G4 Cube: Apple's most beautiful failed launched product
published by doogle 11 months 2 weeks ago • 1388 views
tags:
embed
email

You should also watch
Lechuguilla - The Most Beautiful of all Caves
Launched in 2000, and gone as fast as it arrived, Apple's silent, beautiful, compact and forward-thinking Cube computer was the right design at the wrong time with the wrong technology. Although generally considered visually attractive, the limitations of its production, sales logistics and competing Apple products led to its demise.

This is Apple's promotional video for the product with Apple execs gushy with mutual-congratulatory praise. Get a room! Spoiler alert: Apple exec curses about Steve Jobs at the end!
Comments subscribe to this feed
Upgradable to 40GB?!?!?!


written by castles  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
Yep! Year 2000 technology on the edge.
12"x18" screen had just come out - which made it awesome to use with its clear Harmon/Kardon speakers.
I was doing layout on a tabloid bleed spread (12"x18") at full 100%, and physically use a ruler up to the screen to measure out the ads. It was amazing - at the time.


written by doogle  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
oOoo - the video features an exec swearing at the end about Steve Jobs! No joke.
Can I get a bonus point, or did I reveal too much?


written by doogle  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
"The coolest looking computer on the planet"
That's Apple's philosophy. "Who cares if it has any power as long as it looks good?"


written by MarineGunrock  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
with a computers if you are a pawer user you dont care what it looks like so long as u get good specification for price. apple pcs r the typ of pc that i would expect to find in the work place or a sitting room of sumone who has more mony than sence ore happens to like the apple as a product rather than wanting a pc for the sake of a pc.

i think apple is far better at producing specific items that benefit from simplification and highly focused in one area ore subset of usability such as the ipod and i phone. its unfortunate for apple that you have companies like Nintendo who have done the same thing for hand held consoles as i think apple could do a good job at a portable games console. i don't think apples approach works for for desktop computers due to the nature of what a desctop computer is used for and what it needs to do. oh apple do do a fantastic job on laptops. i think in the end its down to the fact that when an item is portable the aesthetic and ergonomics become such a large priority that the actual specificatoins r not so important so long as it can achieve its designated task to its full potentail.


written by westy  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 1  | flag spam (0)
Twas a pretty acrylic box. To this day, I don't know why it failed. Hubris? Or I seem to remember an overheating problem.


written by dag  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
If it worked as intended then you'd have to wonder why it failed. Ahead of it's time perhaps? I know 40GB isn't huge now but the upgradeable specs make it sound like it could still be useable today. I wonder if you could get Leopard on it?

This reminds me also of the Mac Mini, which also hasn't set the world alight - correct me if I am wrong. Still I'm thinking of getting one.


written by Deano  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
Tags for this video have been changed from 'apple, technology, cube, beautiful, cracked when it fell from heaven' to 'apple, technology, cube, beautiful, cracked when it fell from heaven, silent' - edited by looris


written by siftbot  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
one thing I LOVE about apple is the silence. I really DO HATE noisy pcs, and the fact that it's almost totally silent is still one of the main reasons I bought a mac.

dunno about intel macs...


written by looris  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
2 more votes, guys, 2 more!
I'm loving Videosift...


written by doogle  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
There were a few things - the product was cannibalizing the iMac and G4 lines, and the margin of return was lower, combined with limited production numbers. The design proved to be too much, too early. The Register sums it well:

"Hardware problems - most notably a heat-sensitive on-off switch that could power up or shut down the system on warm days - plagued the machine from the start. The Cube's much-touted near-silent, fan-free operation proved to be untrue for anyone who bought the version with an ATI Radeon graphics card, which included... er... a fan."
link


*requeue


written by doogle  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
Re-queueing this video for one more try; last queued Monday, October 29th, 2007 4:47pm PDT - requeue requested by submitter doogle.


written by siftbot  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
really what it comes down to though is that it's not XBMC... anyone who has used XBMC knows that until corporations give us that level of functionality Media Centers will never get off the ground.


written by James Roe  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 1  | flag spam (0)
If only Portal and the Weighted Companion Cube were out then. This would have been a hot seller.


written by CrushBug  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 1  | flag spam (0)
Cube looked cool. Borg ship!!


written by ant  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
The cube looks cool, but the video is an apple circle-jerk. It hurts me eyes.

It could be cool if they made a new version of the cube with newer hardware - could replace the minicomputers we have now; maybe usable as a media center.


written by gwiz665  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
If my pc looked like that I'd hide it so my peers wouldn't tease me for being gay. I mean seriously, Apple is the gay.


written by Fade  | 11 months 2 weeks ago | CH
 1  | flag spam (0)
Please *promote


written by doogle  | 4 months 3 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
Post cannot be self promoted by original submitter doogle because doogle does not have enough Power Points. (You can always purchase more Power Points.)


written by siftbot  | 4 months 3 weeks ago | CH
 0  | flag spam (0)
Submit Comment
log in or register to submit new comment


playlists with this video
933|< l337 by firefly

who voted for this video
doogle  - castles  - choggie  - dag  - Deano  - K0MMIE  - wigerdog  - looris  - thesnipe  - James Roe  - theoneinsider  - vermonter  - CrushBug  - ant  - firefly  - BillOreilly  - ridesallyridenc  - conan  - oxdottir  - my15minutes  - LadyDeath

who has this post bookmarked
Deano

G4 Cube: Apple's Most Beautiful Failed Launched Product Related Videos

Lechuguilla - The Most Beautiful of all Caves

Most Beautiful Smile

The world's most beautiful news anchor