Well there are more and more rumblings all around about not using University equipment (computers) for non-University functions (music listening). So I plan to head off the whole issue by setting up another computer (personally purchased) to serve the music to my work rig (output to Apogee Mini-DAC).
The question for you is should I buy a Mac Mini or a Dell Studio Hybrid? and more importantly, why?
The unit needs to be small, OS is irrelevant, I'll use itunes on the Mini or J. River Media Center on the Studio, the library will be on an external drive (most likely directly connected), I have my library in both FLAC and ALAC, it will be for playback only, it doesn't have to do anything else.
Right now I am undecided as each has its benefits and price is roughly the same for comparable models. I think I have a pretty good handle on the strengths and weaknesses of each, but I'm sure I'm missing some.