How Do I Make My Mini Blinds Grab Again
The Blind Men and the Mac mini
First, an important note: I like to give credit where credit is due. In last week's column, I noted several compact PCs, but forgot to credit ExtremeTech forum member Chris Flock, who dug upward the info on the Logisys PCs. Cheers, Chris!
When I wrote my little stance slice on the Mac mini, it stirred up quite a tempest of electronic mail, forum posts and even other articles on the topic. Quite a few ExtremeTech readers pointed me to this MacWorld cavalcade. In a comparing between the Mac mini and a less-expensive Dell, it'southward probably no surprise that a Mac-oriented site would declare the mini the winner. On the other paw, Ed Stroglio over at Overclockers.com wrote a more than detailed assay comparison the Mac mini to a Dell and declared it a wash.
Some readers saw my comparison to x86-based minor-course-factor PCs and noted that the bulk of these are more expensive, and then naturally the Mac mini is better. Other readers agreed with me, in some cases taking pointed slams at Apple tree. A number of readers made cogent arguments that the Mac mini was indeed the perfect PC "for grandma," noting that cost wasn't necessarily the near important upshot for that class of user.
As I read through all this, the gestalt of the matter struck me: We're all missing the bigger picture, just like the bullheaded men and the elephant. In that erstwhile parable, each blind wise man touches a office of an elephant and declares that the elephant must be similar to that private office. The man touching the leg declares that the elephant is similar a tree, while the ane who touches the trunk notes that the elephant must be similar a serpent.
Let's talk about my own set of blinders. Having written for years nigh PC hardware and PC gaming, my inclination is towards building or ownership effective PC game platforms. And since I build nearly of my ain systems, I tend to dear the sort of vast, cluttered assortment of choices that exist for the PC.
The key difference between the Mac and the PC is 1 of option. With the PC, you become a staggering assortment of choices, even with the basic system platform. With the Mac, the choices are made for you ahead of time.
It's piece of cake to and so starting time assigning value judgments:
CHOICE = Practiced; THEREFORE LACK OF CHOICE = BAD
But the situation is really not that simple. If I were buying a system for grandma (or, in the case of our family unit, my brother-in-police), I'd build i like to the ExtremeTech $500 spider web surfing PC that Jason Cross congenital concluding year. I'd install Windows XP with Service Pack ii, then FireFox and antivirus software, and that'southward what I'd pass on to my less technically savvy relative. (In fact, I did but that, and he's happily surfing without a popular-up or worm in sight).
Merely for those who don't have an ExtremeTech analyst to build a PC for them, a pre-built, preconfigured machine could be just the thing. And for someone with limited space and little fourth dimension or inclination to larn well-nigh their organisation, the Mac mini might well be a good answer. But then, and so would a PC pre-configured with a good Linux distro similar Xandros—one example being the sub-$200 Wal-Mart PC.
Stylistically, though, the Wal-Mart PC is indeed bulky and rather unattractive, while the mini wouldn't be out of identify in a modern kitchen.
So what'due south the right respond? As always, "it depends." Nigh of united states of america here at ExtremeTech are enamored of the rich set of choices. You could even brand a case that we make our living giving people a little clarity when faced with the disruptive assortment of choices. But for a normal consumer, those very choices may be simply overwhelming.
Information technology'due south peachy to be in an industry that offers both options. The universe of PC users and PC systems is big enough to cover every user'due south need—and that sort of choice is good. Viva la difference! Continued…
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Source: https://www.extremetech.com/computing/74324-the-blind-men-and-the-mac-mini
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