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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review April 2, 2009 / 9 Nisan 5769

Apple's new Mac mini a good, basic box

By Mark Kellner

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Steve Ballmer, erstwhile CEO of Microsoft, dropped a little rain on Apple Inc.'s parade a few days ago. Speaking at McGraw-Hill's Media Summit in New York City, Mr. Ballmer opined that Apple was charging an excessive premium for its notebooks: "Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be," is how Computerworld's Seth Weintraub quoted Mr. Ballmer.


Comes now the latest revision of Apple's Mac mini, starting at $599, to partly challenge that notion. The Mini is a barebones desktop computer, a small box, half-a-cube in appearance, which encourages users to "bring your own" keyboard, monitor and mouse. Apple will sell each of those items, if you desire, but the idea is to get "switchers" to shuffle the PC off to recycling and replace it with Apple's hardware and the Mac operating system, or OS.


And it's the OS where both Microsoft and Apple are focused, make no mistake. If the Jesuit's claim is true: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man," then there's probably a tech corollary. Give someone enough time with an operating system and they're a customer for life. Or at least that's the hope.


The Mini is an Intel-based hardware box that runs the Mac OS X, and does so quite nicely. It's compact, as noted; it's compatible with all sorts of displays, and it plays well with assorted printers and peripherals. It's a good, basic computer, and I can recommend it highly in this regard, both for home users and even in some business applications.


Setup is a breeze: take the unit out of the box, plug in the external power pack, connect the monitor using a supplied adapter, connect the keyboard and mouse, press the power switch and go.


The operating system setup is very quick and easy, and I found it a breeze to transfer data and settings from another Mac to use here. Within a very short period of time, I was ready to go and worked as seamlessly on the Mac mini as I did on my regular notebook.


The computer now ships with 2 Gigabytes of RAM as standard, and that's a very good thing. Also standard is a "SuperDrive" optical drive capable of reading and writing DVD discs as well as CDs, and that's another plus. The DVD media lets you store more data on a single disc, making it good for backing up, say, a digital music library or a small photo gallery.


My test unit came with a 320 Gbyte hard disc drive, more than double the 120 Gbytes of the base model. That ups the price to $799, and might be worth it for those who do a lot of work in design or photos or even (short) film editing and want the extra storage. For some users, the 120 Gbyte model should be fine. I do wish the "premium" for the larger-storage version were a bit less, however.


In operation, the Mini is exceptionally quiet, since keeping the power pack separate eliminates the need for a noisy fan. Its performance is fast, both from the dual-core Intel processor and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, the latter having been amped up for this version. Cut down is power consumption: Apple claims the Mini uses 45-percent less electricity than the previous model, making is a very green computer.


My only performance hiccup was in terms of networking: the Mini didn't like my office's Ethernet network cable. It would "talk," via Ethernet, from its port to my MacBook Pro, but not over the wired local-area network. Fortunately, we also have a Wi-Fi network here, and the Mini had no problems communicating that way. I could even access network storage drives and files wirelessly.


If you don't have to tote your computer around, and want to save a fair amount of cash, the Mac mini is a good way to start. Mr. Ballmer might not like it, but you'll get an OS, and a computer, that won't give you some of the pains Windows has presented over the years.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.

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