[...]... to start and what to expect, and get a glimpse of the range of hacking possibilities You will also discover the most basic mods for the mini: plugging hardware into it for fun and productivity and for standard functionality and expanded horizons I also show you how you can take the mini on the road with you Chapter 1 Modding a Mac mini: An Overview In This Chapter ᮣ Discovering hacks and mods ᮣ Knowing... .193 A Day in the Life of the Kitchen mini 193 Part V: Modding Your Car for the Mac mini 195 Chapter 12: Planning a Mac mini Car Mod 197 What’s It Good For? Absolutely Everything! 197 Mini as a car stereo 198 Playing movies for the kids .198 Driving directions .199 xi xii Mac mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies Taking (or listening to) a memo... your Mac mini starts acting sick and needs some help How This Book Is Organized Mac mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies is split into seven parts, with a troubleshooting appendix tacked on at the end You don’t have to read the book sequentially, and you don’t even have to read all the sections in any particular chapter You can use the table of contents and the index to find the information you need and quickly... fun, or to go where no Mac has gone before, at least in your experience as a Mac user Or maybe you’re a veteran Windows user switching to your first Mac and want to know what you can do with it inside and out Perhaps you don’t have a mini yet, but you think the minis are cool and you’re looking for a reason to justify augmenting the Mac you already have 10 Part I: Owning a Mac mini Don’t worry if you... installing a Mac mini in your car He also tackled the chapter on kitchens and the chapter at the end of the book that lists ten more things you can do with a mini 2 Mac mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies Foolish Assumptions Unlike some other computer books, you won’t find much filler here — no lectures on what’s in the print dialog and no dissertations on obscure features that have no bearing on the task at hand... open up the mini to new uses just as changes to hardware can Then there are hacks, which usually describe unusual techniques for changing software for good or for ill I only talk about the good here Like the authorities facing an armada of mod-carrying scooters, some of the designers at Apple may cringe at the kind of mods and hacks you can do with and to your Mac mini There’s your attitude for you Why... buying the basic Mac mini and adding some extras or options yourself For instance: 11 12 Part I: Owning a Mac mini ߜ RAM: Depending on when you bought your Mac mini, you either have 256MB, 512MB, or 1GB When you order a Mac mini, Apple offers to up your RAM memory from the basic configuration for a fee It may seem tempting until you find out that you can find an upgrade RAM module for at least $15... and how to convert between different types of connectors, as well as how to do some rather unusual things with the ports I round off this trio of chapters with tips on how to take your mini on the road Part II: Cracking Open the mini Turn the mini around in your hands, and the question comes to mind “Where are the screws?” Well, you won’t find any Opening the Mac mini isn’t something 3 4 Mac mini Hacks. .. Hacks & Mods For Dummies you can figure out by looking at it That’s why I provide detailed instructions with photos, and I tell you exactly what tools work best Don’t let the title of Chapter 5 fool you “First Mods Inside the Mac mini includes hands-on instructions to help you begin disassembling the guts of the mini Part III: Upgrading the mini Yourself This is where I debunk the myth that the mini. .. Frame 337 Treffpunkt 338 Bar Punkt .339 xv xvi Mac mini Hacks & Mods For Dummies Appendix: Keeping the Mac mini Running Smoothly 341 Troubleshooting Problems 342 Troubleshooting Prefs and Other System Files: Fixing Spinning Beach Balls and Other Maladies 342 Identifying and locating preferences files .343 Troubleshooting problem preferences files . x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Mac ® mini Hacks & Mods FOR DUMmIES ‰ by John Rizzo with Arnold Reinhold 01_749001 ffirs.qxp 12/14/05 8:14 PM Page i Mac ® mini Hacks & Mods FOR DUMmIES ‰ by John Rizzo with. in every major Mac magazine, including Macworld, MacAddict, MacHome, and the no-longer-published MacWeek and MacUser. From 1988 to 1995, he was a staff editor and columnist for MacUser magazine Owning a Mac mini 3 Part II: Cracking Open the mini 4 Part III: Upgrading the mini Yourself 4 Part IV: Mods for the Home 4 Part V: Modding Your Car for the Mac mini 4 Part VI: Maxi mini Mods 4 Part