I got a Mac Mini when I had just lost a job and the laptop I’d used there. I thought to myself, “I need a computer and I don’t think I’ll need to be portable; I’ll get a mini.” It was cute, but it only had 2 gig of RAM so it felt pain when I booted anything Adobe. And it cried when I tried to use Entourage (which I just don’t do to any machine anymore). Well…it fit the bill for a few weeks, then the reality set in.
I’m used to being very portable. It was frustrating to not be able to lay across the bed and type away. I couldn’t go out on the patio to send a zillion resumes and watch my email feverishly for replies. As soon as I could, I got a used Macbook (black) and life was sort of back to normal. But I had an extra computer; what to do with it?
I read an article about turning that little guy into a media server. And that seemed like such a good idea I had to try it. A few cables later and I was in business. Now my Mini sits quietly under my TV, waiting to serve me all kinds of visual treats.
The tv serves as a monitor, and with Screen Sharing on my Macbook, I can control the computer from my chair. So I pop in a DVD and set it to full screen and I’m in business.
Rather than rehash the directions here, read the article I used to get set up. You can find it here. One word of caution; install Caffeine on the mini so that it will stay awake through your movie, and turn off the wireless for a while or your Mobile Me will be syncing and giving you message, you’ll get update alerts etc. which are a bit distracting during your movie. I added external hard drives to store the video and I keep all my mp3s there, then I link my laptop to that library so I can enjoy them from either computer or through the surround sound.
With mp3s, if you have an iPhone, get Remote. You can actually control your iTunes from your phone–even cooler than doing it from your laptop.
It’s also a great way to catch up on tv shows on Hulu, or watch Netflix from their site. It’s a handy little gizmo that serves up all kinds of entertainment; give it a shot!
July 15th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Hey it’s so nice to see a Gizmo *GIRL* out on the net. I love gizmos too. My best wish for you GirlyG is look into getting a solid-stateSSD drive for your MacBook – you’d be amazed at how silky-smooth you could run your empire on it. Best investment I ever made in my aging white MacBook. You’d LOVE one. 60GB drives are well under $200 these days.