View source for Power Mac G4 Cube

==Development==
[[File:Apple Power Mac G4 Cube - Handle.jpg|thumb|Access to the computer's internal components is gained by using a handle to pull the computer out of its plastic shell.|alt=G4 Cube flipped upside down; a hand is pulling upward on a small handle, revealing green circuit boards and computer components within.]]
The Cube was an important product to Apple,<ref name="Cook-2017">{{cite web|author1=Cook, Tim|author1link=Tim Cook|date=October 11, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43UzfpcqiEU|title=In Conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook – The Oxford Foundry Launch|publisher=Saïd Business School, University of Oxford|via=Youtube|access-date=October 9, 2020|time=1:03:21–1:04:20|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010082902/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43UzfpcqiEU|url-status=live}}</ref> and especially to Apple CEO [[Steve Jobs]], who said the idea for the product came from his own desires as a computer user for something between the [[iMac]] and [[Power Mac G4]], saying, "I wanted the [flat-panel] [[Apple Cinema Display|Cinema Display]] but I don't need the features of the Power Mac".<ref name="newsweek-cube" /> Jobs's minimalist aesthetic influenced the core components of the design, from the lack of a mechanical power button, to the trayless optical drive and quiet fanless operation.<ref name="newsweek-cube" /> The design team at Apple, led by [[Jonathan Ive]], shrunk a powerful desktop form factor, seeing traditional desktop tower computers as lazily designed around what was easiest for engineers.<ref name="Kahney-2014">{{cite book|last=Kahney|first=Leander|authorlink= Leander Kahney|title=Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products|publisher=[[Penguin Random House]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-59184-706-9|pages=155–158}}</ref> The Cube represented an internal shift in Apple, as the designers held increasing sway over product design.<ref name="Kahney-2014" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the Cube "pure [...] industrial design" harkening to [[Bauhaus]] concepts.<ref>{{cite web|last=Muschamp|first=Herbert|authorlink=Herbert Muschamp|date=October 15, 2000|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/15/arts/art-architecture-a-happy-scary-new-day-for-design.html|title=Art/Architecture; A Happy, Scary New Day for Design|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226195921/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/15/arts/art-architecture-a-happy-scary-new-day-for-design.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Cube represented an effort by Apple to simplify the computer to its barest essentials.<ref name="Kahney-2014" /> Journalist [[Jason Snell (writer)|Jason Snell]] called the machine an example of Jobs and Ive's obsession with a "Black Box"—dense, miniaturized computers hidden within a pleasing shell hiding the "magic" of its technology.<ref name="sixcolors-20for20 cube">{{cite web|last=Snell|first=Jason|authorlink=Jason Snell (writer)|date=November 2, 2020|url=https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/11/20-macs-for-2020-8-power-mac-g4-cube/|title=20 Macs for 2020: #8 – Power Mac G4 Cube|website=Six Colors|access-date=March 16, 2021|archive-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306164256/https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/11/20-macs-for-2020-8-power-mac-g4-cube/|url-status=live}}</ref> As the Cube has no fan, the design started with the [[heat sink]].<ref name="macaddict-050-resistance" /> The power button that turned on with a wave or touch was accomplished via the use of [[capacitive sensing]].<ref name="Kahney-2014" /> The proprietary plastics formula for the housing took Apple six months to develop.<ref name="wired-20 years ago g4 cube" /> Effort spent developing the Cube would pioneer new uses and processes for materials at Apple that benefitted later products.<ref name="Kahney-2014" /> Because of the technology included in the Cube, Apple's engineers had a tough time keeping the total cost low. Advertising director [[Ken Segall]] recalled that Jobs learned of the product's price shortly before an ad agency meeting, and was left "visibly shaken" by the news, realizing that the high price might cause the product's failure.<ref name="Segall-2012">{{cite book|last=Segall|first=Ken|author-link=Ken Segall|year=2012|title=Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-0-670-92120-1|pages=213–214}}</ref>