G5 Tower design

[iGav]

3rdpath

I believe you could well be right with regards to the new price, making up peoples minds for them..... with regards to buying a iMac or a Power Mac....

I think the new Power Macs are going to be......... rockin'... I really cannot wait.... and you could also be right with an industrial looking design.....

as long as the thing ain't SNOW.........

Eww......

I think highly polished chrome..... the same for the TiBook....... someone must know Mr Jobs' email address, if not... maybe Mr Ives........ they must have friends........... other than each other that is.......

If anyone see's Jobs and Ives in a pub, then go up to them, and keep buying them After Shock, and see if you can get some gossip out of them...... failing that, leave the pub before they do, as obvioulsy you'll have started the Tab in Mr Jobs name!!!

 

[Dunepilot]

Re: no double postings

Originally posted by AlphaTech
Dunepilot... double posting will get you hurt. We don't take kindly to people trying to artifically inflate their post count. Your last post is a direct dupe of another you posted further up the page...

Hope you have your fire retardant shorts on, cause you should expect some flames...

I've no idea how that happened - I didn't choose to post it again. Is it something to do with the back button in the browser?

BTW - is immediately having one post following another also bad netiquette and is that what you refer to as a double-post?

If so, you did it 3 times there Alphatech!

 

[AlphaTech]

Individual postings, even if they are moments apart is not considered bad. I have two with one right after the other that came out that way, only becuase I had posted one, then saw something else to reply to. There are tons of times where you see a post, make a reply and then see that someone else made a comment that you want to answer to. Sometimes you can do it via an edit, but not always.

Just don't use the back button so much. You can use the control panel to see what is new and such (the CP).

 

[mcrain]

Ok, with all the gum flapping about repeat postings, I'm leary about saying this here, considering I made the same point in another thread, but you know, I just don't care, so here goes.

Everything seems to point to something major going on at MWNY, but no one can quite point to what model is getting the "major" treatment. Some are saying new powerbooks (please, I hope so), or maybe new/updated ibooks, or a new pro tower, or maybe something else.

That sounds to me like the "major" something may affect all of the products.

I can see it now. Everyone gets all excited and holds candle vigils and prayer sessions. The day comes, and Jobs announces:

What?

Drum roll!

Firewire 2!!!!

A huge sigh from the mac community arises and drowns out the rest of Steve's keynote.

 

[Dunepilot]

I agree Mcrain

that would be a travesty.

We all get so wound up about future developments of the Mac, because, let's face it, we wouldn't be posting if we didn't (alright, GoCyrus excepted).

It would really suck if all this hot air conjecture amounted to Firewire 2.

The phrase 'instant flopper' springs to mind

 

[Dunepilot]

Now that I know I can follow one post with another

Originally posted by mischief

As to adding PCI to an entry level machine: Why? It's a waste of space. If you're too cheap for a Tower you shouldn't complain.

I'm not 'too cheap' for a tower (which'll soon be my second pro-level Mac purchase), but I think it would be fair for consumers to have just one PCI slot in the lower-end line. It would add a lot of options but not cannabalise the PowerMac line.

I'm thinking of an iMac with just a little more longevity that won't be written-off by the wintel world for not having any PCI slots.

I just think that there are individuals who would benefit greatly from the option of one PCI slot that wouldn't really need any more given the abundance of most other things (USB, firewire etc) on the Mobo. For instance, if you wanted to do a bit of recording, being able to add a PCI sound card would be nice.

I also realise this won't happen as it doesn't fit the iMac philosophy (for whatever reason).

As for the pro-line, I would like to see the next PowerMac return to the six PCI-slot days as with the last Umax Pulsars. I'm sure this wouldn't add much to cost if they were straight PCI. Having said that, there is all this talk of new RapidIO etc may make six slots unlikely, particularly if the new PCI-replacement is an expensive, bleeding-edge solution.

 

[alex_ant]

Re: Now that I know I can follow one post with another

Originally posted by Dunepilot
I'm not 'too cheap' for a tower (which'll soon be my second pro-level Mac purchase), but I think it would be fair for consumers to have just one PCI slot in the lower-end line. It would add a lot of options but not cannabalise the PowerMac line.

I'm thinking of an iMac with just a little more longevity that won't be written-off by the wintel world for not having any PCI slots.

At least one other person is in favor of my pizza box idea, I see.

Alex

 

[mischief]

A few posts back................

There were some good "Look and feel" ideas from iGAV, Oldmac, Mindtrics, tortus, wrylachlan, 3rdpath, lordsinforge, myself and others about a modular architecture.

I'd like to try to sum up:



Drive unit:

6" by 6" by 17". Titanium case............minimalist, a monolithic ammo box that can be affixed to it's accompanying Printed Circuit case (detailed below).

2 Optical-size drive bays.....one Superdrive and one accesory drive. 3 HD bays pre-installed with sled-style, 2-up drive trays.

"Sub-panel" style Power head in rear quarter with 8 drive leads. ATA or SCSI
"round" drive cables provided for 8 drives.

Drive sleds can be mounted on either the sides or "bottom" of case.

Pizza box style lid with cable passthroughs and cross bracing.

2x 4" VS fans that attatch at the unused mid-box sled points.



Printed Circuit unit:

6"x 11" x 17"

Mobo along left/bottom of case with minimal on-board high-volatility tech.

500Mhz Rapid I/O backbone running 266 DDR and support for up to 8 processors. 8 RAM slots.

USB 56k, Cable, DSL modems available to run off a PCI comm card.

6 PCI slots arranged on the mobo.

The whole board assembly is rotate-able 90 degrees to allow top or rear access to PCI and ports. A cube-style switch assembly is fitted on the front of the mobo and actuates from the Apple set in gloss frosted white on the front panel.

The right panel is not hinged but lifts off clean. The frame of the case is less steel panels and more Tibook style rigid-composite hybrid construction.

Venting is provided by a 4" processor-dedicated VS fan and a 4" VS case fan. PCI bracket is drilled for venting.



Overall aesthetic:

TiBook style monolithic lines in the same powdercoated TiBook finish. Ventelation is provided by obscured slit vents fore and cage vents aft. The 2 cases connect frame-to=frame with the side panels hoding it all together.

A powerbrick with built in power-strip and powerconditioning sits in place of your original power strip.

 

[3rdpath]

SOLD

apple, you've got three months to get it together otherwise


i'm buying whatever you come out with....

and that was my best threat too!

 

[iGav]

8 processors..... *sighs*

Render time?????? What Render time........

Just one question though Mr mischief........

Does it come in chrome too???

 

[mischief]

RE: chrome:

I think it's fair to add some chrome trim to the fittings to dress up the edges and Logo and such. like a quality Lux Auto.

Oh! I almost forgot but I didn't know how much space I had left:

Comes with Rack brackets! The corner pieces are chromed with rubber stopper-feet in the rack screw holes.........unmount, flip over and screw into the rack........the case clips into them from there.

 

[AlphaTech]

mischief,

I fail to see why you want to purchase a high speed modem (ie. DSL or Cable)... Since the tech could change in a short amount of time, that could be wasted money. I also happen to know that some ISP's require that you use a specific high speed modem (they provide it for FREE). I would much rather have the internal ethernet port then have to shell out more $$ to get all the connections that come standard now. PCMCIA is a aged technology, which I can see being fazed out. It might be fine for some applications (ie. dial-up modems), but for anything where you need sustained high speeds, fagedaboutit already.

IF you are able to produce something close to what you spec out, I wonder how many revisions it will take before it is stable, and affordable to more then the stinking rich.

I would much rather see Apple come out with a cooller looking case (different finish and maybe a slightly more modern feel) while keeping everything inside of it. Anytime you start having connections outside the case, you are inviting corosion, dust and other nastiness. That wouldn't work in any areas where corosion is an issue (ALL of Florida and most of the gulf states, not to mention along the east and west costs). Apple has an item that works, pure and simple.

All you have to do is plug in the keyboard (and mouse), monitor, and a power cord. From box to up and running in under 10 minutes (5 if you are using a monitor you already have). I wonder how long it would take for your config. If you ever do get it to work (big, nay HUGE if), I hope you have a ton of tech support people manning the phones for the first year. You will be needing them.

There are reasons for why computers are designed the way they are and not as you put above...

 

[mischief]

Huh?

Who said anything about INCREASING the # of peripherals?

Where in that post did I mention PCMCIA?

I described a dedicated 7th PCI slot for hosting smaller cards like the existing generic modem used in the Quicksilver. Have you ever opened up a DSL modem? They're not much bigger.

Adding a modem that can do a DSL signal and supports the common 4 or 5 DSL login standards is a good approach.

The thought is this: Apple has already made it so OS X can be a Virtual Base station (router) and built in Firewall. Adding a number of small cards to a "master" comm card allows for swap out later. I think you're probably correct about PCMCIA but the boards neccesary to do the job are certainly small enough to go in the case. The key is to swap out cards with redundant plugs. I'd much rather have a single phone plug, Ethernet and a Blank for an extra than a number of external boxes.

Moto could certainly handle building such a network widget.

In regards to config:

All of these nifty options are just that: Options. It all comes down to those BTO config menus on Apple's website.

ATA 133 or SCSI 160? Just Ethernet or Ethernet and DSL? How about Ethernet, 56K and Cable?

 

[sturm375]

A simple solution

Here is a simple solution to all problems, well most at least. Why not have Apple make their Mother Boards ATX compatible? Apple can make an aesteticly pleasing tower for the G5, and us geeks can then go to www.antec.com or elsewhere and buy our own case. Heck, we can even Mod our cases then. "Think Different" = "Think outside the Box"

 

[diamond]

, Wall mounted+modular+metal would be my suggestion....

 

[iGav]

Wall mounted???? hmmmmmmm.... It'd look like a Bang & Olufsen.........  

I think there is definitely something in the modular idea, but whatever, I'm sure it'll be cool.......

Trust Ives

P.S This thread wil never die......... well only when the G5 is actually released.... then it'll mutate into the G6 Tower design.......

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by diamond
, Wall mounted+modular+metal would be my suggestion....

I wouldn't want one. It would have to be permanently mounted to the wall which just doesn't seem right.

Now putting a 48"x36" OLED display on the wall, well thats a different story.

 

[iGav]

Now putting a 48"x36" OLED display on the wall, well thats a different story.

Definitely...........

 

[AlphaTech]

Re: A simple solution

Originally posted by sturm375
Here is a simple solution to all problems, well most at least. Why not have Apple make their Mother Boards ATX compatible? Apple can make an aesteticly pleasing tower for the G5, and us geeks can then go to www.antec.com or elsewhere and buy our own case. Heck, we can even Mod our cases then. "Think Different" = "Think outside the Box"

I remember seeing some items about people taking the guts from a G4 tower and transplanting them into a peecee case. IF I was to do this, there is no way I would use an antec case (butt-ugly). Go with one from Cooler Master (http://www.coolermaster.com/home.html), since they are made from 100% aluminum, and come with at least a few fans. They have several styles and colors to choose from. Cooler Master also makes high flow, low noise computer fans along with a few other items. You might even be able to fit a G4's guts into one of their rack mount enclosures. Worth looking into at least.

Oh yeah, I believe that the plug on the logic board on the G4's is the same as on the ATX type power supplies. I would need to do some checking on that. Even if they are not, I am sure that someone can make an adapter to get the correct wires into the correct plugs. Sounds like a winter, or rainy day/week project .

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Re: Re: A simple solution

Originally posted by AlphaTech

Go with one from Cooler Master (http://www.coolermaster.com/home.html), since they are made from 100% aluminum, and come with at least a few fans. They have several styles and colors to choose from.

But you know, they still look like a PC. If I had an Apple, I'd want everyone to know it. Apple put the C(urve)omputer.

Just say no to a 'box'

 

[diamond]

Why would it have to be"permanently" wall mounted ?
May be a kind of hook. Just seems nicer than hiding it under the table or cluttering up desk space.
I like the idea of a tabletop "satellite" to quickly hook up peripheral stuff. On the other hand the monitor's already there so you might as well use it as main plug in point.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by diamond
Why would it have to be"permanently" wall mounted ?
May be a kind of hook. Just seems nicer than hiding it under the table or cluttering up desk space.

All I see is a Mac Flower Pot hanging from the ceiling with wires coming down, ha! Actually it would be more like an octopus.

But you could rig a computer to do this right now, it wouldn't take too much. An d I don't know any one who has done it. It just doesn't seem practical.

 

[diamond]

Think more like low "squares" on the wall. More skulptural. Nobody has done it because the boxes are to deep...

Anyway, just thought it would be a fun option

 

[AlphaTech]

Re: Re: Re: A simple solution

Originally posted by dukestreet


But you know, they still look like a PC. If I had an Apple, I'd want everyone to know it. Apple put the C(urve)omputer.

Just say no to a 'box'

You could always put a window in it, and have an Apple logo etched into the plex. Put in a neon light (color of your choosing) and you start to get outside of the normal box.

They have nice rackmount enclosures, one even has two USB and one FireWire port in the front (the ATC600). The entire case is 145mm tall, which is the height of the PCI card slots. That might be a viable solution for people looking to rack mount the G3's and G4's. It also has room for two optical drives (or 5-1/4" drives) and two hard drives. With three fans, one left, right and rear, it should have enough air flow too.

If you wanted to add several hard drives and such to your G4, then their cases are a good option. Get one of those, a couple of ATA100/133 RAID cards and go to town.

I can see having an 'Apple inside' sticker where the intel inside would normally go... Power it up and have the Mac OS show up where people would expect windblows... ... Shock value alone would be worth the money.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Re: Re: Re: Re: A simple solution

Originally posted by AlphaTech


You could always put a window in it, and have an Apple logo etched into the plex. Put in a neon light (color of your choosing) and you start to get outside of the normal box.

If you're going to do that, but a projection light and have it shoot out a big Apple logo on the wall.

I will agree if you're going to customize, you have a lot of fun options. But it would take a bit of work to make it something more than PC looking box.

And on the other side of the coin, any fanatical pc techie could do the same to his machine.