Making use of a second computer

Zack Maxwell

A while ago I got a Mac mini for uploading iOS apps to iTunes, but I don't feel like I'm getting nearly as much use out of it as I could.
The piece of crap only has netbook-grade hardware, but I'm sure there's some way that an extra computer could benefit one's work.
Does anyone have any ideas?
At first I thought I might use it to manage all of my social media, helping to build a following and advertise my assets. Social media management software turned out to be stupidly expensive though, so I'm second-guessing that option.

Ashervisalis

If you're looking into social media management, have you tried Hootsuite? My friend just got a job working for them and raves about it all the time.

As for the second computer... I'm thinking multiple computers are almost pointless these days. If you've already got 2 monitors hooked up, there's no point in having a second computer

pior

 Why not selling it - Macs hold their value for a while don't they ?

Zack Maxwell

Ashervisalis said:

If you're looking into social media management, have you tried Hootsuite? My friend just got a job working for them and raves about it all the time.

They doubled the price this year. To make that kind of investment, I'd have to be confident that I would actually turn a profit from it.

I suppose I can test it out with the one month trial.
-Edit- Ha! When I checked it last night, the free version was gone. It seems to be back again though, so I'll jump on that. Cost might no longer be an issue

Zack Maxwell

pior said:

 Why not selling it - Macs hold their value for a while don't they ?

I'm pretty reluctant to do that. I'm not working on any iOS apps at the moment, but if I do in the future I would still need it.

More importantly, it would be pretty difficult to sell it. Amazon has seriously gone downhill, and I haven't had any good experiences selling with it recently. And eBay added an upfront fee of like 15% a while back, that you pay whether it sells are not. With the Mac Mini, that'd be around $90 just to list it.

pior

Indeed, not really worth selling then ! Well, you'll probably find a use for it eventually. I still have my 2009 15inch Macbook, probably of similar specs and it does come in handy from time to time, mostly for light browsing. I suppose an old Mini could be okay as a retro emulation box ...

Joopson

I have a second computer that I use for something really neat-- collecting dust.

On another note, can you really only publish iOS apps using an apple computer?

Zack Maxwell

Joopson said:

I have a second computer that I use for something really neat-- collecting dust.

On another note, can you really only publish iOS apps using an apple computer?

Yep. They have some pretty draconian policies in general. Shopping apps are basically no longer a thing on iOS for example, because any sales made through it would have to pay a royalty to Apple. You can only browse

Semi

Well if youre into that, you could use it for mining, althought I'm not quite sure it would be profitable. Other than that, you could use it as additionnal storage I guess? 

throttlekitty

lol mining on a netbook.

You could use it as a basic server in your home to manage or sync external storage/backups or be your media player or something. Some people get crazy into having smarthome connectivity, but that seems like a lot of work and you'd need extra hardware for that anyway.

Eric Chadwick

Have a couple kids, they love extra computers. Minecraft. etc.

Zack Maxwell

Eric Chadwick said:

Have a couple kids, they love extra computers. Minecraft. etc.

I don't think it could handle minecraft. It chugs just trying to open Finder

throttlekitty

Grimwolf said:

Eric Chadwick said:

Have a couple kids, they love extra computers. Minecraft. etc.

I don't think it could handle minecraft. It chugs just trying to open Finder

turn it into a wicked beer bong!1

EarthQuake

Grimwolf said:

pior said:

 Why not selling it - Macs hold their value for a while don't they ?

I'm pretty reluctant to do that. I'm not working on any iOS apps at the moment, but if I do in the future I would still need it.

More importantly, it would be pretty difficult to sell it. Amazon has seriously gone downhill, and I haven't had any good experiences selling with it recently. And eBay added an upfront fee of like 15% a while back, that you pay whether it sells are not. With the Mac Mini, that'd be around $90 just to list it.

I would second selling it, if you're not getting any use of it, get rid of it while it still has some resale value. eBay does *not* charge a 15% fee if the item is not sold, I'm not sure where you heard that from. There is an insertation fee that you are charged even if your item doesn't sell, but this is generally less than a dollar, and eBay is almost always running a promotion where the insertation fee is waived.

You can calculate the fee for sold items here: http://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator

Zack Maxwell

EarthQuake said:

Grimwolf said:

pior said:

 Why not selling it - Macs hold their value for a while don't they ?

I'm pretty reluctant to do that. I'm not working on any iOS apps at the moment, but if I do in the future I would still need it.

More importantly, it would be pretty difficult to sell it. Amazon has seriously gone downhill, and I haven't had any good experiences selling with it recently. And eBay added an upfront fee of like 15% a while back, that you pay whether it sells are not. With the Mac Mini, that'd be around $90 just to list it.

I would second selling it, if you're not getting any use of it, get rid of it while it still has some resale value. eBay does *not* charge a 15% fee if the item is not sold, I'm not sure where you heard that from. There is an insertation fee that you are charged even if your item doesn't sell, but this is generally less than a dollar, and eBay is almost always running a promotion where the insertation fee is waived.

You can calculate the fee for sold items here: http://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator

You're right, it looks like I'd only be charged ~$25, if it sells. Ebaying the thing does look like a good option.