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I've been writing a lot about the Cube lately, and receiving a fair bit of feedback mail.

The overwhelming impression I'm forming is that most people who have Cubes seem to love them enthusiastically.

I have received one or two Cube-critical missives from owners, but they are distinct exceptions. The vast majority of folks who dis the Cube are non-owners.

This unscientific, but I think representative, consensus reinforces my theory that the Cube is the ideal Mac desktop machine for the sort of work most of us do with our computers. People who do high-end production work are of course better-served by G4 tower machines, but how many of us fit into that category?

A particular positive characteristic of the Cube cited by most respondents is its silence. Like me, it seems that there are a lot of users who dislike noisy computers, and prefer to work on a quiet machine.

Among complaints, ones that were cited most frequently were annoyance over cable clutter (speaker wires, power supply cable, etc.) and the lack of analog sound-in and sound-out support. Sorry Steve -- USB audio just isn't there yet with acceptable convenience and reliability. How much would it really cost to bring back real audio ports?

I was a bit surprised at how few people mentioned the built-in CD RW drives on the latest higher-end Cube models as a significant advantage. Personally, I would prefer a lower-priced machine with a DVD drive, and applying the cost difference to the purchase of an external FireWire CD RW burner that can be used with other machines as well. Also, Apple's internal CD RW drive is relatively pokey 8x unit. I wish a Cube model was still available with DVD, the 500 MHz processor, and 128 MB of standard RAM. That model has been discontinued.

The results of my informal PCI slot usage poll this week seemed to confirm that while having a PCI slot in the Cube would not be a disadvantage, the lack of PCI expandability in this age of FireWire is not considered a major shortcoming by people who have bought Cubes.

Another sticking point is the price of Apple's 15 in. LCD Studio Display, which, lovely as it is, is beginning to look awfully pricey compared with competitive 15 in. flat panel displays at $500-$600. These niggles notwithstanding, the fact that almost everyone I've heard from who actually uses a Cube thinks it's wonderful speaks volumes.

Charles W. Moore

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