Mini vs Cube

[DarthMoops]

Hi there!

While poking around on youtube I found Steve Jobs presenting the Cube in 2000. Seems like it was the mid level headless Mac people call for on the Internet. I wonder is there any interest macrumors?

I like the Cube design and the way you were able to access the guts was very cool.

Some have written that the Mini IS the natural progression of the Cube but I think the Mini is too locked down. It would be nice to make drive swapping a little more user friendly and maybe have a PCI slot (or two) available. Maybe even the ability to upgrade CPU/GPU. Think of it as a Mac for people who can't leave well enough alone but can't afford a Pro.

Any interest?

 

[philipma1957]

I have been asking for one since 2008

 

[nick9191]

People on this forum have been asking for one ever since the PowerMac (of which a base model could be picked up for <$1300 at one time) skyrocketed in price.

Unfortunately, it wont happen. Regular consumers, of which make up 95%+ at a guess, of Apple's sales, would much rather have an iMac. The only people who want to make any modifications to their computer (besides a RAM upgrade which is easy on the iMac) are geeks.

There is effectively no market for the machine. Dell, HP etc. only sell towers because they are cheaper to manufacture, any component that you would wish to upgrade (besides the RAM), would likely void any warranty, and not only that, most of them are absolutely murderous to get inside.

So you see, consumers love their iMacs, professionals love their Mac Pro's, and spotty teens with a love of tinkering have to make do with what they can. Or spec up some beastly tower and wack on OSx86. As much as I'd love to see a Mac Pro, with a Core i7 instead of Xeons sell for $1500, it will never happen, not whilst a heart beats inside Steven Paul Jobs.

 

[G4er?]

This is the one Mac model that I want to purchase. I am plugging along at home on an old PowerMac G4 because Apple isn't making anything that I feel meets my needs.

Two internal hard drives and an optical drive and one PCI slot. And with a bigger case put some jacks and ports on the front like the Pro has. Heck, even put a couple of docks on top for charging your iPod and iPhone.

$699 for the Mini and $2499 for the Pro. Where is the $1499-$1699 mid sized Mac that needs to fill this hole? The iMac isn't that computer no matter how much Apple seems to think it is.

 

[DarthMoops]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

I've since noticed another thread about the 2011 Minis and what upgrades they might have. Posters said let's not turn that thread into "what we want" but keep it as what we think the Mini will add. Perhaps this could be the "what we want" thread.

It's interesting that back then Apple gave full access to the inner workings and now would prefer we do little (or no?) more than add RAM. Apple forged its reputation as the computer for creative professionals/companies, now it looks like it really just wants to be a consumer electronics company.

I don't really need full access to the guts at home myself but I would disagree a little about the Dell and HP towers begin difficult to get into, I find them very easy to get into. You might have a point, how many people still buy towers wether Windows or Mac for their home? Do they not buy "xMacs" due of lack of interest or because of lack of available options?

I guess it's not to be, but being able to BTO a "headless iMac" would be sweet.

 

[nick9191]

It's interesting that back then Apple gave full access to the inner workings and now would prefer we do little (or no?) more than add RAM. Apple forged its reputation as the computer for creative professionals/companies, now it looks like it really just wants to be a consumer electronics company.

Well not really. Apple's strategy has been pretty much the same since 1998, they've added the Mini and Air, but it's always been consumer desktop, pro desktop, consumer laptop, pro laptop. The only computer Apple has sold which would fit your needs is the cube, and it failed miserably after a year on sale. Again, no market for it, consumers want their iMac's, creative professionals want their Mac Pro's. The geek market (ie. MacRumors Forums) is a niche, a needle in a haystack for Apple.

I don't really need full access to the guts at home myself but I would disagree a little about the Dell and HP towers begin difficult to get into, I find them very easy to get into. You might have a point, how many people still buy towers wether Windows or Mac for their home? Do they not buy "xMacs" due of lack of interest or because of lack of available options?

I guess it's not to be, but being able to BTO a "headless iMac" would be sweet.

I've worked on many PC's over the years and I will admit they have got better. The last Dell I had (Core 2 Duo). I could upgrade the RAM, I could stick in a second hard drive. But any GPU upgrade would void the warranty, and the case had so little room it would barely accomodate the GPU it shipped with (an old 7300GT). So no chance of putting in a top end card, which would be about twice as long. Even if there was room, the power supplies that ship in these machines provide just enough power to the machine, a new GPU would warrant a new power supply, and since Dell use non ATX power supplies (and motherboards), you're up the proverbial creek.
So effectively the only advantage this machine has over an iMac is the second hard drive.. Or adding a PCI wireless card, FireWire card etc. which come as standard on the iMac anyway.

So you see if you want a truly upgradeable computer, you should really build it yourself.

 

[G4er?]

The only computer Apple has sold which would fit your needs is the cube, and it failed miserably after a year on sale. Again, no market for it, consumers want their iMac's, creative professionals want their Mac Pro's. The geek market (ie. MacRumors Forums) is a niche, a needle in a haystack for Apple.

I truly believe that the Cube was a form factor before its time. It was just too new of an idea (size and shape) for the amount of performance that could fit inside at the time. It was the price and limited specs that killed the Cube. But somehow the size and shape get blamed instead of the technology that was inside.

Even though I started on Macs in a professional setting today I use a Mac mostly as a consumer. Some consumers want a little bit more and some professionals need a little bit less. I'm one consumer that most certainly does not want an iMac and will never buy one. Apple wants me to choose between a mini that is half what I want and the Pro which is twice what I need.

 

[DarthMoops]

I have seen some very well done "Hacs" in G5 cases on the Internet that people have built. That's not really for me though. I built a few PCs back in the day, but nowadays I'm more about using apps than futzing around with hardware or OSes themselves. My complaint isn't so much about upgrades after the fact but more about getting it the way I want up front.

Most of the issues for the current iMacs center around the screen. If my current iMac dies I don't know that I would get another and the Mac Pro is out of my range. Which leaves me with the Mini, or that revised Cube Jobs is thinking about since seeing my thread.