Recent Topics AppleCentral Forums en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 18:48:34 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm 5 forums@applecentral.com http://forums.applecentral.com/images/general/default/rss_icon.gif http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/555828#Post555828 geekdude
on: 04/07/11 07:41 PM

thanks]]> Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:41:18 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/555828#Post555828 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/492043#Post492043 TCPMeta
on: 01/30/10 04:35 AM

Sadly this isn't a apple product project but still cool as heck.

My Laptop's hard drive died. This would be drive number two in the past year. The car in question is a 2002 Dodge Intrepid.

Since Dodge/Chrysler offered the Intrepid as a police car I can easily find a few goodies on ebay to add a table like shelf for the laptop.
Also there is a touch screen kit that costs about a hundred bucks I can toss into the laptop. Buy a cheap USB 2.0 hub and load it with USB jump drives and issue a software raid or a multiple partition system since I am using Slitaz Linux.

The goal for this system is for music and diagnostics. I'm thinking about adding a mobile WiFi hotspot since the last few road trips everyone brought their own laptops. All I have to do is toss in a inverter in the back seat area.

Slitaz Linux is small and very fast. Uses about 60MB for the install and can run from a USB jump drive. Best part is it loads all into a ramdisk so I can improperlly shut down the system and don't have to face a slew of dialog telling me "shame on you". So if I wanted to add some programs I can just take the jump drive into my home desktop and add modules, software and so forth. Right now im working on a mounting script that will mount my SD card for music and trying to get the wireless working.]]> Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:35:17 PST http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/492043#Post492043 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477173#Post477173 w2ed
on: 10/09/09 12:15 AM

Hey, so long as I am not tired I am a fan of long posts - it shows the person puts a lot of thought into what is said.

Glad you like the suggestion I made about the PC Mod - I've been wanting to do an entertainment center mod with a similar idea of having two computers (one as a server/MP3/MP4 converter, one as the front interface, complete with game emulation), but money and time have always been at war with me. (The economy couldn't have gone south at a worse time! LOL) Maximum PC and CPU, both PC magazines, have a long-standing relationship with Modders, and both used to showcase a mod-of-the-month in the pages of their magazine. (CPU - short for Computer Power user - still does.) It's worth going through their archives to see what others have done; in the same book that made me think of that desk PC was a person who built their computer inside of a working aquarium. Hope no fish or motherboards died there!

One mod you may want to look for as far as a dual-machine setup is a cube mod where someone put two computers into one machine - again, similar concept to mine, but it was built within an existing cube-floor server. I don't have any info at hand to help you, but my gut feeling is that one of those two sites will have it. (If I recall, I saw it a few years ago in Maximum PC.)

Considering how I've seen motherboards and hardware mounted, unless there is some weird reason (such as oddball liquid cooling setups, which would be rare, especially on the Mac), mounting it sideways, upside down, or any way you wanted to should be no problem. (You could probably look at mods on this site to see it!) Just make sure everything is easily accessible when you need it and that there is proper ventilation for the heat.

As much as I like the idea of a built-in screen, I would advise against this, especially if the source for the screen is what I think it will be. (If I am wrong, please correct me on this.) A lot of laptop parts are proprietary, and even when, such as the graphics cards, they follow the same standards, manufacturers tend to mess things up enough so that only the memory and hard disk are upgradeable. If you should decide to use the screen in your Macbook on a newer machine, you may find hooking it up to be difficult.

Even if you're using an external screen it'd probably be better not to break the screen out of its molding. Instead, I'd suggest using an LCD Mount that you modify to get the screen-rising-out-of-the-desk that you want - keep the part that attaches to the LCD Normal for future use and upgradeability.

There are two other ideas I could suggest, as far as screens. The first is a dual-screen setup using the built-in screen, since it sounds like you're going to build the MacBook Pro into the desk. (If you're not, I'd handly suggest a docking mechanism built into the desk so that you can still utilize both monitors.) The second, though, is to either buy a Touch-Screen Monitor or get some touch-screen film - especially if you do my first idea. With the amount of work being put in those technologies now, and the number of different ways it'll be put to use, it'd be a step up towards the future.

As far as the ports, great idea, and another place for suggestion: dig through the junk yards. A lot of computer manufacturers have implemented the ideas you want to do, and it'd be easier to use one of those mechanisms than to build it yourself. (Plus, it'd be way cheaper than to steal it from a newer tower, as far as cost!)

Finally, as I said before, build it to your needs - in other words, it sounds like you should put your ports to the right.

Keep me updated - sounds like a good idea.

-- Since you updated while I was writing this, I'll take the time to give a quick response: there may be solutions through NVidea, but the cost of doing them (and having them work within reason) may not be worth it. One solution would be something such as a USB-DVI hook-up, though (as you can imagine) the display response may be slow - it depends on what you want to use the display for. (The solution's good for small touch-screens, though - one of the things I am considering if I decide to do a carputer.) The best advantage to the USB-DVI is the price: the adapters can usually be found for less than a hundred, whereas a dedicated external graphics setup would cost in the thousands.

However, since you said you were possibly doing two machines, there is another solution: Software exists that allows a machine to be a dedicated second monitor (great for older laptops and people wanting to build 19-monitor setups - don't ask.) I don't know if there is Mac-compatible software, but one of the two mags I've suggested recently (as in the last couple of months) had an article on doing that - I'll post a link as soon as I find it.

Speaking of links, I figure this would be handy: Amazon has the book I've been pulling the modding info from, and even though it was published back in 2005, its ideas and advice is very sound for hardware mods, even today. It's called "Maximum PC's guide to Extreme PC Mods":http://www.amazon.com/Maximum-PC-Guide-Extreme-Mods/dp/0789731924.]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:15:01 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477173#Post477173 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477049#Post477049 w2ed
on: 10/10/09 05:38 PM

Honestly, I'd wait and just get the classic later, assuming it's still around when you get it. It's not worth the $70-$195 BS Hassle you'll go through to upgrade the other - you won't see it later if you decide to sell it on eBay or Craigslist, and even if you need it now, getting a new classic will serve your needs down the road. Even though we've not had a 100 gig iPod in any line up (that I am aware of), we've had above that for at least 3 generations, so chances are it might be ignored.

If this were a 240 gig upgrade, I'd be more readily convinced of doing it: the most I've seen any iPods, new or past, without a HD replacement is 160, so from an investment standpoint, selling it later may bring back the money - and maybe more.

If you were doing more of a mod than that, I'd tell you to go for it - but even then I'd tell you to go for broke and get the 240, skipping over the 100 and 120 - You never think you'd need more until you have run out of space. 100 gigs is too small and (more importantly) too uncommon to be worth it.]]> Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:38:28 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477049#Post477049 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477003#Post477003 TCPMeta
on: 06/12/09 06:56 PM

Well I killed the keyboard. A little mishap with the pinout I followed. Come to find out the Terminal uses a 12volt output for the keyboard instead of 5volts. Guess next i'll toss on a voltage regulator.]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:56:00 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/477003#Post477003 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/476862#Post476862 johnodd4
on: 05/24/09 05:32 PM

Yea i thought that that was a good deal.

Just installed ilife 08 and the imovie 08 upgradable hack so it will run on the g4 runs really quick have had no slowdown's did experiance one weird issue while playing return to castle wolfenstein for mac it gave me a error message after the tram level and said.

not a jpeg begins with 0x28 protection error jpegs begin with .0x13

Weird huh]]> Sun, 24 May 2009 17:32:51 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/476862#Post476862 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475968#Post475968 johnodd4
on: 05/31/09 09:54 PM

I could solve this a lot faster and without loss of data problems.

Use firewire.

get yourself a firewire cable cut it in half extend the wire connect the cd-rom/dvd-rom to a firewire converter board or ide to firewire then connect the drive to a simple power source or just use the one that came with the firewire cage you removed everything from.

done..

Now for the lost data issue.

to stop this via firewire get a firewire hub they do make them and they can run off of a 12 volt car battery i have seen it done.]]> Sun, 31 May 2009 21:54:33 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475968#Post475968 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475934#Post475934 splodgecat
on: 09/19/08 06:19 PM

Hey guys, finished the mod a while back and wondered if anyone fancied seeing the finished article, complete with happy hamsters. If so, there is a link below to a Facebook photo album.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36909&l=29fb0&id=501859734]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:19:32 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475934#Post475934 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475754#Post475754 Waragainstsleep
on: 08/13/08 01:17 AM

I must say I was unaware of any differences in the rear display housing of 15" aluminium PowerBooks. I know they have slight differences regarding antenna cables but as far as I know they all fit each other. If Mord is correct, the only high res units are the last-of-line 1.67GHz Dual layer superdrive models. I was under the impression these were still physically the same size as earlier models.

MacBook Pro housings are different and will not work on PowerBooks.]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:17:59 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475754#Post475754 http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475714#Post475714 johnodd4
on: 05/31/09 09:50 PM

Another issue do you currently have the powerbook set to the external video port. if so good however if not and you upgrade your os to leopard using leopard assist the computer will extend the desktop across two monitors not one monitor.]]> Sun, 31 May 2009 21:50:00 PDT http://forums.applecentral.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/475714#Post475714