Apple computers don't have enough ports for me. Apparently I'm the only guy in the world who has this problem. Well, the Mac Studio has enough ports, and the Mac Studio is the exact computer I wrote a whole article about nearly fifteen years ago saying we needed. But now that it exists, I don't want to pay for it.
I currently need five Thunderbolt-type connector ports and four USB. Partly, I admit, because I insist on a wired keyboard and mouse, and the USB hub takes up one of the Thunderbolt/USB-C type ports. That's because I had bad experiences with the Bluetooth mouses, culminating in the idiotic mouse that had its recharging port on the bottom of it, so you couldn't use it when it was charging. The base Mac Mini provides two Thunderbolt ports and two USB ports. For more than double the price of the base model, I can get a Mac Mini Pro, which still has two USB ports, but doubles the number of Thunderbolt ports to four. An improvement without quite being a solution. The Pro model is $1,300, vs. $800 for the "middle model*."
Everybody says, "just get a dock." (Or hub. I'm unsure of the distinction between a dock and a hub.) But hubs with extra Thunderbolt ports are rare, and expensive, and after you pay through the nose for one, the clock starts ticking, because they'll be Thunderbolt 2 (or whatever) and Apple is already on Thunderbolt 4 and eventually all things "break"—I fell for all that Firewire hype way back when! Breaking in computerese means that some perfectly good thing stops working because things move on. Or, just as often, let's admit, because someone wants to make more money or isn't making enough money.
The Apple people didn't have a solution either. I spoke to a manager, not identified as such but I could tell he was one, who adroitly passed me to a salesman who was being shadowed by a trainee in street attire. None of the three of them had an obvious solution to the port problem, which is evidently a problem belonging to me and not to Apple. They, like everyone else, said I needed a hub, which they don't sell.
I will admit I can get grumpy over Apple trying to streamline their products for style reasons while at the same time obligating me to pay for and clutter my desk with an ugly third-party hub with wires sprouting out of it.
I sucked it up and bought a basic Mac Mini Pro. The salesman even came out and said they don't sell many of them. I will now be the monkey in the monkey cage that all the rest of the monkeys are flinging feces at, because y'all are going to ridicule me for buying more computer than I need. (Is that metaphor a little too vivid?)
What can I say? I probably did. You're right.
Interesting thing I learned: trainees at the Apple Store shadow, and then are shadowed. The trainer first wears the identifying Apple shirt and the trainee lurks in street clothes observing, but then the trainee graduates to wearing the Apple shirt and dealing with the customers and the trainer lurks beside him in street clothes. Smart, huh? Shadowing and reverse-shadowing. Trainees get weeks of training. There's a lot to know.
Speaking of breaking, Photoshop broke. I had been sticking with Photoshop 2021—the one I could, you know, own, and keep on my own computer—even though I've been paying my $9.99 a month for the online version since 2021. At one point I knew that I'd be forced away from 2021 and compelled to use the online version, but I forgot about that. Well, now the whole thing's in Portuguese. I knew I was going to have to learn the online version sooner or later. It looks like that's my Winter project.
[UPDATE: My bad. Photoshop 2021 didn't break. It's just that I have a license for two computers, and the two listed were my old Mini and the Mini before that. And the new one made three. So I deleted the old ones and Photoshop works again.]
All's well
I'm being a little Mike-y here. Truthfully, my experience at the Apple Store was very good, and all the people there were nice, helpful, and very tolerant of me; my new computer is slick as snot; and the old one lasted six years, more or less, which is fine (this is my 12th Mac since 1984, best as I can count, counting two work and one school Mac). And, my earlier strategy of separating the monitor from the computer is still working. When my second 27" iMac was nearing its end, it occurred to me that I kept having to pay for a new large monitor every time I bought a new computer, and that didn't seem sensible, so I switched to the Mac Mini and bought an NEC MultiSync PA272W which is still going strong. Meanwhile, the 27" iMac is a thing of the past, and so is the monitor—the PA272W was discontinued and replaced by the PA271Q-BK which was discontinued and replaced by nothing.
Here's a big difference: last time, the new computer restored my data from a Time Machine backup in the Apple AirPort Extreme, over Wi-Fi, and it took something like 14 hours. Now, I keep a slick little Samsung T5 SSD for Time Machine backups (link is to the current model), and the new computer effortlessly restored itself from the backup in like an hour and 15 minutes.
Here are some related articles from the past:
"NEC, We Hardly Knew Ye" from 2022, reporting on the demise of NEC as a manufacturer of monitors for photography and recommendations for alternative options;
"The Goldilocks Box," my historical article begging Apple to give us the computer it eventually did give us in the Mac Studio (although the Mini in its higher variants is now a much more capable computer than when it was new in 2005 or when I wrote that in 2010);
"The Biggest News from Apple in Years," my joy over the introduction of the Mac Studio.
Mike
*The middle model being the one they want everyone to buy—people are similarly clever to each other in wanting something better than the stripper/barebones variant but not wanting to pay for the extravagant/luxurious variant. The classic marketing idea is to provide a choice of three and aim customers at the middle one.
P.S. Concerning the post title, my father, who had a horror of old age, used to scorn and disparage "old men in hats." I now cheerfully wear a Dorfman Pacific bucket hat to protect my bald spot.
Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)
Featured Comments from:
John Shriver: "Thunderbolt 4 ports use a lot of resources inside the computer chipset. They have four PCIe lanes, each running at 32 gigabits/second. Apple is not being cheap with connectors; there's a lot of expensive silicon implementing each Thunderbolt 4 port. The Mac mini Pro has four Thunderbolt 4 ports because it has two complete chipsets.
"True Thunderbolt 4 peripherals are really high-end. You can run an external PCIe chassis off one. Or an external Graphics Processor Unit.
"Thunderbolt 4 is needed for displays too large for HDMI (say '5K' and up), or for a pair of '4K' displays daisy-chained on one port.
"Really high performance disk systems use Thunderbolt 4. The sort that people doing serious video editing need.
"Most real-world (read: affordable) devices are not going to be bottlenecked by a hub reducing Thunderbolt 4 to Thunderbolt 3, USB-C (with USB 3.2 Gen 3 or 4), or legacy USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2. Looking at external SSD drives at a local computer store, only three models use Thunderbolt 3; the rest are USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2. External hard drives are mostly USB 3.2 Gen 1. Using a hub isn't going to bottleneck a typical still photo editor.
"Note also that hubs can be nested, and commonly are.
"The other important thing to note is that the programming interface for hubs is standardized as part of the standards. No device driver is needed. So Apple won't obsolete your hub. Heck, there are USB hubs inside most Apple computers.
(This is contrary to the fate of FireWire, which did require drivers that Apple has obsoleted.)"
Jeff: "Paid for more than you need? On the contrary, I sprung for the Mac Studio M2 Ultra. My old Mac Pro tower from 2009 lasted until last year, by upgrading innards along the way. With no ability to upgrade the new machines, my philosophy was to buy once without regret. At 74, I expect that this machine will see me through my remaining years, at least my photographically active ones. The same approach has applied to my camera/lens purchases in my ‘mature’ years; pay more now and minimize GAS or need to upgrade. This longer term perspective has surely saved me far more than any short term price differential."
ChrisC: "I guess what they didn’t tell you at the Apple Store is that a new Mac Mini is due to drop in the next few weeks, if the rumours are to be believed. M4 chip and a new body. Possibly new selection of ports too—sounds like USB-A is on the way out."
Mike replies: I heard those rumors last Spring for the Summer. If I did buy at the wrong time, though, it wouldn't be the first time. I have a history of jumping the gun with cameras, instead of being patient and waiting. All I really hope is that the computer I just bought doesn't suddenly go on sale for $500 less. That would leave a bad taste.
jthvedt: "I got my employer to replace an ancient Dell with a refurbished Mac Studio, and WOW is it a nice bit of gear. But even it has barely enough ports. Like Mike, I prefer wired keyboard and mouse; luckily my keyboard has a USB-A port for my mouse. But with a backup drive, a wired headset, a second display, often an iPad as a third display, the ports fill up fast. At home I have a woefully port-deficient MacBook, which really does require a dock. The expensive and now discontinued CalDigit T3 performs like a champ, but I sure wish I didn't need it." [Here's the current version —Ed.]
Form follows function. Apple has inverted that maxim of basic design.
The strategy worked for a while but deliberately constricting needed features like an adequate number of ports is taking matters to an extreme.
Posted by: Joseph Kashi | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 01:49 PM
I have an original Mac Studio with an M1 Max. It’s all the computer I need. They can be had refurbished right now for less than the price of a M2 Pro equipped Mac mini (which doesn’t have the front ports but otherwise has the same connectivity in the back).
With two 5k monitors (first the LG Ultrafines and now Studio Displays) it’s all the USB-C ports I need. I mount mine under my desk and just run a cheap USB-A hub to get more of that. Only USB-A devices left are my dongle to run an original Apple Extended Keyboard II, a connection to my UPS, and a Yubikey (the USB-A version is easier to touch to activate when permamently connected).
BTW, OWC makes TB4 (not just USB-C) hubs… one TB port in, 4 TB pots out.
Posted by: Mike | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 01:53 PM
… and of course Apple will announce an updated Mac mini in a couple weeks with just the ports you are wanting
Posted by: Eric | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 02:04 PM
I dont use many apple products, just a cinema display monitor and a bunch of Ipod nanos i've downloaded lot, LOTS, of my music library to. Which allowed me to listen to music when traveling in my vehicles ( no earbuds thank you)
So the newest stereo we had installed in our RV ( very difficult to find one nowdays that has a CD player) wouldnt allow the ipods to hook up. Tried one of the genius store people and they didnt know what an ipod nano was, but they were very nice- just couldnt help me. I believe you that they are well trained, BUT not unless its current apple products!
"Apple discontinued the iPod nano on July 27, 2017. Apple also declared the iPod nano obsolete,The first iPod was released in 2001 and became one of Apple's most successful products, selling over 400 million units. Apple discontinued the iPod to make room for the iPhone"
I dont have one of those I phones either!
Posted by: jim | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 03:02 PM
Still using my 2015 5K iMac ( I maxed out the memory & GPU & have an external Thunderbolt SSD RAID for my Lightroom catalogue & Photoshop scratch ).
It's showing it's age when photo processing but I haven't been doing much of that for a few years so I've stuck with it.
It looks like a large photo documentation job may be coming up for me so I'll get a new setup if that happens: Probably a Mac Mini & 5K display unless a larger iMac appears.
Enjoy your new computer.
Posted by: Graeme Scott | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 03:17 PM
As you surely know, the Caldigit docks are the ones everyone recommends, and I see that their prices are lower than when I was Mini-shopping in '23. I bought a cheaper Monoprice hub because I didn't need Thunderbolt 4, but did want things like an accessible audio jack and USB ports, and memory card slots. And there is still a T3 port. My understanding is that the differences between T4 and T3 are relevant to specific uses, and more important for PCs than Macs.
I bought my Mini from Costco, as they charged a bit less than Apple and offer double the warranty, and throw in ongoing phone support. I haven't needed either so far (knock wood). It works great with a relatively inexpensive LG monitor.
Posted by: robert e | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 03:22 PM
You could buy a hub monitor. I have one from LG that just works, and it manages to keep my desk tidy. One power cable to the monitor, one Thunderbolt cable to the computer, and cables to wired peripherals from the monitor. That's it. You'll still need a card reader. I would get some velcro strips to place it where on the desk is most appropriate. Maybe even directly on the Mac.
Also, don't worry about Thunderbolt numbers incrementing. They are generally backward compatible. Some peripherals will need higher Thunderbolt numbers, like maybe an 8K screen. When is the last time you worried about the numbers and letters after Wifi or Bluetooth?
The only company that consistently breaks backward compatibility is Apple.
[Hey, thank you! I found two USB ports hidden on the back of my display that I hadn't known were there. Plugged the mouse in, and it works. That saves me a Thunderbolt port, because I had a small hub plugged in that only served the mouse. Thanks. --Mike]
Posted by: James | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 03:29 PM
FWIW I think it was smart to get the Mac Mini with the extra Thunderbolt ports; it simplifies your not-enough-ports problem. Each pair of Thunderbolt ports has its own bus (internal connection), so four Thunderbolt connections is two busses, meaning a lot of extra bandwidth for peripherals.
As for a hub, I am a fan of CalDigit's offerings. I have a TS3 plus at work and a TS4 at home, both connecting to laptops. TS3 plus has enough ports for most things, including a good SD card reader and optical out (I use an external DAC that takes toslink at work.) At home the TS4 has even more ports -- more USB, and two downstream Thunderbolt connections -- but is of course more expensive.
The TS3plus has been in service for many years; I've been really happy with it and its big brother.
But stepping back for a moment: not sure why you'd need five separate Thunderbolt ports. Many (most?) Thunderbolt peripherals have two Thunderbolt ports, so that you can daisy chain extra peripherals if needed. For example, I have a Macbook Pro, with three Thunderbolt ports. One goes to a 5K monitor, with enough bandwidth to run the monitor and a USB hub built into the monitor. Another Thunderbolt port goes to a 4 bay hard drive enclosure, which is daisy-chained to another 4 bay hard drive enclosure (these are RAID'd together) which in turn is daisy chained to a 10 GbE NIC (converting Thunderbolt to 10 GbE ethernet.) The third Thunderbolt port on my laptop goes unused.
Now this isn't strictly speaking the most efficient way to distribute bandwidth, because there is a performance hit with one pipe sharing 8 hard drive's info and the ethernet port ... in theory. In practice the hard drives slowness is the actual speed-limiting factor, even times eight, and even the 10 GbE NIC just isn't that bandwidth-intensive, compared to Thunderbolt 3's overall bandwidth.
As for obsolesce: the difference between Thunderbolt 3 and 4 is, for end users, mostly academic; there is no speed difference as there was from going from 2 to 3. Both use the same USB type C cable connection, both use the same cables. As you know, Apple doesn't offer any Thunderbolt 5 products; and smart money doesn't think the upcoming fall refresh of their laptops will include it (though hope springs eternal.) Thunderbolt 3/4 is already very fast, and I can't see a use case for you (or most people, really) where you'd need more than its bandwidth for ... what? ... a monitor? (would need to be more than 6K in resolution) ... a hard drive array or RAID? (even x12 spinners would not saturate a Thunderbolt 3/4 bus) and while a single NVMe in an enclosure can saturate existing Thunderbolt connections, even with that speed one is limited to 4 TB. And, aside from some specific use cases: after ponying up for the exorbitant pricing and the experience of a very hot enclosure, the day-to-day result just doesn't feel faster than the Samsung USB external you already have.
Posted by: Timo | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 03:53 PM
Don't get me started. Why don't computers (I've used iMacs since forever) come with all the ports you could ever dream of. It's really cute that the product is streamlined and everything and may even win design awards as if I should care, but I've had a hub/dock or other for decades and my desk top is an ugly mess of wires. They're USB wires now, they used to be other kinds. And my desktop is ugly no matter what damn design award winning box is sitting on it.
And I'm forced to use 4 different USB wires now because my camera/camcorders use different plugs. How damn design conscious is that?
I read an article about how Steve Jobs wanted only one washroom location in that big circular building of their's because he read somewhere, and believed, that people would meet each other on the way to the washroom and speak to each other and give each other ideas. The last thing I want to do when I'm headed to the "head" is to stop and chit chat.
I'm so sick to death of people with ideas who want to sell me what they think I should own.
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 04:16 PM
I think the one year difference in our ages is indicative of the time period that separates Boomers from anyone capable of even approaching being tech savvy. This post might as well have been written in Portuguese. After my now 10 yr old Dell desktop dies, I'll simply replace with a new, same version- no worries how "Tim Apple" wants to update my life...
Posted by: Stan B. | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 04:36 PM
My current photo computer is a 27 inch iMac dating from late 2015. (Yes, I know.) Mostly it's fine. It's only when ingesting hundreds of photos from an event that I wish it was faster, and Lightroom is part of the problem.
I'd buy a new 27" or bigger imac with an M2 or M3 chip, but I don't get that choice. Last I looked the 24" iMac didn't have SD card ports, and in any case 24" is going to be small.
My choices appear to be a MacBook or a Studio. In either case I need to buy a monitor. I've been going back and forth, and in either case it looks like I'd have to shell out about $C2500 to $C3000 for what I want. Plus a monitor. Sigh.
I'm seriously thinking about buying darkroom equipment and giving up on this digital thing.
Posted by: Keith | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 04:45 PM
Photoshop ($9.99 subscription) is not any more “online” than your old version. It’s only the licence to use it that might once in a blue moon call the mothership to ask if you’re still paying. I’m guessing that last bit because it’s 100% transparent and I’ve known it to do anything like that and I’ve never had a hiccup even when far from internet access.
Posted by: Jez Cunningham | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 05:19 PM
My superpower is lateral thinking. I have one of the highest IQs ever tested. But. I only excel at IQ tests and random problem spaces requiring lateral thinking. A high IQ isn't always indicative of generic mental utility or a breezy life.
Your solution is not a hub. It's going wireless with your ancillaries. I didn't need to be smart to come up with that but given your decision to be constrained in the way you have, that's the only long life solution available.
Posted by: Kye Wood | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 05:46 PM
I don't have much experience with Apple. What I do have involved various iMacs 10-15 years ago.
I distinctly remember facing the big, beautiful screen with my USB drive in hand and thinking "uh, where do I stick this thing to access my data?" I felt along the left and right edges of the monitor... Nothing. Top and bottom... Nothing. Finally another grad student noticed my confusion and said "the ports are on the back, mate!" (Note: I was in Australia).
Of course, I couldn't really reach them well or insert the USB by feel, so every time I wanted to use the computer I had to spin it about 120 degrees. And, when I was done I had to do the same to retrieve my USB (I definitely forgot a few times). I think there was an SD card slot in the same location, although that wasn't relevant to my usage at the time.
So, those iMacs were fun to look at, and had
good performance for the time, but were definitely not user friendly.
Posted by: ASW | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 06:18 PM
Computers in all their forms, including cameras, in all their forms, are the greatest obsolescent products of all time. Software/hardware are completely intertwined and changes in either (and both change fast) necessitate upgrades.
It's why I think subscription models of software are reasonable Change is the nature of the tech and with subscription you ride the changes. It is unreasonable to purchase a product and expect the developer to keep updating the product without charge, I also think it is reasonable to expect camera makers to keep those cameras viable as long as possible by updating software and that it is reasonable for the makers to charge for SW updates.
Re hubs/docks. I use a Macbook Air M1 for everything. I use it with this
https://www.blitzwolfeurope.com/Blitzwolf-BW-TH13-USB-Hub-docking-station. Note the two pin connector to the mac on the cable in the photo.
It has solved my port and connectivity needs. Discinnecting/connecting the Airbook is simple when I want the computer to go on the road. The hub connects to my NAS, ethernet, printer, monitor, mouse/keyboard, external SSD It has an SD card reader and ports to spare. It can also have an SSD built into it if I wish. Love it. No matter what, it should keep me connected until USB C is outmoded.
Posted by: Mike Fewster | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 06:18 PM
I'm baffled why people put up with Apple, Microsoft and Adobe taking so much money for their products when, for a small fraction of that amount, you can do all the same photography work -- at least all I have ever needed to do, and I print and sell my work -- on a second-hand Dell running Linux. And it has USB ports. Sorry, but I can't resist.
Posted by: Bob Keefer | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 08:34 PM
Mike, the wireless keyboard can charge while in use. For the price of one extra wireless mouse, you could have one charged and one in use, and just swap from time to time. Voila - two ports freed up just like that. My own experience is that I much prefer not cluttering my desk with the extra mouse cable. But your mileage obviously does vary, and you did well to set up a working environment that suits you.
Posted by: Bill Tyler | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 08:45 PM
Well, you have me a bit confused with your Photoshop story. Adobe eliminated perpetual licenses of Photoshop in 2013. The last perpetually licensed Photoshop that you could "own" without a perpetual payment was the 2012 Photoshop CS6. The next version would have been Photoshop CS7, but it changed to the subscription Photoshop CC. It seems you're paying $9.99/month to Adobe, so you probably have "The Photography Plan", which includes Photoshop, Lightroom and 20GB of online storage.
The "CC" means "Creative Cloud", but it's the same old Photoshop (except for new features). It's not "online" -- it still resides on your computer just like the old, beloved, Photoshop, but you have to pay for it every month (the online part is what keeps track of that payment). As far as I know, you can stick with any version you want, even though that monthly payment means you could update to the latest version at any time. But if you think you "own" that 2021 version, just try canceling the monthly payment. Not only will you lose access to Photoshop, they'll charge you a good portion of the remaining term -- because you signed up for a year's subscription divided into easy monthly payments. The US government is currently suing Adobe for this practice.
After typing all this stuff and reliving the angst of Adobe's business practices, it occurred to me that you may have accidentally transposed "2012" to "2021" in the story above. In that case you have been using 2012's Photoshop CS6 all along; it wouldn't load on the new computer and I have ranted for nothing. Still, it felt good.
[I definitely am a bit confused! It's not your fault. --Mike]
Posted by: Rick Popham | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 09:03 PM
I don't use Macs, but every time I buy a new desktop PC (about every 10 years) I load it up with way more speed/memory/SSD capacity than I need at the time, knowing that the Pace Car of Technological Progress will catch up before long. By the way, the T9 is the current Samsung SSD. It scoots.
Posted by: Chuck Albertson | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 09:14 PM
When I look at Apple's offerings, I always see the middle one as the decoy that only exists to make the increase in price to the top model seem like a bargain, compared to the large price jump from the base model. I think they want people to buy the top model, the same as with the large popcorn at the movie theatre; classic decoy pricing right there.
[You might be right. --Mike]
Posted by: Stephen S. | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 10:53 PM
I've been using a Mac or two for awhile now and I don't know what you all are plugging in. As someone mentioned; wireless is the way to go on all that stuff. I just hate having a bunch of cords going everywhere so I don't mind the minimal ports.
And the problem isn't you can't get a Mac with a lot of ports; it's an affordable Mac that has that problem. Get a Mac Pro and you can get all the ports your credit card will allow. ;)
I've been using the Apple Magic Mouse for nearly 10 years now and the charging port on the bottom has never been an issue. When it needs recharging a quick 5-minute charge will keep it going to the end of the day when I can plug it in overnight. And it doesn't need recharging all that often. Which is remarkable since I'm using the thing 12+ hours every day. Same with the wireless keyboard -- it's amazing how long that thing goes on a charge.
The Mac certainly isn't perfect, but as someone who works on computers all day long I appreciate not having to spend much time tweaking my workstation. Now, my wife's Windows gaming machine -- that thing requires all the tinkering I can manage; it drives me crazy. YMMV. :)
Posted by: Mike Sisk | Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 11:31 PM
Hi.
> The classic marketing idea is to
> provide a choice of three and
> aim customers at the middle one.
Years ago, in a documentary about McDonald's, and in reference to that big array of items and prices set back on the wall above and behind the counter, it was mentioned that the set that McDonald's wanted customers to buy was placed in the middle.
It seems people (in the western world, presumably) scan left to right, and then back to settle in the middle. So, that's where the highest profit margin item lives.
Cheers,
Dean
Posted by: Dean Johnston | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 01:34 AM
Old Man in a Hat who drives a Buick. Many have been reported throughout the land.
Posted by: Kent Wiley | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 09:47 AM
Mike, if your older version of Photoshop is subscription-based, you can install the most recent version alongside it, on the same computer, and switch between them as you please. Their recent enhancements to remove image noise is superb, and definitely worth checking out.
Posted by: Gerry O'Brien | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 09:48 AM
I know you don't like us responding to other's posts, but in John Shriver's Featured comment he says:
"(This is contrary to the fate of FireWire, which did require drivers that Apple has obsoleted.)"
You can get these legacy drivers using this procedure from Apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/108387
[Actually the standard is "please don't respond to other commenters unless you're being helpful or friendly," as you are here.
Basically I just want to have an excuse to stop the "so-and-so is an idiot and he doesn't know beans" kind of posts. It's that kindling of the flames I'm leery of. --Mike the Mod.]
Posted by: KeithB | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 11:28 AM
I always check the Mac rumor site before I buy.
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac_Mini
Posted by: Daniel Sheehan | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 11:47 AM
Two weeks ago I finally replaced my HP Spectre laptop from 2016 with...a HP Spectre laptop from 2024. But it has fewer ports!!! It doesn't even have a HDMI port now 😡
So off I went to Amazon and got a hub for $25; problem solved! Except, you know, for the dongle hanging off my computer with cables sticking out of it that I will now have to make sure I always bring with me while travelling and don't lose.
Posted by: Miserere | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 12:03 PM
I wouldn’t get anchored to the decoy’s position in a set. It’s its function that matters. For the Mac Mini, I doubt many buyers look at the middle option and think, “ For just £549 more, I could get the Pro.” £549 is a whole lot of popcorn.
Apple probably makes the least profit on the Pro.
Posted by: Sean | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 12:34 PM
I think you've made a good choice, Mike. That current Mac Mini has a tremendous amount of power!
Several years ago (during the pando) I finally relinquished my beloved, beautifully-engineered-but-obsolete Apple Mac Pro boomer box in favor of a MacBook Pro and external screen (NEC's last pro display, in fact). I'll not bore others with details, but I will note that I've never felt I had more power and flexibility in my computing facilities than I do today (2 generations later).
BTW, I implore readers to take special heed in John Shriver's comment regarding what a true Thunderbolt port represents. It ain't just a "USB-C" port. I got a bit of a schooling on this last fall when I say how much tech is actually built and certified for, say, a "Thunderbolt 4" rating. It makes a very big difference to me, as I use these ports for connection to my SSD's and monitor. Invest in GOOD, certified cables, as short as possible, to connect your peripherals!
[Adam Savage published a nice video explaining (with brilliant visuals) why an Apple Thunderbolt 4 cable costs so much. Turns out it's worth it; who'd a' thunk?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD5aAd8Oy84
--Mike]
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 02:25 PM
Re possible price drops: If Apple drops the price of an item within 14 days after you receive it, they'll refund of the difference (IF you ask!): https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/sales-policies/retail_us.html
Fourteen days is stingy if you ask me, and it's practically forced on them by their 14 day return policy, but it's something.
Lots of credit cards used to offer price protection, but I think only a handful still do.
Posted by: robert e | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 03:19 PM
If you really need those additional ports then you've bought the most appropriate model for your needs, even if it cost a bit more. Having worked with Mac minis and Macbooks at my workplace for nearly 2 decades, I'm a big advocate of the mini with separate monitor(s) for the same reason as you.
As for wireless peripherals, the Apple Magic mouse is OK (if stupidly expensive) but there are USB and Bluetooth mice out there that work perfectly well for a lot less money and the single AA battery last months, not weeks. Wired Apple keyboards (UK Extended) are my preference too, despite Apple having discontinued them some time ago.
But these frustrations pale into insignificance next to the horror stories of Windows users and the nightmare of supporting it in a working environment with Microsoft's relentless pursuit of unnecessary complexity and confusion.
Enjoy your new machine. :-)
Posted by: Simon | Friday, 18 October 2024 at 04:18 PM
Looks like a good decision - the 16gb unified memory and the 512gb storage are both worth having, in my opinion (assuming it isn't just being used for office tasks).
When the first M2 computers were released there was some kerfuffle when it was discovered that the base models with 256gb of storage only had a single NAND chip and therefore could only be written-to by one channel; the earlier M1 computers had 2x128gb NAND chips, could be written-to by two channels simultaneously and thus had faster read/write speeds. Good news, however - the M2 512gb computers, especially those with the Pro and Max chips, have multiple NAND chips and thus enjoy very fast read/write speeds. Not that many people would ever notice the difference in real life, but it gave the YouTube reviewers something to expostulate about.
And I wouldn't worry about the forthcoming M4 computers. I think you need to be doing serious tasks, e.g. professional development with large files or 8K video work, before the difference between the M2 and M4 processors becomes apparent. I bought a MacBook Pro a couple of years ago with the M1 Pro processor, and I'm still absolutely delighted with it.
Posted by: Tom Burke | Saturday, 19 October 2024 at 07:13 AM
I used a 21.5" iMac for a long time.
It had, from memory, 6 ports (2 x usb-C, 4 x usb-A) along with an SD card slot!
I struggle with my current macbook-air... just 2 usb-C ports.
Posted by: Dalvorius | Saturday, 19 October 2024 at 08:00 AM
I'm late with this and it's probably not relevant anymore but I always have too many USB devices.
I have one of the older M2 Pro minis. Bought a few years after my much older Intel mini. Have been using these for my office for many years.
I have 2 inexpensive USB 3 hubs plugged into the USB-A outlets on the mini. And recently I was able to afford a USB-C multiplier (I don't really know what to call it).
It uses up 2 of the mini's Thunderbolts but give me 4 Thunderbolt and several USB-A ports. It's quite likely that the aggregate data transfer from the multiplier will be equal to the two ports it goes through on the mini, but when am I ever going to use that much data transfer simultaneously at one time?
Anyway, the point is, once you don't need 4 thunderbolt ports worth of simultaneous data transfer, a combination of cheap hubs and maybe one expensive one can give you all you need.
Posted by: Nikhil Ramkarran | Sunday, 20 October 2024 at 10:02 AM