I bought a newer Mini package today

[SAWYER]

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB memory
320GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
Mac OS X Snow Leopard

It came with the wireless apple kb&m, wired apple kb, airPort extreme base station, and an eyetv 250 plus tv tuner. I got it all for 415 and the Mini has warranty until June!


I looked up that extreme station base station and couldn't believe how high it was, what is so great about it or is it just because it is an apple product?

 

[Ns1]

WTF

WHERE DID YOU GET THIS!?!?!??

caps


!!!!

 

[SAWYER]

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1715638-MAC-Mini-plus-EXTRAS!!!-Once-in-a-lifetime-deal!!!

Now I am trying to decide if I want to resell this package or keep it. I have a nib Intel i7-2600 I was thinking of building a new system with but I dont play pc games, this mini would be smaller and plenty powerful.

 

[Ns1]

once in a lifetime indeed

i sold my last-gen mac mini REFURB (only the mini) for 400 local.

 

[SAWYER]

I looked it up and the reurbed mini from apple is 599, it has warranty until June. These minis are really nice, I have had a couple of the older style and they are great. Each time I always regret selling one, I should probably just keep this one.

 

[TheStu]

The Airport Extreme has wireless N, dual band, 3 wired gigabit ports, and a USB port. It is incredibly easy to setup and maintain as well as make changes to (assuming you have a Mac), and so long as you own a Mac that is under warranty, it is under warranty.

When it came out, it was the only router that had all of those features, and even today is one of the few that has all of them. Unfortunately most of its contemporaries are much cheaper, but like I said, so long as you have AppleCare on a Mac, you have AppleCare on the router.

So part of the price is that it is a damned good router, and a little part (at least now) is that it is made by Apple.

 

[SAWYER]

Yeah we have a Macbook as well. I currently use a dlink n router/dsl modem combo, however I can not get signal all over my house. I wonder if I could only use the dsl modem part of that router and use the extreme as my router.

 

[TheStu]

Yeah we have a Macbook as well. I currently use a dlink n router/dsl modem combo, however I can not get signal all over my house. I wonder if I could only use the dsl modem part of that router and use the extreme as my router.

You will need to mess with the DHCP settings on it probably, you will be double-NATted, so that can cause some issues. If you are savvy enough with your stuff then you can put the DLink into 'bridged' mode where all it does is just act as a dumb box, pushing the DSL to the Airport, and let it handle all the routing duties.

The range on them is pretty good too, my old roommate had one and it covered the 2 story house that we lived in pretty much completely IIRC.

It was a fairly small house, 2br 1ba, but it was pretty old, and I have seen that older houses are usually worse for wifi.

 

[nerp]

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB memory
320GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
Mac OS X Snow Leopard

It came with the wireless apple kb&m, wired apple kb, airPort extreme base station, and an eyetv 250 plus tv tuner. I got it all for 415 and the Mini has warranty until June!


I looked up that extreme station base station and couldn't believe how high it was, what is so great about it or is it just because it is an apple product?

It's just because it's an apple product. Apple makes amazing computers. The other stuff can be pretty ridiculous.

 

[TheStu]

It's just because it's an apple product. Apple makes amazing computers. The other stuff can be pretty ridiculous.

Their 27" monitor is in line with the rest of the market and the Magic Trackpad is worth every penny of its asking price.

I really wish the keyboards were a little cheaper, I would consider getting one for myself at work, but even at $50 (wired) it isn't the most egregious price to ask if you like how they type. Look at Logitech and Microsoft, if you want a keyboard that isn't mushy, you are paying actual money for it.

The magic Mouse... I would consider taking one for free.

I already laid out why the Airport Extreme isn't a huge ripoff. Could it be a little cheaper, sure. But looking at Newegg, I see a DLink N router with gigabit and USB going for $99. So, it is $80 less, but it says nothing about dual band. And if you don't think that dual band is a big deal, then you have never had a house full of wifi devices, some N, some G, and been able to operate without problems. And the configuration interface doesn't make you want to rip your hair out.

The Airport Express is very nice if you have an Airport Extreme and a larger house. It makes extending a wireless network dirt simple.

The Time Capsule... that one is tricky. The drives are overpriced, no doubt about it. But the question is, how much is a worry-free, easy to use, easy to configure router/backup solution worth to people? One that is covered under your Mac's warranty for as long as you have one.

All of their cables are way too expensive, but all of everyone's cables are way too expensive unless you go the Monoprice route.