Perhaps best of all though, you can install apps purchased on the Mac store on all of your authorised machines. You get access to a decent amount of apps, they tend to be a little bit higher in quality than if you just Googled for what sort of thing you need to do, and they are managed centrally. The Mac app store is a solid addition to the platform, it gives access to a good selection of software, and makes it easy to buy. But the thing we will say is that as a home OS, it's everything you need and a very pleasant experience. We've written, at length, about Mountain Lion - and most other releases of OS X for that matter - so we won't go on about it here. There are also headphone, microphone and a full-sized SD card slot. You get Ethernet, for super-fast networking, Firewire, HDMI and a thunderbolt port for Apple monitors, or hard drives and four USB 3 sockets.

If the mini was £100 less, it would have another half star in its score.Ĭonnectivity is good, although everything is located on the back of the computer. For this kind of money, you're almost at MacBook Air prices, and that's a slightly more tempting offer. We would love to see Apple move towards using a mobile nVidia GPU in the Mini, as this would turn it into something that could even be used for gaming, although the Intel Graphics solution does have some gaming ability, it's not as good as a dedicated GPU. There are lots of ways to get your Mac into your TV world, although of course there are some advantages to just getting a cheaper Apple TV and using your Mini to keep your media and be your desktop computer.

The iPhone app means that you don't need a trackpad or keyboard to operate the Mini from your sofa, and third-party apps like Plex deliver HD streaming to your TV with style and beauty. It's also prettier and smaller than almost any Windows-based PC you can buy, and for those corporates that need Windows, it can happily run Microsoft's OS.Īs a media centre, there are all sorts of options. You could use this as your work PC all day, and never struggle with slowdowns or crashes. It really is powerful enough for most computer use. Intel graphics issue aside, we've enjoyed our time with the Mini.

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