Making the Switch

Yesterday, Love Was Such an Easy Game to Play

2006-09-12T21:16:00.000-04:00

I have used and enjoyed my Cube for the past 6+ months. However, it's usefulness in my life came to an abrupt end - I upgraded to a new Intel mac and moved into a small studio apartment (aka basement). Space-wise, I don't have a lot of room for extra computers and I already have a number of them in my room. I plan on being here for at least 6 months, so I've been cleaning out what I can. In addition, I upgraded to an Intel-based Mac. I started out with a Mac Mini then switched over to a MacBook. I plan on selling that soon as well, now that the Mac Pros are out. Two dual-core 3ghz processors, oodles of ram, and loads of other goodies make it all the computer I need. I now use my Mac for work, school, and personal use. It's my all-in-one computer appliance, I love it!

I thought about setting up the Cube as a server, but I'm currently working on a server-based OS called xNAS, which is based on FreeBSD. My xNAS server is about twice as big as the Mini (it's a mini-ITX-based system), but has a 500gb hard drive for loads of storage, rendering the Cube with it's "measely" 120gb hard drive somewhat obsolete. I also thought about keeping the Cube as a collector's item, but I'm not much of a collector. I never planned on getting rid of it, at least not this early in the game, but things have worked out in a such a way that my Cube is no longer needed. I recently sold it (along with the original parts, so don't ask!) to a good home where it will be put to a more worthy use than sitting on my shelf collecting dust.

I would like to thank all of the Cubers I've been privileged to come in contact with, especially Jack Kinnicut and my fellow CubeOwners.com users. It's been a joy, but I have to move on. The Cube got me into the world of Macs and I will always be grateful for that. It was a good computer and I'll miss it dearly. So, so long, farewell, and thanks for all the fish!

/end blog

Getting Unwired

2006-01-13T12:33:00.000-05:00

I've had this post in draft mode for quite some time; I'm in the middle of a move and haven't had a chance to finish it until now (February 27th, 2006). I'm also proud to announce that my Cube has a new baby brother: an iMac Core Duo! I'll post some pictures of them together later. Now on to the heart of the post...

I recently purchased an 802.11b Airport card online from CubeParts. Jack Kinnicutt, the owner, is an excellent businessman; his website is up-to-date & easy to navigate and he answers email inquiries promptly. I highly recommend his store; his service is excellent. I received my Airport card in a plastic bag packaged by CubeParts. It was extremely well-packed and the card itself was in perfect condition. You can get one for less than $100 when they are in-stock. Update: Sadly, CubeParts is going out of business. Support Jack by buying all the Cube goodies you can! :)

Regarding installation, it was a cinch to get it in the Cube. It took about as much effort as popping in a PCMCIA card into a laptop. Check out the FAQ over at CubeOwner.com for some good resources on installing the Airport card. My existing network is run off a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router using WPA-PSK AES encryption. After extensive fiddling, WPA-PSK AES was a no-go , but WPA-PSK TKIP did the trick. I ended up downgrading all of the computers on my network to WPA-PSK TKIP. Somewhat of a bummer, but encryption is encryption.

Regarding the Linksys router, I've had excellent luck with the "GS" edition (WRT54GS), but not so much with just the "G" models (WRT54G). It's only about ten bucks more for the GS version, so if you're in the market for a new wireless router, that would be my recommendation. If you want to add good security, I would suggest the following:

1. Add a unique admin password for the router
2. Give your router a unique name (SSID)
3. Disable the SSID broadcast (makes your router invisible to other people)
4. Type your MAC IDs into the router's whitelist (not "Macintosh" ID but "MAC" ID; it's a networking thing)
5. Add security: WPA-PSK TKIP is good, WPA-PSK AES is better; use a good password
6. Change the broadcast channel to 11 (avoids neighboring interference)
7. If you're using B & G connection devices, switch the wireless mode to "Mixed"

Also, if you're more of a hacker, check out Sveasoft's firmware. This is an aftermarket firmware that adds things like boosted wireless signal strength, a good firewall, bandwidth manager, etc. The yearly subscription fee is $20 for access to their firmware and forum. Different antennas are also available for the router to help improve your range. I find that the stock antennas are plenty powerful enough to cover a 2-story house with a basement.

I was also quite excited to be able to share files between my computers. There's a great article here that details the steps involved in filesharing between Windows and OS X. I was even able to stream music wirelessly from my Windows XP machine to OS X without a hitch. Sharing music via iTunes is ridiculously easy: simply go into the Preferences menu, select the Sharing tab, and check the "Share my music" box. You can optionally add on a password and give the share a unique name. Unfortunately, you can't copy music from computer-to-computer from the share via iTunes; you have to share the folder and import from there if you want to do that. If you're sharing music with a Windows computer and are running a software firewall such as ZoneAlarm, you will need to add your own internal network into the trusted zone. Here's how to do it with ZoneAlarm free edition:

1. Open ZoneAlarm
2. Click on the Firewall section on the left side
3. In the lower-right corner, click on the Add button and select IP Range
4. Configure the following parameters:

Zone:

IP Address:

Description:

5. Click the OK button
6. Click the Apply button
7. Exit out of ZoneAlarm (don't shut it down though)

This configuration covers an internal network of up to 20 computers. If you have more than that, just increase the last number (120) in the second IP Address. IPs on these Linksys routers started out at .100, so if you want to add 50 computers into your trusted zone, you'd change the number to .150. I'll write up a detailed tutorial on filesharing sometime in the future if anyone is interested.

The Money Pit

2006-01-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

How much will it cost to modernize a G4 Cube? Why not just buy a brand-new G5? How do the two compare? Those are good questions to ask yourself before starting on the path to turning your Cube into a powerhouse. In this post, I've put together a breakdown of the parts and costs associated with both upgrading a G4 Cube and purchasing a basic new Power Mac G5. I focused mainly on the internals and left the monitors and other peripherals out, since those will add the same cost to either machine no matter what you get. So, ladies and gentleman, without further ado:

Fully-loaded G4 Cube: $1924 with upgrades
$275 - Used G4 Cube with OS X and Apple Pro keyboard & mouse
$595 - Dual 1.7ghz processors (PowerForce G4 7447-series)
$300 - 1.5gb PC133 Crucial RAM (running at PC100)
$80 - 120gb 7200rpm 8mb Seagate 7200.9 PATA
$199 - MCE Technologies' internal 8x double-layer Superdrive
$180 - 128-bit Nvidia GeForce 5200 with 256mb ram
$97 - original internal Apple Airport 802.11b card
$40 - D-link USB Bluetooth adapter
$79 - iLife 2005
$40 - Belkin 7-port USB hub
$39 - Griffin Technology's new iMic (white, not clear)

Entry-level Power Mac G5: $2,098 stock
Power Mac G5 with OS X and Apple keyboard & mouse
Dual-core 2ghz processor (PowerPC G5)
512mb DDR2 PC2-4200 RAM
160gb SATA hard drive
16x double-layer Superdrive
Nvidia GeForce 6600 LE with 128mb ram
Airport Extreme & Bluetooth (add $99 to stock $1,999 price)
iLife 2005

I tried to match the parts at least one-for-one in this comparison while maxing out the Cube. For example, the new G5 has four USB 2.0 ports while the Cube only has two USB 1.1 ports, so I added a USB hub to the Cube's list to make it more fair. Also, the Cube is maxed out with 1.5gb of ram while the G5 only has 512 megs; however, the G5 has DDR ram, which is effectively twice as fast as standard sdram. With that in mind, the upgraded Cube is nearly 1:1 with the new G5, at least as far as I could reasonably push the design envelope with its aging G4 design.

The first thing you may notice is the price difference, which isn't all that big: $174. This gives you some play room if you'd rather get a surround-sound module or need digital input/output, like the G5 has, or some other neat widget. Before we get into all of that, however, let's start out by listing the pros of the G5 platform over the G4 Cube:

More upgradability (both with dedicated hardware and PCI Express card options)
Modern hardware (USB 2.0, Firewire 800, built this year versus 5 years ago, etc.)
Better gaming capabilities (mainly due to the video card)
Faster everything (bus speed, processor, ram, sata hard drive, etc.)
No hassles associated with the initial purchase (nothing to install or upgrade)

That's a pretty decent list, but the upgraded Cube has some good things going for it, too:

Small footprint (G5 computers are HUGE!)
Looks way cooler (okay, this one is subjective)
More fun (again, this is subjective -- I love upgrading computers!)
Low noise (suitable for on-desktop use, although I can't comment on the G5's noise level)
Can run 95% of the applications out there with ease
Theoretical performance (upgraded) is nearly on par with the entry-level G5
Final cost is slightly lower than a "bottom of the barrel" G5

So yes, you can turn the Cube from a collector's item into a workhorse. Is it worth it? Only if you think it is. If you need a reliable computer for work or school with future expansion options, you should probably look into getting a G5. If you'd rather have a piece of art with 99% of the functionality of the G5 sitting on your desk, then the Cube is definately a viable option. I'm going with the Cube :)

The Mindset & Methodology behind Hot-Rodding my Cube

2005-12-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

As promised, I have written up explanations behind why I chose the hardware and software in my last post: (careful, lots of reading ahead)

Guts: (internal upgrades)

Power Mac G4 Cube
Dual 1.7ghz Powerlogix processors or dual 1.3ghz 2mb L3 processors
1.5gb Crucial RAM
120gb 7200rpm 8mb Seagate hard drive or 74gb Raptor with SATA adapter
Apple Airport wireless 802.11b card
Video card with Quartz Extreme & Core Image support (Nvidia 6200, hopefully)

The G4 Cube is, of course, the heart of the system. Ebay is an excellent resource for finding a nice used Cube; that's where I got mine! There are a few other sources, but you probably won't find them cheaper than on ebay. The DV Warehouse occasionally has some good deals, however. You can also snag one at We Love Macs, complete with a keyboard and mouse. I got my Cube on ebay for $275 plus $40 shipping for a total of $315 shipped, including the keyboard, mouse, original H/K speakers, and OS X, all in good condition. Not bad considering it sold for $1,799 a few scant years ago :) If you do some hunting, I'm sure that you will be able to find a good deal somewhere.

On a seperate but related note, I have had several people ask about both the logic and final cost behind upgrading the Cube. Before embarking on a project like this, you should keep in mind that this machine is going on five years old. You have to ask yourself why you would want to upgrade this machine versus simply buying a new Mac. For me, it's simple: it's an emotional thing. I love my Cube! If I really, truly cared about performance, I'd get a crazy dual-processor, dual-core G5 with an insane amount of RAM and other fun goodies. But I won't, because I'd rather have a Cube sitting on my desk at home. While it's not exactly state-of-the-art technology, the machine can be upgraded fairly easily to compete with today's machines. No, it doesn't have USB 2.0, Firewire 800, or dual-core processors, but not everybody needs those things. My design goals, for example, don't call for the latest-and-greatest equipment; I just need enough power to offer sufficient "play" performance.

Additionally, the niche market for this system has matured to the point where there are enough straightforward upgrades and external device alternatives that it can become a highly-usable machine very easily. For example, while the machine is limited by its USB 1.1 connection, it does have two Firewire 400 ports. Everything from scanners to external hard drives to the iSight web cam are made with Firewire now and will perform admirably on that bus. Regarding cost, yes, you can buy the basic Cube for cheap, but how much will it cost to bring it up to today's standards? I did a price comparison and the cost was roughly that of a new low-end Power Mac G5 system (sans monitor on both computers). I will post a basic cost comparison in my next blog entry. I will also keep a running total of how much I sink into this machine so that you can have an idea of the real financial cost before purchasing or deciding to upgrade a Cube.

The stock 450mhz (or 500mhz, if you're lucky) processor definately needs some attention, although I'm surprised at how snappy the little devil is in OS X. There are a number of upgrades available that can easily double or triple the processing power. Powerlogix, Sonnet Technologies, and Giga Designs all offer processor upgrades specifically designed for the Cube. The fastest at the time of writing is 1.8ghz. However, the one I'm after is the dual 1.7ghz 7447 series upgrade. Two heads are better than one, right? :) I'm a heavy multitasker and I'd rather sacrifice 100mhz to get two chips than just use one. The other option I'm looking at is the dual 1.3ghz processors, which feature 2mb of l3 cache. This is an attractive offering not only because that extra cache would help with video editing, but it holds its own against the 1.5 and 1.6ghz upgrades. Bare Feats has a good CPU upgrade comparison test available; you'll laugh when you see how far behind the stock 500mhz processor is from the others. While there aren't any comparisons against the dual 1.7ghz processors yet, I'm leaning towards them because I think it'd be cool to say "yeah, I have a couple 1.7ghz cpus in my Cube". Hehehe...

The RAM will probably be my first major upgrade. My first task with any system is usually to max out the RAM, or at least get it up to a gig. I've been burned by different brands of RAM in the past, but I trust Crucial the most. I say first "major" upgrade because it will cost approximately $300 to do a complete 1.5gb upgrade; my initial investment instead will go into getting a good internal hard drive and backup system, plus the necessary peripherals so that I can get started mastering OS X.

I've kind of floundered with the internal hard drive upgrade. I wanted to get the quietest drive available, which was initially going to be the Samsung P80-series "silent" hard drive. However, they were out of stock/discontinued and I had some trouble finding them. I decided instead to go with a more modern Seagate 7200.9 drive. I don't want to mess around with uncapping the drive, which you can do with Intech software to use drives over 120 gigs in your Cube, so I opted to go with the 120gb version (model # ST3120814A for those who care). It runs at a fast 7200rpm, plus features an 8mb buffer (make sure you get the 8mb buffer and not the 2mb; there's no real price difference and you'll get better performance). The other option I was looking at was the speedy 74gb 10k-rpm SATA WD Raptor drive. I would need an SATA-to-PATA adapter to use it in the Cube, however. I started a thread at CubeOwner.com on this topic and decided to go with the Seagate in the end. It seems as though the Seagate will probably top out at 40-50 MB/s, maybe 55 MB/s at most, while the Raptor would probably max out the 66 MB/s bus. That's not enough of a difference for me to warrant trying out the Raptor. Plus, I'll gain over 40 gigs by using the Seagate :)

I also wanted a wireless card for my Cube. I'm running a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router at home, which has been absolutely fantastic, and I would really rather not drill a hole in the wall and run a 50-foot Ethernet cable to the Cube just to get Internet access. The original internal Airport card looks like the best option; there supposedly are some USB adapter offerings, but none of them looked as good as the Airport. My one concern with the Airport is whether it will support my wireless encryption scheme, WPA-PSK AES. The original Airport cards are getting harder and harder to find at a reasonable price because Apple doesn't make them anymore and they're still a popular item. They typically command a premium wherever you can find them, even on ebay ($130 was the going price last time I checked). I was fortunate to be referred to CubeParts before buying one off ebay. You can pick up an Airport card for just under $100 there.

You may have noticed that the video card is still kind of up in the air. The video card has been the biggest issue with my upgrade plans. One of my main goals is to keep the Cube case both unmodified and near-silent. Certain cards, such as the ATI Radeon 9800, require that you either get a bigger case, a better power supply, or both, and also add a significant amount of noise from their fans. I personally have no desire to tear apart my precious Cube's shell just to get better performance out of it, so I'm left with fewer options. The card that looks the best right now is the Nvidia Geforce 5200 FX. It supports both Core Image & Quartz Extreme and doesn't require anything more than a VRM move and face plate removal (not even a VRM move on some models). Additionally, you can even get a 128-bit 5200 with 256 megs of ram. Cards like that require flashing to make them Mac-compatible and you can usually find them floating around ebay for under $200, sometimes under $100. The folks over at Strangedogs have a forum specifically for flashing PC video cards for use on Macs. An Nvidia 6200 card is in the works, too, and I'm going to wait to see how that turns out before deciding on a course of action.

There are two internal upgrades that I haven't mentioned yet, the first being the relocation and/or an upgrade of the voltage regulator module (VRM), aka the DC/DC power supply card. According to PowerLogix, the original Cube VRM "is incapable of providing sufficient power for reliable operation at clock speeds faster than a single 1.2 GHz 7455 CPU." Luckily PowerLogix built in a VRM bypass in their processor upgrades so you don't have to worry about not having enough power. You can also buy a beefier VRM from Giga Designs for about $100 (for relocation purposes, note that the Giga VRM is supposed to be slightly larger than the original VRM). Some people also suggest moving the VRM to a different location to avoid heat issues and possible damage to the motherboard, as well as to make room for certain video cards. I'm not 100% clear on this issue; I'll do some more research and post my findings.

The other upgrade I haven't mentioned is the internal optical drive. My Cube came stock with a CD/DVD-ROM drive, which is sufficient for playing CDs & DVDs, but not for burning them. There are currently four options for upgrading the internal drive: MCE Technology's Superdrive, OWC's Superdrive, FastMac's Superdrive, and a custom do-it-yourself drive, such as the Pioneer DVR-K05 (a "Superdrive" is Apple's name for a drive that burns both CDs and DVDs). The commercial drives start at around $200 and can handle dual-layer DVD burning as well as standard 4.7gb DVDs and CDs. If you use a custom drive, you'll need to make or acquire an adapter bracket. You can also just get a CD-RW/DVD-ROM upgrade if you wish. After reading some mixed reviews on these upgrades and looking at the prices and work involved, I decided that it was too much hassle to upgrade the internal drive (CubeOwner has some good insights in this post if you're interested in one, however). I opted to go with an external Firewire drive that offered faster speeds, a lower cost, and LightScribe capability. I'm happy with my internal drive for now because I can use the DVD-ROM to both watch DVD movies and to reinstall OS X as necessary. Although, if HP or some other manufactuer ever releases a slimline, slotload dual-layer DVD burner with LightScribe, I may reconsider :)

Also of note is the internal battery. If you're purchasing a used Cube, you may want to run down to Radio Shack and pick up a 3.6V Lithium internal battery to replace the existing one, which helps store things like the date & time when the computer is off. Alternatively, you can order a nice 1200mA battery online for under $10 (you can thank Shiekh for the post about that). Instructions on replacing the battery are available on page 67 of this PDF document.

I forgot to mention the UPS (uninterruptible power supply). These are a requirement on any desktop machine I run. I've been the victim of too many power outages to not run a computer system without a UPS (laptops only need a surge protector because they have an internal battery to provide run-time on power loss). I will be using my trusty Belkin 1100VA (660 watt) UPS with the Cube. If you're interested in getting a UPS, you can use the coupon code "12345" at Belkin.com to get 50% off just about anything in their store. This sounds like a pretty good deal, but after calculating the cost for shipping, you may find the price is about on par with online retail stores such as Newegg.

External:

23" aluminum Aple Cinema display
Colorimeter (Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2 looks pretty good)
Belkin 7-port USB 2.0 hub (USB 1.1 compatible)
Logitech MX1000 wireless laser mouse
Apple wireless keyboard
D-link USB Bluetooth adapter
Contour Designs ShuttleXpress (video editing tool)
6x11" widescreen Wacom Intuos3 tablet
Apple iSight web cam
500gb LaCie d2 external Firewire hard drive
Firewire CD/DVD burner with LightScribe
Lexar Media Firewire CompactFlash reader
Epson R200 CD/DVD inkjet printer
Canon PIXMA IP4000 inkjet printer
Samsung ML-1740 laser printer

What Cube would be complete without a matching display? I tossed this decision around for a long time before settling the Apple 23" display, which is a giant widescreen LCD monitor. Initially I wanted a 22" Apple Cinema display, the original ginormous Apple flat-panel, but (1) they are hard to find, especially in good condition, (2) they still run at least $700, even used, and (3) they're old! The Cube and an LCD differ in that the Cube can be upgraded and will still hold together, even after years of use, while the monitor will start getting dim. Plus, the specs on the LCD aren't nearly as good as more modern displays, although many people have commented on the excellent quality of the older ones. I'd love to have one, but unless I can find a mint one with zero dead pixels and a good amount of brightness left, I'm opting to go with a newer display. The downside of the current 23" display is that even with my student discount, it still costs over a grand. Unless I get some sort of monster bonus at work, this will probably be the very last upgrade I make to my machine.

In the meantime, I was able to pick up a wonderful 19" Dell E193FP analog LCD for less than $300 shipped from an online buy/sell/trade computer forum. The stock video card in the Cube supports both ADC and VGA connections, which works out perfectly with this monitor since it has a standard VGA connector instead of DVI. I first saw this particular Dell model at work on an engineering computer. I really like the design and the quality is outstanding for a VGA connection. It runs at 1280x1024, has a 500:1 contrast ratio (versus 300:1 in the 22"), and has a fast 16ms response time. I will be swapping this monitor between my Cube and my Windows laptop for the time being since the inverter is going bad on the laptop's LCD screen (don't even get me started on how annoying screen flicker is). This will also be my first desktop LCD monitor and I'm pretty excited about it :)

One problem I encountered when first playing with my Cube was that the VGA cable had to make a really tight bend to get out from underneath the Cube. I was using a 17" CRT with a fairly skinny VGA cable, too; this was cause for concern because I didn't want to mess up the cable or signal on my upcoming Dell LCD. After poking around a bit, I found out that there was a special right-angle VGA-to-VGA adapter cable made specifically for the Cube to thwart this problem. The price seems a bit steep at $30 for a simple adapter, but I decided to get one in order to eliminate the cable bend and to facilitate easy cable swapping between the Cube and my laptop.

I added a colorimeter for monitor color profiling to the list because I plan on doing some graphic design work on the Cube, plus it'd be nice to have for my other systems. I want to switch my print projects over to the Cube eventually and try to phase out my PC as much as possible. This particular GretagMacbeth unit is supposed to be one of the better colorimeters currently available. This is a far-off upgrade as well, since I won't bother using it until I get the 23" display.

Next up is the Belkin 7-port USB hub, left over from my PC days. This is a nice AC-powered hub that has plenty of ports for future expansion. I will be plugging in three printers, a scanner, a Bluetooth module, the Logitech mouse, and the tablet into this, if I can get away with it. We'll see how well it performs fully-loaded when the time comes.

As a human, you spend your physical time interacting with the input and output devices of your computer. Therefore, the controls and display connected to your system are of extremely high importance and to me are of even higher priority than internal upgrades like RAM. I've used mice that skip no matter how much you clean them out. I've used high-dpi monitors (you know, the kind that display fuzzy text, no matter how much you play with the controls?) and monitors that flicker. I know how annoying and potentially painful poor input/output devices can be. I would come home with a headache day after day from work after using a cruddy, failing CRT. It's no fun. Since I didn't want any of those things bothering me on my home computer, my first hardware upgrades are going to be the controls. I've already taken care of the monitor, at least temporarily, so the input devices are the next items to be addressed.

I'll be the first to admit it: I am a Logitech fanboy. The first thing I did with my Cube was deep-six the one-button mouse. I can't stand those things. They look cool, but I need more control. I am a really big fan of the MX series of mice. I've had both an MX700 wireless mouse as well as a couple of MX510 corded mice. They've been wonderful devices to work with and are well worth the investment they require. I typically don't like wires, so I started looking at wireless devices first. I've been in love with the MX1000 ever since I first laid my hand on it at Staples, but I was never able to justify the near-$100 price tag. Luckily, the price has come down a lot since then, and with the use of a 12% off coupon I was able to snag one for a decent price. This mouse fits my hand like a glove. It has no less than 8 programmable buttons, plus horizontal and vertical scrolling capabilities. It also has a dock to recharge the batteries (I conside this a must with wireless mice). It's heavier than an MX510 mouse, but it also features a laser instead of an LED for tracking. Mouse...check!

What about the keyboard? The first one that caught my eye was the Apple wireless keyboard. Aesthetically, it matches the Cube quite nicely -- white buttons with a clear housing. It has the standard Mac controls, including the cool "eject" button in the upper right-hand corner (by the way, I was playing with a new G5 at CompUSA today and I think that it's dumb that it only has one optical drive in the entire monster-sized tower). And best of all -- it's wireless! It uses Bluetooth technology, which the Cube doesn't have by default, so I'll have to use a USB Bluetooth adapter. Apple advertises a tiny D-link model on their website; I figure it's best to go with the one they say works with their system. No drivers required, and if you shop around, you can get it for about twenty bucks after the rebate right now. The only Bluetooth device I've ever used is a Logitech headset for my cell phone, which has actually been working perfectly, so I have high hopes for this setup. Oh yeah, I also discovered that my cell phone, the Motorola v710 from Verizon, will talk to iSync, although only by using the USB data cable. It's a bummer that it won't work over Bluetooth (the Apple list specifically points this out). Oh well, at least it will be able to sync! Apple says that the battery life for their wireless keyboard is approximately nine months. I have a Microsoft wireless keyboard and I typically get eight months out of the two AA batteries inside, so that claim should be fairly realistic. If I even get six months, I'll still be happy. The main reason I like wireless keyboards is that no matter where I position my hardware or how I run the wiring, I always need that extra inch on the keyboard cable. It drove me nuts for the longest time; thank goodness for RF & Bluetooth.

In addition to the main controls, there are two other input devices I'd like to add. The first is the ShuttleXpress, a neat devices designed mainly for video editing, although it is programmable for other applications (you can program it per-application, too). It is the little brother of the ShuttlePRO. Although the ShuttlePRO has more buttons and is larger, the ShuttleXpress gets excellent reviews and one reviewer said he even likes the ShuttleXpress more than the ShuttlePRO in some ways. I have a similar device for my PC from Griffin Technology called the PowerMate, which is basically a programmable knob. Not quite as fancy as the Shuttle controls, but pretty cool nonetheless. And yes, I have the black version :) It's really cool and I find it indispensable for using in Adobe CS, especially in InDesign (ahhhh, no more keyboard-based zooming). However, I wanted to try something with a few extra features and the ShuttleXpress fit the bill.

The other device I want to add is a Wacom Intuos3 tablet. I started using their USB tablets several years ago, starting with a 4x5" Graphire2. I remember the day I got it in the mail; I was late for work that day because I spent such a long time playing with it. Talk about addicting! It is one of my favorite pieces of hardware. About six months ago I acccidentally vacuumed up the USB cord, which completely shredded the cable. I recently replaced it with a 4x5" Graphire4, which features a nicer pen but not as much pressure sensitivity, in my opinion. When I get the widescreen 23" LCD, I want to upgrade to the new widescreen 6x11" Intuos3 tablet. I can't wait to start using Painter with the enhanced sensitivity of an Intuos3 on a massive Apple monitor. On another side note, I also messed around with the Apple displays at CompUSA today. I'm debating the 23" over the 20". My wife commented that the 23" display is almost TOO big -- you practically have to look from side-to-side to see the whole screen. I think the 23" would balance out the Cube nicely in terms of size, however. We'll see when the time comes, I guess.

I'm also interested in the Firewire iSight web cam from Apple. It looks pretty cool and seems like a nice addition for video conferencing. Eventually I'd like to switch my mother and grandmother over to Macs (mini for my mom, iMac all-in-one LCD for my grandma), both for easier technical support and to do video-calls. With the video-conferencing capabilities in iChat, it definately looks like fun. Another Firewire accessory I'd like is the Lexar Media Firewire CompactFlash card reader. After firing my Cube the first day, I tried importing about 200 photos over the USB 1.1 connection directly from the camera. Holy Rip Van Winkle, Batman. It took forever! I'm hoping that a Firewire card reader will significantly improve the read speeds for digital photographs.

There are two Firewire storage devices that I'm interested in: an external hard drive and an external optical drive. I am a big fan of making system restore images and performing regular backups. I've been burned in the PC world and have learned this lesson many times: backup, backup, backup. I even wrote a tutorial on making disc images for Windows systems (the nearest app I can find for doing this in OS X is Carbon Copy Cloner, which I'll try out and review in the future). At any rate, I want to get a massive hard drive that matches the Cube aesthetically. The LaCie d2 drive is definately the ticket. LaCie has a reputation for quality in both the Mac and PC world; they offer stylish looks with massive storage sizes sporting an array of interfaces. I really like how the d2 looks and the 500gb size is simply awesome. 500 gigs will allow me to have both dual primary drive images (rotating backup schedule; don't worry, I'll explain my backup methods in a future post) as well as room for plenty of video projects. However, at nearly $500, this is another upgrade that I'm going to hold off for awhile. Instead, I am going with a do-it-yourself setup using a 250gb Seagate hard drive and an external Firewire case (this one has the reveared Oxford 911 chipset). Total cost is roughly $160. This will let me make two full disc images of the primary hard drive (120gb) as well as save me over $300 initially. Plus the enclosure itself doesn't look too shabby! When I do get the LaCie drive, the 250gb setup will move over to the Windows world as a client disk image storage and database system. Man I love upgrading! On a related note, LaCie has an insane 2-terabyte external drive available, although it looks like it's about half the size of the Cube. Hopefully the nearly $2,000 price tag won't scare you off :)

Earlier I mentioned that I am not planning on upgrading the internal optical drive. I am, however, going to put a 5.25" LightScribe DVD burner together with an external 5.25" Firewire enclosure (also with the Oxford 911 chipset). This setup runs about $110 if you can find a good sale on a LightScribe burner, which is much nicer than the $200+ some manufacturers are asking for a less-capable internal drive. However, if you're going for a minimalist setup, you may just want to stick with an internal upgrade. Call me weird, but I love putting discs in the Cube and watch them get sucked in and then spit out. It's neat to have such a compact, cool-looking machine with so many functions.

The printers are in a world of their own. I use three different printers on a regular basis, all of which I'm hoping to connect to my Mac for the "ultimate" multimedia box. The Epson R200 was actually one of my first personal inkjet printers. It has an incredible 6-ink system and retails for about $99 (with rebates you can get it down to $70 or so right now). Although plain text documents always come out somewhat fuzzy, the photo quality is among the best I've seen. It loads from the top and has an easy slide-bar to accomodate 4x6", 5x7", 8x10", or 8.5x11" photo paper (I hate dealing with those HP-style printers where you have to lift five plastic trays up and position your paper perfectly before being able to print a single photo). The real kicker is that it can print on blank inkjet-printable CDs and DVDs. It won't print on normal discs, but you can purchase special white or silver surface-printable discs. The surface is just like matte photo paper; you simply put the disc in the tray, put the tray in the printer, and print from their CD printing program (there is a variety of software available that supports printing to CDs, too). You can easily make custom, professional-looking optical discs with this printer. I'm not a big fan of using the stickers that you print on and then "stomp" to the disc; those always tend to come off and have spinning problems in some player equipment. This option not only avoids that, but also gives your discs a more finished look & feel. I'll have a writeup of both the Epson R200 and LightScribe technology on my to-do list for my website, so be sure to look for that link in a future post.

The next printer is the Canon PIXMA IP4000. The text quality of this printer is amazing; it looks as good as a laser printer. It also had excellent reviews as a photo printer, even better than its bigger brother, the IP5000. This is more of my "school projects" printer, since it does both excellent text and great photos (the Epson R200 is mostly used for printing CDs & DVDs). This was actually a Christmas present from my wife; Staples was upgrading this model in their stores and had it for just $50 after the rebate. Pretty nice deal! The neat thing about the IP4000 is that it can print double-sided (front & back of a piece of paper). It also has two paper trays, which is nice when you have to load up lots of paper for printing or if you want to have photo paper in the bottom tray and regular paper in the top tray.

Last but not least, the Samsung ML-1740 personal laser printer. I picked this printer up for under $100 with the rebate (I used to work at Staples and always knew when the good deals were going on :). You can still find it for as low as $60 sometimes if you look hard enough. It actually looks like a Mac product, although the U.S. release isn't officially supported under OS X. After some googling, I discovered that the Australian version has OS X drivers available. Yay! I do need to pick up some sort of voltage regulator for it because it makes the lights flicker in my apartment. I used to have a small Konica Minolta laser printer in my old place and it did the same thing with the lights there, too. I don't recommend plugging these things into a UPS because it will kill the whole system (it shut down the computer, UPS, and all devices connected to it both times that I tried). My guess is that it requires such a high power draw when you first turn it on that the UPS can't handle it and just shuts down. Bummer. At any rate, it's wonderful to have a laser printer in my computer room because it makes printing throw-away stuff (like Mapquest directions) and proofs for my print projects a lot quicker, not to mention cheaper. The first summer I had my Epson R200 (my only printer at the time), I easily blew $100 in inks, which is what prompted me to start looking for a more cost-effective solution.

Audio system:

Griffin Technology's iMic USB sound card (second edition)
Logitech Z-2300 stereo speakers
Shure PG48 microphone
Microphone desktop boom
Griffin Technology's XLR-to-minijack cable

The audio system is an upgrade I'd like to do as a complete package. The Cube itself doesn't have any audio equipment aside from the stock USB Harmon Kardon speakers with the built-in amp, which is pretty useless if you want to add line-in or mic-in. I really like those speakers, however; they sound pretty good and look great. You can even purchase a clear, Cube-matching USB subwoofer called the iSub. I'm holding off on all audio upgrades for now, firstly because I'm in an apartment (my neighbors might not appreciate the subwoofer as much as I would) and secondly because I won't be needed mic input for awhile.

When I am ready for the audio system, however, the first thing I'll do is add the new Griffin Technology iMic. The new version is white and is supposedly "updated" (although I'm not exactly sure what was actually updated), and the old version is clear. At any rate, you can connect speakers via the minijack port as well as use either line input or microphone input at your discretion. I used to have the 2.1 Logitech z-2200 speakers, an awesome 200-watt THX-certified set of stereo speakers with a subwoofer. Boy that thing was awesome. The new version is the z-2300 series seems like a suitable replacement, plus they match the Apple displays in style. I'm still poking around speaker options and haven't totally decided on these speakers yet. The Harmon/Kardon Soundsticks II look pretty good as well, but visually they're a better match for the older Cinema-style displays. Another option is to go with a stereo receiver and get a killer set of speakers to go with it. I don't know how good the quality of the new iMic is, so I'm going to wait for some more reviews to come out before I make a decision.

I will also be using my old Sennheiser HD-570 headphones with both the stock speakers and whatever speakers I decide to upgrade to (the z-2300's have a headphone jack right on the volume control). If you don't have any hi-fi audio equipment, these headphones may well be the best sound you will ever hear or own. They are absolutely fantastic! You can pick them up on ebay for less than $100, sometimes closer to $50 if you're lucky. They don't require an external amp to drive them, either. I can't recommend these cans enough if you need a good set of headphones (dorms and apartments are places where they would be especially useful). They are huge, but are also lightweight and extremely comfortable. Just keep in mind that they are open-air, so if you crank them, someone sitting next to you will be able to hear them faintly (keep this in mind if you're listening to them at a library).

I also want to do some narration for my home videos and video tutorials. Shure has an excellent reputation for quality mics, plus the prices aren't bad compared the cruddy computer mics they sell at electronics stores. Griffin Technology also sells a cool-looking XLR-to-minijack cable so that you can interface their iMic with a standard XLR mic. If anyone knows where I can get a quality desktop boom for the mic, please leave a comment. I'm not all that familiar with recording equipment, but I would like to have some way to mount the microphone so that I can move it around easily while I'm working.

Imaging equipment:

Canon 5D or 20D digital camera & accessories
MiniDV camcorder & accessories (maybe a Canon ZR200)

I'd love to eventually get a "prosumer" digital camera such as the Canon 20D or 5D. I'm currently using a Canon A75, which is absolutely fantastic for the type of camera it is (point-and-shoot). However, seeing as how I haven't even mastered all of the functions on the A75, I don't plan on getting a nice dSLR until I have more time to invest in a serious study of photography. I would also like to get a small MiniDV camcorder, too. I'm currently using an older, borrowed family JVC MiniDV camcorder for my projects & family events. Firewire and digital video is a wonderful combination :) The Canon ZR200 is priced at just under $300 at various online shops and has a huge 20x optical zoom. This is twice the amount of zoom I've seen on many other MiniDV cameras. Again, if you have a good model to suggest, then by all means do so!

Software:

OS X Tiger 10.4.3
iLife 2005
Final Cut Express HD
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac
Adobe CS Premium
Firefox
Thunderbird

As I want to create the most modern Cube possible, OS X is the operating system of choice. I'm currently running 10.4.3 on my Cube. iLife 2005 is the first application suite I chose. It includes iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand, and iTunes, a pretty decent selection of software. I could almost stop right there, just because of iMovie and iDVD. I've had terrible luck with Windows-based movie editors, including Windows Movie Maker 2 and Pinnacle Studio 8. My wife loves making home movies and video slideshows, but the video editing software we've been using frustrates her to no end because of the constant crashes and other bugs. On the other hand, I've heard nothing but good things about Macs and video editing. My school uses them exclusively in their DV classes as well as in their digital imaging courses. My friends constantly praise their capabilities and stability. At this point, I'm definately willing to give it a shot. In fact, aside from my interest in the Cube itself, video editing is the other main reason I'm giving Apple computers a shot. After I master the iLife video software, I plan on moving up to Final Cut Express for a little more control over my projects. One step at a time though :)

If I feel my Cube is fast enough and provides all of the capabilities I need, I will probably port two of the biggest packages I use over: Microsoft Office and Adobe CS. Those were hefty investments in the PC world; I'm not really looking forward to re-investing in Mac versions, even with my student discount. However, if I do decide to do a complete switch, I can always sell off my remaining PC stuff to finance these software packages. Maybe I should look at Virtual PC, too. There are some applications that I just can't give up, such as Rhino3D, but could run in Windows XP under Virtual PC. Food for thought, I guess.

Last but not least, the wonderful, open-source Mozilla software packages Firefox and Thunderbird. I really like the Firefox browser a lot; I'm willing to give Safari a shot, but unless it is measurably better than Firefox, I'm not switching. I usually use Gmail or Yahoo Mail! for my personal email accounts, but I do use Thunderbird for work-related email and find it very useful. The backup procedure (i.e. copy the Thunderbird folder to a disc) is painless, which I love. Not only are these packages free, but they also have many, many plugins available, including everything from a built-in FTP client to web developer tools.

Workspace: (as long as I'm dreaming :)

Herman Miller Aeron chair (size C)
Curved, wooden L-shaped desk
Drafting table

When I finish this Mac, I'll have a pretty decked-out system and I want to have a workspace to match (mostly because of the amount of time I know I'll spend playing with my toy, lol). First up is the Herman Miller Aeron chair. This chair looks like something out of the movie Aliens. I have had excellent first-hand reviews of this chair and from my brief time testing one out it seemed pretty nice. The emphasis of this chair is on ergonomics: it's very adjustable, comfortable, and easy to move around in. The price tag reflects it's reputation: nearly $1,000. Even used, I haven't been able to find one for less than $500 shipped. Oh well. I figured as long as I had a 23" LCD on my list I might as well toss this up too :)

Next up is the desk. I like long corner desks, but not the kind that meet in a square in the corner. I prefer the kind that are curved in the corner. I also don't like the under-desk keyboard trays; they never have enough room for both your keyboard and mouse, not to mention other controls like a tablet or jog/shuttle video editing control. My favorite desks are the kind where you put the computer in the corner, then sit at the rounded edge of the corner area to work on your computer, with your printers and scanner off to one side and a workspace for using paper and other tools on the other. I would also add a drafting table to the mix to do my sketching and drawing on. Nearly every serious 3D project I do starts out with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. I also like to draw and sketch anyway, so it'd be fun to have a good multi-angle drafting table for that.

Well, that concludes this portion of the blog. If you've made it this far, congratulations, you're a Cube-upgrade expert now! If you're ready for more, I suggest heading over to CubeOwner's awesome and ever-growing FAQ on the Cubes; there is plenty of information over there to keep you busy for hours. Please feel free to comment on my choice of upgrades, suggest better options, or just say hi. I will cover pricing and the expected final cost of this project in my next post.

My Wishlist

2005-12-29T17:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I've pretty much finished my research now. I've broken down the upgrades I want by group (internal, external, etc.) with links to as many of the parts as possible. I put them in an easy-to-read list in this post. I will write out the explanations behind why I chose the upgrades in the next post. Anything with a red asterisk (*) is something I already have.

Guts: (internal upgrades)

Power Mac G4 Cube *
Dual 1.7ghz Powerlogix processors or dual 1.3ghz 2mb L3 processors
1.5gb Crucial RAM
120gb 7200rpm 8mb Seagate hard drive or 74gb Raptor with SATA adapter
Apple Airport wireless 802.11b card
Video card with Quartz Extreme & Core Image support (Nvidia 6200, hopefully)

External:

23" aluminum Apple Cinema display
Colorimeter (Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2 looks pretty good)
Belkin 7-port USB 2.0 hub (USB 1.1 compatible) *
Logitech MX1000 wireless laser mouse
Apple wireless keyboard
D-link USB Bluetooth adapter
Contour Designs ShuttleXpress (video editing tool)
6x11" widescreen Wacom Intuos3 tablet
Apple iSight web cam
500gb LaCie d2 external Firewire hard drive
Firewire CD/DVD burner with LightScribe
Lexar Media Firewire CompactFlash reader
Epson R200 CD/DVD inkjet printer *
Canon PIXMA IP4000 inkjet printer *
Samsung ML-1740 laser printer (OS X driver here) *

Audio system:

Griffin Technology's iMic USB sound card (second edition)
Logitech Z-2300 stereo speakers
Shure PG48 microphone
Microphone desktop boom
Griffin Technology's XLR-to-minijack cable

Imaging equipment:

Canon 5D or 20D digital camera & accessories
MiniDV camcorder & accessories (maybe a Canon ZR200)

Software:

Workspace: (as long as I'm dreaming :)

Herman Miller Aeron chair (size C)
Curved, wooden L-shaped desk
Drafting table

The Game Plan

2005-12-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

So the first big question: what do I want to do with it?

Personally, I think that having a clear idea or a vision of what you want will make you much happier in the end. Years ago I created a 3-step system to help you achieve just about anything you want:

Decide exactly what you want.
Decide exactly how you are going to do it.
Do it.

Simple in theory, not so simple in practice :) Anyway, I now just have to apply this magic formula here to my pet project. Like I said in my first post, I want this to be a multimedia system. Beginning with the first step in my "Achievement System", I need to decide what I want. Not only what I want, but exactly what I want. As silly and as obvious as it sounds, I've found that actually knowing what to do really helps you to be able to do the thing you want to do. So, I will begin by specifying my design goals. I want my Mac to be able to do the following:

play DVD movies
listen to music
edit videos and do voiceovers
surf the Internet
read email
scan, organize, edit, and print photos
graphic design (Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter, etc.)
look really sharp (note to self: don't get hardware that clashes with the Cube)
be whisper quiet

Now that I have a general idea of what I want, I simply need to do some research to help me choose the appropriate software and hardware to meet my goals (this is getting into the "exactly what" part of step 1). So far, I have decided on the following software: iLife, Final Cut Express HD, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, Adobe CS Premium, Firefox, and Thunderbird. My task now is to research what hardware I need in order to meet the software requirements, as well as nail down the details of the entire system.

I should note that real key to making my 3-step system work is patience. I say this for two reasons: one, because it's sometimes hard to find or acquire the things that you want, and two, budget. Especially with older machines like this one, finding spare parts, reliable upgrades, and functional accessories can be a bit more challenging than with a more modern system. However, I personally find hunting for parts enjoyable :) Also, budget is a limiting factor for most people, including myself. I'm sure I speak for many people when I say that I can't just plop three grand on a new computer system at the drop of a hat. My solution is simple: upgrade a little at a time. While it's true that you usually can't have everything you want all at once, with enough time (i.e. patience), you can definately get it all eventually. Besides, half the fun would be taken out of a project like this if I got every piece at the same time!

The other nice thing about upgrading gradually is that it gives you time to learn everything. I have a certain friend who is a big fan of those peer-to-peer file sharing programs. Every time I talk to him, he excitedly tells me about the latest big-name, big-bucks program he's downloaded for free. "Check this out, I got Adobe CS for free!" or "I just snagged Maya for nothing!" I silently laugh in my head because he has no idea how to use any of those programs. Computers are pointless without applications, which in turn are pointless without trained users.

My first "training" task is to learn OS X. I like to learn systems inside and out so that I can fully manipulate their capabilities, so I decided to get a good book on this new Apple operating system. I went down to the local Barnes & Nobles and picked up a copy of the Mac OS X Missing Manual (Tiger Edition) by David Pogue. Mr. Pogue is an excellent technical writer; his explanations are very easy to read and even fun because of the humor he injects into his writing. I really like his writing style. I would definately recommend this book if you are looking for a good OS X book that covers a lot of ground but doesn't make you gag at the technical explanations when reading it. Amazon has it for under $20.

The Cubes are coming, the Cubes are coming!

2005-12-27T21:53:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to find an excellent deal on ebay for a nice Cube setup. The seller had multiple Cubes for sale and I was able to contact him prior to bidding to request the nicest one of the bunch. I really wanted a clean Cube with minimal surface defects and he was kind enough to send me one in near-mint condition. Yay! The Cube came with the Apple Pro keyboard & mouse as well as the original spherical Harmon Kardon speakers. Here's a picture of the setup on my desk:

Click here for a larger photo

It came loaded with OS X (Tiger, 10.4.3, the latest release at the time of writing), plus iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and Adobe Photoshop CS. The following is a list of the current hardware specifications:

450mhz chip
576mb RAM
20gb hard drive
2 Firewire 400 ports
2 USB 1.1 ports
ATI Rage 128 Pro video card (16mb sdram)
10/100 Ethernet
v.90 56k modem (whoo-hoo, faxing!)

Nothing to get overly excited about, but it'll do the job..for now ;) My only real disappointment is in the lack of USB 2.0 upgradability; I'll be stuck using a massive USB hub that will default to 1.1. If only they could have stuffed a PCI slot in there! I'm concerned about clogging the bus with USB devices; I had a lag issue when I used my wireless (RF) keyboard with a USB 2.0 hub on my XP machine. I'll have to focus my external upgrading efforts towards Firewire devices. But...I have my Cube! :)

The Media Cube Project

2005-12-27T18:11:00.000-05:00

Every once in awhile, I stumble across something that I simply fall in love with. That something has the right combination of form and function, of beauty and brains, and I feel drawn to it. Like my wife, for example :) Such a thing happened when I came across the Power Mac G4 Cube. I was googling an unrelated image search on a chilly December 2005 evening (for PC equipment, no less) and stumbled across a photo with a Cube in the background. Suddenly, my mind sprang back to a time long ago, in a high school far, far away...

...It was 2001. I was graduating that year. I remember a fellow computer enthusiast in my senior class bringing in his shiny new Cube to show off. The local geek squad quickly crowded around it. I didn't get a close look at machine, but I remember admiring the sleek lines, small size, and shiny exterior. I was fascinated, but as I was just starting out in the PC world at the time, I didn't give it much though after that. Until now. I've had my run in the PC world and toyed with Linux on occasion, but I wanted, nay, needed a new challenge. Suddenly there it was, my lighthouse in the storm. Okay, maybe that's going a bit far, but it was cool, man! I spent the next several evenings doing some in-depth research on it. What was it made of? How could I get one? And, most importantly, what kind of mods could I do to it? :) I discovered the CubeOwners site and began reading their FAQ and using the forum. I learned a lot in the short period of a week and had my Cube in transit soon after that.

To give you some background, I am a first and foremost a PC hardware enthusiast. I love building new machines, tearing old ones apart, and upgrading them. I'm a Windows XP Professional power user, although I play with various flavors of Linux now and then. I've been heavily involved with x86 systems for about six years now. With a bit of work and a number of tweaks, XP can become a fairly solid system, and Linux is, of course, rock-solid by nature, but the idea of having a computer that "just works" out of the box has appealed to me ever since OS X came into existance. With the prices for used G4 Cubes so low (fully loaded with everything but a monitor for under $300 USD) I decided to take the plunge this holiday season. My goal in purchasing this system was simple: create a multimedia-centered Mac system. Hence the title "The Media Cube Project". To further expound on this goal, I wanted to create a system to handle music, photos, DVD movies, Internet & email, graphic design, and a bit of home video editing. Nothing a standard Windows or *nix box couldn't handle, but (hopefully) without the associated headaches. My plan is to build a "fun" computer where I can just relax and enjoy using the software to do what I want to do. And look cool while doing it, of course :)

Thus this blog was born. My family and friends are usually quite curious about my projects, and rather than having to explain what I've done and how and where I got things from, I point them to my blogs. It's far easier to document something once and have a reference for people to refer to, than have to explain something a dozen times to different people. I should note that I'm usually more of a photo-blogger than a plain-text poster, so expect to see photos and screenshots as I make progress with OS X. I find photos help me get the "idea" behind the associated text much quicker than just reading the words does; hopefully this will work for you, too. I am also working on a section of my website specifically for the Cube. It will have photos, information, resources, and so on about my Cube and Cubes in general. You can visit it here:

http://www.wiredbynature.org/comp/cube/

If you need a shorter link to write down or send to someone, use this one:

cube.wiredby.com

Regarding this blog, suggestions, notes, recommendations, tips, and tricks are always welcome. Feel free to post in the comments section of my blog as I make my entrance into the world that is Apple. Cheers!