Mac Mini Garageband Review

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2. Mac Mini Garageband Review Guide
3. Mac Mini Garageband Review 2017
4. Mac Mini Garageband Review 2016
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Mac mini features the Apple T2 Security Chip — second-generation custom Mac silicon designed by Apple to make Mac mini even more secure. The T2 Security Chip consolidates several controllers into one, and includes a Secure Enclave coprocessor that provides the foundation for encrypted storage and secure boot capabilities. Nov 06, 2018 The Bottom Line. Apple's iconic Mac mini compact desktop delivers more core-processing, storage, and memory potential than ever, in a polished box brimming with cutting-edge connectivity. GarageBand for iPad & iPhone review: Audio Units support Audio Units (AU) plug-ins process audio and are common on the Mac for integrating external instruments and effects into Logic and GarageBand.

The Mac mini is the smallest Macintosh computer Apple have ever produced — in terms of both physical size and of price.Photo: Apple

Apple kicked off a potentially exciting year for their customers at the 2005 Macworld show in San Francisco with a host of new and updated products, including the most affordable Macintosh computer the company has ever brought to market.

The jungle drums were beating louder than usual this year when Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the beginning of January to deliver his keynote speech during the Macworld show in San Francisco. As the rumours had predicted, the presentation was completely orientated towards the consumer market, with Jobs introducing a new iPod and a cheap, headless Mac computer on the hardware front. Turning to software, highlights included a major update to iLife; a new word processing application called Pages, which was combined with an update to the Keynote presentation software to form a new suite called iWork; and Final Cut Express HD, which adds support for 1080i and 720p HDV video formats and now includes a copy of Soundtrack, Apple's loop-based music production tool.

Aside from the aforementioned product announcements, one interesting point in the keynote was Jobs' demonstration of the forthcoming Mac OS X Tiger, including a brief overview of Quicktime 7, which the Apple CEO described as 'the most major update to Quicktime in the last decade'. The Quicktime Player application now supports live window resizing, allowing you to still see the image playing while you resize the Player window, along with the ability to use screen overlay controls when in full-screen mode. Additionally, this application will now include the facility to record simple audio and video clips, with a feature to easily share and email Quicktime content to other people.

In terms of the actual Quicktime technology, Quicktime 7 will bring up to 24-channel support for surround sound, and Jobs stated that the surround audio output will be down-mixed automatically if a user has fewer speakers in their system than the content being played back. The new Quicktime will also be fully MPEG-4 compliant, will offer 1920x1080 24p (24 frames per second progressive scanning) HD video playback, and will include H.264, a high-quality and efficient codec that's easily scalable for playback on anything from 3G mobile phones to HD video systems.

Headless Wonder

Perhaps the biggest pre-show buzz this year concerned the speculation that Apple would introduce a new and cheaper line of Macs, targeting users who might already have a computer (notably Windows iPod customers), but not necessarily a Mac. Jobs didn't disappoint in his keynote, with the announcement of the Mac Mini, a sub-$500 Macintosh computer that the Apple CEO described as BYODKM: Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard and Mouse — since it includes none of these latter three peripherals.

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Mac Mini is just how mini the Mac ends up being, at only two inches high and six-and-a-half inches square. Apple offer two basic models with either a 1.25 or 1.42GHz G4 processor, attractively priced at just £339 and £398.99 — literally the cheapest Mac the company has ever produced. Both models come with 256MB of PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM installed. This is perhaps the only downside to the Mac Mini, since OS X really doesn't run to its full potential with this amount of memory, although the 256MB chip can be removed and replaced with either 512MB or 1GB instead (the Mac Mini only has one memory slot). The new baby Mac features ATI Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of DDR SDRAM and AGP 4X, which supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 (a 23-inch Cinema Display, for example), and offers a Combo drive (a Superdrive is available in build-to-order configurations) plus either a 40GB or 80GB hard drive for the two models respectively. In terms of networking, the Mac Mini has a 10/100 Ethernet port, a 56k modem, and Airport Extreme and Bluetooth available as build-to-order options. For general connectivity, there's a Firewire 400 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a DVI output with an included VGA adapter, and a headphone output.

Although the Mac Mini is indeed the cheapest Mac ever, it doesn't take long to realise that the cost mounts up very quickly once you start building your dream Mac Mini at the Apple Store. By the time you've added more memory, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth, for example, the cost in America was nearly $1200 — double the price of the basic machine you might have started with! Fortunately, though, Apple were quick to respond to the cost criticisms and lowered the prices of the build-to-order options a couple of days after the Mac Mini went on sale. In the US, for example, they reduced the cost of the Bluetooth and Airport Extreme option by $30 and, most significantly, the 1GB upgrade by $150.

As with the iMac, while the Mac Mini is aimed at the consumer market it could still be a good entry-level machine for running, say, Logic Express. But a more interesting potential use for a Mac Mini could be as a Logic node, expanding the processing power available to an existing Mac-based music production set-up. The one problem with this application, though, is that Apple recommend G5-based systems with Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mb/s) as Logic nodes, whereas Mac Mini is obviously powered by a G4 and has Ethernet that operates at a maximum of 100Mb/s. That's not to say it won't work at all, though, and one thing I'm interested to investigate is whether networking the Mac Mini to another Mac via its 400Mb/s Firewire port makes this a viable system. If so, once a Mac Mini is configured to run Logic Node on start-up, it could run as the equivalent of a TC Powercore for hosting extra instances of Logic 's plug-ins. Watch this space.

My own Mac Mini arrived just as I was finishing this column (how could I resist?), a few days after the 22nd January introduction, which is a definite advantage of living in the US. Look out for the full review.

Apple Notes In Brief

• Since I last mentioned the Xserve, in the context of it being a more expensive and less powerful option for running as a Logic Node machine, compared to a dual-2.5GHz Power Mac G5, Apple have speed-bumped the high-end Xserve model to dual-2.3GHz G5 processors with 1.15GHz front-side busses. The Xserve line-up now starts with a single-processor 2GHz model for £2199, a dual-2.3GHz for £2899 and a dual-2.3GHz Cluster Node for £2199. Interestingly, to promote the use of this technology for professional musicians, Apple had a rack of Xserve G5s with an Xserve RAID on display at the 2005 Winter NAMM show in Los Angeles.
• On the eve of this year's Winter NAMM, Apple offered a 7.0.1 maintenance release for the Pro and Express versions of Logic 7 to, as Apple put it, 'enhance reliability and performance'. Amongst the changes, Apple Loops now work correctly at sample rates other than 44.1kHz, importing Recycle files works more consistently, and Acid files transpose correctly in the Loop Browser. There are also small improvements to Track Automation, Control Surfaces, bouncing TDM Tracks, the new Ultrabeat instrument, and general compatibility with Audio Unit plug-ins. The updates can be downloaded from www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/logicproupdate.html and www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/logicexpressupdate.html.
• The only other news from Apple at the NAMM show itself was the announcement that a forthcoming version of Logic Pro would feature the much-requested Buss Latency Compensation feature, which will have a huge impact for anyone using plug-ins with buffers that add a significant latency to an audio channel (for example, those using a Powercore or UAD1). The next version of Logic will also include the ability to import Garageband 2 songs, and any new features introduced in Apple's entry-level music software, such as the new pitch-correction tools.

Back To The Garage

Apple's last major update to the iLife bundle came exactly one year ago, during the 2004 Macworld San Francisco keynote, and this became branded iLife '04. It was, therefore, no surprise that this year Apple introduced iLife '05, including major new versions of all members of the iLife family except for iTunes, which remains at 4.7.1 for now. However, the most interesting application for musicians in iLife '05 is, of course, Garageband 2.

Garageband 2 will be the highlight for musicians in Apple's iLife '05 bundle and now allows multitrack recording, score editing and enhanced tools for correcting the pitch and time of your recorded performances.Photo: Apple

The new version improves on the original application, introduced a year ago, in many areas, and during the keynote Jobs brought singer-songwriter John Mayer on stage to help him with a demonstration. Garageband 2 adds the ability to record on more than one track simultaneously, and you can now carry out a multitrack recording of up to eight tracks at the same time in one pass. The piano-roll-style (or Matrix, in Logic speak) MIDI editor has been complemented by the addition of a music notation editor, which is perhaps no surprise, as this has been one of the Emagic developers' strengths since the days of Notator on the Atari, although it's perhaps a shame Jobs didn't demonstrate the use of the Fix Tempo feature after showing John Mayer's keyboard part being notated in real-time..

There are also new features for enhancing the timing and tuning of the music you record, starting with an inbuilt tuner, although if this doesn't help you get into tune there's also a new Auto-Tune-like facility. Following on from this, it's now possible to change the tempo and key signatures of an audio recording, and you can also save recordings as your own Apple Loops, to be available within Garageband and presumably other supporting applications, such as Logic and Soundtrack.

Apple has also introduced a new Track Lock facility in Garageband 2, which, as the name suggests, locks a track such that you can't make any more changes until it's unlocked again. However, the Track Lock feature also incorporates Logic-like Freeze functionality, so a track is automatically bounced to save on your computer's resources when you activate that track's Lock button. Last, but not least, Garageband can now import MIDI files and ACID-format WAV files.Shuffle your music with the new iPod Shuffle, a flash-based player with a 12-hour battery life, in a box the size of a packet of chewing gum.Photo: Apple

iLife '05 will be included with all new Macs, and the upgrade price for existing Mac users has been raised this year (compared to the previous iLife '04 upgrade) to £49, although I don't think too many people will grumble about this, as it looks like pretty good value for money, all things considered. I decided to buy a Mac Mini and get iLife '05 bundled for free; one of many reasons I'm not an accountant..

One More Thing..

Staying with music, Apple also unveiled the iPod Shuffle, a flash-memory-based music player available with 512MB (£69) or 1GB (£99) memory. The Shuffle is so-called because the Shuffle Play mode on the iPod is apparently one of the popular ways people listen to music (so much for the 'album' format), and since the Shuffle doesn't feature a screen, playing random songs from a playlist is the most appropriate way of using the device.

Unlike previous iPod models, the iPod Shuffle offers a USB connection and is extremely small, at around the size of a packet of chewing gum. Other plus points include the fact that you can allocate a portion of the memory to use for data storage via USB, and a stated 12-hour battery life.

At $499, the Mac mini is the entry-level Mac computer. It's $400 less than the next least expensive system, the MacBook Air. It's a powerful little computer that's very flexible for many different uses, from general-purpose desktop machine to media server to full fledged file server. Let's have a look at the different configurations to make sense of what Apple's offering.

Comparing Mac mini models

All Mac minis look alike: They're 7.7 inches on a side and 1.4 inches tall, and weigh about 2.7 pounds. Like other Macs, Mac minis lack an internal optical drive - one of the reasons they're so short.

All Mac minis also come equipped with the same external features: Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3 ports, audio in and audio out jacks and an SDXC card slot, all on the device's back side.

For $499, you get a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel i5 processor, 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB 5400 RPM hard disk drive. Intel HD Graphics 5000 comes standard.

Apple offers two other standard configurations for the Mac mini. The first, priced at $699, upgrades the Mac mini to 2.6 GHz with 8 GB RAM and 1 TB hard disk drive. The second, priced at $999, bumps the processor to 2.8 GHz and adds a 1 TB Fusion Drive to the mix - a combination of a 128 GB flash drive paired to a 1 TB hard disk drive, to create a fast, big logical volume that combines the best of both worlds.

The latest update to the Mac mini puts it on a level playing field with other newer Mac models: It has 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking, up to three times faster than the older, slower 802.11n standard found on older machines. The Mac mini also supports Bluetooth 4.0.

For software, Mac minis come with the standard suite of apps included on other Macs: OS X Yosemite and all the requisite general-purpose software like Mail, Safari, various and sundry apps and utilities, as well as Apple's iLife suite, iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband, and iWork: Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

Now that we know what the price range is, let's break it down and figure out how to configure your new Mac mini in a way that makes sense.

Apple's gateway drug: Mac mini BYODKM (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse)

Unlike Apple's other desktop computers, the Mac mini doesn't include its own keyboard and mouse. You're certainly welcome to buy one - Apple's own Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad work wonderfully.

You'll also need to supply your own screen. Apple only makes one display: the $999 Thunderbolt Display. Hooking one of those 27-inch behemoths up to a Mac mini is a bit of overkill, but you can attach any commodity monitor to the Mac mini with good results. You just need to use the right Thunderbolt adapter to connect to DVI or VGA (Apple sells them separately). You can also use HDMI directly (also useful if you're using your Mac mini as a media server. More on that in a bit.)

Why, you may ask, doesn't Apple include a keyboard or mouse? It helps keep the cost low, for one thing. But for another, the Mac mini really is Apple's gateway drug for new Mac users. It's the ideal computer to switch from if you have a Windows PC and you don't want to make a big investment in the Mac, but want to see if it's right for you.

With the Mac mini, you simply unplug your existing keyboard, mouse and monitor, then plug them into the Mac mini and keep working. It's a nice way to recycle hardware you've already invested in. When you first turn the computer on, OS X is smart enough to know that a keyboard isn't connected, and it walks you through the process of pairing (if it's Bluetooth) then identifying the kind of keyboard so it knows how the keys work. It'll also try to pair with a Bluetooth mouse if one isn't connected via USB.

Faster processors, better graphics, more memory

All Mac minis now use Intel's fourth-generation Core i5 dual-core processor, but the clock speeds are different: the $499 version runs at 1.4 GHz, the $699 version runs at 2.6 GHz and the $999 model runs at 2.8 GHz.

Obviously the faster the processor, the faster the Mac is going to work, but that's not the only difference between the machines. The low-end Mac mini also sports Intel HD 5000 integrated graphics, while the mid-range and high-end models sport the peppier Intel Iris integrated graphics. No Mac mini is a powerful gaming rig or a spectacular system for graphics processing, but they do have the respective processing and graphics power of the MacBook Air (on the $499 model) and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (for the mid-range and high-end system).

Another key difference between the systems is their on-board memory. Apple will let you configure the Mac mini with up to 16 GB of RAM, but for $499, you get 4 GB. The two higher-end systems come with 8 GB.

Unlike past Mac minis, the 2014 model does not have upgradable memory — it's soldered to the motherboard, and what you get out of the box is what you're stuck with for the life of the Mac. So order accordingly. For general use, 4 GB is adequate, but if you can afford more, more memory will enable you to have more applications and larger files open without slowing the Mac down as much.

What's the right balance for Mac mini storage?

For $499, you get a Mac mini equipped with a 500 GB hard drive. The $699 mid-range model doubles that to 1 TB. The $999 model also comes with a 1 TB drive, but it's a Fusion Drive, mixing both SSD and conventional hard drive storage together, so it's markedly faster than either of the other models. You can add a Fusion Drive to the other models, too, though it'll cost you extra.

De-ess The De-ess audio plug-in and module in iZotope RX 7 attenuates or reduces sibilance, the harsh high-frequency sounds that come from S, F, X, SH, and a soft C. RX 7 includes two modes for handling sibilance: Classic and Spectral. Classic Mode detects sibilants. Izotope rx de ess.

If you prefer, the 2.6 GHz and 2.8 GHz models can be instead configured with pure SSD storage. That'll cost a lot more, depending on capacity, but it's also the fastest way to go.

Mac Mini Garageband Review Free

One change for the 2014 model year is that flash storage — both for Fusion Drives and for pure SSD configurations — is PCI Express (PCIe)-based. PCIe is a lot faster than the SATA bus used by hard drives, so there's an increase in performance. The increase isn't just in read and write times for loading files or applications — you'll see faster boot performance, and less lag if the Mac has to write out data to swap files.

SSDs are very expensive per gigabyte. Hard drives are much less so. Fusion Drives give you the best of both world.s The Fusion Drive combines a 128 GB flash drive with a 1 TB hard disk drive, configured as one logical volume. Frequently-accessed files stay on the flash drive, where they can be read from and, if necessary, written to without delay. Files that aren't needed as frequently are moved to the hard disk drive.

The net result is that you get the performance benefit of SSD and the storage capacity of a conventional drive. It's a very nice compromise for users who are looking for extra performance for their Mac mini.

More than just a desktop: OS X Server vs. media server

Mac Mini Garageband Review Guide

When Apple discontinued the rack-mounted Xserve in 2011 it looked like the company was abandoning the server market all together, but that didn't happen. Instead, the company repurposed the Mac mini as a workgroup server. The net result? They sold them by the truckload. The Mac mini worked great as a server.

In 2014 Apple excised from its standard price list a Mac mini configured as a server. The server software is still available — you can download it for $19.99 from the Mac App Store.

But the new Mac mini isn't available in the same server-ready configuration as its 2012-era forebear was. That machine came equipped with a four-core Intel processor; its mulithreading capabilities made it a good choice for many parallel-processing server functions. The new Mac mini isn't available with a four-core processor anymore.

That server configuration also included two 1 TB internal hard disk drives; the drives could be striped or mirrored as a RAID system. Apple says that's no longer necessary now that the Mac mini supports Thunderbolt 2. And in fairness, there are a few really good Thunderbolt 2-based RAID systems that are ideal for servers.

Still, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and it'll be a little bit before we know just how good the new Mac mini is as a workgroup server.

As a media server, some interesting things have happened in 2014. For one, the mid-range and high-end Mac minis get better graphics support than before: Intel Iris graphics are now standard issue. The Mac mini remains a system with an integrated graphics processor. But Iris graphics are certainly faster than the integrated graphics in the previous model.

Apple used to provide an app called Front Row that would activate a full-screen mode which made it easy to listen to music and watch videos on your computer. It marked one of the first times Apple acknowledged that the Mac had practical applications in the living room as media center.

Front Row hasn't been part of OS X since version 10.7 'Lion' came out in 2011, and Apple's moved a lot of that media center effort into the $99 Apple TV, which has sold very well. But the Apple TV doesn't solve everyone's media server needs, because it's very locked in to the idea of streaming content stored somewhere else.

The Apple TV is great if you've purchased music, movies and TV shows from iTunes (or if you have iTunes Match, songs you've gotten elsewhere too). There are other apps besides, though many of them are dependent on having a subscription to an additional streaming service or cable or satellite television.

Mac Mini Garageband Review 2017

Where does that leave those of us who have acquired movies, television shows and other multimedia content from other services, or have ripped movies and TV shows from DVDs we own? In short, the Apple TV doesn't really help us there.

That's where a Mac mini media server can come in really handy. The built-in HDMI connector makes the Mac mini trivially easy to connect to a flat-screen television. Connect a bluetooth keyboard, and perhaps a pointing device like a mouse or trackpad, and you have the hardware you'll need to serve up whatever content you want.

What's more, the 2014 Mac mini supports, for the first time, 4K video output through HDMI. The 4K video is limited to 24 Hz or 30 Hz, depending on what 4K resolution you choose. That's not fast enough for gaming and isn't even optimal for daily use on the desktop, but if you're using your Mac mini as a media playback system for 4K video, it's fine.

Now, you'll probably want to install an additional third-party app to add some media center-style capabilities. There are a few good ones out there, like Plex, MediaCentral, and XMBC.

Bottom line: the Mac mini isn't a one trick pony. It works terrifically as a desktop machine. But its flexibility also allows it to work very well as a workgroup server, all-around server for a small to medium sized business, or home media server.

Who shouldn't buy the Mac mini?

The Mac mini will never be mistaken for a performance Macintosh. It's designed to be an inexpensive model that balances a low price with the convenience and elegance of a Mac. I'd suggest passing on the Mac mini if you have more intense graphics needs.

If you're planning on playing a lot of hardcore games; if you're planning on rendering video effects using Apple Motion or Adobe After Effects; if you're going to be working with really large graphics files or photographs - anything that's likely to hammer OpenGL and OpenCL technology - you will see improved performance from Macs with discrete graphics processors like most iMac models.

Who should buy the Mac mini?

If you're just getting your feet wet with OS X for the first time and you don't want to outlay a lot of cash for the privilege, the Mac mini is hands down the most affordable way to do it. And if you can recycle a keyboard, mouse and display from your current setup, you'll be able to do it even less expensively.

Even if you're an experienced Mac user, you may find that the Mac mini's small size, MacBook Pro-like system specifications and all-around capabilities suit your needs better than other more expensive systems.

If you're an SMB business owner looking for an inexpensive way to manage file service, system maintenance and other key functions in house, or even a corporate IT pro looking to provide key workgroup server functionality, the Mac mini is a very inexpensive way to do it - especially when you factor in the cost of user licensing in other non-Mac server setups.

The Mac mini is an eminently capable little computer whose size belies its power and flexibility. If you've never gotten your hands on one, I encourage you to stop by an Apple Store or a Mac retailer and check it out - you might be pleasantly surprised.

Still undecided?

Mac Mini Garageband Review 2016

I've given you a lot to chew on here but if you're still having trouble making up your mind about which Mac mini to buy, you might want to stop by our Mac mini discussion forum and take part in our terrific online community. You're also welcome to post questions and comments here.

Mac Mini Garageband Review Free

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