[HotDog]

I've probably had over a dozen Mini 9s and 10s over the last couple of years. It was a good run and I loved them all. I'd convert them to OSX for the kids and friends, and can't say a bad thing about them, really. I have one remaining Mini 9 that has been thrashing around in the trunk of my car that works great running OSX 10.6.7. I was thinking about selling it, or maybe not; it was hard to contemplate parting with my remaining Mini.

As the semester kicked back off for the Spring, I noticed I was having some problems with my Intel Mac Mini 2CD; I use it for a web server to run all of my academic classes, plus the grading program for the classes, streaming videos through Blackboard for student self-paced instruction, as well as run a webcam that snaps a pix inside my office every 60 seconds (so folks will know whether to call or drop in). The Mac Mini appears to have a memory leak or the like, because it will run the web server and camera for two or three days, then freeze-up.

I decided to pull that lowly Mini 9 out of the trunk of my car and press it into service as a temporary web server while I diagnosed my Mac Mini. Files were transferred to the Mini, I booted it up and hooked it to my static IP line, and, voila! Off it went without a hitch. I found the Mini 9 to do a great job of serving files and meeting all of my academic demands, including running the webcam. It has been running for about a month now, without even a hiccup. Additionally, it runs nice and cool, and I have no complaints.

The Mac Mini hasn't been opened yet, and with the way the Mini 9 is performing, I think I'll pass on diagnosing the Mac. I like the way it all runs, and I'm extremely pleased with how this little computer serves files with such ease. I think my last Mini 9 has found its last, and permanent, role in life.

[michaelcly]

That's a great story. Does your webcam just take snapshots? The built in cam on mine is really herky-jerky. Sometime's it's like that watching youtube videos too. Although Front Row is smooth as silk. I've seen threads about getting a smoother stream... think I'll investigate.