I'm thinking of buying a Mac Mini

[Subtle Sorrow]

What are your thoughts on them? If I buy one, I'll buy the cheaper on and upgrade the RAM myself and add an external hard drive for space. Could I buy a PC with similar specs for a lot cheaper? etc etc

[Willen]

For similar specs and size, a mini PC wouldn't be much cheaper. Those that are similarly sized as the Mac Mini are generally more expensive. A Dell Studio Hybrid starts at $599 and is probably the closest PC to the Mac Mini. Shuttle mini PCs run about $500+ lightly spec'd out with a Intel Core 2 Duo proc, under $200 barebones, although they are somewhat bigger in size. Other brands run for about the same prices, a bit less if ordered with an Atom CPU instead. The Mac Mini does have better graphics than most comparable mini PCs, though (Nvidia 9400M vs. Intel GMA X3100).

The question you should really be asking is whether you want a computer running Windows or MacOS (the Mac can run Windows, but you'd have to pay extra for that privilege). Or you'd rather have something non-aluminum brick looking.

[Subtle Sorrow]

What programs can't you get for Mac that you can for PC (specificly editing wise) I know Virtual Dub Mod is only for PC, is there other compression software similar to VDM?

[AaronAMV]

Avisynth currently isn't available for Mac; you would have to use Crossover

[gotenks794]

Avidemux would be your VDub alternate for mac. It also indexes vobs as well as cleans/encodes footage.

[Kionon]

The newest Mac Minis are quite fine as editing platforms. You can run dual monitors now, with adaptors, and you can run 4GBs of ram with an Intel dual core processor. I am. VDubMod runs a bit sluggish in some ways on Snow Leo, but in other ways, like menu usage, I have actually seen improvement. I imagine future versions of Crossover will account for this.

And yes, avidemux is quite awesome.