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Desktops (Apple) Businesses Apple Hardware

Upgrade Mac Cube to G5 Look 62

Posted by timothy from the one-picture-thousand-words dept.
ExCEPTION writes "This Japanese guy upgraded his Mac Cube to G5 all by himself. Well, not really an upgrade, just the case." Apple should pay (or hire) this guy.
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Upgrade Mac Cube to G5 Look More

Upgrade Mac Cube to G5 Look

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  • There has been talk that some form of the cube might make an appearance for the 20th anniversary of the mac next year, so maybe we'll actually see something like this in production next year...

  • translations (Score:2, Informative)

    by bash_jeremy ( 703211 )
    altavista's translation [altavista.com]

  • small (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ack154 ( 591432 )
    I just love how it's so small. Apple should market these babies and do another commercial with Yao and MiniMe (don't remember his name), only this time for the G5 instead of the PowerBook.

    And yes, the buttons being in English was slightly odd.... But the guy has some serious skillz... yes, skills with a 'z'. Even the little power button added.
    • Absolutely...I was most impressed. I compared his rendering to the <brag>dual 2GHz G5 sitting under my desk right now</brag> and I thought the likeness was uncanny. Excellent craftsmanship.

  • Impresssive (Score:5, Insightful)

    by moosesocks ( 264553 ) on Tuesday December 16, 2003 @11:14PM (#7742257) Homepage
    This is VERY well-done and impressive.

    Based upon the final photographs, I honestly could easily mistake this for a 'real' Apple product.

    This quality of this is WAY above the normal case-modding job. Not only does it add style, it adds functionality and usability by adding the handles and front USB ports.

    In addition, the motherboard looks like it's UPSIDE DOWN. This could have a serious impact upon the cooling of the processor. See here [arstechnica.com] for a picture of the back of the REAL cube.

    A minor sidenote: How on earth did he drill the holes in the side panels? They are definitely not pre-drilled as shown by the pattern of holes around the cutouts for the power button, CD drive, and USB hub.

    All in all, while I held nothing against the original design of the Cube, and I absolutely hate the design of the G5, this mod-job is very impressive, and I like it a lot. Kudos.

    • Re:Impresssive (Score:3, Informative)

      by Dr Reducto ( 665121 )
      "A minor sidenote: How on earth did he drill the holes in the side panels? They are definitely not pre-drilled as shown by the pattern of holes around the cutouts for the power button, CD drive, and USB hub."

      It definitely looks like it was water-jetted, or laser cut. I am guessing waterjet, because it would be cheap to get something like this done. It's plastic, but takes a little bit of time to cut due to the number of holes.
      • he probably just ran it through a cnc punch, no need to go exotic for some small holes in a thin sheet like that.
      • The sheet of plastic he used looked pre-drilled when it was being cut, but then suddenly it has the pattern of holes filled in around power/cd/usb ports. perhaps filling in the pre-cut standard sheeting was easier than doing it all manually.
      • Well, if you just read the article (joking, but it's really in there) it says that he got a piece of aluminum grate (pre drilled), layed it on top of the piece he cut, and drilled the holes all manually -- I imagine with a rotary drill.
        • "Well, if you just read the article (joking, but it's really in there) it says that he got a piece of aluminum grate (pre drilled), layed it on top of the piece he cut, and drilled the holes all manually -- I imagine with a rotary drill. "

          ??? is there a non rotary drill ????

    • Its side ways: gonna roast (Score:5, Insightful)

      by goombah99 ( 560566 ) on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @12:27AM (#7742616)
      Since the plugs that were on the bottom of the cube are now on the back side of this puppy (and the top side on-button is now on the front) its pretty clear this thing is sideways. Since the cube was cooled only by convection this thing is gonna roast.

      • Re:Its side ways: gonna roast (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        You are correct that the Cube is convection cooled as shipped. However, there is a mounting point for (I believe) an 80mm fan near the bottom / below the heatsink "chimney." It is certainly possible to install this fan though I have no idea if this guy did this.
      • The guy has put some thought into this:

        It flows the air which the convection is done how, don't you think? is. Upgrading graphic card and CPU, the fan being attached, the person is good, however it is probably will be, therefore as for my normal itself, if no oak it is not, don't you think?. Therefore it turns with the free convection and like the light basket just it is flowing, if even the polar barely the air flows, don't you think? it probably is OK what with that.
    • I work for a medical diagnostic device manufacturer in R&D. This is the sort of quality that we expect for a "one of" which goes to trade shows or to the CEO or CTO dog & pony shows. We have several model makers who do this sort of thing. I'd hire this guy in heartbeat even with a weaker resume or less experience. Which I suppose this web-site would almost qualify as.

      Hmmm... perhaps I need to talk them into helping me with my next Power Mac!

      Also With the gadgetry they have in the machine shop, it

    • Re:Impresssive (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Chrysophrase ( 621331 )

      Not only impressive, but it's sooooo cute! My "want-it-now-level" went off the scale on this one...

    • Extremely, but the road warriors in the group may appreciate this page [conf.co.jp] from the same site. Now that's *art*.

  • Wow (Score:4, Funny)

    by Hard_Code ( 49548 ) on Tuesday December 16, 2003 @11:18PM (#7742280)
    Only on slashdot would we have a news item on essentially placing a small cube into a bigger cube. ;)
    • On the same day as a Finn uses an industrial cooler unit to take his 3.2GHz PC (erm, collection of bits more like) to 4.8GHz via the medium of -100C temperatures.

      Is this a Japan/Finland difference, or a Mac/PC user difference?

      YAW.

      • Re:Wow (Score:2, Insightful)

        by redJag ( 662818 )
        We've had *much* lesser quality mods posted on Slashdot before. This mod is beautiful. I don't really see what you're problem is..
        • Which bit of my post indicated that I had "a problem" with the case mod?

        • Well, I hate the world and I generally want to ruin everybody's self esteem...

          Or maybe I was just joking?
          • Why do you hate the world?? I realized you were joking, just pointing out to those who actually thought that way (numerous posts indicating so). The smiley was kind of a huge tip off ;)
  • This guy is a mawd gawd! I have only seen one or two mods in my life that lived up to this guy's vision.

  • Just imagine (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Tuesday December 16, 2003 @11:55PM (#7742486) Journal
    If Apple had gone to the cheese-grater look back then, they wouldn't have had to abandon the "cube" concept over such a silly thing as the clear plastic getting hairline internal cracks over time.

    What with the rising popularity of SFF and Mini-ITX showing that compactness is starting to matter more to hobbyists, it would be interesting to see the market effects of a reintroduction.

  • Heat (Score:4, Interesting)

    by inimcus ( 554859 ) on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @12:35AM (#7742659)
    Someone raised this already, but I think it may need to be addressed more. I don't believe convection works very well when the heat tunnel is placed on it's side. Is there some internal fans that he neglected to show us?

    I hope and pray that one day Steve and Ives get this notion of all-in-one computers out of their heads. Mini ATX PCs are really popular. The iMac could seriously benefit by having an AGP slot, processor upgradability and atleast two PCI slots.

    I have an iMac DV SE now, and I love it, but I won't even consider buying another one. I love OS X and I will pony up for G5, but many first time buyers are really put off with thought of purchasing a computer that overly limits their options, even if they never would do anything to it.

    Apple would hit a home run if they came out with something simular to this as the next iMac.

    • Re:Heat (Score:4, Interesting)

      by YouHaveSnail ( 202852 ) on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @01:35AM (#7742906)
      many first time buyers are really put off with thought of purchasing a computer that overly limits their options, even if they never would do anything to it.

      What's your source for that lovely bit of wisdom?

      It's my experience that most first time buyers don't know or care what AGP or PCI slots are, or why one might ever want or need to change the processor (whatever that is). Indeed, an essential part of the appeal of all-in-one machines like the iMac and the eMac are that, well, they're all-in-one. You don't have to make a lot of decisions about what to buy, and you don't have to worry about whether all the parts will work together. (That's one reason that Gateway and Dell tend to sell their low-end machines as bundles.)

      I recognize that you could add some expansion slots and just not make a big fuss about it so as not to confuse the non-technical customers. But why increase the costs of development and manufacturing to add features that you're specifically planning not to advertise? Small, cheap, expandable: pick two.

      My dad just bought an iMac. I suppose that technically he's not a first time buyer, since he bought my first two Macs back in '85 and '87. But this is the first computer he's bought for himself, and it's a perfect choice specifically because he doesn't have to know or worry about anything on the inside. He'll use e-mail, surf, and do research with it, and he'll probably be happy with it for several years to come.

      My co-worker also just bought an iMac. Last night, in fact. He's anything but a first time buyer, but he thinks it's a great computer too. He got home from the store late last night and was looking forward to going to bed, but his wife wanted him to set it up. So he essentially took it out of the box and plugged it in, and he was about done. He had to create a user account for her, and plug it into his home network. But that's it. There's an awful lot to be said for that sort of convenience.

      Apple would hit a home run if they came out with something simular to this as the next iMac.

      Perhaps. But the cube doesn't have much in the way of expansion possibilities either, so I don't think it's really what you're wishing for.

      Also, despite great engineering, fantastic presentation, and early raves from the press, the cube was rather a flop for Apple. I'd be surprised to see them do anything close to the cube in the near future.
      • My source for this wisdom is five years of sales experience and close observation of sales persons at stores that carry both Macs and PCs.

        You're correct in that most people enter the store with no idea what AGP or PCI even stands for. However, the sales people take it upon themselves to convince buyers that they should not purchase an all-in-one due to the supposed "limited" or even ""inability" to upgrade at a later date. I have observed that they will even lie (what a shock) about the capabilities it d
        • When I was in Uni I got a job selling computers at CompUSA. This was way before they had dedicated Apple sales people on staff. Everyone on the sales team, sans me and another guy disliked Macs. The truth is, they knew nothing about Macs. So whenever people come in to buy a computer, they are always steered towards buying a PC, because the sales people knew about them! Only two of us on the sales team ever suggests to the customer looking at Macs.

          I think a lot of time sales people steer customers away from

  • Hopefully, a better translation (Score:5, Informative)

    by Atsi Otani ( 731761 ) on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @02:17AM (#7743097)
    Hope this is a little better than Altavista or Babelfish.

    Creating a G5-ish case for the Power Mac G4 Cube

    December 1, 2003
    I thought I'd like to have a cube with a Power Mac G5 design, so I started to make a case. First I measured the cube... I started to measure the dimensions with a height gauge.
    Looking forward to how I'll cook up this thing...
    # Huh? Why am I making a case? It's because I can't buy a G5, though people I know are calling me and telling me they bought it... (;_;) And while I was fretting over it, I heard this (http://www.powerlogix.com/products2/enclosure/) was going to be released, so I guess I was inspired by it.

    December 3, 2003
    First I cut out the parts for the case walls, using ABS boards. I made it a little taller than the real cube.
    I'm going to put in a USB hub into the extra space, because they tend to get in the way. It actually was really inconvenient when you connected USB stuff to the Cube, because you had to be careful while laying down the Cube on its side... so that's why. Bought a slim 4-port USB hub. It's what I plan to use.
    A pic of how it looks after I glue and assemble the parts I cut out. The size is a bit smaller than the real Cube.
    I'm gluing thin boards on the outsides, to shield the insides and increase strength. After I finish gluing the boards, I plan to glue aluminum boards about 0.3 mm thick in the insides for shielding.
    The front panel is going to be glued like this, but of course, there's going to be mesh holes because it's a pseudo G5. I'm going to draw in guides, and there's going to be holes for slot-loading and the USB hub, so I'm going to glue on the panel after I finish working on it. At this point, the size is height 193mm * width 179mm * 183mm.
    I'd like to attach handles, work on the mesh, and install the USB hub tomorrow.

    December 4, 2003
    Built in a USB hub in the extra space in the bottom. The picture is how it looks from the bottom. When it's completed, there's supposed to be 4 USB ports lined up at the bottom of the front panel.
    This is how it looks after I put in the Cube (although it's upside down). I plan to work on the front panel, open holes for slot-loading and the USB hub, make a on/off switch, and create a mesh for the front panel.
    I'll work on the front panel and handles tomorrow.

    December 6, 2003
    I opened holes in the front of the case, so it'll look like the aluminum mesh that represents the G5. I first thought of marking off the back of the front panel to open holes, but since there were so many, I reverted to using mesh aluminum as a guide to open the holes. So many 2.9mm diameter holes... my mind goes blank.
    The front panel was completed after a painstaking effort. Gawd... it's almost looks like mesh aluminum in the picture.
    I put it together and glued it to the case I made yesterday. I guess I'm blowing my own horn, but it looks real nice...
    I started to work on the handles. I have to bend boards in order to use them, but since it's going to be troublesome to heat the boards and bend them, I'm going to glue together two 1.5mm thick ABS boards while bending them. Unless I do this, the boards are going to try to return to their original shape after a while.
    I made a guide with the same width as the case (glued V-shaped blacks to a flat table), and glued the boards while bending them in the guide.

    December 7, 2003
    The leg parts after the bending was completed. I glued them on after cutting and finishing them.
    Glued completed legs to the case. It's starting to look more like it...
    Another pic from the side. Yeah, this is more like it.
    This is working out great! Got to make another set and start working on the top.

    December 7, 2003
    Another set of parts for the handle, after bending. Same size as the legs.
    Glued the handles and finished the areas where glue was applied. Looks like a G5 all over... height 259mm * width 179mm * depth 183mm
    All I have to do now is make a transparent part for the on/o
  • Let this be a lesson to you all, when the label says wash in cold water, make sure you only use cold water or things might shrink A LOT.

    Who the hell am I kidding, /. readers don't do laundry. ;-)

    I have to say that was a quality case mod.

  • difference (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @05:19AM (#7743611)
    I don't think anyone has ever taken a few days old dell and modified the case in the style of today's dell, and if someone did, I don't think anyone would care.

    Crazy mac users.

    • Well... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by vasqzr ( 619165 )
      The difference here is the fact that it's a Mac, not a PC.

      I mean compare the two:

      Laptop
      Apple [akamai.net] Dell [dell.com]

      Desktop
      Apple [akamai.net] Dell [dell.com]

      MP3 Player
      Apple [akamai.net] Dell [dell.com]

      Monitor
      Apple [akamai.net] Dell [dell.com]

      The bottom line is, most Macintosh computers are aesthetically pleasing as they are functional. Modern-day works of art, if you will. Most PC's are still plain, square, boxes. At least, for better or for worse, they're not all beige anymore.
  • Just goes to show you what you can do when you have the right tools. Plastic bender and CNC Mill, so $10K and about 5 years of exp. and you can do it too!
  • So, basically he added a G5 and changed the airflow from a vertical chimney configuration to a horizontal configuration. Unless he changed the stock fan (a) this thing blows out the front (b) it'll overheat.

    • Re:Overheating... (Score:3, Informative)

      by Refrag ( 145266 )
      OK, apparently he didn't actually add a G5 and I forgot that there was no stock fan in the Cube (I'm thinking of the LCD iMac), but I still think this thing is going to overheat due to the lack of a chimney effect.

  • Can we use this as a standard? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by BiOFH ( 267622 ) on Wednesday December 17, 2003 @09:34PM (#7750429)
    So no stories on lame-ass mods with neon tubes and perspex and decals and bondo from now on? If they don't approach this level of care, design and planning, then I don't wanna see em.

    This is the gold standard of mods, IMHO.

  • It's ugly as sin!! Can you not realize that? It looks like an "If they Mated" segment on Conan O'Brien.

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