So I am taking a break at the gym and this guy comes up to me and asks me how much I payed for my Ipod. I say i dont know some girl gave it to me. He then tells me that he works for a moving company and that he was moving somebody he knew and that they gave him an apple mini for free as like a tip or something. To make a long story short, he says it is brand new, but he doesnt have the box or the remote for it. He wanted to know if I thought he could take it back to the apple store and get store credit for it so that he could get an Ipod. I said no but that I might be interested in it. He said he wants 300 for it. He is supposed to meet me at the gym with it. I figure I'll check it out and if it is legit i'll give him 200 because there is no remote. I think I'm gonna tell him that I'm gonna call apple and give them the serial number to find out what model it is and all that b/c this guy doesnt know anything about computers. This way I should be able to find out if it is stolen or not. So my question is... Does anybody know if this thing will work without the remote? Can I buy the remote for it?

I'm looking at an ACER AL1916ASD LCD monitor new for $185 off of craigslist. Sounds like a good deal. Anybody have any suggestions?

Also, Im buying a Hitachi 42 inch plasma when i move in July. Will i be able to connect the mini to it?

And lastly, this is probably the most important question. What components should I make sure that I get with this computer? What cords, install CD's, etc.? so that I know this thing is gonna work.

This sounds too good to be true so it prolly is, but u never know. The seller seems very uneducated and works for a moving company so he is prolly eager to get some money for this thing. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

the mini is a low-end mac designed for people on a budget to junk that aging pc without the guilt of over-extending their wallet. it's designed for basic internet surfing, basic word processing, and basic multi-media (burning CDs, iPhoto, iTunes, watching QuickTime movies/ DVD's etc.). (did i mention, basic?)

it's a decent, useable low end, mac. and, nothing more.

it will support a usb keyboard/ mouse, analog & digital video, cabled/ wireless networking, and possibly firewire if it's an older model. (the new ones no longer have firewire.) it has a slow hard drive, a low-end (non-upgradeable) video card that will most likely not support your 42" plasma screen at any desirable resolution, it will not be able to run any of the latest PC games (quake 4, doom 3) that require a lot of 3-d performance, and it will rip mp3's noticeably slower than any other mac on the market.

if u can find out what the specs are that would probably help. but, if it's in perfect condition and 1GHz or faster, then $200 is a really good deal. the mac mini is basically a small, cool-looking, and very useable computer for anything but high-end stuff.

hope this helps.

p.s. the remote is not required to operate it. you'll just need to supply a usb keyboard, mouse, and a monitor.

Use it as a car pc... it's good for nothing else.

well my computer needs are very basic. music, pictures and internet mostly. i'm not into gaming. i had last years powerbook g4 but it was stolen. I love mac and this seems to be a cheap way to get away from the pc that i have been forced to use. Thanks for the info.

They make games for macs?!?!?!?! :)

I had an imac a few years back (when they had those flower head things)... It was a nice change of scenery.

If it had a remote to begin with then it is an Intel-based Mac mini. I would check on the box to determine that. $300 still isn't too bad a deal even if it is not.

I have the dual-core mac mini with 2gb of ram and use it daily as my personal machine. It was an experiment of mine to see if I could get away from the Windows systems that I have grown to hate. It'll suit you just fine for your photos and music needs. If it is an intel-based mac mini you'll enjoy the new iLife suite apps. I like mine so much that a MacBook Pro is in my near future for sure.

I believe there should be 2 mac CDs, a DVI-VGA convertor connector, 2 cables for the power cord and that's it. Oh...and most importantly, 2 Apple stickers. :)

Hopefully it works out for you. Enjoy it.

F me. This jerkoff never showed up!! I was supposed to meet him at the gym around 1. I go from 1-3 and he isnt there. What a moron.

well, u could try contacting him again and follow-up. $2 or $300 is a good price if it's in working condition. and, jeven if u don't buy it from him, the mac mini is still a good choice for the reasons stated in the earlier posts.

the biggest selling point for macs really isn't the hardware, per say. yes, they look cool. but, what's really cool about them is the software and the user interface. they are designed to be simple, elegant, and fun to use. iLife is a suite of software that, once u start using, u begin wondering how the heck u ever got by without them.

hope u track that guy down and get to close the deal...

Detrich you should be working for Apple.

Hello, I'm a mac.

Well the kid showed up at like 4:30 with the computer, but I wasnt there. So I have been going to the gym everyday and hoping he shows. I've been playing basketball for like 3 hours a day and now i have shin splints, but there has been no sign of this knucklehead. But, I think he still has it and wants to sell it. Maybe i'll catch him this weekend.

I gotta say it sounds a little fishy to me....

got it. 1.66ghz intel, 1 gb/100gb. Gave the guy 250. I wanna get a mac screen but cant seem to justify spending the money.

its worth it ;)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002ILKWM.01-A1NDBS7YGOPBD6.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

awesome. this Indian dude was selling the new 23 inch on craigslist for 1200. I emailed the guy and he called me like 5 times while i was sleeping. I think I'll lowball him wit 700 like all those guys on craigslist do. Ever try to sell something on craigslist? You get about a million guys from pakistan calling you offering like 20% of asking price.