Mac Mini (Almost) Set Up

The Mac Mini arrived today and we have it hooked up to the telly via the amp and all is good.

We now need to rearrange the equipment under the TV and put it on a shelf.  This will enable us to remove some unwanted cables and make things a bit tidier.

Setting up the Mac was so much easier than setting up the PC we used to have, however, it was not without it's annoyances.   Firstly there is a known bug with Boxee and our version of the Mac in that it won't play video, only audio.  This is apparently due to a change that Apple recently made in a software update.  So, Boxee has gone and has been replaced by Plex which does much the same thing (actually it's slightly better as it has more feeds (or Apps as Plex calls them)).  However, Plex doesn't work with Flash 10.1 so I am now installing Flash 10.0 but unfortunately Adobe's archive site is sooooo sloooow.  I think I am beginning to side with Steve Jobs.

The iTunes library came across without any problems and I can now run BBC iPlayer's HD content with out 3 out of every 4 frames dropping, which is cool.

The best thing about the Mac Mini however is that it is so quiet.  The PC's fan could be heard over the TV which was annoying.  Also, it passes through the amp without issue - the PC wouldn't which meant that we had to change the TV input to use it.

So, all in all a productive evening and I will be happy when we have got it on the shelf and tidy.