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By Jon M. Cohen  - Technology Consultant

So everyone you know wants a Mac!  Macs are super hot and super popular. While at the same time when people look in to getting a new computer and start to consider the mac they all say the same phrases: “Why does it cost more then a Windows machine?” and “I don’t need a machine that high end”, or “I think it is to high for my budget”. So if you are like me, I’ve just been pointing people to the Mac Mini. I have been suggesting this solution for years, but I stopped in 2008. Due to the fact that I didn’t think it was great value for the money anymore. Now with Apple’s release of the new Mac Mini I am so happy to be able to start recommending the Mac Mini again.

The Mac Mini, in some peoples estimation the least popular of the whole Apple computer line. So why update it? Why not just let it die? In fact during the majority of 2008 many people just assumed it was going to go the way of the dinosaurs. No one wanted an underpowered Mac that had not been updated in over 18 months. The sheer fact that Apple didn’t update the specs or give it a speed bump of some sort made one believe that the writing on the wall, spelling out the end for this, the smallest of Apple’s Mac.

Just before the end of 2008 their was a buzz going around the tech community about the idea of a new Mac Mini. What a perfect time for an update to Apple’s lowest priced Mac. It is said by many that timing is everything, and with the economy in a downward turn, this would be the ideal time to offer the consumer electronic market a low priced mac that is also full featured. Therefore a sub $800 Mac Mini should be a big seller when money is tight. Their is no doubt that Apple is on a high in popularity right now and with this new Mac Mini it should really help grow even more market share. 

The smallest Mac ever

The new Mac Mini’s come with a standard Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.0 Ghz, with 1 or 2GB RAM, 120GB Hard disk drive, it also features an nVidia graphics card witch supports both mini DVI and the new display port. Priced at a starting value of $599 (approx.), I assume this unit will sell very well. Besides all of these upgrades one of the nicest things is in some basic design changes. The addition of more USB ports and inclusion of a FireWire 800 Port really shows off the talents of the people that Apple has working for them, and proves they understand the consumers needs. These new Mac Mini’s will be available for purchasing in early March 2009.

All the ports of the 2009 Mac Mini

By Jon M. Cohen – Technology Consultant

The first thing you need to know is that you need to have confidence in yourself. Although this customization is really easy you need to still have the confidence to do it.  The Top 5 things that I will list are in my opinion the most important things to know when changing your hard drive.

1. Picking the correct replacement hard drive is key. When you look online or go to your local retailer you may see a lot of different choices. Some options are type of drive, speed, and connector type. When it comes to the type of drive, you need a 2.5” footprint, and you can choose between a solid-state drive or a more classic platter drive. The SSD (solid-state drive) is going to be a lot quicker and give you improved battery life, but remember that with the SSD you are limited to the size (capacity) of the drive and you are going to pay a premium because it is a newer technology. If you choose to go with a more traditional platter drive, then speed and connection type become factors. The speeds in RPM’s can be between 4,200RPM up to 10,000RPM. With the 5,400RPM being the most common. If you need a quicker response for the read/write then the 7,200RPM might be your best fit. Just remember the faster the drive the more toll on your computer. And this equates to a shorter battery charge. When you look at connection type, this question is cut-n-dry, the Macbook / Macbook Pro can only you Serial ATA drives (SATA), thus when you are looking to buy that new drive make sure you select the SATA option.

Apple Macbook/Macbook Pro (Late 2008) Hard Drive

2. Have your boot disk and make sure they work. All new Macs come with the boot/recovery disks. Once you have installed the new drive you will need to use the disks to format the drive and to load an OS on the drive. FYI: this process can take a few hours.

3. After you have removed the battery and have the correct tools at arms length, it is important to make sure you have the computer unplugged and you ground yourself. What I mean by that is that you discharge any static electricity in your body. This can be done by wearing a grounding wire, or even easier is to touch the grounding plate on the inside of the Macbook /Macbook Pro case. This plate is directly below the battery.

4. Remove the small screw that is holding down the hard drive. Now that the screw is out the hard drive can be lifted out of the case. Before you lift it up, remember that you need to undo the SATA connector cable. If you forget, you might give a slight pull to the drive and end up dislodging the SATA connector cable to. Thus DON’T forget to undo the cable and then lift up the drive.

5. 5 screws are all you need! It is key that you don’t lose the screws that are with the hard drive already. You will need to unscrew them and attach them to the new drive that you have bought. Once you have done that you can put the new drive in to your computer.

Another point to note; the 17″ Macbook Pro does require different steps to change the hard drive. So hopefully you have learned something from the above and I wish you good luck with the upgrade and enjoy your Macbook or Macbook Pro.

Jon M. Cohen  - Technology Consultant

Haven’t heard of Boxee yet; well get excited! Boxee is an application for both Ubuntu and Mac that offers a fully integrated media player and media manager. The biggest feature that Boxee offers users is a centralized way to watch web based primetime media.

Boxee is a simple and effective media application that allows home users to set up streaming for music, pictures, and movies. As well with its great interface, users can easily grab content from sites like Hulu, Fox, ABC, and CBS, just to name a few. Boxee gives you a nice centralized place to watch all the rich content that the web has to offer instead of going to individual websites of each broadcaster.  It still allows for short web commercials, but adds improved picture and functionality such as pausing and adjusting the volume.

Most people love watching the rich web content and now Boxee has also integrated a full-featured media player, so organizing and sharing your home videos (movies), music, and photos is easy as pie. Just point Boxee to the network with the media and Boxee can do the rest. Sharing your network content is an effective and easy task when Boxee is involved.Screenshot of Boxee Movies

Another great feature that is available to Boxee users is the Boxee OS that can be loaded on the AppleTV. With the combination of Boxee to the AppleTV, we see a huge opportunity for great media viewing on your HDTV. This allows users to sit on the couch and really get involved with all of the content the web has to offer. While loading Boxee on the AppleTV does take a bit of work; a quick web search will lead you to the needed instructions.

You may be asking yourself what the down sides of Boxee are, and to be honest, there are a few. It should be noted Boxee is still an Alpha. The first thing I quickly noticed is that Boxee is slow to load and can be slow as you move through different menus. I have tested the Boxee application on the Mac and Ubuntu,  as well as the AppleTV, and regardless of which platform I tested I always got the same results. The second point has to do with configurations. As I stated earlier, it is very easy to configure, but it falls slightly short in the depth of the security configurations that are able to be setup. The final issue that I found was related to the speed and quality of streaming. I found that I spent a lot of time waiting for the buffering. This was expected due to the upsizing of the video and general speeds of the internet, but it can be assumed that this third issue will quickly disappear as speeds on the internet increase and adopt new formats for web based rich video content.

Screenshot of Boxee TV options

Boxee is the premier application for absorbing your media on a daily basis. It is not perfect, but the innovations found in this application lead me to believe that it will be a very popular application in years to come. I also assume that we will see more hardware devices that Boxee will be able to work with.  As the popularity grows and Boxee moves from Alpha to Beta and on to RC, I am sure that Boxee will be as well known a term as “TiVo”. Boxee really has endless potential; it will be great to see what the final application looks like. Do you want your own copy of Boxee? Click Here.