I’m temporarily without a computer today. Friend o’TOP Hugh Crawford offered to send me a stopgap computer “from the pile of obsolete but usable computers,” and I skedaddled straightaway to the Apple Store near Rochester, where I returned the computer I just bought with two hours left in the return window. I ordered me up an M4 Mac Mini with 16GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage, and got $307 back to boot. It’s supposed to be here on the 8th.
I’m typing this on the trusty iPad, my least needed but favorite device. Hugh’s computer should be here tomorrow, and if it isn’t I’ll post from here in the morning. Well, tomorrow anyway.
Please excuse the construction delays!
Mike
P.S. Who says I make things harder than they need to be? 🤣
Buying new, you made the right decision. Great that the option to return was a choice.
I'm going to take a bit of a look backward and hope the M4 Mini announcement takes a bigger bite out of used Mini values than a less significant jump. Apple hardware tends to hold its value far better than Windows PCs. Hopefully, a M2 Pro Mini with 32GB RAM pops up for short money. One can always wish.
Posted by: Dave Glos | Thursday, 31 October 2024 at 09:49 PM
Mike, I hope your new M4 brings you closer to complete performance satisfaction.
Posted by: jp41 | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 03:30 AM
Go for it!
Posted by: ChrisC | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 05:11 AM
Just wait until you try and plug in your USB-A devices.
[Well, I will need a hub/dock. But USB-C to USB-A hubs are common and many of them are cheap. I already have one. —Mike]
Posted by: Michael Jones | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 07:05 AM
My knees are weak, my stomach is queasy and my head is spinning. Mike, I'm an old fella, I don't know how much more of this edge of the seat drama I can take.
It seems to me that some months ago you posted a long dissertation explaining a carefully thought out method of making important purchases. Does it only apply to the purchase of shiny bits of steel that you drag across your face?
Posted by: Grant | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 09:00 AM
It may not be totally true, in reality, but based on the marketing hype, it is my expectation that with this new kit, when your brain is temporarily down, you can just say, “Hey Siri, give me 250 words on the subject of photography, in the style of Mike Johnston”. Job done!
Posted by: XK50 | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:03 AM
I'm really glad you are doing this. Computer regret is no fun.
Posted by: David Maxwell | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:14 AM
Bravo Mike!
You did the right thing.
Posted by: Richard Alan Fox | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:15 AM
I am so proud of this Hugh Crawford. A true man of action.
Me? I merely thought: “Dang, Mike got screwed again, but I will keep TOP in my thoughts and prayers.”
On that thought, I prayed Hugh would do something good. And my prayer was answered!
Posted by: Jack Mac | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:27 AM
I was thinking some last minute solution would arrive, and lo and behold. We have to keep our hamster happy, in this hamster wheel business we all benefit from. Upgrading the wheel every so often is a necessity! Smooth running ahead, for a few years at least. (I forget which reader called this sort of business a hamster wheel business--John Camp maybe--but it stuck with me). Looking forward to the trouble free posting.
Posted by: John Krumm | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:54 AM
You can thank memory-hungry Apple Intelligence for raising the RAM floor on every Mac from 8GB to 16GB (or higher on some "Pro" Macs), which amounts to a price cut. Bumping the RAM from 8GB to 16GB was essentially a mandatory upgrade for a lot of use cases, and as is well known, that's a big reason for Apple's famously high margins. They really extract every penny they can from memory and storage upgrades.
They even bumped the base RAM on existing M2 and M3 MacBook Air models. Despite its age, an M2 MacBook Air is still a pretty great machine, and now it's a better value.
Posted by: jthvedt | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 11:26 AM
I think M4 is the way to go. Apple will be rolling out AI features as they update Sequoia which is probably why they increased the base memory on M4 machines to 16 GB. I’m sure the M4 chip is a little more optimized to work with Apple’s AI.
Posted by: Jim Arthur | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 12:00 PM
Too late to matter, but Thom H. had a good write-up about 2024 Macs:
https://bythom.com/reviews--books/recommended-mac-hardware.html
Posted by: Dave | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 12:23 PM
Did you say anywhere what induced you to jump on an ‘about to be replaced’ M2 Mini? I’m not understanding.
[It just seemed like the old one was wearing out. Overheating mainly, plus crashes, failures to turn on or off, freezes, and other unexpected blips. Seemed like a risk to carry on. As far as “about to be replaced, I’ve spent my life waiting for “about to be replaced.” Hell, I’m STILL waiting for the Panasonic GX8 Mk. II. I heard last Spring that the Mac Mini would be replaced “probably in the Summer.” And there we were in October. Mac Minis make haste very slowly, historically. —Mike]
Posted by: Peter Wright | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 12:44 PM
Fortune favors the bold, Mike! Good call. You spend a lot of time each day with the machine on your desk. Gotta be happy with your tools!
/enabling mode off
Posted by: Benjamin Marks | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 12:49 PM
Fingers crossed! Wondering if you'll decide that you don't need a computer at all, just a couple of iPads. ;)
Posted by: robert e | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 01:23 PM
I have to say, the new Mac Mini is pretty appealing to me. My first Mac Mini (2012) was a delight, partly because I ripped it apart on the day I received it (warranty be damned!) and installed an SSD as the main drive and swapped the pre-installed drive into the second bay, resulting in a 2012 Mac Mini with SDD (otherwise unavailable I think) with a built-in HDD backup. (Yes, that generation of Mac Mini had two drive bays.)
My second Mac Mini (2018) was expensive and top-of-the line but it was a lemon, giving me no end of trouble.
Almost four years ago I moved to a Macbook Pro (M1), thinking it might be nice to have an attached monitor and keyboard, allowing me to pick up the machine and take it elsewhere if I felt like working in a different room. In that time I have worked in a different room precisely once.
The Macbook Pro is still working well, but if it starts acting up I might have to pivot back to the Mac Mini. That will mean moving from three screens back to two, but sometimes we must suffer for our desires and conveniences.
Posted by: Ed Hawco | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 01:42 PM
https://naturallandscapeawards.com/2024-competition-results-gallery/
This shines a spotlight on a large number of landscape photographs and will entrance those waiting for Mike to get up to speed again.
The winners and runners up in this competition have to submit their RAW image as well as their final image to ensure that it is real!
Posted by: louis mccullagh | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 01:48 PM
I think this is the right decision!
Posted by: Dillan | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 02:45 PM
It would have been churlish to post this if you'd had to keep the first new computer you bought, but since you remedied the issue...
Anyone who buys any Apple products even occasionally might get in the habit of checking here to see when the next updated Macs, iPads, watches, phones etc. are likely to debut.
Posted by: MM | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 02:52 PM
There’s always some drama in the Johnston household…
Posted by: K4kafka | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 02:54 PM
Good choice on the Mini. I have used a Mac Mini M1 since they came out. The processing power makes Lightroom very nimble. I have found a large Thunderbolt dock from Other World Computing a necessary accessory.
Posted by: Phil Stiles | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 03:18 PM
I always think that people who aren’t overly concerned about having the latest technology should get the latest when they buy. Those people tend to keep a computer, camera, vehicle for a long time and getting the latest goes a bit to future-proof their purchase.
OTOH those who are constantly “discarding” the former latest for the newest can go with last years tech - they’ll be buying another in a year or so anyway.
Posted by: Kristine Hinrichs | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 06:15 PM
If this were a question of an M2 Mac Mini vs an M3 Mac MIni (not that they exist), I would say “Save your money.” But the jump to the M4 chip really does bring big performance gains. The 16GB of RAM just seals the deal. You did right to return what you had for the new Mini - and to spring for at least a 1TB SSD. You can add USB-C accessories as you want or need. Enjoy.
Posted by: Steve Biro | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 06:15 PM
P.S. Mike… Apple Intelligence is an opt-in feature. I suggest you leave it turned off unless and until you really require its assistance. But, to me, AI is only offering cheap parlor tricks right now. Use all 16GB of RAM on what you want.
[I will leave it turned off for as long as I can. I’ll bet there will come a day when you can’t opt out, though. —Mike]
Posted by: Steve Biro | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 06:22 PM
Good that they put two ports in the front even if it completely spoils the clean face of the computer. Apple’s dream mini computer would be the size of Apple watch, with no ports and only one button, for power, in the bottom, out of sight. Power comes wirelessly as it is so efficient way to transmit power. Who needs ports? You can use airplay and blue tooth. One day they will get rid of the power button as well and the computer’ starts when you tell it to. Bliss.
Posted by: Ilkka | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 06:37 PM
Mike you have my sympathy. I read Thom's buying guide. I had no idea of the mental gymnastics that one must go through when purchasing a Mac.
Did the Apple store not suggest that it would be a good idea to wait a few days for the new models?
Posted by: Grant | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 08:02 PM
Oh for the heydays of 2011, when the Australian dollar was worth $1.10 U.S dollars. It was like every desirable import from cameras to phones to watches were on endless discount.
But this year, the Australian dollar is worth as low as 64 cents U.S. And it's like anything desirable has been taxed an extra 80%.
So for us now, even a computer like your M4 costs exactly an arm and a leg. C'est la vie.
Posted by: Kye Wood | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 08:03 PM
"I will need a hub/dock. But USB-C to USB-A hubs are common and many of them are cheap. I already have one. —Mike"
I have two carrier bags and a substantial amount of drawer space devoted to redundant "Apple cables", it is the most annoying aspect of owning one of their devices. I have three SSD's with an older "Thunderbolt plug" and had the choice of buying a new storage device and throwing away those SSD's, or sticking with the old device.
A few months back I returned a "Studio" model and returned to my eleven year old pro (Trashcan) for precisely that reason. The bonus now being that I will not accidentally turn on AI. In the process, I dismantled that trash can and cleaned every nook and cranny, which was marvellous, the single fan on the bottom ceased to sound like a helicopter and simultaneously acting like a central heating radiator.
I realise that eventually I am going to have to bite their poisoned bullet, but I will keep using that 2013 machine for as long as I possibly can, in the knowledge that they are still not quite as irritating as Gates's garbage.
Of course, had I kept the Studio, that would now be out of date, so I avoided that annoyance at least.
Applications that still require real computation, chug along fast enough for now.
Posted by: Stephen J | Friday, 01 November 2024 at 10:54 PM
Well, what do you know … Thursday I pulled the trigger on an M4 with 24GB/1TB. I won’t have an appropriate display until sometime in the new year, but I’ll get by. There is some fiddling to do with external storage - my 4 drive array uses only Thunderbolt 2 but I ordered the correct adapter.
Now I must wait until November 18 …
Posted by: Earl Dunbar | Saturday, 02 November 2024 at 10:48 AM
Regarding the $307 that was returned, would you be better served to put that towards an additional 8GB of memory? (I'm running a Windows-based Shuttle XPC computer from 2016 that has 32GB of memory. I was kind of surprised to learn the M2 Mac Mini had only 8GB of memory.)
[I had paid for an extra 8 in the M2 Mac Mini Pro to make 16, and yes, I think I should have spent the money to get more in the new-new one too. Oh well, too late now.
I’m surprised at how much “choice remorse” is involved in buying an Apple computer these days. Steve Jobs, who, you might remember, radically simplified the lineup when he returned to lead Apple in 1997, would not approve. —Mike]
Posted by: jp41 | Saturday, 02 November 2024 at 11:03 AM