The Mac mini: Apples and Oranges, a Follow-up

Last week, I wrote an article comparing the Mac mini to a “$399” Dell. Although I assumed it would generate some discussion, I wasn’t quite prepared for the reaction: A bunch of “letters to the editor,” scores of direct emails, and over 180 responses (and counting) in the related discussion thread in the Macworld forums. It seems people are interested in how the Mac mini stacks up against budget Windows PCs.

[Before I continue, I just have to say that the article, which I thought was reasonably fair to both sides, generated a good number of less-than-friendly replies from apparent Dell fans, putting to lie the theory that only “Mac fanatics” take the time to write nasty notes to columnists with whom they disagree. But I digress.]

Overall, the responses I received tended to be either civil or constructive, and occasionally both. Feedback ranged from the reasonable (taking issue with my depiction of Windows XP Pro as being signficantly better than XP Home) to the ridiculous (accusing me of exaggerating the advantage that iTunes gives the Mac mini—I never even mentioned iTunes in the column, nor did I ever consider it since iTunes is free for both platforms).

Interestingly enough, many responses ignored the key points of the article to—as I predicted last week—quibble over $10 here or $20 there. To reiterate: What the article was trying to demonstrate is not that the Mac mini is the cheapest computer on the market; rather, that it’s clearly price-competitive with the budget brand-name Windows PCs, especially once you look at what you get for the money. Offhand “But Dell has a $xxx computer” remarks are just that: offhand, without much attention paid to the differences between systems or to the target markets for them. Sure, there are less expensive computers out there, but the old adage “You get what you pay for” holds true.

That being said, a number of points were made frequently enough that I thought they deserved a response. Below are a few of the most common issues raised by readers, along with my comments. Agree or disagree, hopefully you'll find that this discussion further informs the original comparison.

Why did you compare the Mac mini to a Dell? Brand XYZ makes a cheaper computer! True, it’s possible to get a (slightly) less expensive Windows PC from several other computer vendors. I chose Dell for two reasons: (1) The article was written in response to several flawed price comparisons that specifically used the Dell in question as a reference; and (2) Dell is the most popular name-brand, budget PC vendor by a significant margin, and thus the one more people in the market for a $400-$500 Windows PC will be considering. So the focus of the article was a more objective price comparison between the cheapest Dell and the cheapest Mac. (Not that those less expensive computers would have necessarily fared better; most have many of the same shortcomings as the Dell.)

But the Dell [insert different model number here] can be configured to give you better (or similar) features for the same (or less) money See above for why I chose this particular model. But in the interest of fairness, I checked up on some of the other Dell models sent in by readers, and the truth is they aren’t that much different, and it generally takes a bit of effort to get the best price: Sometimes you have to buy a cheap model and build up, other times you need to buy a “more expensive” model and then remove features. (And interestingly enough, by the time I got to the Dell site, many of these example systems were quite a bit more expensive than readers claimed—more on that in the next point.)

But Wednesday afternoon between 4:13pm and 4:37pm, the Dell 2400 was $34 cheaper! (Corollary: “But when I went through Dell’s XYZ store, it was $27 cheaper!") I chose the cheapest Dell the day of my article, but it’s true that depending on the day (or even the time of day), and which of Dell’s four online stores (Home & Home Office; Small Business; Medium & Large Business; and Government, Education & Healthcare) you go through, the price of a particular system (and even the components of that system) may vary, often significantly. I’ve since seen the Dell system referenced in the column at both higher and lower price points, but mostly around the price noted in the column, so I think that price is a good representation of what someone looking to buy would pay for it. (I also think the above says something about the ease of use—or lack thereof—of using the Dell online store. Those people who spend their days checking “deal” websites for the best possible buy may appreciate these wildly fluctuating prices and different paths to configuring the same computer, but for your average consumer, it’s frustrating.)

You focused too much on the Mac mini’s software Actually, I don’t think I focused enough on the included software—I mentioned it in a single bullet point—and many Mac users took me to task for that (see below). I actually find it quite odd that some people completely ignore the value of included software in a computer system, considering it’s that very software that the user will end up spending most of their time working with. (And the more good software that ships with a computer, the less money the buyer will need to spend later to get the software they need.)

Windows doesn’t really need the $26 CD-burning software; Windows XP includes basic CD burning functionality. Fair enough. I personally would pay for RecordNow Deluxe on my own Windows machine, but to be fair, it is possible to burn CDs using Windows XP and Windows Media Player.

For the home user, there’s no reason to pay for Windows XP Pro; XP Home is more than adequate To some extent I agree with this point—many XP Pro features will never be used by a typical home user. However, it does have some advantages over XP Home of which some home users may take advantage. More importantly, if the user ever gets another computer and wants to network them—a situation that’s becoming more common every day—XP Pro’s networking and sharing features are superior. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, XP Pro is the “equivalent” of Mac OS X; XP Home is not. Since I was trying to make a fair comparison, I felt it was worth pointing out that the operating systems are not really comparable. (Interestingly enough, this comment, which appears to take into account the differences between home users and more advanced users, frequently came from the same readers who didn’t seem to understand how those differences affected other aspects of the comparison—included software, ease of setup, upgrade expectations, etc.)

Upgrading is much easier on the Dell thanks to the PCI slots; you gave this feature short shrift If we weren’t talking about budget-priced home computers—i.e., if we were talking about machines likely to be used by more advanced users—I would completely agree. But as I said in the article, and I still contend, most people in the market for these computers will never take advantage of those PCI slots. Heck, most of my Windows “power user” friends have never used any of their PCI slots. In these days of ubiquitous USB and FireWire peripherals, “PCI expandability” is an overhyped computer feature for your typical home user. (Several readers commented that at least they could upgrade the Dell to a better video card; unfortunately, the Dell doesn’t include an AGP slot, so you’re stuck with either the integrated video or a PCI video card, which isn’t going to give you much of an improvement.)

Upgrading RAM is easier on the Dell. Although most people buying these systems probably won’t upgrade the RAM—even though they should, in my opinion—this is a fair point. Upgrading the RAM on a Mac mini isn’t a trivial task.

FireWire isn’t a big deal to Windows users; we have USB2.0 If you have a DV camcorder, FireWire is often a big deal, even for Windows users. FireWire also has advantages over USB2.0. (Granted, some of them, like Target Disk Mode, aren’t even possible on a Windows PC.) Since I was comparing what you get for the money with these systems, it was fair to point out that the Mac mini comes with FireWire but the Dell doesn’t. Nevertheless, this is a $10 point, since, as I mentioned in the article, you can use one of those otherwise unnecessary PCI slots in the Dell to install a FireWire card.

You don’t have to pay $69 for antivirus software; you can download and [install/compile] the [free/open-source] XYZ Repeat after me: Target market. Target market. Target market. I could easily download and install one of the many free antivirus products out there, a few of which are excellent. But none of my neighbors or close relatives could. Most home users are either going to buy their antivirus software with their computer, or go to CompUSA and pick up the first box of Norton AntiVirus or Internet Security they see.

The Dell has 6 USB ports as compared to two for the Mac mini True, as I finally found by digging around the Dell website. Note to Dell: Make it easier to see the detailed specs on your computers. (As a side discussion, how many USB buses does the Dell have? I couldn’t find this info on the Dell site, nor could I get an answer from Dell’s press office, but I’d bet money that it’s one or two. If so, it means that the only difference between the Mac mini and the Dell is that the Dell comes with a built-in, inexpensive USB hub—they have the same number of USB buses. This is an important point because the way USB2.0 works, if you stick a few low-speed devices on your USB2.0 bus, it can slow down the other devices on that bus, so you’re not going to get the theoretical “fast” speeds of USB2.0. This is where FireWire comes in handy: You can use FireWire for all your external hard drives, iPods, optical drives—all the things that take advantage of higher bandwidth—and leave your USB ports for low-bandwidth peripherals like mice, keyboards, printer, etc.)

Instead of stripping the Dell of its keyboard, mouse, and display, you should have added those to the Mac mini I credited the Dell $65 for these items based on Dell’s own credit amounts. I did some shopping here in the Bay Area last week and easily found a 17” CRT and USB keyboard and mouse for a total of $75. In other words, the resulting diffence in price between stripping these items from the Dell and adding them to the Mac mini wasn’t significant, so stripping them from the Dell made the comparison simpler.

But I could build a computer from scratch that would blow away that Dell and the Mac mini! So could I. But most people in the market for a $500 home computer couldn’t (or wouldn’t if they could); they just want a system to take home, plug in, and start using. (Plus these custom-built-for-cheap systems lack the software that users will need to actually do anything. That costs money, too, you know.)

Instead of spending $50 for DVD/CDRW functionality from Dell, you could spend $x on a bare drive and upgrade the Dell yourself. See the previous point.

You didn’t give the Mac mini’s superior software bundle enough value/attention I agree, and in fact I’ll be writing another column on this issue. However, for the purposes of the original article, I tried to focus as much on tangible, objective comparisons as possible. (See above: Some pro-Dell readers were upset that I even mentioned software!)

Form Factor, Part I: You didn’t emphasize the Mac mini’s form factor enough; it’s so much smaller! Again, this is one of those intangibles that I didn’t want to distract from the meat of the article. But for the record, the Mac mini is 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches and weighs 3 pounds; the Dell is 14.5 x 7.25 x 16.75 inches and weighs 23 pounds. In other words, the Dell is 21 times bigger and weighs almost 8 times as much as the Mac mini. Readers can come to their own conclusions as to whether or not size matters.

Form Factor, Part II: You shouldn’t have compared the Mac mini to a Dell; you should have compared it to a comparably small Windows PC—they’re more expensive Unfortunately, such a comparison wouldn’t be fair to the Windows side for three reasons: (1) To get a Windows PC the size of the Mac mini, you’d end up paying significantly more money than the cost of the Dell 2400; (2) No brand-name computer vendor sells a similarly-sized computer—you’d most likely have to assemble it yourself (see above about how realistic this is); and (3) I don’t think a computer’s size is the average home computer buyer’s primary consideration. If they find a computer in their price range that does what they need and it happens to also be very small, great; but few people buying a computer on a budget are going to be picky about size. (Caveat: I could be completely wrong about this; maybe people on a budget do consider small size a primary factor but they just couldn't afford to shop for it until now.)

You didn’t emphasize the Mac mini’s lower noise level enough; it’s much quieter See above about intangibles; however, after using a Mac mini next to my own Dell, I can tell you that, on average, the mini is significantly quieter than a Dell tower.

You didn’t emphasize the Mac mini’s lower energy consumption enough; it’s cheaper to run True, and over time this may result in actual monetary savings. According to their manufacturers, the Mac mini uses a maximum of 85 Watts, whereas the Dell 2400 uses a maximum of 200 or 250 Watts (depending on where you look on the Dell site). According to systemshootouts.org, the cost of operating a mini should add up to around $14 per year as compared to around $40 per year for the Dell. I don’t know if these estimates are accurate, but even if the figures are off a bit, it’s obvious that the Mac mini is going to use less electricity; over the lifespan of the computer, it will save you some money in electricity as compared to a tower model.

My Windows computer wastes far too much of my time dealing with viruses/spyware/malware; the fact that the Mac has no known viruses or spyware is worth a lot to me Also intangible, but you said it, brother. Amen. Peace of mind and less time spent on this stuff are worth something to me, too.

You didn’t mention all of the Mac mini’s video capabilities OK, here you go: The Mac mini supports DVI and VGA out of the box, and with a $19 adapter also supports S-Video and composite video, letting you hook it up to any television. For those in the market for a second computer or who are thinking of using the Mac mini in a media center, this may be a benefit, but I don't think it’s a major selling point for most people in the market for a budget PC so I didn’t include it in the original article.

Apple ships for free; Dell doesn’t To be fair, Dell often has free shipping deals. On the other hand, if you don’t catch one of those sales, you’re going to spend a good chunk of change on shipping.

Mac OS X is better/easier to use/more stable/etc. than Windows XP; that’s an advantage for the Mac mini You don’t have to convince us of that, but in the interest of fairness to the Dell (and Windows users who may disagree) I didn’t want to focus on this issue other than to mention a few related benefits, such as the lack of viruses.

On the whole, I found that many of the “pro-Dell” comments seemed to be searching for “advantages” that I don’t think pan out for the target market of home users (e.g., PCI expandibility, an extra CD-ROM drive) or looking for ways to make the Dell a few bucks cheaper, while ignoring features—standard hardware, included software, a complete lack of viruses and spyware, etc.—that have actual value to most home users. (This is one of my criticisms of Windows pundits who don’t seem to understand the difference between home users and computer geeks.) Since my point was never to proclaim that the Mac mini is, without exception, cheaper than comparable Windows PCs, even taken as a whole these quibbles didn’t do much to disprove my conclusion. People can debate about this spec or that spec, or over a few bucks here or there, but when you look at the systems as a whole—hardware, software, etc.—it’s obvious that Apple is now playing in the same “budget computer” sandbox as the Dells of the computing world.

Most of the “pro-Mac mini” comments, on the other hand, focused on intangibles—things that aren’t easily quantifiable but that nonetheless make the computing experience more enjoyable or productive. They also focused on software—the fact that I didn’t spend a significant chunk of the article talking about the Mac mini’s softare bundle was the most common criticism from this camp. I didn't spend much time on these issues in the original article because they're difficult to compare objectively, but I agree that they’re part of what makes the Mac mini—or any Mac, for that matter—attractive.

As a final point, it should be said that no comparison is going to be perfect for everyone—context matters. I focused on the typical home user looking for a budget computer—the target market for these machines—and tried to perform a fair comparison in that context. A comparison done with more advanced users in mind would have come to very different, and still valid, conclusions. Readers should keep that in mind when composing their letters to the editor. ;-)

I don't know much about the Mini but it was made even cheaper to upgrade this last week. I have a Powermac G5 and that was my first mac ever. im glad i switched. My roomate has windows XP and his computer gets viruses he has to update it practically daily due to all teh security threats and what not.

I have never had any problems like that, no computer freezes, no office crashes, no nothing. Office is even better on mac, Microsoft even admits it. Too me its really stupid to go with a wintel machine unless of course you just cant afford a Mac. But in reality you get what you pay for with computers. If you buy cheap you get a crappy computer (At least with wintels).

Granted, some of them, like Target Disk Mode, aren’t even possible on a Windows PC.

Who cares? XP supports IP-over-Firewire out of the box - why would I want to slave one computer to another when I can set up a peer-to-peer network that's just as fast?

Oh, wait - I know. The box that implements Target Disk Mode comes with a fruit on it, so therefore it's automatically the best thing ever invented....

Man this guy went through a lot of work to disprove something that any reasonable person knows is true.

For $350, you get the complete Dell that does everything you want is complete and works for the average home user.

For $400, you get the mini-Mac that is incomplete but looks cool.

This was a minor improvement that the Mac guys will be telling us to replace in a year because the next greatest thing has arrived.

I dont think its really intended to compete against those cheap Wal-mart and dell computers. Its more so that wintel users can move to mac at a much cheaper price.

The Mac mini vs other cheap computers is really just something said by the misinformed and those who continue to show apple in a bad light. The reality is just that its a cheaper no frills mac.

Who cares? XP supports IP-over-Firewire out of the box - why would I want to slave one computer to another when I can set up a peer-to-peer network that's just as fast?

Oh, wait - I know. The box that implements Target Disk Mode comes with a fruit on it, so therefore it's automatically the best thing ever invented....

Actually there is a real reason for doing this and it is not intended for permanently slaving one computer to another. It is very useful however for temporarily slaving one computer to another.

For instance, my wife upgraded her computer and I "inherited" her Powerbook, which is about a year newer & somewhat faster than my old Powerbook.

Target disk allowed me to wipe her computer, and then "clone" everything from my old computer to her newer one. And I mean everything OS, applications, data and permissions. An hour after I started I had a newer, faster computer with more disk space & a faster processor, but which had all my applications, registrations, data, etc. in exactly the same places as my old one. Just pick it up & start using it.

Go ahead, try that with a Windows machine.

The only way to do anything like it is to do a clean OS install, l find all of your original application disks, install & then upgrade them, and them transfer your data over. Sure, I know how to do it, but it would take over a day, if I could find all of my original application disks. Yours may all be in a neat stack somewhere, but most of us have them in obscure places around the house.

That is the last time I will use Target Disk mode for the next year, but saving a tedious day of my time is worth quite a bit to me.

I picked up an older model (ADB, the mid-80s to late-90s Mac keyboard/mouse connection standard) KVM box, for an arcane purpose, on (I think) eBay. Used. Works fine. The arcane purpose is to try hooking an optical mouse to an Apple IIgs, which actually was the first Apple model to use ADB.

OTOH, for the cash you may be better off just getting reasonably priced USB keyboards and mice. I see your point though -- just switch the kb/m as needed.

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