alt Hacker News people are buying Mac Minis specifically to run AI agents with computer use. They’re setting up headless machines whose sole job is to automate their workflows. OpenClaw—the open-source framework that lets you run Claude, GPT-4, or whatever model you want to actually control your computer—has become the killer app for Mac hardware
Is the author implying mac minis for the low power consumption?
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If you’re heavily invested in Apple apps (iMessage/Calendar/Reminders/Notes), you need a Mac to give the agent tools to interact with these apps. I think that combined with the form factor, price, and power consumption, makes it an ideal candidate.
If you’re heavily invested in Windows, then you’d probably go for a small x86 PC.
they're buying mac minis because it's the cheapest way to get a computer with iMessage access to stuff in a closet and leave on at all times. having access to your iMessage is one of the most interesting things openClaw does.
Yep, there is zero reason to use mac mini’s. It’s way more cost effective to rent one (or more!) small VMs the cloud.
I have seen dozens of people/videos talking about buying Mac minis for clawdbot.
I don't understand why, but I've seen it enough to start questioning myself...
Wouldn't it run on a $50 raspberry pi?
Probably the same people getting a macbook pro to handle their calendar and emails
The software can drive the web browser if you install the plugin. My knowledge is 1.5 weeks old, so it might be able to drive the whole UI now, I don't know.
It has nothing to do with running models locally, its perfect because its incredibly cheap, capable, small, and quiet.
The author is full of shit is what it is. They see a few posts online and extrapolate from that to fit whatever narrative they believe in.
It doesn't make sense because it's a lie. The author's blog has 2 articles, both of them shilling OpenClaw.