Portable Heat

[Video International]

Wow! The first iBook related post since I joined this list a few days 
ago!

I too, am troubled by the heat issues of the 12". I'm currently 
debating on whether to get a 12" G4 iBook or the PowerBook 12". I had 
thought though that the extreme heat problem was limited to the 12" PB 
(AKA The Ouch Book).

Besides the possibility of the heat decreasing the life of the 
components, there have been reported cases of the heat actually warping 
the body of the 12" PBs! At least on the 1st generation models.

I believe the discomfort from the heat is more prevalent on the PBs, as 
their aluminum cases are better at dissipating heat (right onto your 
lap!). So the components may be safer in the hotter book. I too have 
heard that the problem stems not from the processor, but from the hard 
drive, which is only 4200 RPM.

There was a post awhile back on a possible fix (reduction) at Apples 
website:
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?14@141.Qif3abvHk8p.6@.3bc109fc>
I was told recently by an employee at a Mac retailer that using the 
Panther OS will reduce some of the heat. How, he didn't explain.

So I've been leaning towards getting the G4 iBook and was hoping I 
might come across a hack that would allow me to install iDVD (an 
internal SuperDrive is needed to install iDVD) and another hack to be 
able to use an external DVD drive. But after reading your post about 
the iBooks getting hot as well, it makes the decision that much more 
difficult.

Any info, real life experiences or advice appreciated. Thanks in 
advance.

Rick


> Does anyone else think that the iBooks get a little too hot, meaning
> possibly decreasing the life span of its components? With my 900mhz G3
> 12" iBook, I have to be careful about using the edge of a bed or cloth
> chair as a "table", as these surfaces are not good for dissipating the
> heat generated by the machine. In fact, Apple's knowledge base
> recommends avoiding using cloth surfaces on the 12" PowerBook G4, and I
> would think the same advice would apply to the iBook too. I would think
> now that the new iBooks have G4s, they'd generate about the same level
> of heat as the PowerBooks. In the area of the hard drive is where the
> iBook seems the hottest. According to System Profile, it is a 40GB
> Toshiba. I have had to have both the hard drive and main logic board
> replaced in this machine. At least I won't have to worry too much for 3
> years... that's what AppleCare is for! :-)
>
> Joe