The Power Mac G4 Cube is a small form factor Macintosh personal computer from Apple Computer, Inc., sold between 2000 and 2001. Designed by Jonathan Ive, its cube shape is reminiscent of the NeXTcube from NeXT, acquired by Apple in 1996. The New York Museum of Modern Art holds a G4 Cube, along with its distinctive Harman Kardon transparent speakers, as part of its collection.
The small 8×8×8 in (20×20×20 cm) cube, suspended in a 7.65×7.65×10 in (19.4×19.4×25.4 cm) acrylic glass enclosure, housed a PowerPC G4 processor running at 450 or 500 MHz, and had a unique, slot-loading, low-profile DVD-ROM or CD-RW drive. A separate monitor, with either an ADC or a VGA connection, was required for the Cube, in contrast to the all-in-one iMac series. Also unlike the iMacs, it had a video card in a standard AGP slot. However, there was not enough space for full-length cards. The Cube also featured two FireWire 400 ports and two USB 1.1 ports for connecting peripherals. The Cube is exceptional as the only Macintosh without a built-in speaker (as of 2016). Sound was provided by an external USB amplifier and a pair of Harman Kardon speakers. Although the USB amplifier had a standard mini-plug headphone output, it lacked any audio input. The Cube also used a silent, fanless, convection-based cooling system like the iMacs of the time.
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Here’s the actual item in my museum
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The PowerMac G4 Cube basics:
Color: Clear | CPU: PowerPC | Form Factor: Desktop | HDD: 40 GB | OS: MacOS 9 | Purchased: eBay | Ram: 784 MB | Series: G4
