few questions bout the ibook

[SilvorX]

my ibook should be ready to pick up sometime this week, but i was wondering b4 i get my ibook:
1) if i unplug the ibook (while im using it plugged in) and i unplug it to go to a different room, would the ibook shut off, or stay on and use the battery? if it shuts off, is there a way so it will stay on?
2)how far does the cord for the ibook (for when i have it plugged in) reach? would i need an extension cord if i wanted to be sitting about 3-4 metres from the closest outlet?
3)which is safer? leaving the ibook on sleep all day (while im not using it) or shutting the ibook down? some prefer one or the other, but which one would be best for the ibook
4) im getting 512 megs more ram with the ibook, would OSX be pretty fast in your oppinion? or pretty slow (someone kept saying that osx would be slow as heck on an ibook)
thanx

 

[zimv20]

Re: few questions bout the ibook

congrats on your purchase. here's my take on your questions:

1. the ibook will stay on (will switch to battery)
2. not sure of the length of the cord, but i doubt it's 4 meters.
3. i usually let my laptop sleep.
4. the new ibooks seem to run osx just fine. maxing out the RAM is an excellent idea.

 

[vniow]

I've got one too, but it's for an older clamshell model.

Since I've got dial-up, I used to use my PC to download big files at night, but it'a way too loud and keeps me awake.
I think the iBook goes to sleep when you close the lid, so is there some way I can keep it on all night with the screen off?

 

[robbieduncan]

3.5m Total

My iBook came with the standard square white power supply (with the clip in plug) and an extra lead which plugs into it. The extra lead is 1.8m long. The cable on the white power block is about 1.7m long. So total is about 3.5m. Not bad eh?

 

[zimv20]

Originally posted by edvniow
is there some way I can keep it on all night with the screen off?

on osx? sure, in control panels / energy saver. select the sleep tab. computer never goes to sleep, separate timing for display sleep. it make s the screen go black.

 

[sparkleytone]

your iBook is going to do just fine in OS X.

i have an iBook 600 with 640MB of RAM and I am basically completely happy with the performance ever since I installed Jaguar.

I still don't think its as fast as a comparable PC, but I spend so much less time making the GUI work.

 

[SilvorX]

Re: Re: few questions bout the ibook

Originally posted by zimv20
congrats on your purchase. here's my take on your questions:

1. the ibook will stay on (will switch to battery)
2. not sure of the length of the cord, but i doubt it's 4 meters.
3. i usually let my laptop sleep.
4. the new ibooks seem to run osx just fine. maxing out the RAM is an excellent idea.

thanx for the response...
i was wondering about #1 since i was using an ibook the other day and i unplugged it (since the computer was frozen on os9 and wouldnt restart or anything and then somehow it shut down bout 10 seconds after i removed the power cord, but i think i pressed the shut down key again tho...
i'll probably put it on sleep then, and put it in my room so i can check my emails as soon as i wake up
i just cant wait to get it...

I've got one too, but it's for an older clamshell model.

Since I've got dial-up, I used to use my PC to download big files at night, but it'a way too loud and keeps me awake.
I think the iBook goes to sleep when you close the lid, so is there some way I can keep it on all night with the screen off?

ms v got the mac already, i thought it wouldve taken more than a day or 2 for him to get it in the mail
but then again ive been using macs for years
i cant wait to get my ibook this week , (right now im downloading chimera and a few other appz), i just dont know what i should get with the ibook, i'm going to use my m$ mouse with it, im planning on getting a printer, notebook bag, 60 gig firewire drive, and for xmas a set of 4.1 speakers (and splitter)
should i get a digital camera? or what should i get for about $70-100 US?

 

[whocares]

turning screen off

On the white iBook you can control the brightness of the sreen right from the keyboard. Just turn it down to a minimum & the screen is off! Great for using an external display.

Don't know if it works with a clamshell...


And I suggest putting it to sleep instead of turning it off if your running OS X: so much faster to wake up!

 

[vniow]

Originally posted by SilvorX

ms v got the mac already, i thought it wouldve taken more than a day or 2 for him to get it in the mail

Woah there.

I'm still waiting for mine too, hopefully it'll come by Wednesday.

 

[SilvorX]

Re: turning screen off

Originally posted by whocares
On the white iBook you can control the brightness of the sreen right from the keyboard. Just turn it down to a minimum & the screen is off! Great for using an external display.

Don't know if it works with a clamshell...


And I suggest putting it to sleep instead of turning it off if your running OS X: so much faster to wake up!

lol...i accidently pressed the button when i was typing something up a few weeks ago, i'm not used to laptop keyboards...

Woah there.

I'm still waiting for mine too, hopefully it'll come by Wednesday.

mine better come by wednesday , they said "it'll probably take a week" lol, but theyre going to charge $200CDN for 512 megs of ram , unless that includes installing...HOPEFULLY lol

i have a few more questions...
has the ibook hack (for spanning) worked successfully on the 32mb ibooks yet?
and what are some good freeware appz i should get (will transfer them to mac as soon as i get them), i already downloaded chimera, adium, msn mess for mac (ya i kno i kno...), and a few others, what else (freeware) should i get? i tried looking around versiontracker but it was a little too confusing for me...

 

[robbieduncan]

Spanning Works

Spanning works perfectly with th OF hack. I can get massive resolutions on my external display

 

[SilvorX]

Re: Spanning Works

Originally posted by robbieduncan
Spanning works perfectly with th OF hack. I can get massive resolutions on my external display

w00t, i hope it works, whats the link to the hack? and the ibook you have is a 32MB vram model? i dont want to end up having my ibook stop working 3 days after i get it ..so i'll be a lil scared for sure, but spanning would be sweet

 

[robbieduncan]

I have a new 32Mb iBook 800Mhz. The hack is here: http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

Apple do not seem to have included the correct profile for my monitor though. The maximum resolution I can go to without droping to a 60Hz refresh rate is 1280x1024. In linux I can go to 1600x1200 @75Hz. The maximum resolution my iBook will drive the monitor to @60Hz is 1920x? (forgotten).

 

[SilvorX]

Originally posted by robbieduncan
I have a new 32Mb iBook 800Mhz. The hack is here: http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

Apple do not seem to have included the correct profile for my monitor though. The maximum resolution I can go to without droping to a 60Hz refresh rate is 1280x1024. In linux I can go to 1600x1200 @75Hz. The maximum resolution my iBook will drive the monitor to @60Hz is 1920x? (forgotten).

hmmm, my monitor on my pc only goes up 1280x1024 i think...but its at 60hz..yikes..
your monitor may not be a mac compatible monitor (mine isnt i dont think)...hmm..
monitor spanning would be SWEET for when im watching dvds or if lcd is annoying me lol...

 

[robbieduncan]

Spanning In Action

Thought you might like this:
http://homepage.mac.com/robbieduncan/PhotoAlbum9.html

I'm off to bed now!

 

[SilvorX]

Re: Spanning In Action

Originally posted by robbieduncan
Thought you might like this:
http://homepage.mac.com/robbieduncan/PhotoAlbum9.html

I'm off to bed now!

thanx for the help, hopefully i get it to work when i get my ibook , i printed out the instructions and the part where it says

After this patch Quartz Extreme will not be active while using two screens. This is the same problem as with the Powerbook G4 with 16 MB VRAM. You can fix this issue by changing the value of

GLCompositorMinimumVRAM

in the file

System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework /Versions/A/Frameworks /CoreGraphics.framework /Versions /A/Resources /Configuration.plist
from 16 to 8.

since the new ibook has 32 mb of vram, what would i change that to?

 

[robbieduncan]

Nothing. QE defaults are to need 16Mb of RAM per screen to be enabled. As you are trying to drive 2 screens you need 2*16=32Mb of RAM to enable QE. The old hack dropped the requirement to 8Mb per screen (which probably effectsa performance).

 

[scem0]

The cord is very long. If it is the same on that my sister has, then
it will go plenty far enough. I think about 4 meters max. It has
a really cool powercord. Have fun with your new toy .

 

[finchna]

Re: few questions bout the ibook

Originally posted by SilvorX
my ibook should be ready to pick up sometime this week, but i was wondering b4 i get my ibook:

3)which is safer? leaving the ibook on sleep all day (while im not using it) or shutting the ibook down? some prefer one or the other, but which one would be best for the ibook

You've heard enough about 1 and 2--and perhaps 3, but I thought I'd add that (based on a message you wrote about using an ibook with OS9 and it freezing) OSX sleep is marvelous. No problems for me (600MHz ibook, 640 ram, 10.2.2) sleeping and waking many times each day, ibook in my backpack, no reboot for a couple of weeks--usually for security updates or other such system/software updating)

4) im getting 512 megs more ram with the ibook, would OSX be pretty fast in your oppinion? or pretty slow (someone kept saying that osx would be slow as heck on an ibook)

I don't know if you read a post I made about this a while ago in a different discussion, but here's my "less than speedy story." This might depend a bit on the model--did you get a 700 or 800 with 32MB vram? My 600 is not snappy running 10.2.2--not slow as heck, but the beachball pops up when I print fairly small documents on a network (always via Airport). There are times I have to wait to save things, connecting to network volumes takes more time than it should, opening large PPT decks shows a beachball as does moving through complex slides. However, as I said, I'm on an airport net which is likely slower than wired Ethernet, yet not as slow as a modem. I have a bunch of haxies--but the haxie folks tell me that they should not slow things down--actually got some of them to speed things up--like shadow removers, etc. I also run many apps at the same time. Bottom line is, I'm getting a TiBook as my ibook has become less than a great production tool. Ciao,

Nathan

 

[SilvorX]

Re: Re: few questions bout the ibook

Originally posted by finchna


You've heard enough about 1 and 2--and perhaps 3, but I thought I'd add that (based on a message you wrote about using an ibook with OS9 and it freezing) OSX sleep is marvelous. No problems for me (600MHz ibook, 640 ram, 10.2.2) sleeping and waking many times each day, ibook in my backpack, no reboot for a couple of weeks--usually for security updates or other such system/software updating)



I don't know if you read a post I made about this a while ago in a different discussion, but here's my "less than speedy story." This might depend a bit on the model--did you get a 700 or 800 with 32MB vram? My 600 is not snappy running 10.2.2--not slow as heck, but the beachball pops up when I print fairly small documents on a network (always via Airport). There are times I have to wait to save things, connecting to network volumes takes more time than it should, opening large PPT decks shows a beachball as does moving through complex slides. However, as I said, I'm on an airport net which is likely slower than wired Ethernet, yet not as slow as a modem. I have a bunch of haxies--but the haxie folks tell me that they should not slow things down--actually got some of them to speed things up--like shadow removers, etc. I also run many apps at the same time. Bottom line is, I'm getting a TiBook as my ibook has become less than a great production tool. Ciao,

Nathan

yikes...
i'm getting an 800mhz ibook (maxed ram)...but i cant wait to get my ibook...but right now all im worried about is the monitor spanning hack, i dont want that to waste a perfectly good laptop...but i do want to take advantage of monitor spanning...

 

[robbieduncan]

I read a load of user reports on some site (xcelerate iirc) from people who had tried the hack before I did it. The only machines that were screwed up were iBooks with 8Mb video ram. All of the 16Mb iBooks (and 32Mb ones) either worked, or the hack failedm, but the iBook was fine. Some people needed 2 or 3 attempts to get it typed in OK. Even if you mistype the hack the iBook should be OK.

On the speed thing: I tried mine out with just 128Mb of RAM when I first got it as I did not have the very small screw driver you need to add RAM. It sort of "hung" a few times (the entire GUI would stop responding for 5-10 seconds). With 640Mb of RAM it is fine. Compile times seem good, DVD playback is great. I have not noticed any freezing yet.

 

[SilvorX]

Originally posted by robbieduncan
I read a load of user reports on some site (xcelerate iirc) from people who had tried the hack before I did it. The only machines that were screwed up were iBooks with 8Mb video ram. All of the 16Mb iBooks (and 32Mb ones) either worked, or the hack failedm, but the iBook was fine. Some people needed 2 or 3 attempts to get it typed in OK. Even if you mistype the hack the iBook should be OK.

On the speed thing: I tried mine out with just 128Mb of RAM when I first got it as I did not have the very small screw driver you need to add RAM. It sort of "hung" a few times (the entire GUI would stop responding for 5-10 seconds). With 640Mb of RAM it is fine. Compile times seem good, DVD playback is great. I have not noticed any freezing yet.

hmm sounds pretty good, hopefully the hack works for me, if im just using the ibook (without an external display), does the amount of vram for the ibook display go back to 32 megs?