hello future, it’s about time

For some time now I’ve lusted after a Mac Mini.  I’ve wanted one to use as a media center.  I was just about to pull the trigger and get one last month when Sara and I got hit with a larger than expected tax bill.  I had been saving money to spend on a Mac Mini, but after giving Uncle Sam a big chunk of change it felt irresponsible to drop the cash on something I didn’t need.

Fortune smiled on me earlier this week, though, when my friend BC emailed me to say he’d heard I was in the market for a Mac Mini and he just happened to have one he was about to put on eBay.  He sold it to me for a song!  It was so cheap in fact that I was able to buy all the necessary accouterments to make the whole thing work - and still not spend as much as I would have on a new one!

So here’s my current setup:

A 37” high-def LCD TV, a motorolla cable box/DVR, a iLive sound bar, a Nintendo Wii, and the new Mac Mini media center.  It’s not like any of it is top of the line, but it gets the job done for me.

The Mac Mini, pictured above, is attached via firewire to a 1 terrabyte external hard drive that holds all my music, digital movies, and pictures.  Most of the time I plan on using Front Row as my main media player.

The mini is controlled via this awesome wireless keyboard and mouse.  With these in place we can also use our TV to surf the web and access sites like  Hulu and Netflix.  The newer minis are bluetooth enabled.  Mine is an older version so I had to equip it with a USB powered bluetooth dongle.  It’s extremely tiny, though.  The actual USB plug is longer than the dongle itself.

Finally, the whole deal is turned off and on by this Logitech remote that Sara got me for my birthday.

Like I said above, there’s lots nicer equipment out there, but this setup is clean and functional and a step in a direction I’ve wanted to go for some time now.  If you read this, thanks again BC!