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ATX Power Supply Adapter for Macs?
Swift Guru asks: "I've seen many comments on Slashdot stating that people would love to try out Mac OS X if only they could afford the hardware. Many roll their own Macs, but unfortunately have to rely on proprietary Apple power supplies (or hack together their own), a caveat that hinders Mac geeks from delving into the wide world of case modding (mmm.. watercooling), and prevents PC users from using familiar ATX case hardware. The PPC platform requires its own processors and logic boards, but last I checked computers all used the same kind of electrons. Hardware hacking is supposedly the next killer app, so why isn't there a simple adapter solution to allow current Macs to use ATX power supplies? Or is there?"
Keep in mind that it is also Apple's SOFTWARE and industrial hardware designs are part of the experience as well. Not to mention the "it just works" comments from so many "switchers" would be hard to duplicate after hours of reading message boards and piecing together hardware.
Even if this works, the best it does is offer another option to run an OS. It will not duplicate owning an Apple.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
If you feel comfortable case modding or even switching cases i dont see why you need a PS adapter. The wires are all colour coded and intividual interfaces are the same(wire heads). just remove the wire ends from one plug and insert them into another. I havent looked closely at either my mac's (qsilver 2002 dual 1ghz) or my athlon's (dual 2ghz tyan) to see which has more wires. Also since macs use standard agp and pci companents you know at least that most of the voltages are going to be the same. Of course now this question is going to bug me till i pull my service source cds out and look at the ps/ wiring on a mac.
Bad Panda! No Bamboo for you! In matters of importance ACs will not be responded to. Want to say something critical,OK
No, it's not. It's distinctly different from ease of use. Have you ever sat in a really expensive car? (Yeah, yeah, it's a tired analogy, but it fits.) It's not that a Mercedes is easier to drive than a Toyota. It's just that it generally feels different. Many people think it feels better.
Macs are the same way. They're solidly built, both in terms of hardware and software. They're different from PC's. Many people think it feels better.
You CAN put peanut butter on a hot dog. You CAN take a Mini and put a bodylift on it. You CAN hit yourself in the head with a hammer. However, this doesn't mean any of these are good ideas.
I'm definitely one for doing stuff "just cuz it's cool," but cooling systems are usually rigged together for a good reason. With a G4, there is no reason for a cooling system. If you are looking to do something just for kicks, you would be better off spending your time inserting a picture of Clarus inside your case.
My G4 tower case does not just "look cool". I'm going to give examples of why I like it.
- It has handles, and so it's much easier to
move around than the beige boxes.
-
The door hinges on the bottom of the right
side, opening 90 degrees down. This exposes
the entire motherboard for easy replacement
of peripherals, RAM, or CPU. Very few
cables are flying around.
-
The case doubles as an Airport antenna,
which means you won't need a fragile little
antenna sticking out the side.
-
The case is quiet.
-
The hard drives are mounted on the bottom
of the case, along the width of the case.
This means that the ribbon cables are only
a few inches long.
Many of these are not hard to duplicate, but the point is that it's not just good looks.I can't believe it's that hard to duplicate a Mac's ease-of-use features.
What's your (lack of) belief based on? If it's easy, then surely by now there'd be other competitors that have duplicated or surpassed it, and you'll be able to cite specific examples.
And lots of us would be very happy to see a low-budget way to play with software that only runs on the Mac platform.
Why do you want to play with it, if the "Mac experience" is so overrated, expensive, and easily duplicated?
If you want to hack a computer together, visit your local nameless commdtity computer shop, go download some slackware or debian iso's, and get busy. Better yet, why not run Plan 9 on it?
On the other hand, if you really want an economical solution for running Mac software, visit the "Special Deals" section on the Apple Store. Refurbs can be had for not much more money than bargain basement wintels. If economy is your primary concern, I would like to point out spending your time on a venture like building a Mac from scratch is a false economy.
Oh yeah, and I proactively call bullshit on any follow-ups proclaiming the joy of hardware hacking. If that's the case, you really don't need a stinking adapter for a power plug.
cat