How to get out a stuck cd out of my mac mini (not the actual model the one from 2010? (slot-in drive)
Recent Apple portable optical drives (i.e. anything &lt; 5 yrs old and not a Mac Pro) no longer have the "paper clip" levers so your best bet is to take it to a technician that is able to open the mac and safely retrieve the stuck media. If you are curious, iFixit does publish fairly good mac repair guides so you decide to pay someone or DIY. You'll have better luck trying to trigger the eject lever deeper in the right hand side with something thinner than a ruler.

The mechanism is obviously stuck or obstructed if you hear it trying to eject when the software commands an eject.

Forcing things more often causes additional damage rather than somehow inducing the internal eject mechanism to work again. If you are gentle and can tickle the eject lever or gently guide the CD out, your chances of success are that much higher. The cases where a light touch won't work is a signal that permanent damage to the device or the media is imminent.

It's almost always cheaper to buy a USB external if the internal breaks, so factor that into your calculation if you just want to yank out the stuck drive no matter the long term health of your optical drive.