OT: Mac mini enough for Java development?

Hi,

We are thinking about purchasing a Mac mini, but have our doubts,
whether it can be used for serious Java developing. At least the
built-in 256MB RAM seem like a joke to me. Is somebody using a Mac mini
with IDEA? Is it acceptable fast?

Tom

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Thomas Singer (MoTJ) wrote:

We are thinking about purchasing a Mac mini, but have our doubts,
whether it can be used for serious Java developing. At least the
built-in 256MB RAM seem like a joke to me.

Here are some detailed articles about the mini:
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/
They recommand at least 512 :).

Is somebody using a Mac mini
with IDEA? Is it acceptable fast?

This would be indeed interesting to know, and not with an IDEA project
with 10 classes, but with a realistic one :).

Ahmed.

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I'm not anti-mac, but why?

You can buy a Dell 2400
<http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_2400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs>
for $300. That leaves $200 for more memory, beer and chips.

They have an interesting concept and I almost bit, just so I could play
with the OS. I eventually bought a Dell SC1420 for $530. The mini
can't compete with a Xeon 3.0Ghz Nocono.

Thomas Singer (MoTJ) wrote:

Hi,

>

We are thinking about purchasing a Mac mini, but have our doubts,
whether it can be used for serious Java developing. At least the
built-in 256MB RAM seem like a joke to me. Is somebody using a Mac
mini with IDEA? Is it acceptable fast?

>

Tom


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One more question: is there some image software like Acronis TrueImage
available for Macs?

Tom

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I'm not anti-mac, but why?

Suppose you need to deliver your software for Mac customers too. One
should test it on Mac first before putting the Mac label on it - right?
Even if it's written in Java, the installer, the configuration, etc. is
not quite the same :).

Ahmed.

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right? Even if it's written in Java, the installer, the configuration,
etc. is not quite the same :).

Oh, yeah! :)

-


Maxim Shafirov
http://www.jetbrains.com
"Develop with pleasure!"


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You can buy a Dell 2400
<http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_2400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs>
for $300. That leaves $200 for more memory, beer and chips.


IIRC, there is no possibility to test Java applications on a Mac without
running a Mac. I'm sure, Mac OS X will not run on VMWare.

Tom

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Tom

is there some image software like Acronis TrueImage available for Macs?



Have a look at Carbon Copy Cloner :
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/13260

In no time - well, some time -, you make a bootable full disk copy on an
external FW drive.
Reboot, and voilà.

Alain

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IIRC, there is no possibility to test Java
applications on a Mac without
running a Mac. I'm sure, Mac OS X will not run on
VMWare.

Tom


no, it's not running under vmware, only emulator i know about is pearpc http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/

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You need to have at least 512MB with a preference for 1GB. The Mac Mini itself is more than sufficient CPU wise as there are people with Powerbooks doing serious Java development with less CPU power. Its the memory thing that will make the experience unpleasurable.

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In article <d3gjfm$a71$1@is.intellij.net>,
"Thomas Singer (MoTJ)" <nomail@nodomain.com> wrote:

Hi,

We are thinking about purchasing a Mac mini, but have our doubts,
whether it can be used for serious Java developing. At least the
built-in 256MB RAM seem like a joke to me. Is somebody using a Mac mini
with IDEA? Is it acceptable fast?


I have a 1.5GHz AlBook which I use to develop with IDEA. I do suggest a
memory upgrade, as IDEA is a major memory hog. 1G works well for me.

Scott

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I got a mac-mini as soon as I could after they came out, so it's been about a month. My other machine is a Dell 2.6 ghz w/512mb ram, dual booting linux and windows xp.

I upgraded the ram on the mac to 1gb and have been developing java (with IDEA, of course) ever since. It's been a couple of weeks since I've even powered on the Dell box.

Maybe it's not quite as fast as the Dell, but it's close. I just like the mac better, that's all. Hard to explain why, but it just works for me.

Good luck,

Michael

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Does somebody tried successfully to use "normal" PC memory in the Mac
mini? Mac's upgrade price (330 EUR ~ 425 USD) from 256MB to 1GB is ...
hmm ... incredible.

Tom

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Which Mac mini you are running, the 1.25GHz/40GB version or the
1.42GHz/80GB one?

Tom

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Does somebody tried successfully to use "normal" PC memory in the Mac
mini? Mac's upgrade price (330 EUR ~ 425 USD) from 256MB to 1GB is ...
hmm ... incredible.

Thomas,
The newest article from the link I showed you in the first reply
discusses exactly the memory problem.

Ahmed.
P.S. The link again: http://www.anandtech.com/mac/

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Tom,

I bought all my extra Mac ram from crucial.com. Cheap, and reliable.

To install it, you'll have to open the mini. => Check the video at
http://www.smashsworld.com/2005/01/taking-apart-mac-mini-how-to.php


Alain

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Thomas Singer (MoTJ) wrote:

Does somebody tried successfully to use "normal" PC memory in the Mac
mini? Mac's upgrade price (330 EUR ~ 425 USD) from 256MB to 1GB is ...
hmm ... incredible.


According to Apple the modules used are 'normal' PC memory
(PC2700/PC3200) : http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300572

- which makes Apple's, uhm, less than aggressive pricing all the more odd...

CU,
Edwin

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The newest article from the link I showed you in the first reply
discusses exactly the memory problem.


I read the article, but did not understand the difference between the
different memory bars they mentioned.

Tom

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>> The newest article from the link I showed you in the first reply
>> discusses exactly the memory problem.


I read the article, but did not understand the difference between the
different memory bars they mentioned.

Oh, sorry. The idea is that nowadays if a module is tested, than it's OK
to use it, and the main difference is just the price.

Ahmed.

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Alain Ravet wrote:

Tom,

I bought all my extra Mac ram from crucial.com. Cheap, and reliable.

To install it, you'll have to open the mini. => Check the video at
http://www.smashsworld.com/2005/01/taking-apart-mac-mini-how-to.php


And if you're wary of prying open your Mac mini like I am, I suppose you
could buy the memory and have a Mac shop install it for you. Or even
just buy the memory from a Mac shop and have them install it. Generally
the Mac shops charge less for the memory upgrades because they don't buy
it from Apple.

Ciao,
Gordon

--
Gordon Tyler (Software Developer)
Quest Software <http://www.quest.com/>
260 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5A 4L5, Canada
Voice: (416) 933-5046 | Fax: (416) 933-5001

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I received a Mac Mini for my birthday (I love my wife!) and have been "tinkering" with it since. It came with 256 MB, so I bought a 1 GB stick of Mac approved RAM from newegg.com for $130 and installed it myself, using the directions provided elsewhere in this thread. From my so far limited experience, there's more than enough horsepower to do development. As a test, I downloaded the source for Ant and did a little "refactoring" such as changing the classname of Task to Chore, moving packages around, etc. Subjectively, performance seemed on par with my Dell PIII laptop with 1 GB of RAM.

BTW, I LOVE the bluetooth keyboard and mouse. It's more fun going cordless ;)

E

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In article <d3jd6n$25j$1@is.intellij.net>,
Gordon Tyler <gordon.tyler@quest.com> wrote:

Generally
the Mac shops charge less for the memory upgrades because they don't buy
it from Apple.


This has been true for the longest time. Apple's biggest margin is on
RAM and HD upgrades. Long time Mac users know to never add anything
they can get 3rd party on a Mac.

Cool to see this thread of the usual success stories of new Mac users.
You'll never be able to explain why the Mac is better until you stick
your feet in and try it. It's just different.

R

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"Norris Shelton" <nunya@nunya.net> wrote in message news:
425BD4FE.4010008@nunya.net...
I'm not anti-mac, but why?

>

You can buy a Dell 2400 for $300. That leaves $200 for

more

memory, beer and chips.


It is like comparing H2 with S2000. Nobody who likes
technical minimalism would buy this huge Dell box. On the
other hand, Antec ARIA seems interesting, because it is not
just a SFF system, it is a Micro ATX case, which opens more
possibilities to use different MATX boards. Not as polished
as Mac mini, but you can use all standard components,
including mobo.

Case with a multi-card reader ( $115) + MATX board with
simple built-in video ($60) +
not-too-hot-and-not-too-expensive Barton 2500 ($85) + 1GB
RAM($130) + 250GB Maxtor ($130) + Dual-layer DVD burner
($80) == $600. Not quite an S2000, more like Z350. Still,
not bad.


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($80) == $600. Not quite an S2000, more like Z350. Still,
not bad.


But the 350Z is so much hotter than the S2000 :)

Vince.


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http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/index.html

Very nice :).

More important would be this however:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

Better said, this link in that page:
=======================
Java 2 SE 5.0 Release 1
Provides support for J2SE 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.4
=======================

:).

Ahmed.

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Hello Thomas,

TS> http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/index.html

Will him PR manager to swim over across pacific ocean if users buy over 1000000
copies of Tiger? :)
Opera's PR manager already swam :))

--
Alexey Efimov, Java Developer
Tops BI
http://www.topsbi.ru


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In article <d4t4gs$65k$1@is.intellij.net>,
"Thomas Singer (MoTJ)" <nomail@nodomain.com> wrote:

http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/index.html


If anyone is in the Washington DC, area, we'll be in clarendon around
4:30PM standing in line for the apple tiger release event. Come join us!

R

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Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy,
I've just got my copy delivered, 1 minute ago.
I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..
I'm hyperventilating.
The box is so black, so sexy. And the big X is so mysterious.
I'm going to install it, right now.
No foreplay today, direct installation.
Go Alain, Go.

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Hello Alain,

:)))))))

--
Alexey Efimov, Java Developer
Tops BI
http://www.topsbi.ru


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Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy,
I've just got my copy delivered, 1 minute ago.
I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..I'm, ..
I'm hyperventilating.
The box is so black, so sexy. And the big X is so mysterious.
I'm going to install it, right now.
No foreplay today, direct installation.
Go Alain, Go.


Haha, I'm trying hard not to be creeped out! (i'm also jealous, as my copy
only shipped this morning)

Tobin


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