Power Mac G4 Cube
The Power Mac G4 Cube.
Type:	Desktop
Developer:	Apple Inc.
Released:	July 2000
Discontinued:	July 2001
Processor(s):	PowerPC G4, 450 - 500 MHz

Power Mac G4 Cube is a compact Macintosh personal computer from Apple Inc. that was sold from 2000 to 2001. A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. PowerPC G4 is a designation used by Apple Computer to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC Microprocessors Apple has applied this Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac is a Brand name which covers several lines of Personal computers designed developed and marketed by Apple Inc A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Its cube form factor is reminiscent of the NeXTcube from NeXT, acquired by Apple in 1996. The NeXT Computer and NeXTcube were high-end workstation computers developed manufactured and sold by NeXT from 1988 until 1993 NeXT Computer Inc (later NeXT Software Inc) was an American Computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California that

Features

The diminutive 8" x 8" x 8" cube suspended in a 10" tall Lucite (PMMA) enclosure, housed a PowerPC G4 processor running at 450 or 500 megahertz, and had an unconventional vertical slot loading DVD-ROM or CD-RW drive. Poly(methyl methacrylate ( PMMA) or poly(methyl 2-methylpropenoate is a Thermoplastic and transparent Plastic. PowerPC G4 is a designation used by Apple Computer to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC Microprocessors Apple has applied this The hertz (symbol Hz) is a measure of Frequency, informally defined as the number of events occurring per Second. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW is a rewritable Optical disc format A separate monitor — with either an ADC or VGA connection— was required for the Cube, in contrast to the all-in-one iMac series. The Apple Display Connector ( ADC) is a proprietary modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals USB, and power The term Video Graphics Array ( VGA) refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread The iMac is a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc Also unlike the iMacs, it had an upgradeable video card in a standard AGP slot. However, there was not enough space for full-length cards. The Cube also featured two FireWire ports, and two USB ports for connecting peripherals. The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus Interface standard for high-speed communications and Isochronous real-time data transfer frequently Sound was provided by an external USB amplifier and a pair of Harman Kardon speakers. Harman Kardon, a division of Harman International Industries, is a manufacturer of home and car Audio equipment. Although the USB amplifier had a standard mini-plug headphone output, it lacked any audio input. The Cube also used a silent, fanless, convection-based cooling system like the iMacs of the time. Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of molecules within Fluids (i

References in Culture

The Power Mac G4 Cube with power supply, mouse, keyboard, speakers, and a Studio Display.

Apple Designer Jonathan Ive won several international awards for the Cube's design. Jonathan Paul Ive CBE (born February 1967 is a British designer and the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Inc The Cube can be found in many publications related to design and some technology museums. It was also featured as Drew Carey's (a noted Mac Fan) computer on The Drew Carey Show, in the kitchen of the design-conscious Eddy on Absolutely Fabulous, in the apartment of The Real World: Chicago and in Curb Your Enthusiasm in the office of Jeff Greene. Drew Allison Carey (born May 23 1958 is an American Comedian, Actor and Game show host. The Drew Carey Show is an American Sitcom (set in Cleveland Ohio) that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004 Absolutely Fabulous (also known as Ab Fab) was a BAFTA and Emmy Award -winning British sitcom written by and starring The Real World Chicago is the eleventh season of MTV 's popular Reality television series The Real World, which focuses on seven diverse Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American Sitcom starring Seinfeld writer co-creator and executive producer Larry David as himself and Larry David's manager. Also, Jack Bauer of the Fox series 24 had a Power Mac G4 Cube in his office at CTU Los Angeles. Jack Bauer is the Protagonist of the United States Television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action Drama Television series. 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action Drama Television series. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The Cube also featured in the popular BBC action-adventure science-fiction series Bugs and is used by the character 'Will Yorkin' in One Hour Photo (2002). One Hour Photo (2002 is an American Psychological thriller, written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back you can see a Cube in Ben Affleck's house. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 film written by directed by and starring Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse Ben Affleck (born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt; August 15 1972 is an American Film Screenwriter, director, actor and older brother of In William Gibson's 2003 novel Pattern Recognition, the character Cayce uses her film producer friend's Cube while staying in his anti-designer London flat. William Ford Gibson (born March 17 1948 is an American - Canadian writer who has been called the "noir prophet" of the Cyberpunk subgenre A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Pattern Recognition is a novel by Science fiction writer William Gibson published in 2003

History and sales

Apple targeted the Cube at the market between the iMac G3 and the Power Macintosh G4. The iMac is a desktop Macintosh computer designed and built by Apple Inc The Power Mac G4 is a series of Personal computers that was designed manufactured and sold by Apple between 1999 and 2004. Despite its innovative design, critics complained that it was too expensive. It was initially priced $200 higher than the comparably-equipped and more-expandable base Power Mac G4 of the time (450 MHz CPU, 64 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive) and did not include a monitor, thus leading to slow sales. Additionally, early Cubes suffered from a manufacturing issue that led to faint lines (referred to as "cracks" or "mold lines") in the clear plastic case. This was often considered damaging to the aesthetic quality of the computer [1].

After seeing low profits, Apple attempted to increase sales by bundling more software with the Cube, lowering the price of the base model, incorporating a CD-RW drive standard for the 500 MHz version, and offering an improved NVIDIA graphics card as an option. Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW is a rewritable Optical disc format The multinational NVIDIA Corporation ( (ɪnˈvɪdiə specializes in the manufacture of graphics-processor technologies for Workstations These efforts could not offset the earlier perception of reduced value compared to the iMac and Power Mac G4 lineup. In July 2001 Apple issued a short and slightly unusual press release announcing the product was to be put "on ice. July 2001: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September "

In 2003, the Apple Cube received a brief return to the spotlight after a series of articles in Wired magazine charted its cult popularity. Wired is a full-color monthly American Magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993 The articles, focusing on upgrades installed by individual users and retailers such as Kemplar, led to a sharp rise in the Cube's resale value. Nevertheless, with the release of the relatively inexpensive Mac mini (seen by some^[1] as a replacement), coupled with Apple's switch to G5 processors and eventually Intel Core-based processors, the Cube again faded into the background. The Mac Mini (officially capitalized Mac mini) is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc

Modifications and upgrades

Since the Cube's demise, a number of Cube enthusiasts have made modifications to their machines. Some of the more popular upgrades are high performance video cards (complete with ductwork to allow the GPU fan to work correctly in the small Cube case) and third-party CPU upgrade cards (up to 1. 8 GHz per Aug. 2005); a few people have even modified their Cubes to take a dual-processor upgrade. A popular upgrade is the Geforce 2 MX, which exists in a version specially created for the Cube. Other popular changes include case modifications such as lighting and extra cooling. Case modification (commonly referred to as case modding) is the modification of a computer chassis (often just referred to as the case) or a The Cube uses the same memory and hard drive components as a traditional desktop machine and these upgrades were common. Although the Cube uses a fanless convection-based cooling system, the mounting points for a standard desktop cooling fan are already in place. Upgraders of the Cube often take advantage of this to add a cooling fan to the system.

G4 Cube as an art piece

G4 Cube and its peripherals were showcased in The Museum of Modern Art[2][3], as well as in Digital Design Museum (a division of Design Museum)[4]. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth

Initial production of G4 Cube cases have 'crack'-like mold lines which does not affect the reliability of the machine, but it had a negative impact on the artistic design that Apple had marketed. [5]

See also

• Power Macintosh
• Power Mac G4

References

External links

• Apple - Power Mac G4 Cube courtesy of the Internet Archive
• Power Mac G4 Cube at apple-history.com
• Cube Owner Portal
• Gallery of customised G4 Cubes
• The television ad for the Cube (QuickTime format)
• Upgrades and Technical Specs for G4 Cube - server down, 21 March
• Experimenting with high-intensity LEDs to illuminate a G4 Cube