[MiniMan]

OK, I'm about ready to go back to the world of beige boxes. I'm sick of problems with my Cube and 15"LCD that are down to those fancy touch sensors. Firstly the system didn't even get through it's intro movie before the insomnia problems kicked in. Then it refused to turn on at all. Now it's the Monitor Control Panel popping up twice a second.
Customer Relations tell me to talk to Tech Support, Tech Support says they can do repairs not replacements, but talk to Customer Relations about replacements...
These are known issues. How do they get out of the factory...?? Did no-one at Apple ever test these sensors before they went into machines...??? I suppose if G4 towers can go out with bad wires between the power switch and the mobo, it shouldn't be surprizing that something as cutting edge as a touch sensor doesn't work. What does surprize me is that people still buy this crap and put up with Apple's bad attitude when it comes to fixing their problems.

I'm sick of it all and sick of Apple. I used my shareholder voting slip to vote against the board on every issue last week. Not that that will change the direction of the company but if they ever get back above what I paid for them, I'll gladly dump it all and watch Apple go down the tubes. It's no more than they deserve.

[Colonel Panic]

they had issues when the Cube first came out but later Cubes seem to have escaped this problem. If you're under warranty, can't you take them up on the offer to fix it?

[MiniMan]

Unfortunately I was one of the early adopters and I've had this system since Sept. It's just been one thing after another. I suppose I will end up having to get it fixed. It just gets to me that these are known issues but they won't replace the bad systems (which are obvious lemons) with newer builds.

[jmatero]

You know, there may be nothing wrong with your monitor at all... since the cube uses the "1-plug" connector, there's a possibility that the cable or interface in the cube could be defective which may be causing all of your problems. Your cube is still under warranty so you should send it in and within a few days, it will be back good as new.

[jbell]

I bought mine from a previous owner who had bought it in September (2000)- G4/40/500/Radeon with 15" LCD. The previous owner had similar problems with the touch sensors and had it repaired by Apple immediately. Ever since I've bought the Cube from the original owner, I never had any problems with the sensors. So, I highly recommend that you send your Cube in for repair. You cannot be a happy camper if you don't do something about it or try to fix it yourself. Even after Apple has admitted the problem, seven months have gone by and all we hear is your whining and griping. And you're not taking advantage of the warranty? Yet you're going to sit by and hope that Apple will rot to death just because of one little problem with a sensor? For heavens sake, your Cube is sick and needs medical attention! Please take action!

FYI, I had a problem with the USB driver interrupt conflicts on the USB devices. With intensive graphics games like UT, the keyboard, mouse, and display sometime lock up. Solution was move the mouse from the keyboard to the display or to the Cube itself. I'm sure there will be a USB driver update to fix this problem.

[OverclockedHomoSapien]

This poor guy's debacle illustrates the problem with the cube. It's all about style over substance. Those gee-whiz power switches used by the cubes sure look cool, but are the functional? Do they last? Apple decided to compromise function for style with the cube, and repeated horror stories attest to the poor design of the cube. I bet that in a few years Cubes begin failing early because of premature thermal wear. The cube was a stopgap measure designed to draw attention away from Apple's low processor speeds, and to give Apple high-margin sales. It failed miserably at both goals. There really is no reason to buy a cube. It's hobbled by a requirement for a non-standard size video card, it has no PCI slots for future enhancements, and it's quality seems to be luck of the draw among cube owners. Apple advertises about it taking up little desk space, but the funny part is that a Tower takes up zero desk space when you place it on the floor next to your desk. The cube isn't meant for the floor (convection cooling drawing dust up into the cube? ugggghhh!). Then there's the issue of audio I/O, or lack thereof. Even worse, the hot-swapable USB and Firewire ports are hobbled by being positioned underneath the cube. Might as well have SCSI, because you must turn the cube off and turn it over to plug in or unplug any peripherals. Careful not to scratch that pretty finish on the cube! What a lame product, designed like a pair of fancy high-heels--look swanky but useless for walking.

Ahh, and then there is the price. Many of the cube's shortcomings would be entirely acceptable and understandable if it were priced as a headless iMac. By choosing to price the cube as an expensive Powermac, Apple raised the bar too high for their feature-challenged cube. Adored by everyone, but wanted by few.

[schalliol]

Apple products in general have been very reliable. If you don't bother taking the time to get it fixed, why spend time complaining about it?

[Mac_Nacho]

MiniMan I have the same problem. Monitor starts up and flash by itself. If you take a look at apple's support knowledge base, this problem with the monitor is well documented (although Apple's suggestions are a little funny...like make sure nothing is touching the buttons ) )
I'm trying to get my repaired, once this happens I will definetly sell the Cube and will never be an early adopter again. The price is too high...I bought an iBook (the second revision) and found it a wonderful machine. I'm planning to buy a TiPB after the revision in July (seems that the actual one has several problems).

Going back to the problem in the Cube...I believe that the problem is with the monitor (the 15" LCD) not with the interface on the Cube....my reason to saying this is that, what is f#$#ed up seems to be the power/monitor sensor button. That's why my Cube wakes up at night, or even turns on during my abscence (of course I discard the option of a ghost or something like that).

Anyway, I paid a lot for the Cube& the monitor back in September....I now recognize it was a bad choice.
regards
nacho

[MiniMan]

Originally posted by jbell:
... I highly recommend that you send your Cube in for repair. You cannot be a happy camper if you don't do something about it or try to fix it yourself. Even after Apple has admitted the problem, seven months have gone by and all we hear is your whining and griping. And you're not taking advantage of the warranty? Yet you're going to sit by and hope that Apple will rot to death just because of one little problem with a sensor? For heavens sake, your Cube is sick and needs medical attention! Please take action!

I *AM* taking action.... If you read the post you'll see I've been on the phone to various Apple departments. I am at this moment waiting for a box to send the damn thing in for repair but in the mean time I'm trying (without much luck) to get a replacement instead. It had not been seven months since the first problem came up - there has been one problem after another in that time. And as for getting things repaired - the system had to go back to the local "Authorized Apple Repair Center" to have an power problem repaired after Christmas and it came back scratched and with this new problem, so forgive me if I don't hold out much hope for repairs being done well...

[MiniMan]

Originally posted by schalliol:
Apple products in general have been very reliable. If you don't bother taking the time to get it fixed, why spend time complaining about it?

schalliol, see my reply to jbell.... just because I'm here complaining doesn't mean I'm not taking action with Apple as well...

Just because they used to make reliable products doesn't mean they always will.... There are a LOT of problems out there at the moment with Cubes, Towers, TiPBs... Either they're the unluckiest company in the world or they're cutting corners in product development and testing....

[This message has been edited by MiniMan (edited 04-03-2001).]

[MiniMan]

Originally posted by jmatero:
You know, there may be nothing wrong with your monitor at all... since the cube uses the "1-plug" connector, there's a possibility that the cable or interface in the cube could be defective which may be causing all of your problems. Your cube is still under warranty so you should send it in and within a few days, it will be back good as new.

I thought that - especially as it had to go in for a repair to something to do with the power sensors (it stopped responding to either the one on the Cube or on the LCD). I asked the Tech Support guy outright if it could be something in the Cube based on the previous repair. He said no and that based on the serial number it was a "software issue in the screen that we can't get to through the OS". I think that means firmware that handles the sensor inputs.

At least people like you and Overclocked and Mac_Nacho understand why I'm venting here and don't just say "well mine's OK, there's nothing wrong with the product"

[jbell]

Originally posted by MiniMan:
...I asked the Tech Support guy outright if it could be something in the Cube based on the previous repair. He said no and that based on the serial number it was a "software issue in the screen that we can't get to through the OS". I think that means firmware that handles the sensor inputs.

MiniMan, did you buy your Cube directly from Apple or from a retailer? I'm not sure if I trust the Tech Support guy about the "software issue in the screen". Did this guy tell you what firmware update you need or what needs to be done to fix the software issue? It appears that you're not getting a direct answer to fix your problem and I would be upset like you are. Call this guy again and ask for his manager. If necessary, keep going thru the managment chain all the way to SJ until you get your problem resolved.

I don't recall such firmware update but this may be worth a try. Update your Cube to the latest firmware update (the one before the disastrous memory improvement update that fails to recognize the 3rd party RAM). Also, to isolate the display problem, can you try connecting your Cube to a different display (not necessarily LCD) and verify the touch sensor operation on the Cube? If the touch sensor is still faulty, then the problem is not the screen.

I've read somewhere that some Cube owners have a problem with the ADC cable. By moving the ADC cable around, the Cube either wakes up or shuts down. Also, a slight pressure on the ADC connector to Cube does the same thing. In this case, the ADC cable appears to be faulty.

Here's another test: Try removing all of your USB devices except your keyboard which should be directly connected to the Cube. Now, pull out and reconnect the ADC cable of the display into the Cube and reboot. If it still doesn't work, unplug everything and replug them. Using the Hardware Test CD, determine if you are able to start up and do a complete test. The test results should give you some indication of the problem.

Furthermore, did you try to resolve your problem by following these articles in Apple Tech Library?

Power Switch Lights up, but Computer Does Not Turn On

Random Activation of the Power Button

The last article was updated just recently. Good luck in getting your Cube fixed.



[This message has been edited by jbell (edited 04-03-2001).]

[Colonel Panic]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>This poor guy's debacle illustrates the problem with the cube. It's all about style over substance. Those gee-whiz power switches used by the cubes sure look cool, but are the functional? Do they last? Apple decided to compromise function for style with the cube, and repeated horror stories attest to the poor design of the cube. I bet that in a few years Cubes begin failing early because of premature thermal wear. The cube was a stopgap measure designed to draw attention away from Apple's low processor speeds, and to give Apple high-margin sales. It failed miserably at both goals. There really is no reason to buy a cube. It's hobbled by a requirement for a non-standard size video card, it has no PCI slots for future enhancements, and it's quality seems to be luck of the draw among cube owners. Apple advertises about it taking up little desk space, but the funny part is that a Tower takes up zero desk space when you place it on the floor next to your desk. The cube isn't meant for the floor (convection cooling drawing dust up into the cube? ugggghhh!). Then there's the issue of audio I/O, or lack thereof. Even worse, the hot-swapable USB and Firewire ports are hobbled by being positioned underneath the cube. Might as well have SCSI, because you must turn the cube off and turn it over to plug in or unplug any peripherals. Careful not to scratch that pretty finish on the cube! What a lame product, designed like a pair of fancy high-heels--look swanky but useless for walking.

Ahh, and then there is the price. Many of the cube's shortcomings would be entirely acceptable and understandable if it were priced as a headless iMac. By choosing to price the cube as an expensive Powermac, Apple raised the bar too high for their feature-challenged cube. Adored by everyone, but wanted by few. <<
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yawn. My cube's been my most trouble-free machine ever. The first DVD/Firewire iMacs had faulty switches as well - they'd get stuck in. Was this a style over substance issue? No, just a bad switch. similar problem on a Cube elicits paragraphs of anti-cubery. The two problems I know of were switch problems (sleeping, turning on, etc) and the bullsh** crack issue. This is not a statistically signficant rate of problems on any new design, and doesn't merit the designation as the poster boy for the short-comings of "style over substance". That line of argument doesn't fly. It's an emotional reaction to "pragmatism", not fact. "Pragmatism" is the excuse most people use to buy machines, but if that were really the guiding force, very few would get dual-towers either. Just overkill for 90% of the buyers. That's really another form of style over substance, whether you want to recognize it as such or not.
Why do people soap box against the Cube so readily? Gheesh. If you don't like it, don't get it. Excuse Apple for trying something a little different!

[This message has been edited by Colonel Panic (edited 04-03-2001).]

[MiniMan]

Originally posted by Colonel Panic:
The first DVD/Firewire iMacs had faulty switches as well - they'd get stuck in

Maybe you should get in touch with schalliol who seems to think Apples have always been very reliable...!!

My whole point is that I'm not soapboxing about the Cube in particular but about the whole attitude of a company that will put out products that clearly have not been tested sufficiently, then do as little as they can get away with to remedy the situation and wonder why their sales are drying up..!



[This message has been edited by MiniMan (edited 04-03-2001).]

[zigzag]

Originally posted by OverclockedHomoSapien:
There really is no reason to buy a cube. It's hobbled by a requirement for a non-standard size video card, it has no PCI slots for future enhancements, and it's quality seems to be luck of the draw among cube owners. Apple advertises about it taking up little desk space, but the funny part is that a Tower takes up zero desk space when you place it on the floor next to your desk. The cube isn't meant for the floor (convection cooling drawing dust up into the cube? ugggghhh!). Then there's the issue of audio I/O, or lack thereof. Even worse, the hot-swapable USB and Firewire ports are hobbled by being positioned underneath the cube. Might as well have SCSI, because you must turn the cube off and turn it over to plug in or unplug any peripherals. Careful not to scratch that pretty finish on the cube! What a lame product, designed like a pair of fancy high-heels--look swanky but useless for walking.

I concur with ColonelPanic's comments, and would make the following additional points in response to Overclocked: There are plenty of reasons to buy a Cube, especially now that the price has dropped. Relative silence, compactness, and style in particular. Relative silence is a BIG advantage for many (myself included). Compactness is a big advantage for many (not everyone can put a tower on the floor, not everyone wants to). Style is strictly personal, but is still meaningful to many (What kind of car do you drive? Are vans better than Porsches just because vans hold more cargo? Isn't style an important aspect of all Apple products?).

On audio I/O: the tower no longer has audio I/O either. You have to add a card. Many people don't need it, and don't need PCI slots or special graphics cards either. The whole point is that no single machine is best for everyone.

The iMac doesn't have those things - does that mean people shouldn't buy iMacs?

I suppose you could argue that the Cube is lacking because it doesn't include a hot water heater. But I don't need a hot water heater.

On the location of the ports: Yeah, it would be ideal if the ports were more accessible. By the way, how do you like crawling on the floor, under your desk, in the dark, in order to access the ports on your tower?

I've hardly had to access the ports on my Cube since I set it up, because I have a USB hub and I leave my Firewire cables hooked up. Just as I would with a tower. The one time I needed access, I just cradled it in one hand, didn't have to power down or anything. The horror of it all!

The Cube isn't perfect, but no machine is. All designs involve trade-offs. Cube fans don't run around putting down the tower just because it's big, heavy, noisy, and (to some) ugly. They recognize that it's the right machine for a lot of people. I think both machines are great. I'm glad that Apple takes chances. People who have a bone to pick with The Cube should just relax. It's not going to come to your home and kill you in your sleep. Just don't buy one.

The world would be a much poorer place if it weren't for fancy high heels.

[MiniMan]

zigzag,

I agree... I bought a Cube knowing that it didn't have PCI slots (I'd rather use Firewire), it didn't have analog audio I/O (I've got a very nice HiFi set up to listen to music on) etc etc etc...
The compromise I object to making is the one I *didn't* know about - that the whole thing didn't really work properly. That's what I'm getting irate about and I'd be just as irate if it was a Tower or an iMac that I was having trouble with.

[MiniMan]

At last, the response I wanted

Won't post too many details here incase they are watching, but I just got Apple to agree to replace the screen rather than fix it. Hopefully with this and the recent fix on the Cube, I'll have a reliable system.

[jmatero]

Not to throw a wrench into the works here... but I was just at CompUSA and I played with the cube and this is my experience:

when I LIGHTLY pushed on the ADC Cable where it plugged into the cube, the brightness control panel popped up. The second time, the screen went dead. I tried a third time and everything went dead and I heard the startup "sound".... at which point 3 compusa workers spotted me and were coming my way so I ran.

Is it a problem with the cube or the cable?

[zigzag]

MiniMan, I hear ya, I'd be very angry too. I think ColonelPanic and I were just trying to respond to Overclocked's notion that the entire Cube concept is invalid. Good luck.

[Colonel Panic]

hey miniman - yeah - i was referring more to Overclocked's long, generalized rant against the Cube as a concept as opposed to your concerns. you weren't soapboxing, just po'd your machine had some issues that weren't satisfactorily addressed. that's certainly fair enough! i hope it works out for you.


[This message has been edited by Colonel Panic (edited 04-03-2001).]

[MiniMan]

Thanks guys,

Looks like it's all working out...

[kertong]

ok, if you don't want ot send it back to apple, theres a REALLY easy solution.

Take the cube apart (pull out the innards like you were going to upgrade your ram).

Find the powerswitch on the top - its a weird clear thing with a black rubber thing around it. Tape a piece of paper over that.

Put it back in the case, and from then on, use your monitor (ADC) to turn on the power to the cube. All your problems will be solved. If not, use a thicker piece of paper.

Sure, you can't touch the switch and watch it glow, but wouldn't you rather have that than have the cube wake up and sleep on its own? Its a lot easier turning on the computer with the monitor adc power switch anyway..

Hope that helps.

[MiniMan]

jbell, kertong,

Thanks for those tips, but the problem this time is with the Monitor Control Panel sensor, not the power switch. I already tried all the power switch tricks (although I didn't open the monitor and put paper in it!).
Anyway, a replacement should be on it's way so hopefully the new ones don't have the problems.

BTW - Does anyone actually know how the signals for power on/off and monitor control panel are decoded out of the ADC connector and sent to the mobo...? Has anyone noticed that the AGP graphics card in the Cube seems to be riding in a daughter card that plugs into a PCI slot...?

Regarding Cube v. Tower comparison: while originally priced at a premium, the Cube is now the most affordable entry-level G4. I just bought one a few weeks ago for $1300 (including the ubiquitous free 128meg upgrade). It was nice to get the style of the Cube and pay less for a 450MHz Cube than the 400MHz tower alternative. The entry-level DVD-only Cube *is* now a reasonable headless G4 iMac.

When I got my G4 cube ("reconditioned"), I expected I might have a problem. I was right. That touch-sensitive switch was too sensitive. I felt like a dork, buying a $1000 computer with an on-off switch that didn't work. I read all about it on the apple site. There are (different) switch problems with the cube, and with the flatpanel display. I had just the cube, and they repaired it for free. The turnaround was just 4 days, and it came back in time to install OS X.

So, I love my cube because it's quiet and runs Mac OS X which is Unix, but I'm scared to touch the on-off switch. So I don't.

:-)

[Colonel Panic]

UnixCubeGuy: YES! A silent cube and a top-notch UNIX-based OS that has a compatibility layer for a mountain of apps as well as commitments from the major developers for future apps - ain't life grand?

[Mac_Nacho]

I have to tell you that the problem with your monitor becomes a NIGHTMARE if you install OsX.
It seems you have the same problem I have sometimes. The monitor control panel poping out by itself, and the Cube going to sleep/waking up on its own.
In OS9X you can turn the option (power button puts computer to sleep) off, and you can still use your cube.
But in OsX that option is not available. The result is you can't work. You just simply can not use the Cube. It goes to sleep even before login. It;s so fu#$#n' annoying....
Mine is now behaving good. I'm trying something the people at the apple dealer in which I bought my Cube told me.
1) Make sure your cube is plugged to a grounded socket.
2) Clean the switchs with a clean, dry, cloth
3) Try taking away, some interferences that can interfere with the cube (like phones, lights?!!, and other applications) I know this is so annoying...what should I do with the zip drive? witht CDr? with the MIDI interface, even with the speakers!!
4) Make sure the ADC power cord is correctly inserted in the cube.
I'm trying to figuring this out.
Hope this helps
regards
nacho