"because it had no On button, a stray wave of your hand would send the machine into action"
You didn't "wave your hand", you touched the button. The button wouldn't move, but you did have to press it. (Maybe they changed that from prototype to production? But it definitely wasn't an issue I remember).
> I simply don't understand the myth of the prohibitive price.
It was pretty expensive at the beginning, but IIRC it came down pretty soon.
Actually, the button even worked at a distance of a couple of millimeters. I think, the original one was even more sensitive, which was the flaw, as it became too sensitive with time. Think ghostly turning off, while working. The replacement one had none of this issues.
As it happens, the monitors had USB connection and an on/off button on the front bezel, which was much more practical than the one on the main unit. Because of this, I (and probably most of the owners) used the one on top of the Cube rarely. This was more a design gack. But yes, it was definitely a button, while an unusual one.
> It was pretty expensive at the beginning, but IIRC it came down pretty soon.
That might be correct. I didn't buy mine in the very first month.
Another slight flaw: the material of the transparent cables which came with the Cube is subject to chemical decay and turned a bit sticky. Interestingly, the process stopped and even reversed somewhat. Ah, polymers, always worth a surprise…
Yes, that's inaccurate in the article, isn't it?
"because it had no On button, a stray wave of your hand would send the machine into action"
You didn't "wave your hand", you touched the button. The button wouldn't move, but you did have to press it. (Maybe they changed that from prototype to production? But it definitely wasn't an issue I remember).
> I simply don't understand the myth of the prohibitive price.
It was pretty expensive at the beginning, but IIRC it came down pretty soon.