It's always fun when a new computer arrives. The last one for me was the UMAX S-900 about a year ago. However, it was mainly a backup machine, and so a lot less exciting than when the FedEx truck arrived on Monday and with my new Cube --actually very slightly used.

It took a week to get here from Grand Rapids Mich., but arrived safely. We opened the box, pulled the Cube out, and spent a while just admiring it and its peripherals, which are spectacular in appearance. The Cube has to be the most visually striking computer ever -- a feast for the eyes-- and perfectly complemented by the Apple Optical Mouse, Pro Keyboard, and Harmon Kardon satellite speakers, all in matching crystal-clear plastic. Why these machines didn't sell better on aesthetics alone is a mystery to me. The Cube is the first computer I've owned that is a pleasure just to sit and look at.

Unfortunately, my Cube is afflicted with the dreaded and infamous case crack syndrome. "Mold lines" my Aunt Fanny! There are definite cracks on either side of the top of the case radiating out from the metal rivets embedded in the plastic. The third one is on the front, not glaringly noticeable, but definitely a random surface crack. While they do not ruin the looks of the Cube for me, I can understand why people who paid $1,799 or more for the early Cubes this found this defect annoying.

The current situation I'm in monitor-wise reminds me of when I was a kid here in rural Nova Scotia, and it was fairly common practice for folks to trade in their heavy-duty truck every three or four years, but to shift a battered old wooden flatbed or box body from the old truck to the shiny new one.

In my case, my current finances are going to oblige me to use the ancient 15 in. NEC display that I've been using with the UMAX S-900 for the past year for a while longer. I'm frustrated at having to backtrack on my vow to never go back to a CRT for day to day use, and I hope it won't have to be for very long, but I've had some unexpected expenses lately, and I just can't handle the cost of a new LCD monitor at this time.

The Cube's ports are more than a bit inconvenient to get at, but I can forgive that for the looks.

The Cube came with just Mac OS 9.0.4 installed, so after playing with it a bit to ensure that everything was in good working order, we erased the 20 GB hard drive (which actually turned to be more like 19 MB) and reformatted it with my usual four partitions. We decided on a 4 GB top partition for OS X and its OS 9.1 Classic sidekick; a second, 3 GB partition for my working copy of Mac OS 9.1 and my front line applications; a third partition of 4 GB for documents; and a big, 8 GB partition as a general dumping ground for everything else.

We did the partitioning from the OS X install CD (the same one that my WallStreet PowerBook continues to refuse to mount) and then installed OS 9.1 and 0S X. X runs very nicely on the Cube, especially after we downloaded the version 10.0.4 updater, which improved QuickTime performance significantly.

Which is a way of segueing into a discussion about the Cube as a music machine, which is to say that it is a mighty nice one. The deceptively small Harmon Kardon satellite speakers are excellent. Son Tristan and I can't agree whether they sound better with the little three-hole front covers on or off (I like them on), but in either case they are remarkably good. The speakers are a bit lacking in gutsiness at the bass and of the spectrum, but it is hard to imagine how you could get really window-rattling bass out of speakers this small.

However, the clarity of the Cube speakers is brilliant. G3 or CD playback is superb, and Tristan says that the Cube and its speakers are making him reevaluate his disdain for MP3s and digital sound reproduction in general (he prefers vinyl and his 42 year-old vacuum tube amplifier).

The advantage and promise of G4 Altivec was apparent as soon as we tried ripping a CD to MP3 is using SoundJam, which was one of the few Altivec-optimized applications so far. The difference in speed compared with Tristan's 333 MHz Lombard -- the previously fastest Mac in the House, is dramatic.

I also tried the Cube speakers on my WallStreet PowerBook, which has a USB PC Card adaptor, and they sounded fine there to, although the old PowerBook couldn't manage much volume, and the power demands of the speakers got the 'Book and PC Card pretty hot, causing the cooling fan to cut in for the first time in the 29 months that I've owned the WallStreet.

Speaking of heat, this past week has been our hottest so far this year, breaking all time record highs set in 1946 on June 27. The Cube gets warm, but not alarmingly hot. The power supply is what heats up the most, making it clear why Apple didn't put it inside the Cube.

Some regular readers have wondered how I would fare with the Cube with regard to my chronic Multiple Chemical Sensitivities problem. Because of the heat, the windows have been open this week, allowing lots of ventilation in the house, and I have noticed no problem so far with chemical fumes from the new computer, but I'm still expecting that I will have to fabricate some sort of ducting to connect the Cube's schooling apertures to the fan forced extraction vent I have used with the WallStreet for the past two years.

Happily, however, I don't think I'm going to have to put the Cube in a glass case, like I did with the WallStreet, as the hard plastic case seems benign as far as off-gassing goes. I can't smell any odor coming from the Cube or its peripherals, but then I don't smell the WallStreet either, and it gives me severe problems. My sense of smell is not very acute, so I'm obliged to get my family to do the sniff testing.

On their advice, I will not use the beautiful Apple Pro keyboard for a while, as it, and I am told, has a chemical odor. Keyboards are often my nemesis, because they live right under your nose when you're using them. For the present, I will use a Blueberry iMac USB keyboard that I have, but I'm optimistic that the Apple Pro board will eventually gas off. I couldn't use the original iMac keyboards when they were new either. The nifty optical USB mouse is no problem low.

Over the week, I have been gradually transferring files from the WallStreet to the Cube via Ethernet as time has permitted, and I hope to make the switch to using the Cube as my workhorse Mac this weekend. Getting a computer set up the way I want it is always a time-consuming process. I use a fairly extensively customized set up, and will also have to install ViaVoice on the Cube. I plan on continuing to use zero S 9.14 my production system for the immediate future, however, I'm looking forward to the extra speed and playing with OS X. I'll let you know how I make out.

Review: Willow Design NL-29 Cube Carry Case

Charles W. Moore

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