Apple Mac Mini MC270LL / A Desktop
with a sleek aluminum unibody Housing and use the Add? gene Redesigned improved graphics and an HDMI video output, suitable f? r the Apple Mac mini everything that makes a Mac a Mac inside an elegant one, 4-inch big s, 7.7-inch-square f -? own gene Simply keyboard, mouse and display. It is packed with a faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the n? Chsten generation NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, and 2GB of RAM (expandable to 8 GB) and 320 GB hard disk space.
officially the Mac mini is a desktop com Rating: 
List Price: $ 699.00 Price: low, to display
Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
17 Watt RMS
List Price: $ 29.99 Price: $ 20.60
Review by Brian Stucki for Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop
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We’ve already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they’re great. A few things to know:
-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)
- If you’re looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you’ll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it’s a great fit.
- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.
- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.
- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they’re great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.
- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.
All in all, a good upgrade.
Review by KSBAY for Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop
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The Mac Mini was updated on June 15th 2010. There are some upgrades and minor changes between the 2010 Mac Mini and 2009’s model, detailed below.
UPGRADES
HDMI audio/video output (HDMI version 1.3 and supports up to 1920-by-1200 resolution and multichannel audio.) Allows you to connect the Mac Mini to your HDTV easily.
Nvidia Geforce 320 M integrated graphics processor. More powerful than last years Nvidia Geforce 9400 which was in the 2009 Mac mini. Useful for content creation.
320 gb hard drive – Last years base model had a 160gb hard drive.
Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot – Useful for transferring photos and videos from Cameras.
Unibody aluminum body.
STANDARD FEATURES – from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets) are
Core 2 Duo Processor ( 2.4 ghz – up from 2.26ghz )
2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Ram
8x slot-loading SuperDrive DVD burner
Mini DisplayPort video output with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
Combined optical digital output/headphone output
Four USB 2.0 ports (1 less than the 2009 Mac Mini)
One FireWire 800 port
Wi-Fi – 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.
Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.
As one can see, not much has changed. Apple is using older Core 2 Duo processors while the majority of the computer industry has moved on to using Intel’s “i” series of processors and it’s still shipping the Mac mini with 2gb of ram which is inadequate for multi-tasking effectively.
However, whatever little has changed, is for the better.
Apple has finally acknowledged that people connect their Mac Mini’s to HDTV’s and use them as media centers. So it’s added an HDMI port to the machine. This makes hooking up your Mac mini to a HDTV really easy. No Blu-ray drive though.
It’s also included an SD card slot at the rear (Which also supports SDXC cards) – so you can transfer your photos / videos / data directly from an SD card without having to connect your camera / card reader to the machine.
Also, new in this year’s Mac mini is a removable panel on the bottom of the Mac mini which allows you to easily upgrade the ram. This is a welcome addition considering that accessing the ram slots in earlier Mac mini’s was a tedious and time consuming process. And since the Mac mini only comes with 2gb of ram, a ram upgrade should be one of the first things you choose to do. Kingston Apple 4GB Kit (2×2GB Modules) 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM iMac and Macbook Memory (KTA-MB1066K2/4GR) for $101 currently. The operating system STRUGGLES with multi-tasking when there’s only 2gb of ram present. Note to Apple. Stop skimping on the ram. Thanks.
Unfortunately, there are some negatives too.
First up is the power supply unit. In the 2009 Mac mini, the power supply was an external power adapter, which meant if anything went wrong with it, you’d take the adapter for servicing, not the whole machine. However, the power supply unit is now inside the June 2010 Mac mini. This may look better / cleaner from a design / clutter point of view but it also means that if it ever malfunctions, instead of the power adapter, you’ll have to take your Mac mini in to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Store Provider and leave it there for repairs which may lead to more downtime.
The SD card slot is at the back of the machine, and reaching behind to insert a card gets tedious fast.
Also, the machine is STILL not designed to not let users access the hard drive easily (or without voiding the warranty). This forces the customer to be dependent on Apple for servicing, replacing or upgrading the hard drive. Considering the amount of confidential data customers store on their computers, they should be allowed to take out the hard drive when they need or feel like instead of being forced to take their machines into an Apple store if there are any issues. This is definitely a privacy / security risk for many customers and Apple should address this in the next iteration of the machine.
The price has also gone up by $100. Cost is an important aspect to consider. If you decide to upgrade the ram and also need to purchase an existing LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse, once you total it all up, the Mac mini will end up costing almost as much as a Macbook(which is more portable) or the entry level iMac (21.5 inch screen, 4gb of ram, dedicated graphics and bigger hard drive). If that’s the case, you better off examining those machines as purchase options instead of buying a Mini.
The Mac mini is a capable machine for general tasks such as watching videos, working on documents, listening to music and surfing the web. It’s small and occupies very little space. It’s also very energy efficient which is good for the environment and your energy bill. I would have loved to rate it 4 stars but I can’t ignore Apple still including only 2gb of ram which is inadequate for multitasking, not including a Blu-ray drive, STILL not allowing customers to access the hard drive AND increasing the price by $100.
If the issues mentioned above don’t affect you in any way and you want a small, power efficient and capable machine (After upgrading the ram) the Mac Mini may be the machine for you.
Hope this helps!
Review by B. Miller for Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop
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The new Mac Mini has been an impressive little beast so far!
It sits on your desk and looks so small, yet it packs a powerful punch inside.
I bought a Mini Displayport to VGA connector to integrate this into my KVM setup with the intention of only using it on one of my three monitors, and when I realized that I could also use the HDMI port to hook up a second monitor, it was like a new world.
The new Nvidia Graphics card handles my 24″ and 22″ monitors just fine.
I also picked up Parallels 5.0 software from Amazon as well, and I don’t flinch when I say that this little Mac Mini is running Windows 7 Professional better than my Quad Core PC does!
I am also going to throw Ubuntu on here as well to play with.
The Snow Leopard install is very snappy, and opens programs and installs things in a breeze.
This little guy is also handling syncing to my iPad and iPhone like it was nothing, and it amazingly will handle multiple programs open with no problem.
This is actually the first Mac I have owned, and I am so impressed that I may be converted forever.
The SD card slot, HDMI, and new Graphics card is what really sets this apart from the older models.
The new case is also a very nice piece of engineering! I have no idea how they fit the power supply in there! No more power brick laying around on the floor!
So user friendly, and could be the pinnacle of a Home office or be a great HTPC in the living room!
Review by J. Lethal for Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop
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While I have used computers for most of my 33 years in this world, this is the first I’ve ever purchased, and it is the first Mac I have ever used. Much as I can drive a car but have no idea how to change the oil, I can use a computer but have always turned to an instructor or technical support when there’s a problem. If you want a highly technical product review please skip this one. If you’re new to Mac or generally wary of buying a computer this review should be helpful.
First, the Mac Mini is so small I could hardly believe it. Since I bought it for an entertainment center I couldn’t spare the space for a full desktop model. I connected it to my receiver with an HDMI cable from Amazon, which in turn connects to my Sharp Aquos 65″ LCD HDTV. As soon as it turned on I was VERY impressed by how sharp and crisp the picture is. I did have a rather comical problem getting started though, as unknown to me the entire Mac toolbar along the top of the screen was being cut off, leading to a very confused support person having me repeatedly say “What Apple icon?! There’s no such thing on my screen.” Fortunately it was resolved in seconds once I knew the problem existed. I also had a hard time getting my internet connection to work initially, but that was due to my limited knowledge and not the product. By default the Mac is set to search for a wireless internet signal, a feature which had to be switched off before my wired ethernet connection would work. My Magic Mouse and Apple keyboard were detected in seconds and didn’t require any setup. The SD card slot works flawlessly, so there’s no need to directly connect a camera if you don’t feel like digging out your USB cable.
Once the initial minor frustrations were taken care of there was no issue at all. You can set the Mac to search regularly for any updates to download from Apple so it will always run smoothly. There are help menus if you can’t find something. The “Dock”, the name given to the software icons along the bottom of the screen, takes some getting used to. If you’re new to Mac the icons aren’t very intuitive. Still, this is a review of the machine and not the software, so no points off for my own learning curve. Everything I try to do, from saving images to using iPhoto, involves getting familiar with new software, but it always works as it should. Just make sure you shut down completely and turn the Mac back on after downloading any system update, as failing to do so led to the DVD player not functioning until I did.
One feature I love is something called the Dashboard, which with the click of an icon appears on your screen with “widgets”, windows of your choice with various features. I have a local weather forecast with current conditions, a calculator, sports score updates and countless other things at my fingertips without having to do a web search any more. It’s positively brilliant.
I’m sorry to say that the manual is of almost no help at all when it comes to learning the software. The Apple home page is there when you open the web browser and they do have guides, but a book that lays it all out for me would be preferable. With so many Mac owners being first timers, that’s a corner they shouldn’t have cut.
Newcomers should know that the disk drive loads differently than you may expect. There’s no tray, and unlike my Playstation 3 which sucks in a disk right away, you have to push a disk about 90% of the way inside before the Mac does the rest. At first I was worried I might break it because it seemed like I was forcing the disk in. Strangely, when you eject the disk it comes about 2/3rds of the way out, but it works and that’s what matters.
Looking at all the features and feeling intimidated, I noticed that this machine comes with 2GB of RAM, and had no idea if those critical of it meant I should be worried. Not once has this machine stalled in doing anything I ask of it. I can have internet radio going with multiple web pages open and it works. I can run two videos simultaneously and there’s no hiccups. The DVD player works fine, though it’s impractical for me since I’m using an entertainment center with a dedicated DVD player connected.
If you are just an average person who simply wants a computer so you can check your e-mail, surf the net, copy and edit your photos, store your digital music, and other everyday tasks, you can’t do better than this machine. For a grand total of under $850, I have a cutting edge computer with every feature I could ever need, a great mouse and keyboard, and my entertainment center has been transformed into a complete media hub and home office. I still have a lot of features to learn, but overall my only regret is not buying this sooner.
Review by Casey A. Fields for Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop
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Let me start off by saying that I have been wanting a Mac for a long time now. I went to apple.com the other day and saw that they had updated the Mac Mini’s and I had to check them out. After looking at them for about two days, I finally took the plunge, and I’m sure glad I did.
I was going to order one of these babies from apple.com so I could upgrade the RAM, because at first I was wondering how long I would want to deal with only 2gb of RAM. Well, after looking at prices, I realized that upgrading to 4gb of RAM now wasn’t going to be any cheaper that if I wanted to wait and do it myself. So, after pricing this on apple.com even with my wifes $50.00 student discount, and counting in the thirty some dollars in tax that they were going to charge me, it was way cheaper to order the base model from amazon.com, with no tax and free two day shipping. So thanks Amazon for yet again another wonderful deal.
Now about the computer. This is my first mac and it hasn’t taken me any time to figure out how to work this thing. If you have any general knowledge of a pc, you should be able to figure a mac out no problem. I have the mini hooked up to my 42″ lcd tv via HDMI, and I couldn’t be happier. At first, the resolution was set to 1080p and looked wonderful, but the text and pointer was way too small to read comforably from my couch, which is about 10-15 ft away from the tv. I finally changed the resolution to 1024×576 and that made the text the perfect size, and the tv is still reading that the display is in high definition. When I started the computer up, it connected to my Dell Blu-tooth wireless keyboard and mouse instantly. I was worried about this at first, but I didn’t have any trouble at all.
So far, the performance is outstanding. It is a very speedy computer, even with the 2gb of ram. I tested it out by playing three videos at once, while I was browsing my photos with iphoto, and it never slowed down a bit. The mac is accepting everything I throw at it so far, including my external hard drives that are formatted for windows. I am able to view all of my pictures that are stored on them with no problem. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I’ve only had it for a few days now but I can tell you that it is going to be well enjoyed. If you are un-sure about converting to the Apple side of things, this is your chance. This is the cheapest Mac you can buy, and it is still a workhorse.
Review by Arthur Kimes for Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
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I recently got a inexpensive 19″ HDTV which has decent enough video quality but it burdened with the WORST sound I’ve heard on a TV. Tinny sounding speakers with little volume. But there was a headphone jack on the TV. With headphones, the TV sounded excellent. My computer speakers were connected with a headphone jack… They worked just fine on the TV. I looked for powered 2.1 computer speaker systems on Amazon and was delighted to find many choices under $40. The best value for the money seemed to be this Logitech and the cheap TV now has excellent sound.
I give this a 5 star rating (instead of a 3 or a 4) because of the low price. There are better 2.1 systems but nowhere near this price.
Review by Johnny C for Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
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I am a recording engineer and i bought these speakers to use as reference monitors to compare my mixes on a pair of consumer speakers. They sound a whole lot better than i expected! At low volume levels, these speakers aren’t far from my pair of $1000 professional studio monitors. They do lack a bit of mid to low-mid on the frequency spectrum, but that is expected with consumer speakers.
Review by Lisa Trent for Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
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Great sound with a nice touch of base. All the quality in a small package. The speaker wires are really not long enough for distant placement of speakers the wire doesn’t spread that far apart. The sub woofer does well it packs a punch when cranked up. The piano black color adds nice touch to the speakers and woofer which is kind of heavy but slim enough to fit just about anywhere. The volume control and mic/phone jack controls are easy to use and a big plus for me. Easy gliding volume control the whole system feels solid with no visible weaknesses. Over all a good speaker system for the money.
Review by I. Haneline for Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
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These put out pretty good sound, but if they are turned up too loud, then they will distort and throw some static into the mix. Also, the bass adjustment is on the back of the subwoofer, that I keep on the floor a bit out of the way. The volume control is neat with the dial on top, but it is not as heavy as the wires connected to it, so the wires decide where the control will stay put if they are hanging off the back of the desk. I think I’m going to use these speakers on my auxiliary computer and go back to using my older, bigger ones on my new computer.
Review by KaySmith for Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer
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I looked at Logitech S220,LS21,Z4; Creative T3100;Altec Lansing FX4021. Finally decided on Logitech s220 and so far I am not disappointed.
I was on a limited budget for PC speakers, don’t like my music and movies too loud, and I don’t have very high audio quality needs.
S220 speakers have good sound quality, compact size, 3 years manufacturer warranty and are just $25.
The subwoofer seems well built for the price, it is slim and easy to hide under the desk. The bass control is on the back side, which is practical enough, considering once you set the bass to your taste, you rarely would adjust it. The AC power adapter is inside the subwoofer, which is nice. Bass is good, as long as you don’t set your volume above 50%.
Satellites also look solid for their size and are attached to the subwoofer via standard 3.5mm stereo plug. They have very small footprint – good for those of us who don’t have lots of free desk space. They sound OK, a little on the weak side. Middle tones are fine, treble – decent.
The only thing in the whole system that appears flimsy is the wired remote – it is very small and light and does not stay easy in the correct position. I hope it does not break.
Overall very good!