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Apple Businesses

Mac Case Mods 58

Posted by Hemos from the look-at-the-purty dept.
EyesWideOpen writes "Wired News is running two articles about numerous case mods to Macs. The first article is about Japanese mods that include painted PowerBook lids, a black iMac and a 'Beer Server G3' among others. The other article features mods such as the Philco radio Mac, a Mac writing tablet and an awesome G4 tower that lights up with fluorescent blue neon and has a LCD screen mounted in the front panel that can mirror the desktop or display other visualizations."
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Mac Case Mods More

Mac Case Mods

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  • That would be a neat rack mount. Turn the lcd sideways and then you don't have to have a mopnitor in the rack.

    • Re:lcd (Score:2)

      by red5 ( 51324 )
      That would be a neat rack mount. Turn the lcd sideways and then you don't have to have a mopnitor in the rack.

      Or you could just buy this [dell.com] for $1499.
      • Or you could just buy
        this [dell.com] for $1499.
        Or... For a lot less money you could just buy this [marathoncomputer.com] for $225. The monitor is not included, but it takes a 15" Flat Panel Display... which you can buy on eBay for a couple hundred bucks.

  • Did any one else notice... (Score:5, Funny)

    by arcadum ( 528303 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @11:18AM (#4578549)
    The magnet next to the hard drive? [wired.com]
    • People are idiots, who would put a mac in a radio anyways?
    • Could you exlpain to me why this is a problem?

      Clearly if you wave a magnet about a magnetic storage device, you are suspect to manipulation of the information stored therein, but I think that a stationary magnet (or otherwise stable magnetic field) would have no effect on a hard drive... provided that the field is uniform about each platter.

      So, I suppose there would be some issues installing the drive, but once everthing is there, what's the problem?

      • but if that radio is still operational, the magnet moves back and forth as the speaker produces sound, which would create a magnetic disturbance. only a problem if the radion bits still function, i guess.
        • Not to mention the actual data, which is moving around in circles 5400 cycles/minute with respect to the "stationary" magnet.
          • First let me say that by no means am I a physists... I mostly blame this on my crappy professor, and the administration that will not replace him.

            What about the other stationary magnet -- you know -- the Earth? Clearly the disk is also spinning within the Earth's magnetic field, which I think varies more significantly over time than the magnet in that speaker.

            I suppose what it comes down to is that the magnet is simply not strong enough to distort the data on the disk. I realize that the platters are spinning at a high rate through a magnetic field, and that as a sector spins away from the magnet it will experience a different force than when it spins toward the magnet, unless the axel on which the drive spins is on the same line as the magnets poles. So, my question remains... so long as the magnetic field is stable, and the magnet and the drive are stationary relative to each other... what's the problem?

            You may also find it interesting that the speaker in my case (Lian-Li PC-60) is mounted directly beneath my harddrives... I have not had a single problem with data loss/corruptuion in the year that this system has been running.

        • The magnet doens't move. The coil and the cone do.

  • Too much time (Score:3, Funny)

    by L. VeGas ( 580015 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @11:30AM (#4578642) Homepage Journal
    Ok, I guess I'm not uber enough, but just what is up with case mods? What's so magic about a computer case that you want to turn it into a circus?

    Ohhhh, because you use a computer, you want to decorate it. Come on. I grab my dork everyday, but it doesn't mean I want to turn it into a christmas tree.

    • Re:Too much time (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Dephex Twin ( 416238 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @12:26PM (#4578916) Homepage
      Why do people decorate their house? Get a nice car? Buy clothes for more than utilitarian purposes?

      People like to personalize stuff that they are around every day. People who do case mods like to express themselves, they like using the fun modded case, and above all, they enjoy the process of tinkering and carrying out the modifications.

      • And another thing (Score:4, Funny)

        by Dephex Twin ( 416238 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @12:28PM (#4578927) Homepage
        Some people DO decorate their "dorks"... it's called piercings and tattoos.
      • I have to agree somewhat with the original poster. While some of 'em definitely look like interesting diversions (the radio was an old mac), I don't get the G4 case mod. It looks ridiculous, which is maybe the point, but I very very seldom see a mod that makes the thing look better.

        Just to be a designer-wank, I have to ask: what makes these people think they can do better than Apple? Do they not understand that part of the premium they've paid for the computer is that some smart m*therf*ckers sat around a looog time with their Chai Lattes and Industrial Design degrees, and figured out something incredibly spiff?

        I mean, if you want to, go for it, cut a hole in your G4. I guess I'm just lamenting the fact that it almost always looks much worse. Every time I see "l33t sexy mod' on Slashdot, I click through and start laughing my ass off. Then I wonder if the poster has maybe lost a heat-tile or two from their Aesthetic Discretion Module (apologies to N.S.)...

        • Like I said, above all, they just like the effort and challenge of creating the mod. That's why the modders almost always post pictures of the entire process of creating the mod. They like to figure out how it will work and implement it. It's a challenge. Like a crossword puzzle, but harder.

          A lot of mods are humorous or have something you'd never see in a normal computer, too.
        • That being said, the paint job on that iBook is really nice, and I am thinking of getting mine done with something similar, but completely different.

  • I mod them so much (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jlower ( 174474 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @12:40PM (#4579016) Homepage
    That they aren't even computers any more. I've made aquariums out of 'classic' Macs, Lisas, MacTV's, and large monitors of all kinds. I've made Macs into bookshelf speakers, Old IBM PC's into cat litterboxes, and am now working on coverting an old laptop into an ant farm. I'm keeping my eyes open for a big PC tower so I can cut the top off, hinge it with a foot pedal and make a trash can.

    Why? 'cause I like to tear stuff up and make it into something else. Does anyone need a better reason?

    See a lot of my stuff here [techquarium.com]...

  • When a G4 Cube isn't a G4 Cube (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Hey All,

    It sounds weird but it is happening... Take a look the birth pictures of my "Cube".

    http://www.wookieweb.com/linux/cube.htm

    wookie
    www.wookieweb.com

  • G3 Beer Keg (Score:3, Funny)

    by rampant mac ( 561036 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @01:45PM (#4579556)
    Thank god I never thought of turning my computer into a keg when I was in college.

    Imagine if I could've gotten wasted, wasting time chatting and playing games.

    Oh wait, I did. I just had to walk across the room to the fridge.

    Lucky bastards.

  • Cool, but where... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by MImeKillEr ( 445828 )
    ... can *I* get a G4 case? I'd love to just rip apart and slap my Duron into it.

    Anyone know where I can get a G4 case cheap? Yeah, I know the case mods have been done before, but its not like I'm looking to publish it or anything. The PC cases are just too ugly, and even the McPC case is ugly to me.

    • There are occasional QuickSilver cases for sale on eBay. Not cheap though because they're not cheap cases.
    • Do you know anyone who works at an authorized Apple Repair center? When I did (many years ago), we could create an entire Mac from service parts. In fact, when I built my MacTV aquarium I did so by ordering all the case plastic parts from Apple instead of tearing up an old computer.

      • Re:Cool, but where... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Spencerian ( 465343 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @03:01PM (#4580141) Homepage Journal
        The problem with this idea is that, today, the cost of using service parts would easily exceed the cost of a built system. Geez...I just received a quote for a replacement multiprocessor module for a 2000 500MHz dual-processor G4 that cost almost as much as it would to buy a new dual 867MHz system today.

        I'm an Apple Service Tech.

        You'd be better off buying the whole working computer from someone. There's plenty of Blue-and White Power Macintosh G3 cases, and maybe more G4s. Caveat emptor.
        • I looked on Ebay, per the previous comment regarding the Quicksilver case. $229? Hell, I'd rather buy one of these [casedepot.com] and put the extra $180 into a mobo and proc.

          I do think the Qucksilver case is much nicer, and I've got an evil dayglow green/black combo in mind.

          *Sigh*
        • "The problem with this idea is that, today, the cost of using service parts would easily exceed the cost of a built system"

          Geez - I got the same problem with my Dodge Neon - once I throw a front bumper with more lights, cold air intake, turbocharger, ground effect strips, altezza lights - gosh - I coulda bought a new neon for less!

          Only it just ain't the same... ;-)

    • eBay, man eBay. Just search in the Mac section for case. However as neat as this sounds you are probably looking at about $120 for a case without a power supply, but with all of the important bits like the drive brackets, which from Apple can be surprisingly expensive. You would still have to get the standoffs out and I'm not sure what the best method for doing so would be. Also the original standoffs are significanly taller than standard PC case standoffs, which is another problem you would have to solve.
      • Yeah, I looked on Ebay. Geezus-f'ing-christ they're proud of their cases.

        I may just go to the local hobby shop and get some mirrored plexiglass and make my own case... Thanks though.

  • Why Mac Cases? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Kevin Stevens ( 227724 ) <kevstev.gmail@com> on Friday November 01, 2002 @03:00PM (#4580130)
    I understand the basis from which PC case modding arose... people wanted something more than a beige square box with no personality. But Mac cases are already quite attractive. I guess case moding has now reached a hacker/artistic level where people do it just to push the envelope and find new ways to express themselves.

  • Another Mac First (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BitGeek ( 19506 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @03:23PM (#4580265) Homepage


    Most people don't realize this but Mac users started the fad of case mods. I'm not kidding. Long before there were any companies catering to PC case modders, back when all PCs came in original IBM AT style cases, Mac users were modifying their cases. Not as fancy as these days, but I especially remember the case mods coming out of japan.

    Just as PC manufacturers have started emulating the more stylish, and then more colorful Mac cases, so has the PC mod community emulated the Mac mod community.

    Nothing wrong with that, just want to head off at the pass any idea that MAc users are copying PC users. Apple also puts out some of the most modifiable cases in the market.
  • I've got a TiBook, and have thought about modifying it, but so far I've only seen one example (found here http://www.wired.com/news/images/0,2334,56085-5314 ,00.html) and no guides. Has anyone seen any sites for modified G4 powerbooks? thanks.

  • Place For Macintosh Mods (Score:3, Informative)

    by obi-1-kenobi ( 547975 ) on Friday November 01, 2002 @03:28PM (#4580294) Homepage
    The best place for Macintosh mods is AppleFritter http://www.AppleFritter.com

  • If I could get a Mac laptop modified to support a trackpoint, I'd buy a new iBook or Tibook tomorrow.

    • Am I right in thinking trackpoints are those little buds in the middle of keyboards which you have to nudge with your finger to move the pointer? If so, then the thought that someone would require one of these in place of a decent trackpad is unbelievable. - jc
  • Hey, I'd Buy an iMac if it looked like this [applefritter.com],

    here's some more pictures of that system:

    Here [applefritter.com]
    Here [applefritter.com]
    and Here [applefritter.com]

    However I would mount larger speakers into the unit if I did this.

  • As BitGeek noted: Mac users have done this for years.

    I don't understand why so many people start jumping up and down in excitement over som Mac case-mods. This has been done before, especially in Japan. So why do everyone get so excited?

    Case-mods can hardly be described as something new and revolutionizing...
  • "Ken Nakao, a Japanese designer, made his "Halli Mac" by installing the guts of an iBook inside a high-end aluminum travel case from Zero Halliburton, a U.S. case manufacturer."

    I know it's been on /. before. That is a fantastic mod. I'd buy one.

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