I still have my Cube G4, upgraded with a dual Powerlogix CPU of some description. My Sonnet 1.4GHz Cube died during a hot summer about 10 years ago due to a common power regulator failure.
I replaced the HDD with a 64GB SSD and added a 500 RPM fan in the base. I still use it at my culture school here in Tokyo, since it runs the original SpongeBob SquarePants typing software faster than the current repackaged Intel version on sale in the App Store and still manages Pages and Keynote without breaking into a sweat.
Of course the kids are oblivious to just how iconic the machine is, but plenty of their dads remember seeing one or even owning one back in the day and often tinker around with it between their kids' lessons. It was actually quite successful over here and they can still be picked up s/h in near mint condition super cheap from time to time. The monitor is toast, though, so I use it with a regular LCD panel, unfortunately.
For me, the G4 Cube will always remain, along with the G4 Lampshades and to a lesser extent the Trashcan Pro, icons of industrial design, often pushing the designs of then contemporary machines well beyond the comfort zone, even at the expense of practicality: Style over Substance, if you will.
It's ironic, then, that today, given how low-power Apple Silicon is, that any of these form factors would actually be entirely usable and maybe even practical. A sign that perhaps they were just far too ahead of their time.
RIP Steve Jobs.
