Apple Cube Confirmed 409
Ok, we mentioned this in the story below but apparently thats not loud enough considering this is being submitted about every 30 seconds *grin*. yes, the Apple Cube is real. There
is more information about it on every mac site on the planet, including Apple's site. It looks nifty.
Re:Macquarium / Mac Plus G4 (Score:1)
More importantly, looking at the Macquarium specs, the tank is 7 7/8" x 9 1/2" x 8 1/2. Do people think this could actually work? You'd probably need to install a fan.
Mac Pluses make perfect OpenBSD routers.
Do they? I can't get NetBSD or Linux to boot at all.
Re:liar, liar, thy arse ist on fyre (Score:1)
Re:If cosmetics is such bullshit.. (Score:1)
However, the G4 is a lot more power hungry than the G3: it uses almost as much power as a PIII and the die size is quite large. I don't know how they managed to cool it w/o fans, but i'm glad they did. Go cube!
Apple's new USB keyboard (Score:1)
Refrag
Re:Good ol' Apple.. (Score:1)
Exactly. Things would be OK if people like you just bought them and looked at them though...
Re:Good ol' Apple.. (Score:1)
Yup. Too many assholes like me buying computers that are too easy to use and too easy to look at. Computers are just too damn popular now days. Next thing you know, somebody's mom will want one.
Oh, for the good ol' days when them fancy high-powered calculators were the domain of 'leet users like Rombuu.
Wouldn't you love to buy this steaming pile of dog shit I've got here? I'll put it in a real nice bag for you...
You'd part with some of your precious stash for me?!? I'm touched...
--
New display connector? (Score:3)
Ah, another new display connector from Apple! I remember the ill-fated VideoVision connector from the PowerMac 61xx series and I'm sure people who are buying used Macs at swap meets love it when they find out they can't hook it up to any monitor known to man except the VideoVision monitor, unless they either have the special nuclear-powered cable, or add a video board (either the HPV or AV board).
I do have one concern about this new video connector. Knowing how touchy the MPAA etc. are about digital outputs from DVD, what kind of "copy protection" provisions are built into this new connector?
I'm not sure how they can say it contains "no analog circuitry", because the article mentions it has a VGA port on back, and the new video connector also contains analog signals. VGA is definitely analog. I guess they mean "no analog circuitry except VGA."
Re:first with optical mouse? (Score:1)
Re:apple cuby (Score:2)
Looking inside the box (Score:2)
If you check out the expansion options on the Apple marketing page [apple.com], you'll notice that you are correct. But who cares? These computers are not intended to meet the needs of every user. If you really must have the PCI slots, buy a traditional G4 machine. If, on the other hand, you match the tradional profile of a mac user who can get by with 2 USB ports, 2 400 Mbps Firewire ports, up to 1.5 GB DRAM, and an AirPort card, then this machine will work fine.
BTW: the picture [apple.com] of the disassembly is really cool.
Highlights from keynote (Score:5)
The Cube
It kicks ass in a Matrix-style way. It's just gorgeous, and is an engineering marvel as well. In case anyone missed it, the thing has no fan. As a result, it's incredibly quiet -- just ask anybody with a previous generation iMac (which was the first to go fanless). This is possible because of the low power consumption/heat output of the PPC. And while this thing won't fit in a rack, it does allow one to create a space-efficient (and sightly) server farm.
MP G4s
Apple is today selling dual G4s for the same price it sold single processor machines for yesterday. This is impressive. Certain applications will take more advantage of the second processor than others -- Photoshop and Final Cut Pro should fly -- but this is a good move regardless. I would like to hear what Carmack has to say about this. In addition, the motherboards now have gigabit ethernet standard. And thanks to Darwin's SMP, Mac OS X should fly on this thing.
Mouse/keyboard
It took them a while, but Apple appears to have fixed the problems with both its mouse and keyboard. I'll have to reserve final judgement until I hold the thing, but the mouse seems good. What not everyone realizes is that the idea behind the hockey puck mouse was that it could easily fit in a child's hand. The idea with this new mouse is that smaller hands can rest their palm on the back, but not have trouble reach the mouse button in the front (since the whole thing is a button). We're back to a full-size keyboard too.
BTW: From what I understand, ALL new Apple desktop models come with the new mouse and keyboard. This includes the $799 iMac...
$799 iMac
Apple will start selling a $799 iMac in the new Indigo color in September. This machine does not have DVD or FireWire, but it's technologically superior to the $999 machine that Apple sells today. And even if you don't like Mac OS, this thing could make one bad-ass xterm machine. Not only is it cheap and has ethernet and a great sound system (how many $799 machines can claim that?), but it looks cool too. There are a bunch of other revisions to the iMac product line, including several new colors, but none significant as this.
iMovie 2
While this may not affect many slashdotters, it's worth noting that Apple has done an amazing job with iMovie. It's essentially at the forefront and defining this new desktop DV editing industry as it goes. Sony seems to be struggling to keep up. iMovie is the first piece of software to make DV editing so accesible. This is a brilliant move on Apple's part, because users will eventually graduate to Final Cut and a G4. I feel this is a strategy similar to how Microsoft leveraged FrontPage to breed ASP developers.
Apple is continually eliminating obstacles that stand between it and its critics. And while some poeple still feel that one company making both the OS and the hardware is bad, Apple has proved that it understands it customers and its market. It is also one of the only major computing companies companies to take previous proprietary software (Darwin, QuickTime Streaing, OpenPlay, NetSprocket) and move it to an open source license that is approved of by the OSI. And note that it can afford to do this because it derives most of its revenue from hardware.
The company is far from perfect, but substainial progress has been made in the last three years, and Apple deserves credit for that today. The industry would be much duller and stagnant without them.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
Re:Hockey puck mouse? (Score:3)
Did anyone notice that the Mac Junkie article does not exist anymore? He took it down sometime in the last few hours. What's even funnier is that the whole Mac Junkie site doesn't exist anymore. There is a default web hosting page up now and none of the previous pages exist!
I guess that's one way to avoid public humiliation... :)
Re:NEXT cannot be beat (Score:2)
Yah I know, god knows linux won't run on apple hardware so you stuck running that dog MacOS. And its only gonna get worse, OS X is a total piece of shit.
The new monitor cable (Score:2)
Re:Supercomputer??? (Score:2)
Actually, that's not a PR department invention. Remember the tank ads on the G4 introduction? The G4 chip was, honest to God, classified as a "supercomputer" for export purposes.
Not that Apple PR isn't loosely connected to reality often, but in this case, no, it wasn't Apple that made up "supercomputer"
Re:Confirmation of Disney merger? (Score:2)
1989 -- NeXT cube
2000 -- Mac cube
You missed a spot:
1996 -- Apple buys NeXT
I find it amusing... (Score:2)
... They so *EASILY* forget where the so-called "victims" of Apple's "theft" stole those very ideas in the first place!!!
Hint:
It's a little company started by Steve Jobs after he was forced out of Apple by john sculley in 1985.
Hint#2:
Apple BOUGHT that very company a few short years ago.
Hint#3:
Most of the people in important positions at Apple NOW (Steve Jobs and Avie Tevenian especially) came to Apple FROM that other company.
In short, the company Apple is so commonly "stealing" from recently is.... ITSELF!!!
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
Is this design sound? (Score:3)
- Pretty beige box on the Apple II which Jobs felt would sell more machines, in light of design concerns proposed by Wozniak (too much internal heat, wasted internal space, etc.)
- The flat, pizza-box shaped LCIII, which seemed like a great idea until heavier monitors came around and started crushing internal components
- More recently, on the iMac, the use of Powerbook CD-ROM components in the original design. Seemed like a great idea, until people realized how breakable they were when pushed down, especially by children.
- Handles on all iMacs. Great idea, until you realize due to all the CRT components the weight of the machines is 45+ lbs. Gives new meaning to the term "luggable".
- And don't even get me started on the single-button mouse. My mother uses a 2-button mouse just fine (with wheel) in Windows, and understands the right-button is for context-sensitive menus. I sometimes see her scratching for the right-mouse button when she uses the family iMac.
Food for thought.
Note to moderators: just because the guy has a few negative things to say about Apple, his username is "Fervent", and his mommy uses a Windows machine does not make him a Troll or Flamebait. People outside Slashdot don't all use Linux, FreeBSD or MacOS. Get over it.
Apple press release was a whipout (Score:3)
It's also the first computer to come standard with an optical mouse, for perfect precision on almost any surface. And it connects to your choice of Apple's flat-screen or CRT displays in equally stunning designs.
The G4 Cube is also the first computer to come standard with the Apple Pro Mouse, for perfect precision on almost any surface
This is completely undedited by me, as posted on their page. They repeat themselves. I hereby moderate this press release to (-1 Redundant).
Re:New display connector? (Score:2)
The connector apparently carries both analog and digital signals, according to their lit, but did you notice what the cube does lack? Audio input. No analog or SPDIF in. Gotta use a USB box or rip from CD. To be fair, this was probably an economic decision, but it still sets off my mental "trusted client alarm".
Doesn't bother me too much, though, as long as I could run linux on the thing.
-Isaac
Re:Another Industrial Design Coup for Apple (Score:2)
Anyway, I had a Newton 100 and it did indeed suck down batteries (though some CE devices are about as bad). As for the handwriting recognition, there was a great third-party recognition app that worked much better, except you had to learn some special character strokes. It was called Graffitti and it was made by -- oh yeah, Palm. When I first saw that Palm had made their own PDA (the Pilot 1000 and 5000) I knew I had to get one. I kept that Pilot 5000 until I bought a Palm V. The smaller size was always the attraction for me, though the Newton MessagePad 2000 was a pretty impressive machine.
maaan (Score:2)
No audio, and a missed opportunity. (Score:2)
Not bad, but it's interesting to note that this is the first Mac Apple has ever made with essentially no integrated audio hardware. It seems like the inclusion of a subwoofer in the cube case should have been a natural; it's obviously designed to sit on the floor under a desk (the web pages describing it make this point several times), and no matter how good those funky little USB satellite speakers (which ought to be included) are, they're also small, and a simple subwoofer designed into the case would have made a big difference to them. It could even be an off-the-sheld USB subwoofer with its own DAC; the main thing is including it in the case design. It isn't apparent that anyone even had the idea here, which is a real shame.
Given that this thing is basically the new 20th Anniversary Mac (it's just too expensive to be considered a modular iMac, though it's really not clear why that is), the lack of included high-quality audio seems a real omission. Yes, you can add a third-party multispeaker USB sound system, but for this price you shouldn't have to, and adding an external subwoofer negates the compact design and the single cable to the desktop. Other things like the video card will be quietly upgraded in a couple of months (the same way the beige G3s and original iMacs went from Rage II to Rage Pro), but this needed to be thought of from the beginning. Too bad it wasn't.
Re:Hey Cobalt Networks!!! (Score:2)
Not really - Apple had sold all-in-one units for years (ignoring the Mac toasters, going back to the 030-based performas). They only thing they did is with the iMac is add some colored plastic and drop the low-end units that required a seperate monitor.
Re:2.2 x faster than 800mhz pIII? (Score:2)
Speed != more heat
Re:Even worse: the vents in the top. (Score:3)
Second, the thing is air cooled, not fan cooled. Heat rises. You figure it out.
Third, either you're going to put it under the desk, in which case the top is covered by the desk, or on top of the desk, in which case you're not going to want to cover it up or put things on top of it because it looks cool and because you want to access the DVD.
Finally, you could make a converse argument for current tower cases. Wow, stupid place for a CD-Rom drive and power button, right in the front where I always kick the damn thing!
You would think Jobs would have learned his lesson (Score:2)
And I'd be willing to bet that the Cobalt Raq systems sell better than the Cobalt Qubes.
Here are the specs of the NeXT cube, according to "The NeXT Book", by Bruce Webster, first edition, 1989. 68030 CPU at 25MHz, 68882 FPU, 56001 DSP, 8MB RAM, expandable to 64MB (16 SIMM slots!), 330MB or 660MB 5.25" hard drive, 256MB optical drive (the only removable storage!), built-in SCSI, built-in Ethernet, 1120x832 gray-scale (2 bit-plane) 17" display, 256K video buffer, passive backplane with 4 slots (similar to NuBus, but the cards are about 11"x11"; the main board takes up one of the slots), nice keyboard (includes power, volume, and brightness control), decent mouse, black cast magnesium case.
Benchmark (Score:2)
Hockey puck mouse? (Score:5)
Pixar (Score:2)
If there is a deal in the works (which seems quite unlikely), this doesn't really prove anything. Steve Jobs works very closely with Disney in a variety of ways -- most notably through Pixar. Revenues from movies such as Toy Story and Bug's Life are split 50/50 between Disney and Pixar. Jobs also frequently uses Disney imagery during Photoshop benchmarking tests at keynotes.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
Re:No Audio Input (Score:2)
Chip area is close to free. It's not like they don't have some custom motherboard ASICs in there already with plenty of useable area. What's an audio controller take, about 4 sq mm, being generous? You're adding about 10 cents to die costs, worst-case, and maybe some schedule time, assuming that they didn't have a block like that lying around already (which I wouldn't believe anyway).
The pins and board-level parts make up most of the cost you would be concerned - PCB area and crappy little connectors and discretes, which was exactly what he was complaining about. Apple saves a buck-fifty and gets an attractive base price, Joe Schmoe has to buy a $25 addon to get useful functionality from his shiny new toy.
And I'm sure there's not a single DSP available in the box that they couldn't provide a driver for that you could run a semi-usable sound card off of either.
Apple apologists, fire away...
Re:What about cables? (Score:3)
As for ethernet---hah! Troglodyte---don'cha know you're supposed to buy an AirPort base station and just connect wirelessly?
(And sweet--the cube is only 14 pounds? Nice. With a 15" LCD and a nice secure carrying case, one would have a very chic luggable.)
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Re:New display connector? (Score:2)
The old PowerMacs came with either an HPV or AV card. The 7100/8100 were the only desktop computers I know of that supported two monitors out of the box - an AppleVision off the motherboard circutry and a standard monitor off the HPV/AV card.
VideoVision was a video-editing package from Radius. AppleVision was the brand-name of Apple's line of monitors w/ speakers built in.
I sure hope the audio out is analog, too. Besides, the technology that USB and FireWire replace (ADB and SCSI) were digital to begin with, so it's pointless anyway.
Fsck this hard drive! Although it probably won't work...
foo = bar/*myPtr;
Re:Highlights from keynote (Score:2)
>in Linux, or has that changed?
What part of "Apple does not *OWN* all of the codecs" do you people not understand???
Almost EVERY time Apple is mentioned here, some fool will bitch about "no Quicktime on Linux".
Well guess what. It's not Apple's call, Were Apple to open source Quicktime (even just the movieplayer... ignoring, for now, everything else that constitutes Quicktime), they would immediately expose themselves to heap big lawsuitage. They're *NOT* gonna do that. Steve Jobs may be many things, but he's not stupid.
You wanna bitch to someone? Go talk to Sorenson, et al.
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
It IS Apple (Score:2)
As a matter of fact, QuickTime is a reasonably open format. The xanim player for Unix, for example, does a good job with QuickTime movies for which it has codecs, and it is Open Source.
So, you're starting off with incorrect assumptions. But moving along...
It's not Apple's call
Then you said:
So you think that if Sorenson didn't have an exclusive agreement with Apple, they would just
Okay, so people point out you are dead wrong, and suddenly your old argument disappears! It sure looks like you're just looking to cause trouble to me. Trolling for flames, are we? But, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
The author of xanim has contacted Sorensen about licensing the codec for implementation as a closed-source, loadable module. No source code give away, so your anti-Open Source rant is completely bull. They wouldn't even need to do the work, all they need to do is let him use the codec.
Sorensen has said they would be interested, but Apple will not let them.
So, YES, it IS Apple's restrictions that are preventing us from viewing QuickTime movies on our non-Mac, non-Windows machines. Pure and simple.
Get a clue.
Re:At least... (Score:2)
Of course, this is all congecture, and might not be the case.
Re:Highlights from keynote (Score:2)
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Re:Really broken Apple site (Score:2)
Old expiry/modify dates are often used to combat external caching. It's also a hack to make search engines trawl your site more often.
Re:I'm getting one (Score:2)
Re:If cosmetics is such bullshit.. (Score:2)
why don't other computer makers even try?
Heck, other fields are like this too. I'll mention Buildings, as an example.
There was an architect called Charles Jenks, who wrote books about a new philosophy for design, which became known as Postmodernism. The theory was quite involved and sophisticated. This was in the 70's.
But the thory did not get copied. The complexity of his aesthetics did not get copied. Only certain elements got copied. The average skilled architect copied the use of brick and bright colors. These were easy and cheap to design into a building.
Here in the UK we got lots of brick buildings with square windows and brightly painted steelwork. This is the accepted look, and it's what the average architect does to satisfy the client.
It's a cheap ripoff of a shallow interpretation of a fifteen year old philosophy! Just like with computers, beige boxes are the accepted look. Is it beige? Is it a box? Yes? Yes? Great, start production.
Almost nobody breaks the mold. Today it happens to be some designers at Apple. But I have an old PowerMac 8500, and is it beige? Is it a box? Yep!
Today there's the architect Frank Ghery. His buildings are huge sculptures that seem to fly apart, every surface a complex curve, clad in shimmering steel or polished stone. Glass walls that bend and defy gravity. Nobody else builds the way he does. The whole form is a crazy bewilderingly complex composition. He is also famous, so he will have influence.
I can predict that in ten years all buildings will be brick, with some bright colored steel, and have one curve in them.
It's really sad, but for all our individualism, we're a conservative bunch. Afraid to break the mold. Afraid to look out of place. Manufacturers stick to the mold because they fear it'll flop. And they'd be right! Most consumers won't touch something 'odd' looking. A little different, maybe yes. But do something ever so slightly out of the norm and your neighbours will laugh at you, or worse, think you're a retard.
It's not surprising that people stick to the mold. WHat is surprising is that occasionally something new is accepted. Maybe people just get bored. Like one day a designer makes a hi-fi component that's all black. Maybe he was off his head, or maybe he was inspired. Anyhow, it survives. Then everyone follows. Then people get bored, and the market it ready for a breath of air again.
Re:Hate to say "I told you so"... (Score:2)
My question is simple: why does anyone get this worked up about it. MOSR has been wrong. Ever notice that most of what's posted is "(unreliable|unconfirmed|past|usually reliable) sources claimed"? Even the weenie who posted the little "How MOSR gets news" story managed nothing better than being listed as an "unconfirmed email".
Are people somehow unclear on the meanings of words like "rumor" or "unconfirmed"? It's somewhat obvious that the literacy level on slashdot has been dropping but I still find it amazing that anyone considers it an act of fraud when an "Unconfirmed Rumor" at MOSR turns out to be wrong.
Even things like the infamous 17" iMac stories - I'd be amazed if Apple hadn't started work on such a beast and called off the project later. That sort of thing happens in this industry, where projects are created, cancelled, revived, drastically changed and recancelled in a matter of weeks; you can usually ask 5 people on the same project about it and get at least 5 separate answers. Couple that with using highly unofficial sources at a secretive company who don't want to be identified as the source of a leak and it's no surprise that most stories end up being wrong in at least a few details. Maybe that's why they call them rumors?
__
Mirror (Score:4)
It's not a bad thing! (Score:2)
Since this is a very small computer, and it's designed to go on top of your desk in a small environment, this greatly reduces the numbers of cables sneaking around, which actually makes it a good idea.
Since this is just throwing a bunch of industry standard (is DVI a standard?)pins into a single connecter, you can probablly make an adaptor with a soldering gun if you were desperate enough, and I can almost guarentee that dirt cheap adaptors will be available within weeks.
Finally, to top it off, you probablly wont need that adaptor. The Cube still has a seperate VGA port built-in, so you can plug any normal moniter into it. All in all, this setup is an interesting and possibily advantagous feature, considering it's targeted at the business world, and those who are really short on space. (Put this in your cubicle, get real computing power, no noise!)
And just to get off topic for a moment, some people here asked about rack mounting these things. Let me refer you to a pic: http://www.apple.com/powermaccube/images/expansion photo107052000.jpg
The entire guts of the machine slides easily out of the bottom of the case with a single press of a button. Doesn't that package look beautiful, even to those who arn't trying to rack mount. I wonder how long before someone comes up with a rack design to hold those. I personally wouldn't mind having a room full of these running OS X and WebObjects, serving up something. =)
Apple's site (Score:2)
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Re:What a cool looking system.... (Score:2)
Re:Is this design sound? (Score:3)
I've also never heard of the LC-crushing problem. I suppose it could happen, but I used to stand on one (I weighed about 160 at the time) to demonstrate how strong it was, and it functioned fine until I gave it to a thrift store last month.
The CD drive in the original iMacs was a bit flimsy. I don't know of any breaking, but then, I don't really know anyone with children, either. I'll give you that one, but then, it was corrected pretty quickly with the slot-loaders.
The handle on the iMac was never really intended to make it portable. It just makes it easier to move when you have to. Would you rather pick up a 45 lb. machine with round, smooth sides without a handle?
As for the single-button mouse, I fail to see the problem. A few million of us have used them for the past fifteen years without apparent handicap. If you prefer a multi-button mouse, feel free to use one, but that doesn't mean a single-button mouse is a design flaw, any more than the fact that you prefer orange juice makes grapefruit juice a design flaw.
Now then -- does that make the Cube's design sound? Nope. It might be -- I'd be willing to bet a few dollars on it being sound. But it might not be. Only time will tell.
Don't put one in the kitchen. (Score:2)
Gigabit ethernet (Score:2)
During the keynote, the machine seemed to have no problem pumping 16MB of video per second down the pipe to Final Cut Pro for live manipulation.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
Where the HELL did I say I oppose OS? (Score:2)
If I had a rant AT ALL, It wasn't against open source, it was against the "everything MUST be open-source or it is completely evil and unworthy of any praise whatsoever" zealots like RMS and tofu the wonder furby, or whatever he calls himself.
There're plenty of good open source products. I use a number of them... when they are the best choice.
There're ALSO plenty of prefectly good closed source products. I also use a number of them... when they are the best choice.
I simply don't shun closed source products for that reason alone.
>>So you think that if Sorenson didn't have an
>>exclusive agreement with Apple, they would just
>>... open their code?
>Okay, so people point out you are dead wrong,
>and suddenly your old argument disappears!
Uh... no, that's the whole point. The codecs are NOT Apple's to give away... NOT without the permission of the owner.
So let's look at the options Apple has if they want to GPL (or BSD or Artistic or whatever) Quicktime:
1)
They open source ALL of Quicktime, WITHOUT the permission of the owners of the 3rd party codecs. Apple promptly gets sued into oblivion. Conclusion? Not gonna happen.
2)
They open source all of Quicktime, EXCEPT the parts they license from 3rd parties. This results in a stripped down player that A) will NOT play many of the more recent
Now... knowing Steve Jobs' characteristic attention to detail, obsession with quality products, and desire for a good appearance, at the very least, do you think he will allow this theoretical half-assed player to leave 1 Infinite Loop? I didn't think so. Conclusion? Not gonna happen.
3)
The 3rd party owners of the appropiate codecs (Sorenson, etc.) decide, out of the goodness of their hearts to open their own code. And they do so under such a license that allows Apple to release them in a commercial product. NOW Apple has the option of opening Quicktime. Conclusion? Convince Sorenson, et al... THEN talk to Apple about opening Quicktime.
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
QuickTime for Linux (Score:2)
This just isn't practical. Apple's brand name and product perception is incredibly important to the company, and rightfull so. In fact, nobody really realized this (or did anything about it) until Jobs returned. Their marketing campaign was a disaster prior to him bringing Chiat-Day back on. But I digress...
The point is that each product that Apple releases reflects them as a company, as a result, having a bunch of hackers slap together some X11 stuff just isn't an option. Things can be worked on and released in such a manner for GNOME, but it just doesn't make sense for QuickTime.
I think the main issue is that Apple doesn't believe there's a signficant market for QuickTime on Linux. Obviously, all of its hardware customers need it, and it has to support Windows, but I think it's hard to justify the Linux issue when so much of the installed based is servers.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
Confirmation of Disney merger? (Score:4)
When is the last time that litigious Apple borrowed another company's intellectual property (well...besides Xerox's)?
My other thought:
- 1989 -- NeXT cube
- 2000 -- Mac cube
More similarities than the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations... What's next, Businessland to re-ermge and have an exclusive contract? Ross Perot to invest heavily in Apple? The King of Spain to buy a room full of these puppies?Re:I have to somewhat disagree (Score:2)
I suppose that's fairly subjective.
The iMac looks idiotic
That's just troll material.
and the G4s are no different looking from any other computer on earth
In terms of dimensions and proportions, you are correct. In terms of display, colors, materials and functionality, the G4 cases are quite different.
Apple keeps telling us how they want to make the computer an attractive home appliance, but the best they can do is use colored plastic and make them a little rounder? That doesn't cut it in my book. As far as I'm concerned all these computers have the same "Toaster and TV set combo" look as any other computer that's out there.
I would imagine there are much more bold and daring designs sitting on the drawing board, but Apple does have to be somewhat realistic about accommodating 1) hardware needs (heat issues, for example 2) appealing to a broad audience 3) production costs/time. That said, they are certainly more daring in their designs than any other major manufacturer in the industry.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
Re:NeXT--Apple--HP := backwards PUI (Score:3)
1. Absolutely every last person who has seen any NeXT product ever. /. who has read an Apple-related story in the past year.
2. Absolutely everybody who has read even one column describing MacOS X and the history of its development.
3. Pretty much everybody on
Other than that, you are the only one to make the connection. Nice work. :)
Proof! (Score:2)
Clearly stated in the title line on the window is the string "Mickey 320 QTVR".
There you have it, unquestionable proof of the Apple-Disney-Pixar merger. They wouldn't dare put this up and to call their mouse a "Mickey" unless the merger deal was in its final stages, thus removing the lawsuit threat...
Re:maaan (Score:2)
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
just like a Next cube... (Score:2)
Re:Form over function? (Score:2)
Finally, a post where my sig is relevant!
Re:The Sound of Silence (Score:2)
I can hear the TV in my living room from my bedroom, even if it's muted or receiving no signal, and the same goes for my computer monitor, you could blindfold me, march me into the same room, and I could tell you if it was on or off. My dad, and several of my instructors, on the other hand, always look at me strange when I say that I can hear the CRT's, but it's quite easy, just there on the bare edge of your perception....
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Re:The Sound of Silence (Score:2)
It is perfectly normal for young people to hear the high-pitched frequencies of a cathod ray tube, but as you grow older, your hearing inevitably will go worse on this noise. This is nothing to worry about.
As an army medic testing new army recruits every 3 months, I *did* see the results of club music however. The current generation's hearing abilities are indeed worse than the average results of previous young folks.
------------------
Re:How DO you pick the cube up? (Score:2)
However, if you insist, there is a semi-circular 'mouse hole' in one side at the bottom (presumably where cooling air goes in?), so I guess you'd just put one hand in here and lift.
Hate to say "I told you so"... (Score:5)
I've been reading MOSR almost daily since before they had a domin name. Yes, take everything with a grain of salt - but then, they tell you that it's a rumor site and the stuff they cover isn't reliable. Sure, they've been wrong before. Everyone knows that. Even when they get the right idea, they're often wrong on some of the details. That doesn't mean they're never right about anything! Lighten up.
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Re:How DO you pick the cube up? (Score:2)
I guess Apple is expected to think about things like that but nobody else is.
Re:apple cuby (Score:2)
Still not cheap, but I'd buy one.
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
If I were a Mac rumor site... (Score:2)
...I wouldn't cover this at all. If Apple wants to play hard ball and bring court orders against its fans, then maybe they should return the favor and not give this product any hype.
Of course, maybe that sounds like a good idea to me because I'm not an Apple fan but I have a vindictive streak.
Re:Hockey puck mouse? (Score:2)
I've been in the habit of keeping a linux server on every network I work on just because I like to be able to pull up a gnome desktop wherever I want to...
The ability to drop one of these cubes in somewhere and have aqua everywhere... hmmmmmm.....
Re:apple cuby (Score:2)
Note that it's not. [apple.com]
Re:Highlights from keynote (Score:2)
Almost EVERY time Apple is mentioned here, some fool will bitch about "no Quicktime on Linux".
...You wanna bitch to someone? Go talk to Sorenson, et al.
As has been pointed out many times before, the only reason the Sorensen codec is not licensed to any other video player is because Apple paid Sorensen to give them an exclusive license. What part of "EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT" do you not understand???
Guess what--it's not Sorensen's call. If Apple would permit them to license their codecs for a Linux-based player, they almost surely would. Or if Apple would just be half as charitable as MS and come out with a slow, buggy Quicktime player for Linux (to match the slow and buggy QT player for Windows), everyone'd stop complaining.
You wanna be rude and condescending on
Lawyers gone wild (Score:4)
Forbidden
Your client is not allowed to access the requested object.
Sounds like Apple got a cease-and-desist from their own lawyers...
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The Cube is nothing... (Score:2)
(Of course the first thing I'd do is put Linux on it... MacOS just isnt' my thang)
Re:Is this design sound? (Score:2)
Do you have an corroboration for this? It sounds anecdotal. I'm not saying you're lying, I'm just asking for a good source of Apple info from the early 80's.
We are the macs ... (Score:2)
Oups! Wrong cube
Uh yeah... whatever... (Score:2)
If they did this, just HOW, prey tell, mister open source guru that you are, would Sorenson stay in business?
It's a video codec for crying out loud, NOT a big, complex operating system! Either it works, or it doesn't. It's not like they can build a business model on support contracts for the thing like Red Hat/VA/etc. have for Linux.
Now, mabye, someday, someone will build a completely new codec of the equivelent quality as Sorenson, and give it away under a license that would please people like you and RMS. And just MABYE this hypothetical new codec will be adopted to the extent that Quicktime is now.... but it hasn't happened yet.
Oh... and BTW, there are more codecs in Quicktime that Apple has licensed from others than just Sorenson.
You wanna be rude and condescending on
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
New mouse and kb (Score:2)
Personally, I like my hockey puck mouse.. I've been using mostly an iMac for the past year and a half and I actually have trouble using those funky long mice included with pc's and older macs. What I really don't understand, is why can't people figure out how to use the round mice? Just rest your hand around it comfortably, with your palm mostly on top of the mouse, and the cord between your index and middle finger (this keeps it from getting turned around). Presto! A nice, cool looking, useable mouse! Just what Apple engineers hoped for in the first place... too bad they didn't include an instruction manual for the mouse. The new one is optical, which is nice, but I'd still keep my puck if I bought a new mac today.
A keyboard is mostly a keyboard, and as long as the new one doesn't have a terribly different feel to it it's no problem, but what's wrong with the old one? It has all the keys you'll need (including inverted-t arrows) unless you want to run windows (virtual pc), and in that case buy a new kb :P. The old kb saves valuable desktop space, and I like the idea of a really small keyboard. In fact, the only way Apple could make the old keyboard cooler/more utilitarian is by taking the inch or so of extra plastic off the top, compacting the sides, and making it a little thinner.. now that would be a keyboard worth buying for my current comp.
Re:Hockey puck mouse? (Score:2)
New Apple marketing (Score:4)
"The similarities to the Borg Cube are not just superficial", Apple President Steve Jobs was quoted as saying. "The technology we used was very highly influenced by the popular Star Trek TV series."
According to the agreement, Paramount Studios will be providing QuickTime clips of special shows featuring the Borg fighting the evil 8472 with the help of the PowerMac G4 Cube. Executives declined to comment on whether or not the 8472 would be featuring Microsoft, Inc.'s rival Windows operating systems.
Apple product designers could not be reached for comment on the rumours of a G3 Sphere.
The Sound of Silence (Score:2)
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer to leave my computer on 24x7. Unfortunately, it resides in the bedroom so the noise from the computer and CRT drives me crazy.
The Powermac Cube has a G4 and no fan. Apple has done this with G3's previously (iMac) but never a G4. So between this and the LCD, I'll finally have the silent system I've always wanted. Now if they can only squeeze a second processor into the case...
Re:At least... -- NOT A RUMOR, MKAY? ... (Score:2)
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Really broken Apple site (Score:2)
(later) Try "view source" in Netscape in and you get "403 FORBIDDEN". Lynx returns a 403 error just trying to view the page. (still later) This seems to be a transient problem; sometimes I can view source. Sometimes I get a 403 error just trying to view the page. They must have some lame server that returns FORBIDDEN errors under overload.
Apple doesn't maintain their HTML very well: META tags include "Expires" CONTENT="Mon, 05 Apr 1999 23:59:59 GMT" and "Date.Modified" CONTENT="19992109"
(much later) Still can't get the pictures. Sigh. You'd think Apple would either get enough hardware to support their site or outsource to some hosting firm with major overload support.
Re:Where the HELL did I say I oppose OS? (Score:2)
This only has to do with Linux being able to play Sorensen encoded video. Basically, there are two ways this can be accomplished (note that neither has anything to do with open-source):
1) Apple can release Sorensen from their exclusive contract, allowing them to license (for a fee and without releasing any source code) their codecs to xanim, just like nearly every other video codec has been licensed to xanim.
2) Apple can port (without open-sourcing their code or anyone's codecs) Quicktime to Linux, just as they have to Windows.
Either would be acceptable to nearly everyone. Neither has to do with revealing any of Sorensen's source code. The first would require the compliance of both Apple and Sorensen, but Sorensen has already publically stated that they would agree to it. The second is entirely in Apple's hands.
Having exhaustively proven you completely wrong, I'm going to consider any further responses trolls.
It's *NOT* about licensing... (Score:2)
I dunno who's lying. But it doesn't matter. It does NOT matter if the contract doesn't let Sorenson license the codec to whoever.
The issue here is NOT about licensing. It's about COPYRIGHT.
Simply put, the Sorenson code is *NOT* Apple's to open. Sorenson has *NOT* GPLed (or insert your favorite license, Im not gonna get in a GPL/BSD/whatever flamewar) their codec.
ergo... no Quicktime for Linux.
It's hard to beleive that people STILL can't tell licensing and copyright apart (to say nothing about the confusion that comes up when you throw in trademark and patents). But there's furbyboy up there chanting "la la la im right you're wrong apple sux if you disagree with me youre a troll".
Slashdot needs a better FAQ. As often as license / copyright / trademark / patent comes up... it'd be damn nice to just be able to say RTFFAQ.
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
Re:apple cuby (Score:2)
$2299 for the 500mhz model (only avail from Apple store)
Mirror... (Score:2)
[logicalec.com]
http://www.logicalec.com/~rayvd/powercube/
Re:maaan (Score:2)
In case nobody noticed, (Score:2)
Dave
Re:What a cool looking system.... (Score:2)
One small area of concern is that I don't see anywhere on these photos where an external SCSI card would fit. Does that perhaps mean I would need to use Firewire if I wanted to connect a big RAID to it?
For that matter, I saw nothing on the specs page about PCI slots. As an audio geek, this thing is useless to me if I can't drop a Layla DSP card into it.
I like the fact that there is no fan. Computers are too noisy these days. However, lack of PCI expansion basically makes this an iMac on steroids. I think I will stick to the tower unless it turns out that Apple's web page info is incomplete.
MOSR (Score:3)
Interesting that Apple would use legal action threats to have the rumors removed a month before the product appears on the web site. It pretty much confirms the rumors. Of course, there was speculation that MOSR fabricated the Apple request to get more attention, and may still have, but things begin to look alot less dishonest when the cube is sitting on the website now.
It would look pretty cool sitting on my desk. ;>
wish
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Another Industrial Design Coup for Apple (Score:2)
It is so sad to see Apple pushing so much of its marketing energies into hawking, as "innovations," what amount to pretty case designs, when they have gone and eliminated truly innovative things like:
A "kinder, gentler" version of Lisp
A really powerful PDA
Macquarium / Mac Plus G4 (Score:3)
As history repeats itself.... (Score:4)
2001 Apple announces Apple Slab - fondly known as the 'G6 pizza box'
2003 Apple ceases hardware production - 'Hardware is a commodity' says Jobs.
'Software is the key differentiator'
2005 Apple acquired by HP - Jobs to become chair of 'new, revitalized' company.
And so on, and so on.....
first with optical mouse? (Score:2)
Re:just like a Next cube... (Score:2)
I bet he'll settle with himself out of court.
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Species 8472 not evil (Score:2)
...or was slashdot macdotted? (Score:2)
Actually, ironically, it may be that slashdot itself is feeling the effects of the Jobs keynote. I can't remember the last time it took so long for slashdot to load.
And I know it was a joke, but for a site to really be slashdotted, by definition, the recipient site must have less hardware and bandwidth than slashdot itself. This certainly isn't the case with Apple.
- Scott
------
Scott Stevenson
One space left in the Mac product matrix... (Score:3)
Last, some speculation: Steve's revised product matrix (including Cube) was drawn with 6 squares. Apple's design group could have drawn it as a pentagon or some other shape with exactly 5 parts, but they chose a 6 part rectangle, with a blank space in between iBook and PowerBook.
Apple designers may be evil sometimes (e.g. QT Player 4, hall of shame) but they don't do accidents. There's only one product that would make sense in that gap -- SUBNOTEBOOK! 4 pounds or less, a competitor for the Sony Vaio 505 SuperSlim. I'm gonna keep on wishing til it comes true...
Re:Hate to say "I told you so"... (Score:2)
(Recall their big "Windows 98 will be ported to Macs" rumor. Not only is that completely inprobable, it's also probably impossible. When I e-mailed them and asked them why 98 and not the PPC version of NT, their reply made it clear that they had no idea what Windows NT even was.)
For reliable reports, I'll take AppleInsider (formerly Reality) any day. They don't go to print regularly, but when they do, their accuracy rate is pretty dang good.
Anyway, the Cube is probably an all time low for Mac Rumor sites. They had the news for only about a week before the announcement, and real (fake) pictures didn't surface until the day before. Even the super top-secret iMac was known to them months before the official announcement.
(And as a meta-comment -- It's strange how Apple's secrecy feeds on itself. I almost wonder if it's a ploy to keep the Macheads religiously following the company. Back in the old days, print journals like MacWeek would have full details of Apples new machines months before they shipped, and it never seemed to hurt sales or the faithful.)
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Re:As history repeats itself.... (Score:2)
The original Centris/Quadra 610s with the wide, flat design were referred to as "pizza boxes", actually.
Or was that your point?
Jay (=
Form over function? (Score:4)
First, because folks like to put stuff on top of them. the big vent in the middle of the top of this thing will probably prevent people from resting their coffee mug on it, but I'm sure they'll have overheating problems from folks putting papers on top of it.
Second, the Crud Factor. That big pretty vent probably makes nice pretty ringing noises when you push coins through it. Hopefully they've thought to put some mesh behind it. I grew up in a big family and have many nieces and nephews, don't think your kids won't try this, I've seen coins (and worse, like green jello) done to this sort of box in the past.
And that CD-ROM drive. Eesh. It even *LOOKS* like it's designed to store paperclips. I don't even want to think about that.
And, finally, is it just me or does the whole affair look like a 1950's impression of a futuristic deep fat fryer? All we need is a wire handle attached to those two bolts on the top so that we can pull the basket out to drain . . .
Last I checked.... (Score:2)
....normal computers were too big to carry in one hand while munching on pizza. Trust me, a handle on this little puppy would be a godsend while carrying and the flat screen to the LAN party (the Apple flat screen, IIRC, has a stand with a hole in it - I'm pretty sure it'll double as a handle). :)
Of course, there is one, but I'd rather not have to carry this computer around in the rain while it's naked. A normal carrying handle would be a good thing.
(And in case there are other replies like this before mine, my official excuse is "Can't read; working.")
Signal to Noise (Score:2)
So they got one right. Or at least they had the notion of a cube right.
BFD. How many have they gotten wrong?
Cliche time: Even a broken clock clock (analog) is right twice a day.
I used to read MOSR. I don't waste my time anymore. The signal to noise ratio is just too low. And any 'real' inside info is quickly available on other Mac sites.
The key to any rumors type site is credibility. For me, MOSR is just noise.
Steve M
If cosmetics is such bullshit.. (Score:5)
I mean, everyone here is going goo goo ga ga over a fucking box! I am too - I admit. The cube is really cool looking. BUT IT'S A BOX! Why isn't Compaq or Dell or Sony (most of all Sony) putting out anything half as cool?
More power to Apple if they pull off yet another packaging revolution (the first being the iMac). Looks like everyone else lacks the balls to try something different.