The re-birth of the Power Mac G4 Cube
Forgive me if you think this thread is silly, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway...
How about a Power Mac G4 Cube that's sole purpose is to be the "media center edition?"
Imagine this:
How about a Power Mac G4 Cube that's sole purpose is to be the "media center edition?"
Imagine this:
- A 15-inch TFT flat-panel display that connects to the Cube via Bluetooth. Has a rechargable Li-Polymar battery, and can interface directly with the Cube via a Firewire Cable for extended use and for recharging purposes.
- The screen would utilize a stylus with Inkwell support for those times when you're on the couch replying to email.
- A graphics card in the Cube that attaches to your TV so you can playback DVDs; watch, record, and playback TV programs like TIVO; display pictures on your TV from iPhoto.
- Use iTunes to play your favorite songs through your stereo system, while you record stuff off the TV for later viewing.
- Is the Airport Base Station for other Macs in your house.
Comments
Forgive me if you think this thread is silly, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway...
How about a Power Mac G4 Cube that's sole purpose is to be the "media center edition?"
Imagine this:[*]A 15-inch TFT flat-panel display that connects to the Cube via Bluetooth. Has a rechargable Li-Polymar battery, and can interface directly with the Cube via a Firewire Cable for extended use and for recharging purposes.<hr></blockquote>
Clearly you don't know how low bandwisth Bluetooth is. Not even 1st-gen Firewire could handle it.
[quote][*]The screen would utilize a stylus with Inkwell support for those times when you're on the couch replying to email.[*]A graphics card in the Cube that attaches to your TV so you can playback DVDs; watch, record, and playback TV programs like TIVO; display pictures on your TV from iPhoto.[*]Use iTunes to play your favorite songs through your stereo system, while you record stuff off the TV for later viewing.[*]Is the Airport Base Station for other Macs in your house.<hr></blockquote>
So this is a rehash of the "living room Mac" aka the TiVo-killer. Been done before. But you have added many hundreds of dollars with this "wireless" flat panel display.
Who are you marketing this to? Home entertainment consumers? Then the display would be overkill and they would expect the form factor to be compliant with other home entertainment equipment (read: flat, wide and black or silver).
Is this a Mac or a Digital Lifestyle Device that connects to a Mac?
These are all questions that haven't been thought out well yet.
Screed
[ 12-08-2002: Message edited by: sCreeD ]</p>
UNLESS IT USES GIGAWIRE!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHHA!
<strong>I just want the old cube + PPC 970 + Radeon 9700 + 19" 1600x1200 Apple Studio Display + CHeap price + Fanless!
"And I want a toilet made of solid gold but apparently it's not in the cards, baby, yea!"
The reason I think a new cube is going to emerge is that there is definitely a need for a displayless Mac with limited expandability and a moderate price. The form factor, albeit slightly altered is still intriguing and that's why I believe it will be cubish. Personally I would prefer a TiCube, very sleek and even smaller than the old Cube.
The Cube is Art on the desktop, it (and OSX) made me a "switcher". I was able to buy the Cube and plug in my monitor (since replaced by the 17" TFT), and once I loaded OSX I was there.
A new Cube and new line of wide screen cinema displays would give a major boost to the switch campaign. Positioned between the iMacs and PowerMacs it would own the middle ground. Make it build to order for those that want more than the basics.
New Cube base model:
1 GHz G4, Radeon 9000 w/ADC & DVI, DVD drive.
options: CD/RW or Superdrive, ATI "All in Wonder" for true digital hub (at last)
...
<strong>You may call me crazy too, but I believe there will be a next Cube. I will definitely not be called "cube" and it will not have the specifications DHagan4755 suggests. I don't want to speculate on it's new name either, but I guess the name will be in some way familiar.
The reason I think a new cube is going to emerge is that there is definitely a need for a displayless Mac with limited expandability and a moderate price. The form factor, albeit slightly altered is still intriguing and that's why I believe it will be cubish. Personally I would prefer a TiCube, very sleek and even smaller than the old Cube.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I would agree that we will see a future variation of the Cube, there is a demand for it as long as Apple dosnt make the same mistake that they made with the original Cube and price/spec the systems beyond what the market will accept. Also you wont see the Cube get much smaller AND keep the expandability that it has now, in fact it might be better to large enough to fit a full size graphcis card in it, which you cant do with the current cube. Adding 1 additonal PCI slot (adding FW 3 when it comes out) , and an additional RAM slot (2 GB Max) would also help its sales, though this would definatly make it larger than the current Cube. Match the iMacs processor specs, or maybe slightly better. Split the differnce between the iMac's profit margine and the PM's for the new Cube to make up for lost sales in both lines of computers, and Apple might make it work this time, as long as in doing these things they could offer a low end Cube at $999 ($799-899 education), and had a $499 LCD monitor to go along with it.
Get rid of the eMac and replace it with the Cube Reborn.
The iMac flat is the 'new' Cube. But Apple don't have a true sub £999 desktop. The eMac isn't the answer in my opinion.
An iCube could be. Anywhere between £499 and £799 and you'd have a great 'switch' and edu' machine.
If Apple bring it back, just make it cheaper. A simple all white iBook enamel style case (lose the clear skirt hi-rise) with the slot loader at the front instead of the back and an iMac flat style fan.
Lemon Bon Bon
If Apple does reintroduce the Cube, it will be larger than the old one and replace the G4 tower.
"If Apple does reintroduce the Cube, it will be larger than the old one and replace the G4 tower."
I could go for the Cube design being slightly larger and replacing the 'tower' design. Yep.
The eMac and the Apple 'tower' are the only designs at the moment which don't seem to have the 'wow' factor of everything else they've done.
I'd love to see the cube design side by side with the iMac flat design. What a stunning desktop design line up that would be!
Apple may like their 'all in ones' but that doesn't stop me thinking that Apple would be well served by an eCube for Education!!! Dell are kicking their ass right now... Surely they could make a cheap white box called an iCube, make it gorgeous and sell it cheap? Nintendo can do it!
Lemon Bon Bon
Screed ...Cube owner, BTW
Just waiting until the next revision. Then they KILLED IT! RRAARRRRRRRR!
Hmmm. Super-drive, 970, Ati 9700. Gurgle.
Lemon Bon Bon
<strong>Well as a Cube owner and satisfied user I'd love to see Apple give it another shot. To compare the FP iMac to my Cube is like comparing an iPod to an upside down spaghetti strainer.
...</strong><hr></blockquote>
iMac FP= small form factor, firewire, USB, all drives, ingenius industrial design w/ built in monitor, external speakers(spheres).
Cube(of old) = small form factor, firewire, USB, all drives, ingenius industrial design, external speakers(spheres), external monitor support.
therefore it's like comparing a 10GB iPod to a 11GB iPod.
The R&D that went into the Cube was not thrown away, it was used to create the new FP iMac.....you can see it in the size, form factor and feature set. All that miniaturization is visible when u compare the sizes of the 2 products.
The reason the Cube failed was because it was intended for a niche market in an already niche market(Macs). Apple learnt it's lesson.....form factor alone cannot be used to distinguish it's products, and they will not be repeating that mistake again. I believe the iMacFP is in fact the reincarnation of the Cube, and they wont be building an essentially similar product and place right next to the iMac.
Get used to it....the Cube was a failure, and to reintroduce it when it cannot be distinguished enough from other products is a bad buisness decision.
I was talking to a good friend last night about his huge Windoze PC in which he has filled all four PCI slots to get not quite as much functionality as I have on my Cube with external Firewire CDRW and hard drives.
I would love to see it come back, but I think SJ's mindset is of the "don't revisit your mistakes" variety. Certainly the Flat Panel iMac is the spiritual Cube successor.
I have to say though, unless you're spending all day whacking huge Photoshop files around, even 512MB of RAM is enough: I was digging about in top yesterday, and of my 1.5GB, 1.33 was sitting there doing nothing...
Bottom line, Apple needs a cheap mac without a built in Monitor. The cube could fill this space, but it would not be the most economical/practical design.
<strong>The G4 cube was/is a great machine, however aside from price, its design made its expandability a problem. I agree that Apple needs a sub $1000 headless Mac. Instead of a cube however, I think a pizza box or slab (homage to another great neXT design", would be more appropriate. The slab would accomodate a normal size, slot load drive (the slim slot drive of the cube was cool, but expensive and hard to find). In addition this box could accomodate regular sized AGP cards (using a right angle adapter. The unit must have a built in powersupply. They can put is a quiet, low rpm fan, they are barely audible anyway.
Bottom line, Apple needs a cheap mac without a built in Monitor. The cube could fill this space, but it would not be the most economical/practical design.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I disagree, the only thing that I can't upgrade on my Cube that I might want to the the USB and Firewire ports, and once FW 2 comes out it will be quite a few years before FW3 is needed or ready. The graphics card is upgradable, It is just ATI's shortsidedness that keeps them from releasing a 7" card that would fit in the Cube, and if the Cube were a current model I think that this would be different. The Cube is a great design, that got rave reviews for the interior and exterior of the system. The main problem was the price, which put in in a "nitch market of a nitch market." I also dont think that the Cube, or Slab form factor would/could ever replace the PowerMac becouse it does not offer enough expansion to replace it.
<strong>Forgive me if you think this thread is silly.[/list]</strong><hr></blockquote>
I forgive you.