They have Mac minis in stock at Costco Prince George… and iMacs… I resisted… read every word on that 120 pack of Pacific Bold Keurigs box until I got out of there… must go back… must…
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Installed Linux Mint 21.1 (MATE) on my old T410 Thinkpad which has an i5 CPU @2.40 GHz, a 232 GB HD and 4 GB RAM. I like the MATE desktop, it breathes new life into this old unit. This unit has had Windows 10, various BSDs, and a lot of Linux distros on it.
Hah! Just did Mint Cinnamon onto an Acer A4 desktop. Yes, I like Mint too, I think it’s the best one for new Linux users.
Ran the old mini today… it is too slow for my liking, but compared to the two computers I got called out on today… not at all.
One of them was an iMac. Did you know you need to install Chrome to surf the web on a Mac? His friends told him so. And that wasn’t how Chrome worked notifications by default - it must be a virus.
And I’m gonna give my Doctor shit. Fixing his old Toshiba laptop! FFS he could go to PG and buy a new RangeRover to carry a new laptop home in without breaking a sweat,
So I’m glad that I resisted the urge to grab a Mac Mini @ Costco at Christmas, the M2s are now out at a lower price.
However, word is to get the 512GB model as the 256MB ones are slower… for $250 more…
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So a big Q about the M2 Mac mini - a lot of negativism regarding them switching to a single 256 drive vs 2 128s, how slow the single drive is in comparison. I mean, a lot of ppl are trashing the M2 model just because of this.
But just watched a vid comparing the base mini against the Macbook Pro M1 Ultra w 64GB & a 2TB drive, and obviously it wasn’t as fast but it wasn’t that much slower either.
Just saw a refurbished M1 mini on Apple.ca for $839, an AWFUL price compared to a new M2 for $779 at Costco. To get one with 512 and avoid the single drive issue, it’s $1049 and even more waiting.
The smaller 256GB SSD is literally half the speed of the others, as it only has one channel to the bus. While the 512GB (and others) use 2 channels.
So literally half the speed.
Most casual users won’t even notice. Unless you’re doing something that’s constantly reading and writing to the disk. Everything else is the same speed.
It was the same on one of the MacBoon Airs last year too.
I was wondering if that’s even noticeable in everyday use. Like not going back to the crawling of a spinner drive, minute long waits after clicking an icon for the programs to start etc.
The onboard SSD must be quicker than SATA SSD, right? That’s what I can’t seem to find out. Is it faster than SATA, than NVME or is it a real step back?
I’m gonna end up going for the 512, but I don’t need it at all. All my machines have a 256 SSD and only programs I use daily are on the C: drives. The old mini had a 240 SSD and that wasn’t even half full after 4 or 5 years since I upgraded it.
(I just flogged it for $125, that covers half the upgrade price on a new one)
It definitely won’t crawl, and like I said, most people won’t even notice. It’s still an SSD, so it will be the same speed as an equivalent SSD. What makes the others twice as fast is that they technically have 2 SSDs acting in parallel (like a 2-drive RAID).
I use an SSD inside a USB 3.1 enclosure for editing video (which is really disk intensive). I don’t notice a speed decrease in my workflow. Mostly because this stuff is in the background and if it takes a slightly longer time, it doesn’t really bother me.
I’m still using my intel iMac – haven’t upgraded, and don’t plan on upgrading for a while yet. It’s one of the last 27" models they made. I’m sad they haven’t replace it with a newer bigger iMac. I guess I’ll move to a Mini with a larger screen eventually.
For laptops, I use a 12-core i7 MacBook Pro, which is one of their last ones as well. I have that running two big screens. So no rush to replace that with Apple Silicon yet. Maybe a few more years.
BONUS!!!
Just ordered the 512 M2 Mac mini from BestBuy - on sale for $799 until Feb13. That’s what the 256 model sells for. Should be here by the 17th
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Wow, that’s a great price. Might have to do the same. Need a decent monitor to go with it, though.
I’ll be using a 28" set to 1366x768 until I get new glasses…
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Well I’m going to wait to replace my 27" intel iMac. It’s one of the later ones, and has 48GB of RAM. When I do replace it, it’s gotta be something in the same price range and same capabilities.
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Well they said the order would be delivered on the 18th.
A Saturday, there’s no couriers come here Saturday.
Sunday either.
Monday us a holiday.
- Track my package says shipping label printed, awaiting pickup as of today. Maybe BestBuy is learning from SaveOn, only list items on sale that you don’t actually have. Then you can look good and only have to man up for the 5% of customers that will demand a raincheck.
Getting annoyed, the tracking website says awaiting courier pickup in Edmonton since Feb 13th, 10 days ago.
I know Canada Post took over Purolator, but that’s a little much!
OMG March 1 and I had to redo the order! Purolator would not pick it up as there was a Box number (on 2nd line), and they are owned by Canada Post who knows damn well small towns require Box numbers and the delivery address is right there on line 1. If you’re not home they leave it at the Post Office who puts a note in your Box…
WORSE - nobody contacted me there was any problem. No one contacted me the credit card was refunded.
TO this day the BB website says “just shipped” and the Purolator site says “Awaiting pickup”. No one from either outfit with the brain or initiative to scratch out the Box number…
So I spent all day on phone making them do a new order with that original price. Wish me luck.
Thinking of relearning French. Seems everyone only hires ESL phone reps. Tired of repeating credit card numbers two digits at a time half a dozen times and correcting Fort Street in Fir Saint James to Fir street in Fort St James!
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The mini got here!
Doing OS updates now, can’t wait to see it in action.
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HOLEY F N SHEEYIT !!
Web pages render like BLINK! And it;s connected wireless to my pitiful 15Mb diesel line.
Black Magic test 3000-3500
Downloaded GIMP and dragged to Applications install was done in 10-12 seconds!
Thought the Ryzen work box I built was fast, like comparing a racehorse to the old geezer using a walker compared to what the customers bring in. The mini’d be like comparing a cheetah to a garden slug.
Moving all the “fun” stuff to this machine the Ryzen’s now just for work.
Gotta get myself a decent wireless or bluetooth keyboard & mouse combo and a port expander next
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Of course the very next day I discovered I really, really am allergic to penicillin… so bad I passed out cracked a rib, twisted an ankle and wrenched my back. 48 hrs unable to even get out of bed or stay awake,
still hurst to move. I’ll get back to setting up software tomorrow…
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Ouch that hurt, out of action almost a month. Sat in the armchair for 3 weeks watching Netflix & Prime. Every single night around 9 my Telus DieSeL went out for 15-30 minutes. Couldn’t ping its own gateway from its own router.
Sister came to visit for a week, the Net Death began to happen in the daytime…
after a week with tech support, sales, test desk, installers, they finally admitted they can’t give me better service!
Surfing as of today on cable, 60Mb.
They don’t even know they own Mascon cable…
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