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Upgrade Mac Cube to G5 Look
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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not even 3 comments and it's slashdotted.
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...
altavista's translation
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.
sorry, my cable (comcast) sucks.
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 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.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
my favorite part was the last line:
You can enjoy and increase are high?
Only on slashdot would we have a news item on essentially placing a small cube into a bigger cube. ;)
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
" sorry, my cable (comcast) sucks."
No, you went over your bandwidth limit for the month!
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.
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.
Get off my launchpad!
...the people who brought you "All Your Base Are Belong To Us". :)
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.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
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.
It is most likely because the Japanese start learning English at an early age. A lot of Japanese use English words mixed into their speech frequently, especially computer- and web-centric words. Also, all of text was not in Japanese.
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They Are Vermin Feeding On Each Other's Feces.
I Hate \.
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.
/. readers don't do laundry. ;-)
Who the hell am I kidding,
I have to say that was a quality case mod.
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.
Don't get me wrong. This guy did an excellent job. Congratulations.
:).
But this shows again how much Mac users are addicted to the look of their computers. Good look is ok, but the main thing is that it works well, feels good and becomes faster than linux, isn't it????
And, hey, the original cube design is gorgeous! This metal Edamer look of the G5 is only necessary because these CPUs get so incredibly hot. Don't understand why this looks good. Its a necessity to prevent the cheese from becoming cheese fondue
Nothing compared to the design of the original cube IMO.
The difference here is the fact that it's a Mac, not a PC.
I mean compare the two:
Laptop
Apple Dell
Desktop
Apple Dell
MP3 Player
Apple Dell
Monitor
Apple Dell
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.
I have a website. It's about Macs.
Verne Troyer (http://www.austinpowers.com/minime/minime.htm)
As a cube owner - I'd be interested to see if he'd sell this as a kit.
props to the best cube mod I've seen!
...yup...
There are relatively few case mods for Apple stuff compared to the gawdy peecee stuff like neon lights and case windows.
/. (iBook and G4), and both were appallingly ugly in my opinion. This Cube with G5 motif is the best looking Apple mod I've ever seen, by leaps and bounds. It's the first one I've liked.
:)
I have owned several Macs, since long before they started coming in coloured plastic/metal textures. Remember when Macs were beige boxes? While I do love the look of new Apple products, it is not the reason I buy and use them.
With regards to your remark about the G5 look being only "necessary" because the CPUs get so hot, I disagree - or at least I don't understand where you are coming from. I could say that the look of a snazzy streamlined sports car is only "necessary" because if it was boxy it would not be aerodynamic... but that would not negate the fact that the streamlined car could look beautiful (think Sebring) or could look ridiculous (think Sunfire).
As a side note: I can think of two Apple case mods so far on
- Steve.
p.s. Sorry Sunfire owners - I know, I know... I'm an insensitive clod
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.
- I am made of meat.
It's ugly as sin!! Can you not realize that? It looks like an "If they Mated" segment on Conan O'Brien.