dooley@helios.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) (07/07/88)
The disgustingly hot weather we've been having in Toronto this week has provided me with yet another interesting comparison between the Amiga and the Mac. Last summer I was babysitting a Mac. I had always wanted one, but could never afford it. I was glad that I hadn't bought one by the end of the summer. There were a lot of things that really annoyed me about it, but the worst was the way it behaved in warm weather. If the machine was physically cool, I could use it for about an hour on a hot day (I don't have any air conditioning). Then it would start getting confused and crash. I could usually reboot it once or twice, but it invariably crashed and, if I tried again, it would claim that all of my disks were buggered. This would invariably happen if the temperature was above ~30 C (~86 F). Well, yesterday I was working on my Amiga 2000 from 9:00am to about 7:00pm in a room which was ~40 C (~104 F). It crashed a few times, but always because of my bad programming (Oh, did I do THAT?). It never had any trouble rebooting and never misread a single disk. Maybe that everything-in-one-box design isn't such a great idea after all.... Kevin Dooley
daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (07/09/88)
in article <578@helios.toronto.edu>, dooley@helios.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) says: > > There were a lot of things that really > annoyed me about it, but the worst was the way it behaved in warm weather. I'll definitely have to second the nomination of the A2000 as a cool hot weather machine. Here in the South Jersey it's been drastically close to 100F on and off for the past two months. My A2000's been mainly on during the same time period. This is also a pretty full A2000, with 68020 board, expansion memory, hard disk all inside. And the computer room is not only far beyond the read of any air conditioning, but also poorly ventilated to begin with. And it has yet to crash of it's own accord. I'm keeping it off these days while I'm not around, but only because of plea from my wife. It seems the '2000 WAS doing a pretty good job of heating up the rest of the house. > Kevin Dooley -- Dave Haynie "The 32 Bit Guy" Commodore-Amiga "The Crew That Never Rests" {ihnp4|uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: D-DAVE H BIX: hazy "I can't relax, 'cause I'm a Boinger!"
ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (07/13/88)
In article <578@helios.toronto.edu> dooley@helios.physics.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) writes: > [ Story about how Macs cough in hot weather. ] >Maybe that everything-in-one-box design isn't such a great idea after all.... > It has nothing to do with the fact that Macs have everything crammed into that little toaster. It has to do with the fact that, with the recent exception of the Mac-too, every computer Apple has designed has a fundemental design flaw. The fan is missing. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU \_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: UUCP: pacbell > !{well,unicom}!ewhac O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack") "Hmm, you're right. Air is made up of suspended meat loaf." -- Josh Siegel
mclek@dcatla.UUCP (Larry E. Kollar) (07/13/88)
in article <578@helios.toronto.edu>, dooley@helios.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) says about the Mac Plus: > > There were a lot of things that really > annoyed me about it, but the worst was the way it behaved in warm weather. Blame the all-in-one design. I use a Plus at work, and the "Hades point" (top left of the machine, near the front) runs over 120F even in air-conditioned environments. You need a cooling fan (recommended anyway) in non-climate- controlled areas, or you can count on replacing power supplies down the road. The Amiga 500 may be a little more temperature-sensative than a 2000, but not so much as a Mac since the monitor's a separate unit on all Amigas. Anyway, I've been using my 500 in an 80-degree high-humidity environment during evenings, with no trouble. I have a fan, but it's keeping the liveware (me) from overheating. :-) In article <4210@cbmvax.UUCP> daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) writes: >It seems the '2000 WAS doing a pretty good job of heating up the rest of >the house. In a heat wave, everything contributes to the heat -- but I'd have a hard time believing that even a full-blown 2000 could pump out THAT much heat.... Larry Kollar ...!gatech!dcatla!mclek
bhh@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (Barry Hales) (07/14/88)
In article <6509@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: >In article <578@helios.toronto.edu> dooley@helios.physics.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) writes: >> [ Story about how Macs cough in hot weather. ] >>Maybe that everything-in-one-box design isn't such a great idea after all.... > It has nothing to do with the fact that Macs have everything crammed >into that little toaster. It has to do with the fact that, with the recent >exception of the Mac-too, every computer Apple has designed has a fundemental >design flaw. > The fan is missing. It also has to do with the fact that the Mac series (the old ones, at least) use rather cheap power supplies. I used to work at a repair shop, and we used to get Macs in all the time with power supplies that had played out. The things just aren't put together that good. The newer ones (Mac SE, Mac II) use much better parts, from what I could tell. I have an A500, and have heard all the power supply horror stories...I have been lucky so far with the ps (the first amiga system I got broke within one week, monitor AND computer, but the replacement I got has worked beautifully!) not overloading, considering I am running an external drive and the A501 memory card. I just wish CBM had put a bit more sturdy power supply on the thing, but so far, so good for me ....... Barry Hales bhh@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu Disclaimer: the ususal drek.......
fiddler%concertina@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) (07/14/88)
In article <6509@well.UUCP>, ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: > In article <578@helios.toronto.edu> dooley@helios.physics.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) writes: > > [ Story about how Macs cough in hot weather. ] > >Maybe that everything-in-one-box design isn't such a great idea after all.... > > > It has nothing to do with the fact that Macs have everything crammed > into that little toaster. It has to do with the fact that, with the recent > exception of the Mac-too, every computer Apple has designed has a fundemental > design flaw. > > The fan is missing. > The MacSE also has a fan. (We'll ignore the fact that the fan chosen was not optimal...) The lack of a fan didn't hurt the Apple // series, and they sure are quiet. Btw, the first thing to go has historically been an under-spec'd fly- back transformer on the analog board in the Mac. An aftermarket fan like the System Saver Mac or Fanny Mac fixes the trouble. (All this because Steve Jobs didn't like the noise of fans. Mechanical ones, anyway.)
lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Fish-Guts) (07/14/88)
In article <6509@well.UUCP> ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) writes: >In article <578@helios.toronto.edu> dooley@helios.physics.toronto.edu (Kevin Dooley) writes: >> [ Story about how Macs cough in hot weather. ] >>Maybe that everything-in-one-box design isn't such a great idea after all.... >> > It has nothing to do with the fact that Macs have everything crammed >into that little toaster. It has to do with the fact that, with the recent >exception of the Mac-too, every computer Apple has designed has a fundemental >design flaw. > > The fan is missing. I believe you have your facts a bit mixed up, Mr. Schwab. My roomate has a genuine Macintosh SE and it too has an internal fan. It is rather easy to notice because it is one of the loudest fans I have heard (it sounds like a Jet about to take off...whoooshhhh! ;-). >_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ >Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU -Chris -- Christopher Lishka ...!{rutgers|ucbvax|...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishka Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene lishka%uwslh.uucp@cs.wisc.edu Immunology Section (608)262-1617 lishka@uwslh.uucp ---- "...Just because someone is shy and gets straight A's does not mean they won't put wads of gum in your arm pits." - Lynda Barry, "Ernie Pook's Commeek: Gum of Mystery"
stever@videovax.Tek.COM (Steven E. Rice, P.E.) (07/15/88)
In article <6611@dcatla.UUCP>, Larry E. Kollar (mclek@sunb.UUCP) writes: > . . . > In article <4210@cbmvax.UUCP> daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) writes: >> It seems the '2000 WAS doing a pretty good job of heating up the rest of >> the house. > > In a heat wave, everything contributes to the heat -- but I'd have a hard > time believing that even a full-blown 2000 could pump out THAT much heat.... In case you missed some of the byplay, Dave mentioned a while back that his wife was pregnant. (It seems that such a construction project gives off a great deal of heat. . .) My wife was quite sensitive to anything remotely warm when she was pregnant! Steve Rice ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! * new: stever@videovax.tv.Tek.com [phone (503) 627-1320] old: {decvax | hplabs | uunet | uw-beaver}!tektronix!videovax!stever
dales@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM (Dale Snell) (07/15/88)
[ The plot thickens with a package of chickens... ] In article <6611@dcatla.UUCP> mclek@sunb.UUCP (Larry E. Kollar) writes: |In article <4210@cbmvax.UUCP> daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) writes: |>It seems the '2000 WAS doing a pretty good job of heating up the rest of |>the house. | |In a heat wave, everything contributes to the heat -- but I'd have a hard time |believing that even a full-blown 2000 could pump out THAT much heat.... | | Larry Kollar ...!gatech!dcatla!mclek I'm not sure about an entire house, but I used to keep my bedroom significantly (to me) warmer than the rest of the house by leaving my old Tektronix 4051 on all the time. The change in temperature was quite noticable, and welcome during the winter! I don't *think* that my '51 dissipates as much heat as a 2000. (I could be wrong, of course. (What, me wrong? :-) :-) ) I'd have to dig the old beast out to check. Haven't used it in ages.) Hmm... Maybe I should put my Amiga in my bedroom this winter. Though the fan might be a bit noisy... --dds ***************************************************************************** Yes, the line-eater is alive and well and devouring chunks of postings. *sigh* Dale D. Snell CServ: 74756,666 Usenet: dales@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM Usenet-bang: {the macro-cosmic all}!tektronix!tekgen!teksce!dales Disclaimer: Bah, humbug! (attributed to E. Scrooge.)
barrett@ektools.UUCP (Chris Barrett) (07/19/88)
Well, this topic has gotten away from the Amiga subject, can't this continue in alt.flame or comp.sys.mac? Chris.