01/24/2001

Questions and Answers.

Q : Is there a difference between the Cube Speakers and the Apple Pro Speakers?

A : Those speakers look the same. However, there are some differences. The Cube speakers use the USB for the sound output. They are also powered by the USB bus. The Apple Speaker Pro use the "AppleSpeaker sound output port" for the sound connection and the power source. One last difference is that you can use the Apple Speaker Pro with an iSub on the new G4 towers. You cannot use the Cube Speakers with the iSub.

TILs

Apple has posted a new TIL concerning the Cube:

TIL 75110 : iMac/Cube DVD-ROM Update: Additional Installation Messages

01/21/2001

Cube problems: USB and sound problems?

Several of our readers seem to experience problems with their Cubes and USB sound. When the volume is set to max, the sound sometimes stop and some USB peripherals begin to stop working. However, the Cube does not seem to have crashed. What we can call a "sound crash" may be related to the USB bus and the way it is powered. When you push the volune too high, the bus does not seem to have enough power to handle all the peripherals connected. If you experienced such a problem, please go to our forums and tell us how you solved it.

Software : Mac OS 9.1 update available in French.

Mac OS 9.1 is now available in French for download. You can download it from here. The file is a 95 Meg file. It was prevoiusly only available in English. You can also order a CD-ROM from Apple.

Rumors : Is the CubeBook a tablet?

MacOSRumors has posted an article concerning the rumored CubeBook. Here is what they say:

"Several times, Steve Jobs has reminded curious reporters how tough the information appliance market is, and how Apple may not be best suited for it. Yet according to some very interesting reports coming in from Cupertino, that may be precisely what the long-rumored "CubeBook" is: a tablet-style computer based on the iBook that would cost less than US $600 and still offer many of the features of other Mac OS X-based computers.

It's too soon to be making hard predictions of features, but Apple may be working to employ Motorola's novel Thunderbird integrated processor, which includes a G3 core at up to 400MHz along with many common motherboard components (memory controller/northbridge, PCI, serial, power management) into a single chip for greatly reduced cost over computers built with separate chips for each of these functions. Combined with just enough SDRAM to run Mac OS X comfortably, a small hard disk, 56K modem, optional Airport, Ethernet, and a mid-size touch-screen 1024x768 display, this device could greatly expand the Mac's appeal. USB would be included, but little else -- no built-in removable drives of any kind."

If you want to read the rest of the article, it is here. We would love to see such a tablet. However, the 1024*768 screen seems too expensive for a $600 device. But who knows?

01/17/2001

Firewire hard drives

Maxtor has recently introduced new Firewire hard drives with an ice and graphite translucent case. Those drives come with great Firewire utilities for Mac even if they were first designed for PC users. The drives which are sold in 40 GB and 80 GB are quite fast and quite cheap.The prices of those drives are approximatly $260 for the 40 GB and $380 for the 80 GB.

01/10/2001

MWSF 01

During the last couple of weeks, the news have been scarce. We were in vacation. After that, our provider changed our FTP password without notice. So we could not access the site anymore!!! We are now back. MWSF was a great MW. Unfortunatly, there was no Cube updates. Tokyo should be the place where the Cube will be upgraded. What we need is a DVD/CD-R drive, just like the superdrive from Pioneer that you can find in the new high-end G4 tower. And since Nvidia comes to the mac platform, we would like to see a G-Force in the Cube instead of the ATI card.

Software update

The iMac/Cube DVD-ROM Update is available. It installs a new firmware on the Apple DVD-ROM drive installed in PowerMac G4 Cubes. This firmware is said to improve audio extraction from DVDs.

01/09/2001

Happy New Year to everybody!

The Cube-Zone is back after Christmas vacation. Just like you we are waiting for the annoucements of MacWorld San Francisco. Let's hope that there will be some great news for Cube buyers.

The Cube in Space!

Skycorp plans to launch 544 G4 Cube in the space in order to set up internet services. Skycorp chose to use Macs because they are more reliable than PCs. It will also use the Airport technology (Airport will be modified in order to establish communications with wireless modems. Skycorp will use Mac OS X Server. If you are interested in that project, check the sites of Apple and Skycorp.

A bag for your Cube.

Willow design has created a bag for your Cube and its peripherals. here is what the bag looks like. The price of this bag is approximatly $110. the bag is reinforced by corrugated plastic on five sides and has a lifetime guarantee against defects in materials or craftsmanship.

Readers Questions

Loren, one of our readers has several questions about the Cube:

"I'm looking at getting a cube and have 2 questions.

1.How noisy is the fan on the Radeon? does it kick on only when playing games or is it already on? i'm interested in getting the Cube largely because of the absence of a fan, and yet i'm interested in accelerated graphics for OpenGL games and other graphics applications.

2. What's the stereo mini jack on the audio amplifier like? has anyone hooked it up to a stereo system through a mini jack to RCA patch cable? what does it sound like?"

Here are the answers to those questions:

The fan of the Radeon is not so noisy... However, you notice it (a little bit) if you use your Cube during the night (when there is no noise at all). You should go for a Cube with a Radeon... Maybe we'll see a Cube with Nvidia on the 9th of january....

Concerning the audio out jack, it's for a walkman headset for instance....

If you want to react to these questions, please, use our forums!