Hi. I have a problem that's probably pretty unique among users of this forum; but since many of you here seem so knowledgable, I thought that perhaps you could provide me with some info/advice that would be relevant to my particular situation.
Ever since I "migrated" from using a 2001-model Gateway desktop (with a 15" CRT monitor) to using a 2003/2004-model laptop (a Dell Latitude D600, which I started using in 2008) - I've noticed that I've become quite "electrosensitive". I get various unpleasant, harmful, possibly-damaging symptoms (some pretty serious and/or long-lasting) when I'm around certain electromagnetic devices - particularly this Dell laptop. Since it's taking all of my energy to just type up this post - I don't have the energy to try to convince you that my (and so many other sufferers') electrosensitivity is real and legitimate. Try to trust me that it is. If you want to find out more about this condition, you can Google or "Youtube" the topic.
From what I've learned, many laptops - particularly those that use "WiFi" - give off a strong electromagnetic field that contain certain frequencies that can bother sensitive people. Some laptops are better than others, though - and I'm trying to decide whether a Macbook Pro (using an ethernet connection rather than WiFi) would be a tolerable, less-harmful computer experience for me. (Macbooks generally have a reputation for having less "emissions" and for being "better" for electrosensitive people than many other laptops - but they can still bother a lot of electrosensitive people.)
I'm trying to figure out what laptop "specs" might lead to less of a electromagetic field. From my experiences with this Dell, it seems that, in some ways - the "hotter" the computer gets - the more bothersome it is. (I'm not sure how strong of an actual relationship there is between comptuer warmth and the strength of its electromagnetic field - but my real-life experience seems to indicate a relationship.) Several of my symptoms seem to get (much) worse whenever my laptop's fans turn on; the longer the fan is on or the "faster" it runs, the worse I seem to feel. I'm sure many other factors come into play, though - such as the "build" of the laptop, how it's structured, how the heat is dissipated, etc. But my experience indicates that I want to avoid heat build-up/fan-activity in a laptop as much as possible.
This leads me to my main question - would getting a SSD drive for my Macbook Pro be worth the (huge) expense for someone like me? There is the belief among people that SSD drives would give off less electromagnetic emissions than HDDs - because SSDs have no moving/spinning parts. Do SSDs lead to a "cooler" computer? Do SSDs lead to less activity from the laptop's fans?
I guess to answer this question as thoroughly as possible - it would help if I knew just how much the hard-disk drive is active/engaged during a typical computing session (I really don't have a good grasp on how computers actually work). The vast majority of the time that I'm on the computer - I'm simply surfing the web. Although I may get into some occassional "light" video-editing in the future (as well as some DVD burning) - for now, at least, 99% of my time is spent using the Internet. The most demanding thing I do is watch several YouTube videos back to back, or watch something on Hulu - or do live (or archived) streaming audio. How active is the hard disk drive during such activities?
It seems that whenever I put my hand on the area of my laptop below which the hardrive rests - I feel a constant vibration, and this area can "heat up" pretty good. Does this indicate that the harddrive is constantly in some state of activity - or does it indicate that the activity/heat from the CPU is "bleeding" over into the hard-disk area?
Also, is it better to buy a larger-model laptop for heat-dissipation purposes? Do 15" Macbook Pros run cooler than 13" MBPs - and do 17" MBPs run the coolest of all? I just wonder if larger MBPs give off less electromagnetic radiation, and would be worth the extra expense.
Thanks so much for any insight and/or advice you can give.
P.S. - I just put my ear close to the harddrive area of my laptop, and I definitely hear some type of noise - a "whirring" noise (even some occassional "squeaking"). Could it be the sound of the harddrive spinning? Or is it the sound of the fan operating at a very low level? All I am doing at this time is typing this post; I have five "windows" open in Internet Explorer 8, along with a low-level word-processing program.
Then again - if I put my ear over the keyboard area (technically a different location than that hard-disk area), I hear the same whirring noise. Where is this noise originating from?
Ever since I "migrated" from using a 2001-model Gateway desktop (with a 15" CRT monitor) to using a 2003/2004-model laptop (a Dell Latitude D600, which I started using in 2008) - I've noticed that I've become quite "electrosensitive". I get various unpleasant, harmful, possibly-damaging symptoms (some pretty serious and/or long-lasting) when I'm around certain electromagnetic devices - particularly this Dell laptop. Since it's taking all of my energy to just type up this post - I don't have the energy to try to convince you that my (and so many other sufferers') electrosensitivity is real and legitimate. Try to trust me that it is. If you want to find out more about this condition, you can Google or "Youtube" the topic.
From what I've learned, many laptops - particularly those that use "WiFi" - give off a strong electromagnetic field that contain certain frequencies that can bother sensitive people. Some laptops are better than others, though - and I'm trying to decide whether a Macbook Pro (using an ethernet connection rather than WiFi) would be a tolerable, less-harmful computer experience for me. (Macbooks generally have a reputation for having less "emissions" and for being "better" for electrosensitive people than many other laptops - but they can still bother a lot of electrosensitive people.)
I'm trying to figure out what laptop "specs" might lead to less of a electromagetic field. From my experiences with this Dell, it seems that, in some ways - the "hotter" the computer gets - the more bothersome it is. (I'm not sure how strong of an actual relationship there is between comptuer warmth and the strength of its electromagnetic field - but my real-life experience seems to indicate a relationship.) Several of my symptoms seem to get (much) worse whenever my laptop's fans turn on; the longer the fan is on or the "faster" it runs, the worse I seem to feel. I'm sure many other factors come into play, though - such as the "build" of the laptop, how it's structured, how the heat is dissipated, etc. But my experience indicates that I want to avoid heat build-up/fan-activity in a laptop as much as possible.
This leads me to my main question - would getting a SSD drive for my Macbook Pro be worth the (huge) expense for someone like me? There is the belief among people that SSD drives would give off less electromagnetic emissions than HDDs - because SSDs have no moving/spinning parts. Do SSDs lead to a "cooler" computer? Do SSDs lead to less activity from the laptop's fans?
I guess to answer this question as thoroughly as possible - it would help if I knew just how much the hard-disk drive is active/engaged during a typical computing session (I really don't have a good grasp on how computers actually work). The vast majority of the time that I'm on the computer - I'm simply surfing the web. Although I may get into some occassional "light" video-editing in the future (as well as some DVD burning) - for now, at least, 99% of my time is spent using the Internet. The most demanding thing I do is watch several YouTube videos back to back, or watch something on Hulu - or do live (or archived) streaming audio. How active is the hard disk drive during such activities?
It seems that whenever I put my hand on the area of my laptop below which the hardrive rests - I feel a constant vibration, and this area can "heat up" pretty good. Does this indicate that the harddrive is constantly in some state of activity - or does it indicate that the activity/heat from the CPU is "bleeding" over into the hard-disk area?
Also, is it better to buy a larger-model laptop for heat-dissipation purposes? Do 15" Macbook Pros run cooler than 13" MBPs - and do 17" MBPs run the coolest of all? I just wonder if larger MBPs give off less electromagnetic radiation, and would be worth the extra expense.
Thanks so much for any insight and/or advice you can give.
P.S. - I just put my ear close to the harddrive area of my laptop, and I definitely hear some type of noise - a "whirring" noise (even some occassional "squeaking"). Could it be the sound of the harddrive spinning? Or is it the sound of the fan operating at a very low level? All I am doing at this time is typing this post; I have five "windows" open in Internet Explorer 8, along with a low-level word-processing program.
Then again - if I put my ear over the keyboard area (technically a different location than that hard-disk area), I hear the same whirring noise. Where is this noise originating from?
