Before I could embark on this "Journey of Discovery" I first needed to get myself the necessary Apple hardware.
I set out to the Apple Store Bellevue Square and proceeded to browse for what I needed. First on my wish list was the Mac Mini. I have always wanted one from the day it shipped. I used to have a G4 Mac Cube many years back, and the Mac Mini is really just an evolution on the Mac Cube.
The machine I wanted was the "super mini", 512MB of RAM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and a Super Drive. Except that I wanted 1GB of RAM. Apple's store only stock standard configurations, and the standard for the mini is to have 512MB of RAM. I asked a "Mac Genius" if I could easily upgrade the memory of the Mac mini myself. The answer I got was: "yes, of course, it is very easy!" Great, I will take one then, and the extra memory to upgrade it to 1GB. Out he came with a mac Mini box, and a 512MB RAM module! I pay the bill, and I am off with a Mac mini for my office!
I get to the office, open up the box, and look for a quick and easy way to upgrade the memory to 1GB. Surprise! It is not easy. In fact, it is not even recommended for end-users to do it. What's worse? I can't just add a 512MB module. The mini only has 1 memory slot, I have to throw away the existing 512MB stick and replace it with a new 1GB stick. Hummm. Why did the "genius" at the Apple store tell me that it was easy to upgrade, and why did he sell me a 512MB RAM stick?
Back I go to the Apple store to return the memory. In the end, I decided to try out the Mac mini with just 512MB and see how well it works.
I am still within my 2 weeks return period, maybe I should return the Mac mini and order a custom build 1GB version directly from Apple online.
Do you think I need to upgrade my Mac mini to 1GB? Here is what I have left when running Mail, Safari, Dashboard, Adium IM, and Skype -- a whopping 6.34MB available!
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