Another Heat Generator Arrives on My Desk
My new MacBook actually arrived last week, but as I haven't had to do a Mac build until today, I didn't bother setting it up. Now it's up and running, and man, is it FAST! It's quite a thrill to see two files compiling at the same time in XCode. I kinda want to stay up to see how long it takes to do a clean build so I can compare to the regular PowerBook, but I also want to get to bed so I can read. (I picked up The Devil Wears Prada, a book I'd never had any desire to read until I saw the movie this weekend and liked it. It made me curious about the book.)
Oh, right, I was talking about the MacBook. After a few hours of having it on my desk, I can already say I love it; it has all the great features of the PowerBook plus a built-in camera, fun PhotoBooth software, and did I mention the speed? I'm sure there's a bunch of other features I haven't discovered yet, too. The only downside I've found is that the thing runs HOT. Super HOT. So hot that it's uncomfortable to rest your wrists on it while typing (is this a ploy by Apple to get us to keep our hands in a non-carpal-tunnel-inducing position?). At the moment I've got it propped up on a little plastic container of Q-Tips, and the hotter left side is hanging off of its cardboard pedestal to allow for more air circulation on that side, but it's still super hot. I'm actually worried that the Q-Tip container might melt (another good reason to stay up and see the build finish).
UPDATE: The build just finished—in 28 minutes. That is 107 minutes faster than the best clean build time on the PowerBook. Woo FREAKIN' hoo!!
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.avocado8.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
Comments (5)
PhotoBooth is a silly little application, but I've really started to love it. My nephew & nieces could play with it all day -- I bet Austen would love it, too. (Sort of like when little kids always want to see the screen on digital cameras right after you take the picture...)
Posted by John Lilly | July 18, 2006 9:51 PM
Posted on July 18, 2006 21:51
That sounds like it's running TOO hot. Have you called Apple about this?
Posted by ratphooey![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.avocado8.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
July 19, 2006 6:56 AM
Posted on July 19, 2006 06:56
I know -- the PhotoBooth love seems irrational, but that little piece of software is just so neat! It really is like a photo booth, except that you don't have to keep feeding dollar bills into it, and you don't have to wait for the photos to print. Genius.
Re: TOO hot, I haven't called Apple yet, no. I consulted a couple colleagues at work who also have MacBooks and was told a firmware update might help, but I doubt that's it. This machine was just configured last week, and it has all the latest updates. I'm going to consult the Apple website for advice before I file a help ticket.
Posted by Lori![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.avocado8.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
July 19, 2006 11:07 AM
Posted on July 19, 2006 11:07
I love photobooth too! Have you played with it w/ Austen? My nieces (almost 5) and nephew (7) were over last week while my folks were in town and we had a blast with it. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time :-). We have a new iMac desktop and I'm *loving* it. I've been doing video projects w/ iMovie and as a result had quickly outgrown my 60 GB laptop. Now we have 500 GB!!?!?
Posted by kathy howe | July 21, 2006 12:52 PM
Posted on July 21, 2006 12:52
Yay for the new iMac! I haven't shown Austen the MacBook yet, mainly because it's a work machine, and after he nearly brought all work to a halt a couple days in a row because he wanted to play "Elmo" on my computer, I try to keep him away from the computers. Maybe I'll bring it downstairs tonight and let him see it, tho.
An update on the TOO HOT front: The guy who set up the machine for me gave me a little tool called CoreDuo Temp that monitors the temperature of the machine, and when it hit 182F during a build I called Apple. The Apple guy assured me that there was an internal temperature sensor that would shut the machine down if it ever became dangerously hot. They've logged a ticket for me, and I'm supposed to call back if it ever shuts down due to heat. In the meantime, I've swiped a riser from our pantry and put the MacBook on that rather than the cardboard box it had been on. It hasn't made a damn bit of difference temperaturewise, but it gives me some extra desk space and some piece of mind that the box won't catch fire.
Posted by Lori![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.avocado8.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
July 21, 2006 3:34 PM
Posted on July 21, 2006 15:34