AdventuresInMacOS

Ok, I’m really gonna have to stop putting exclamation marks in my post titles..

But this time, I really couldn’t help it… the Mac Mini has arrived!! How excited am I? So excited, I haven’t done any work all day! Well, I did a bit this morning, but as soon as the Mac arrived, there was no chance.

I unpacked it immediately. There’s hardly anything in the box…

…the Mac Mini, the power transformer, a plug, a DVI/VGA adaptor, Apple Remote for using Front Row, a completely useless manual (seriously Apple, save the trees…), and the MacOS X CDs. I immediately reorganised my office, and got the thing setup on an old 17″ CRT monitor…

The setup process is so simple, I decided not to do any videos. Seriously, you don’t need them. Just plug things in the right holes, plug it in and turn it on. Easy peasy!When you switch a Mac on for the first time, it runs through a setup routine to select your country, language, etc and setup wireless networking if necessary. I didn’t want to use wireless (it’s right next to an 8port hub so I’d plugged a cable in) so I selected Ethernet, and everything was setup for me.Once everything was done, it automatically registered itself online, and was ready for playing!The first thing I noticed was that not only had it got me online, but it had already found all the other computers on the network. They were all there, ready to communicate and pull files to and from!

I did a quick check to make sure the extra gig of RAM I’d asked for was present. It was, so I was ready for Parallels (more on that later).

I’ve gotta say, the whole process is so simple. True ‘Plug n Play’. The damn thing even found my wireless network without asking, on first boot. Try getting a PC to do that….

So far I’m well impressed, let’s hope that continues…!