[WinMac] running PowerBook with PB shut

sgaul1@west.raytheon.com
Tue, 21 Jul 1998 01:23:29 +0200

[This is your moderator speaking: this discussion is really off-topic,
since it doesn't concern Windows/Mac integration and cooperation. There are
plenty of other lists and newsgroups which can handle it.]

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. ...

I have been using a PB5300 as an only machine since shortly after they were
first released. I run it closed on the desktop most of the time with a
standard
keyboard and monitor attached. I'm too cheap to get an aftermarket dock
for it.
I just slide it into a desktop organizer (the little widgets with several
vertical dividers commonly used to organize files, books etc.) with the back
side up. When I hook up after a trip I just open the back door, slide it into
the organizer, and plug in cables. It takes about 30 seconds to hook up.
Crude
but effective.

circa 7/20/98 James Atkinson commented:

> (1) The PowerBook 190 goes to sleep automatically when you shut the top
> all the way...

If the PowerBook is off (I am pretty sure this works if it is asleep also) and
closed, you can plug a keyboard and monitor to the built in ports and start the
machine from the external keyboard. It will start/wake-up and run just like a
desktop machine.

> (2) Most (all?) of the more recent PowerBooks don't support multiple or
> additional monitors ...

The PB5300 supports an external monitor and I am pretty sure everything newer
than that (1400, 3400, G3) does also. My 5300 will only support a 15 inch
monitor with 8-bit color but an add-on graphics card can be purchased to
support
larger displays (again, I'm too cheap for this). If I want to, I can run both
the internal display and external monitor concurrently. I gather that the
newer
machines which use PC based graphics force the external monitor to mirror the
built-in.

> (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, I've used the 5300 for many moons running mostly closed with no problems
I know of caused by heat. Just running my hand over it I find no point that is
appreciably warmer than the AC/DC converter brick.

> 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 ...

Ditto. I use this machine for everything I do (typical office Word,
PowerPoint,
and Excel based stuff plus some Matlab analysis and, in the field, terminal and
X-terminal emulation). The 5300 is far from fast and far from the best Mac
laptop available but I can take it anywhere and do everthing I need to do and
carry all of my office based work with me. I would dearly love a new G3
however.

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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Mon Jul 20 1998 - 16:28:28 PDT