4/30    I'm thinking about getting my mom a mac mini. Right now I've got
        her hooked up on a Celeron in a small form factor, but I think
        Windows is too complicated for her. She's used to Macs from her
        Adult School, so I figure she'd be much more comfortable using
        it. The only thing is that I usually hack the firmware on these
        machines because she likes to watch foreign DVDs. Is it possible
        to do this either through hardware or software on the mac mini?
        I was thinking you could just watch it by compiling one of the
        Linux viewers on it that ignores dvd encoding or perhaps there
        is a similar product like anydvd for it? Also, has anyone
        upgraded the ram manually on these things? What sort of putty
        knife do I need to get?
        \_ Cracking open the machines is fairly easy - I've done it
           once without using the putty knife trick but by bending the
           shell just enough so that the notches don't latch on. I
           forgot how to do it so you'll just have to figure it out.
           As for the DVDs, the ability to play foreign DVDs, I thought,
           was based on the DVD drive itself. They're usually programmed
           to region 1 (U.S.) and if you put a foreign disc, it will
           ask you if you want to switch the region of the drive (at
           least OS X will do this) but you can only do this 4 or 5
           times  before it's permanent.
           \_ No, you can reflash the firmware on the DVD to use RPC1
              if there is a hacked firmware, or you can bypass the DVD
              region checking with the right player. See original post.
        \_ I don't know about the region code stuff, but I know some
           people who have put in their own 1 gb dimm. Its not too
           bad, but you might scuff the enclosure if you are not
           careful. Take a look at OWC's DIY videos:
           http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini
           Personally, I just ordered mine w/ a 512 MB DIMM b/c it
           wasn't that much more than buying one from Fry's.
        \_ If you can afford it, might think about an iMac G5.
        \_ how about VLC ? it has a Mac OSX port, no? it has buitl-in
           DeCSS.
        \_ Don't bother opening it.  There's a program called Region X which
           lets you reset the number of region changes you have left.
           \_ Could you just run that on startup?  Or does it take a long
              time?
        \_ Related (sort of) topic:  would motd recommend a Mac mini or a
           Mini-ITX box for a quiet, small "media PC" sitting in the living
           room hooked up to a stereo & projector?  I seem to recall that there
           are DV-out cards for the Mac Mini.  -John
           \_ Huh? There are zero expansion slots in the Mac Mini, where
              would you stick the card? I think you need some sort of
              USB solution for this.
           \_ I am pleased w/ a Shuttle XPC athlon 64 PC I got to "colo"
              at a friend's on another continent. Very small and quiet
              with room for 2-3 drives, 1 PCI card and 1 AGP card, and
              built-in USB2, firewire, basic VGA w/ s-video out, audio,
              SATA controller, etc.  I would think expansion matters
              as soon as you decide to make it a DVR too.
              \_ Thx for the advice--no DVR; our TV program sucks and I don't
                 watch anyway.  As for the Mac expansion, I was told once
                 there was a slot--thanks for pointing that out.  -John