For a dongle, you'd need to have something custom-made, as there isn't anything 
right now that I know of. Besides that, you'd need the mini displayport to VGA 
adaptor from Apple. By the time you got through buying those, you could have 
purchased a small LCD monitor for the same price.

If the point is to be compact, and not to save money, then you can buy a basic 
MacBook for about the same money.

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] 
On Behalf Of Aman Singer
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 8:08 AM
To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Using a Mac Mini without a monitor

Thank you, Brian, this is sensible and I appreciate it. If I may ask, do you 
know if the checks are made at launch and then not made again, or are they made 
periodically? Secondly, we have heard that even an unplugged monitor will do. 
Is this so with the newer machines, since I assume there needs to be a response 
to the resolution check? That is, does one need a monitor with power, or can 
one simply not power it on?
Finally, do you know of a dongle that would allow a cheap VGA monitor to be 
hooked up or, alternatively, an adapter that would simply respond properly to 
the checks you mention are going on? 
Thanks.
Aman

-----Original Message-----
From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
[mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bryan Smart
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 5:45 AM
To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: Using a Mac Mini without a monitor

Because apps like Safari decide how much information that they can show at once 
based on the current display resolution. The Mac determines the available 
screen resolutions by determining the type of monitor that is connected. When 
no monitor is connected, no screen resolution is defined, and so any program 
that depends on screen resolution will go wacko, as it thinks you have a screen 
with size 0. Can't fit a lot of information on a screen with size 0. Most 
programmers never test for that situation, because they can't test without some 
sort of monitor connected. Apple could fix Safari, but that's just one program 
among many that will go bonkers with a size 0 screen.

On Windows, there is a way to tell it to ignore what it thinks is possible for 
the monitor, and to just use a specific screen resolution. The Mac doesn't have 
any way to bypass its sanity checking in that regard, at least as far as I've 
been able to discover. Maybe there is some way to hack it in from the terminal. 
I have a built-in screen on my MBP, and a monitor for my Mac Pro, so i'm 
personally satisfied. Maybe someone that's motivated could poke around and see 
if they can find a hack to manually force the mac to use a specific screen 
resolution.

Bryan 

-----Original Message-----
From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
[mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris Moore
Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 5:30 PM
To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Using a Mac Mini without a monitor

Why is it sluggish without a monitor?  That does not make sense.  Why should 
someone blind be forced into paying for a monitor they can't see and running up 
extra electricity costs.

Tell apple they need to think more about their green policies!

I would love to know what accessibility at apple think of that one.
On 27 Jun 2010, at 22:21, Courtney Curran wrote:

> Hi,
> I've never used a monitor with my Mack mini. Even with setup, I didn't 
> use
a mouse, but it was kind of tough, without the mouse plus, I didn't really know 
much about the Mack. But other than that, my Mack Mini works fine without the 
monitor, kind of sluggish with Safari though.
> Hth,
> Courtney
> On Jun 27, 2010, at 4:30 PM, Cody Hurst wrote:
> 
>> I"m not so sure that a monitor is required, although it might be for 
>> the initial setup. I can say for sure a keyboard and mouse are 
>> required
for the setup. I think when I had my mini back in 08 that it was required but 
I'm unsure On Jun 27, 2010, at 3:47 PM, Aman Singer wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi, all.
>>>     I find myself in some difficulty. I have available to me one of the 
>>> new Mac Minis. However, I do not have a monitor at all times. Before 
>>> I obtain the unit, I should like to know whether it would be 
>>> possible to use it without a monitor. If so, are any settings 
>>> required? If not, when is the check for the monitor done? Is it just 
>>> at boot up, or is it done periodically throughout the use of the system?
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>> Aman
>>> 
>>> 
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