Linux. This is partly caused by a lack of subpixel rendering for text on macOS, but it doesn't affect just text…

Honestly I am going to say skip 4K and just go to 5K. They are not that much more. I have 2x5K setup and it is great. The main monitor is normal orientation and the other is mounted on the left at a 90 rotation centered on the side of the first. I keep my work on the main and all the documentation, chat, etc. on the vertical one. I hope to be able to ditch the 2 monitor setup next year and go to a single 8K display.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#715

Post by Refusing23 »

allenu wrote: post #25

Putting the audio jack on the front is a strange design choice to me if you plan on hooking it up to wired speakers all the time. Did they run out of space to keep it in the back?

its for temporary stuff, like those rare video calls etc. when you dont wanna share the call with people around you, etc.

i'd guess.

if you use headphones all the time, you'd plug them into the back, or the monitor etc.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#716

Post by talldayo »

pjmlp wrote: post #586
eastbound wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dockers can’t run off external drives.

Which is a Linux and Windows technology anyway, so better buy something that offers first class support for them.

> Which is a Linux and Windows technology anyway

This is quite possibly the dumbest comment I have ever read on Hacker News. Congratulations!

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#717

Post by sliken »

fulafel wrote: post #687
sliken wrote: post #664

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but PCs are 128 bits wide, apple lets you upgrade to 256 bits wide (M4 pro), 512 bits wide (m3 Max) or 1024 bits wide (M2 Ultra). Unified memory is much more useful when you can get more bandwidth to it.

Yep, there's no performance x86 CPUs on the market with ambitious GPUs, only laptop chips. Games are optimized for discrete GPUs, Apple didn't have that software inertia to deal with.

Sort of, obviously quite a few games are optimized for the PS5 and Xbox series X.

GPU cores are generally identical between the iGPUs and the discrete GPUs. Adding a PCIe bus (high latency and low bandwidth) and having a separate memory pool doesn't create new opportunities for optimization.

On the other hand having unified memory creates optimization opportunities, but even just making memcpy a noop can be useful as well.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#718

Post by _mlbt »

talldayo wrote: post #207
1propionyl wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For professionals who use computers for work, Linux is really the only option that doesn't eventually get in your way. I really hope you're not expecting anyone to take you seriously with this. On principle I get what you're saying but in practice no one who works as a professional in any field has the time (or expertise) to be worried about configuring their operating system. As a Linux evangelist who begrudgingly…

I'll take him seriously on it. MacOS and Windows are terrible for professional purposes, for a number of reasons: 1. Requires Windows Pro or Apple Developer license to unlock full featureset 2. Cannot reasonably disable targeted advertising or ad data collection from either OS 3. Neither come with package managers and do not respect third-party packaging either 4. Can be "managed" insofar as your buggy CPM software a…

I consider my usage of my Macs to be "professional."

1. An Apple Developer license is only required for distributing software in App Stores and notarizing.

2. I'm not sure what ads you're talking about in macOS. I've only ever seen them in the completely optional App Store.

3. Installing Homebrew is literally a one liner. I've never used it, but Macports appears to be similarly easy as an alternative.

4. I can't speak to this point, so I'll take your word for it.

5. I only started using macOS since the Apple Silicon era, but as far as I'm concerned the experience just keeps getting better and better. Every release of macOS has added features I enjoy and use constantly. Just the seamless integration between all of the Apple products in my house was worth switching from my previous mix of Windows, Linux, and Android.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#719

Post by gwervc »

mkagenius wrote: post #568
celestialcheese wrote: post #542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my experience, TCO on most apple products ends up being roughly the same when you factor in resale value. You'll be able to sell your M4 mac mini in 5 years for $150 for an instant-cash offer from backmarket or any other reseller, while you'd be lucky to get $30 for the equivalent Beelink or BOSGAME after 6 months on ebay.

Is there a black market for old macbooks/minis? My macbook pro 15 inch, mid 2017 is valued at $195 by apple trade in. Bought for 2k iirc.

There's a legal second hand market where prices are obviously way higher than whatever Apple is offering for trade in.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#720

Post by _mlbt »

barfingclouds wrote: post #644
shadowmanifold wrote: post #630

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will make me a mac owner for the first time in 25 years. I was just looking at a mac book air yesterday but I just can't get over the complete ripoff of a memory upgrade from the base model. 16 gig starting at $599. I honestly don't need to know anything else to buy one.

I got the Mac mini m1 as my first Apple computer recently (used). It’s really cool. It never heats up ever

My Mac mini M1 is still such a great computer and I really don't need to upgrade, but with the spec bump up to 16GB of RAM, $230 trade in value that Apple is telling me they'll give me, and the $499 education pricing (I'm currently doing a Masters degree) it's too tempting to pass up.
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