Recently, Apple announced its 2000 quarter-four financial results. As the CFO had warned, the numbers were below what the analysts had first thought. This lead to a huge downfall in Apple's stock price, and once again, the media is jumping on the "Apple is dead" bandwagon. All this hype was blamed mainly on two reasons, low educational sales, and low cube sales. While the low educational sales are important, that is not the main focus among most news sources.

Ever since the 8 inch super computer called The Cube was debuted, is has come under heavy criticism. The heaviest of which is the price. At $1800, you get a very attractive computer, but no expansion possibilities, and a few problems. Everyone knows about the "cracks", but if you look at any piece of molded plastic, you will see the same thing. I can't see why everyone is jumping on Apple for that.

As for the limited expansion, those people have half a case. While you can't add PCI cards, extra hard drives, etc., that's not what this machine was made for. It was made for those people that have limited desk space, and are in need of a small yet powerful computer. Most people buying the Cube don't want upgrade-ability, they want style.

The G4 Cube

But does style really justify charging a premium price for? That's like saying, "Should the Mona Lisa be worth millions of dollars?" The answer is yes to both cases. Both took time to develop, mastery in some form of art, and those artists should be paid for their work. So you know how much money went into the Research and Development of the Cube? Of course not. So stop complaining about the price already.

However, there is one last problem that I have not addressed yet, but I feel is the biggest on of all, the speed. You see, until very recently, the Cube was only sold at a speed of 450 MHz anywhere except the Apple Store. At the Apple Store, you could also get a 500 MHz cube, something I'm sure more people would be clamoring for. Now (finally), Apple will begin letting other retailers sell the 500 MHz model.

Why is this such a big deal? Have you ever shopped at the Apple Store? Not only do they sky high charge shipping rates, but they also charge sales tax. If you buy products at almost any other online outlet, you will get away with a few extra green pieces of cloth in your wallet. Obviously, this will attract people away from the Apple Store, and to other retailers. When they find out they cannot purchase a 500 MHz Cube there, they have to either give up, buy a different computer, or settle for the slower model. Most people I know wouldn't just settle for a slower model.

This is going to be great for Cube sales. I think this along with the Cube/Display rebate will bolster sales to levels nobody thought possible. Although only time will tell, my feelings tell me that Apple will once again be on cloud nine, and The Cube will start flying off the shelves just the like iMac.