[X4U] Mac MIni?

[Zane H. Healy]

> Right. Well, I am eager to see what serious new upgrading of the Mini  
> which I read of turns out to be. Maybe RAM capacity will get a boost?

I really hope so, I could just about live within a slightly more sensible
4GB of RAM.  My G5 2x2 has 5.5GB.

> I am not familiar with Aperture (I know OF it..) but the app I use  
> which really sucks down the juice is Lightwave...I can, with a few  
> lights and shadows, glass, refraction, etc., create 3D scenes which  
> are almost painful to work with. As a consequence, I work mostly in  
> wireframe mode, but in Lightwave uses Open GL to preview things like  
> textures, lights, and shadows...
> 
> How do such Open GL demands compare with those of Aperture?

I'm honestly not sure, but from what I've heard about Aperture, and seen in
its requirements, Aperture is probably worse.  My G5 2x2 with a stock video
card doesn't meet the requirements!  Quite honestly Aperture looks to be a
crippled piece of software designed to sell better Mac's.  I bought Adobe
Lightroom, and while it is slow to bring up new pictures initially, overall
it performs very well.  I shoot 12.2MP RAW digital photo's, so each one is
about 20MB.

> Side note: I have developed a number of behaviours along the lines of  
> working "smart" to compensate for lack of raw computer power, but  
> there are some times when a little more power would be truly helpful.

I've developed a number of behaviors designed to save time, which is why I
need so much RAM most of the time.  In the past I needed that RAM just to
handle my iPhoto library.  But that was resolved a couple versions ago. 
Now iPhoto is simply to slow to use, but isn't memory bound.

Zane