[WinMac] Re: PowerBooks

James Atkinson(engja[at]mail.missouri.edu)
Sat, 18 Jul 1998 07:55:05 +0200

On 07/16/1998 11:05 PM Donna Pointer said:

>I was at the local Apple dealer this week asking about
>using a pb as a main computer. He said that you can run with the pb closed
>if you are using an external monitor and KB. Any model. Not just the Duos.
>This is our local "authorized dealor" . He didn't seem to think there would
>be any overheating problem.

Three observations, one comment:

(1) The PowerBook 190 goes to sleep automatically when you shut the top
all the way; I'm sure that this is true of most of the other PowerBooks
as well, since it would be a Very Bad Thing accidentally to carry any
computer around while it's "live." Sleeping computers, of course, tend
to exhibit certain losses in performance.

(2) Most (all?) of the more recent PowerBooks don't support multiple or
additional monitors, so "caveat emptor" if you are looking to upgrade the
trusty old 190.

(3) The 190 doesn't have an exhaust fan, I don't think, so yes, much of
the heat would exit through the keyboard under normal conditions.
However, if you wish to use the PowerBook with the lid partially closed,
you can help to alleviate heat problems by removing the expansion bay (if
you're not using it at the moment), and/or by removing the battery
(again, if you're not using it). The battery itself seems to generate
quite a bit of heat, and I find long-term work much more comfortable is I
can simply plug into an AC outlet and work without it...the computer
loses a good deal of weight this way, too.

Comment:

I find that I almost never need to use a desktop computer...my laptop
does the job for very nearly everything that I need to do with a
computer; I even run a mailing list off of it. I should be quick to add,
however, that I don't do much video or graphics work on it. MacWorld
claims that the new G3 series PowerBooks are really the first that can
support this kind of intensive work and perhaps be thought of as a
replacement for a desktop computer. If you need PCI slots, however, then
a desktop would be your only viable alternative.

James Atkinson
engja@showme.missouri.edu

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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Fri Jul 17 1998 - 23:03:54 PDT