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Charles Moore - 2001.04.30 - Tip Jar

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The Cube Hitting Its Stride? column was a big mail generator. Unfortunately, my unscientific inference that things were picking up for the Cube was refuted by the dismal Cube sales figures for the Cube released by Apple a week later. I still think the Cube is the most logical modular desktop Mac for the sort of things most of us do with our computers.

Anyway, on to the letters!

From: Gene Woodward

Subject: Thanks for "Cube Hitting Its Stride?"

I appreciated your thoughts in your recent Cube Hitting Its Stride? article. Of the different Cube configurations, the $1,299 Cube is the most appealing, both for it's lower price and its built in DVD-ROM. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment about utilizing an external CD-RW.

Unfortunately, all indications are that this configuration will not be around much longer. The $1,599 Cube has three differences: additional 64 MB RAM, CD-RW instead of DVD-ROM, and price. Since Apple's price for a G4 tower is the same whether you choose a CD-RW or DVD-ROM, and RAM is cheap, what accounts for the $300 difference? Apple's convinced that CD-RW is a better choice for every desktop Mac, so I'd guess that the $1,299 price tag will disappear as soon as the current inventory does.

Thanks,
Gene W.

From Jim:

Subject: Cube. Good story

But can you really upgrade the chip? Would the added heat from say a 733 affect it? Or is there no difference?

Also if the chip can easily be upgraded why isn't there a 667 or 733 cube?

I would love to be convinced.

Jim

Hi Jim,

I don't really know if the faster chips would pose a heat problem or not.

Actually, the latest scuttlebutt is that they are using the lower powered, lower heat, 7410 chip from the G4 PowerBook.

Charles
From Christopher Payne:

Subject: Re: Cube hitting its stride

I'm a happy Cube owner, and one of the key considerations that played a role in my choice of the Cube over the G4 tower was its lack of a fan. My office is blissfully quiet. I have an old Power Computing clone that is used occasionally, and the difference in sound is remarkable.

Quiet is better. Apple ought to hype this more with both the Cube and the iMacs.

Christopher Payne

From Allan:

Subject: Re: Cube Hitting Its Stride?

Good article. I, too, like the Cube and don't need the expandability of the G4 towers. I also prefer an external CD-RW.

The only problems I have with the Cube are as follows:

  1. The reset button is on the bottom. What happens if the Cube freezes up? You can no longer do a restart using the Control-Command-Power key, since the new keyboards lack the power key.
  2. The top-loading DVD slot bothers me. Yes, I know that it is lined in such a way as to prevent dust from getting in, but dust and dirt will eventually settle in near the slot-opening. Wouldn't dust and dirt somehow make their way in, especially every time you insert a disc? And what if the disc is slightly warped? It would be hard to get it out. I personally don't like slot loading drives for CDs/DVDs, period.
  3. The ports on the bottom make it a little crowded, especially if you've got enough peripherals to take advantage of all the ports.
  4. No audio-in or out ports. Yes, I know you can plug headphones into the amplifier, but I would prefer external powered speakers of my own choice. I realize that you can use something like iMic to solve in the audio-in/out problem, but this takes up another USB port and adds to the cable-count. At least the towers have a regular audio-out port, and the iMacs still have regular audio-in/out ports. If the Cube is to be a consumer Mac, they should give us what we need: analog audio-in and out ports, and a headphone jack on the Cube itself, not on the external amplifier. If you need digital audio, go with a tower.
  5. Drop the price a bit more. Up here in Canada, the Cube costs $1,949.99 for the 450 MHz/64 MB RAM/DVD model. If Apple is going to keep this configuration, at least drop the price another $100-200 (or if not, at least give us some more RAM and more software). This would make it fit the headless iMac niche a little better. Even a 600-700 MHz G3 model would be desirable, as long as the price is lowered.
  6. No fan = heat kills. Yes, I know it's convection-cooled, but I somehow can't see the components lasting too long in an un-air-conditioned environment such as my office, which faces west. It gets very warm in here in the afternoons, especially in summer. Also, wouldn't dust and dirt get in the vents at the top?

Other than these concerns, I love the idea of the Cube. I personally would make it a bit bigger to accommodate a tray loading DVD player. The faceplate of the tray could fit flush with the front of the Cube, and therefore would not spoil its looks. Making it slightly bigger would also give it a bit more room inside for more heat fins/convection cooling, insulation from hard drive/DVD noise and vibration, etc. This would also allow the ports to be spaced a bit more generously. I would then put the reset button on the front or top of the machine, add a headphone jack to the front and put regular audio-in/out jacks in the back. If Apple can make the Cube a true cube (i.e., the same dimensions for height, width and depth), I would be a very happy person. I think a true cube design would look even hotter than the current design. I always loved the NeXT Cube...

One thing Apple must never do: make a Flower Power Cube. This would make it look too much like a tissue box!

From Paul Paris:

Subject: Cube Question

Charles,

I read your recent article on the G4 Cube with some interest. I've from time to time given thought to purchasing a Cube but have been deterred by the many reports of erratic behavior associated with the touch-sensitive power switch. Do you know if Apple has fixed this problem?

Tnx,
Paul

Hi Paul,

To the best of my knowledge, it has been dealt with.

See below.

Charles
From: John Byrne:

Subject: Cube Lover

Hi,

Thanks for the great little article about the Cube. I have one of the original units (ordered it the day it was announced!) and would not trade it for anything. I had the problem with the power switch, but Apple fixed that quickly. It's been great ever since.

The G4 Cube is a great design that will be around for a long time to come.

John Byrne

From Mark Reschke:

Subject: Stride

Hello Charles,

So by the title of your article I read it thinking I will see some PC Data or IDC information regarding Cube movement in the channel, or something to this effect regarding Cube sales picking up. Rather, I get a story about the great entry level Cube price and some information about a buddy who upgraded to a Cube... Then the article gets back on track ending with thoughts about the Cube finally hitting it's stride. I guess you lost me a bit on this one...

Regards,
Mark

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and writing for Mac websites since May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com.

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