I have a decent monitor and I am looking for a small form factor replacement box. Never used a Mac, are the minis O?k for general home use?
More money for less computer is the common trade off. The OSX itself is a lot less susceptible to viruses, but the apps/browser/plug ins still can get them so don't believe it's invincible and go into the dark corners of the internet. Windows you'll need an anti-virus but with that you should be set, again just stay off the really sketchy sites. Plus in Hong Kong you should be able to get PC's for dirt cheap and isn't Apple sold at an even bigger premium there?
If you are not looking to do any gaming or serious video/photo work, a mac mini will be fine. OSX is great, I switched from using Windows computers my whole life to an iMac and macbook pro about 4 years ago and have been really happy with the macs as a whole. That being said, almost any computer will be fine for general home use (email, streaming music, internet, word processing, spreadsheets, etc...). You may be able to save some money by buying a refurbished one from the apple website or a used one from ebay/craigslist. Also, if you are a teacher/employee at a school or anyone you know is a student you can qualify for an education discount (I don't know how much that would be for a mac mini, but I saved $150, I think, when I bought my imac).
After starting out on a Apple IIE a long long time ago and moving up through various Mac's until 1998, business needs forced me on to a Windows PC until coming back to Mac a little over a year ago. Absolutely love it and have no plans to ever go back to windoze. That said, when you are shopping for a computer it is all too common to compare just the specs of the stuff inside the "box". Processors, memory, ext. If you benchmark a Mac that way, it will always lose the comparison by seeming way overpriced. You need to look at the total package with all of the included software that gives you the ability to do so much with the "box." iPhoto, Mail, Address Book, Calendar, FaceTime, iMovie, Garage Band and many more are all in there. Plus, the MS Office compatible equivalent for Mac; Pages, Numbers and Keynote are available right in the App store for $19.95 each and you can load them on up to 5 Macs for that price and upgrades are free. Most PC users don't bother to include the cost of added software to their systems cost and even if you are stealing the software, it should be a line cost item. Finally, Apple's after sale support is incredible. Good luck with that PC. My personal feeling on the hardware is that the lowest cost MacBook Pro is the best bang for the buck in Apple's current line up.
All depends on your experiences and what level product you're buying, I've had a lot better results with Dell's workstation/server support than Apple....but that's a whole different league from what the OP is talking about. Though for Bongo there is a real concern, will Apple or any other manufacture stand by your computer when he moves again (I'm guessing HK is just another stop for work, correct?) to another area of the world? I know with cameras most manufacturers will only service equipment bought in the market they're located.
An even bigger problem may be export controls. He may not be permitted to take the computer with him if his next destination is on a technology embargo list.
I have a MacMini and really like it. I put 16gb of ram in it. Really easy. I have the i7 but looking back, the i5 would have been more than enough. As was said, get a refurbrished on on the apple site. Save a bunch bucks and nothing wrong with it. I used PC's for over 20yrs, so the learning curve was a bit steep for me, but once you understand how OSX works and how all the products work together, you might get hooked like me. :) Form factor is cool as well. Great Design.
+1 We have an imac, macbook pro, apple tv, airport extreme and time capsule that all play very nicely together with very little trouble. Also, the form factor of the mac mini make it a great candidate for a media/file server, media hub, etc.... I know a few people that have one tucked into their TV stand and use it to do all kinds of things as it has an HDMI port that you can use the TV as a monitor.
I switched from PC to a Mac Mini at home a couple years ago. For the most part (in the home environment) a computer is a computer- they all get on the internet, they all store your photos, etc. They both do some things better than the other. I found Apple corporate policies a little annoying, but all and all, I'm happy with the hardware. A couple of things that I liked: iTunes is horrible, but it's less horrible on a Mac than PC, the Time Machine auto backup that's part of OSX is great, and a few other little quirks I found nice. A couple of things to be wary of: the mac mini doesn't have a lot of USB ports (i'm not even that big a peripherals junkie but keyboard, external drives, and a printer will max you out). Also, you're buying hardware and an entry into the Apple corporate machine. Everything starts with your Apple ID.
Current Mac Minis are more than adequate for office or home use. I got one for my kids - first thing I did though was but more memory for it as OSX runs best with more memory (any OS does really). I like Macs because I don't have to mess with the OS to get things to work. I am a Code Monkee (professional software developer) with a EE degree so I could use any OS or hardware I wanted to - hell I could write an OS and build a computer from scratch if I had the time and inclination - but I don't. I would rather use the computer than mess with it - I paid my dues messing around with building computers and setting up software, now I like to get things done. I have Win 7 and Win Server '08 installed in VMs too (plus various flavors of Linux) for professional reasons (I have to deploy to them, or test on or against them), and I have used them for many years. So it isn't like I don't know their nature. I use Windows at work daily (unfortunately the corp that is my current client demands it). OSX is it for me; powerful yet usable and I don't have to mess with it. At home I have a MB Air and a Mac Pro.
I'm just fed up with Windows and Android. My wifes laptop runs windows 7 and is giving me a heap of problems. My last desktop gave me big problems eventually. I have Apple TV and just want a home PC that is small, quiet, works and is part of an integrated system. I can't afford to spend hours sorting this crap out all the time, I'd rather spend it earning money and pay a slight premium for a working system.
With that in mind, I see no reason why you wouldn't be happy with a Mini. They are nice. I didn't mention it above, but I actually own two- one is an older one that functions like an Apple TV. It's only duty is to be hooked to the TV. That's nice. The more modern one does real computer duty in the home office.
I must be the exception to the rule. I have a Mac mini, it was the most troublesome computer I have ever owned. Went to fire it up one day, no operating system. Had to go on the internet to find out how to reload it, nothing in the manual. The sound works sometimes, but not often. The wireless decided one day it just wasn't going to work. I parked it on a shelf in the basement and bought an Ultrabook with Win7. Works perfectly.
