Case Tweaking

A reader writes "I don't know what they were smoking, but these guys decided that the G4 case makes for a great LAN party box. Of course, without the G4 and all that yucky Mac hardware -- just the aesthetics. They go about hacking and modding the case, turning a low power (aka, weak) x86 box and toss it into the G4 casing, and don't end up destroying the case to make everything fit. Lotsa pictures and explanations of every step in the process"

Comments

No need to wonder

[Fred Ferrigno]

As has been mentioned before, Apple is in a unique situation where they control nearly all the aspects of the computer. The ATX standard and most PC motherboards are designed with either tower or desktop cases in mind.

Separately sold cases, which have to be compatible with a wide variety of motherboards, have a hard time replicating Apple's designs. In particular, in a tower case, the internal devices are all above the motherboard, so the cable connectors are at the top. A swing out design, like in the G4, is hard to do because the cables will get in the way. Take a look ColorCases to see what "niche" case manufacturers are doing despite these limitations.

On the other hand, companies like Compaq, Sony, and Gateway already ship their computers with custom motherboards and cases, and so have fewer limitations. They do offer their own takes on PC case design, just not exact copies of Apple's design for legal reasons. I mean, check out Compaq's Ipaq and Sony's Vaio Line and tell me they're ignoring design considerations.

As for computer enthusiasts who actually prefer compatibility, performance, and value to fancy design, we typically opt for the kind of cases listed here. (My specific case isn't listed there; it's an Antec S830.) They offer better cooling, more expandibility, and better access than most of the cases that tend to form before function. We're not immune to the concerns of aesthetics either; we just prefer to take matters in our own hands. Granted, some of the mods are of questionable taste and talent, but there are as many clean, professional jobs as bad jobs. And every one is the pride and joy of someone, no matter what you think of them.

Expensive

[A Commentor]

$160 for just the case from an 'apple authorized service center'...

And doubtful if they would sell it to you if you told them what you planned to do with it...

Blah.

[unphased]

Look at http://virtual-hideout.net if you have any interest in case modding. They have projects that put this to shame.

Making do without flippy floppy

[sg3000]

Yeah, booting. Don't forget; we're talking about a Mac here, which has been able to boot from a CD, external FireWire drive, Zip drive, or whatever for about 10 years. The old Mac Classic could even boot from ROM (they had a complete version of the system software built onto ROM) for complete diskless operation. Thus the lack of a floppy for about 4 years.