Enide! my web project

I own an iBook

Yes! I'm a MAC! I own an iBook... and it runs Linux (besides MacOS X).Closed iBook
Here are its specs:

  • Model: iBook 12" Dual USB 32VRAM
  • CPU: 700Mhz PowerPC G3 750FX
  • RAM: 384MB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon Mobility M7 LW 32MB VRAM
  • Harddisk: 20GB Toshiba (slow and hot)
  • Bus: PCI
  • OS: Debian GNU/Linux and MacOS X 10.3.9

 



I bought this laptop on secondhand in august 2004 because it was small, could run linux and was the only laptop that could easily sleep in Linux. The maximum time I managed to leave it in sleep mode was a full week.

 

 

 

 

The other reasons were related to the architecture:

  • First it was not x86, so writing software became a new challenge when I needed to read and write binary files and share them with my friends, who still use x86 compatible processors.
  • Another reason was its thermal management chip ADM1030 which could be programmed to activate the fan at a desired temperature and keep the laptop cool.

This last one allowed me to learn how to write kernel modules and modify the source of lm-sensors module adm1031 and how to make patches. It also taught me that Apple engineers were not very clever when they develop the iBook Dual USB (late 2001) because the placed the graphics chip under the hard drive. This means that heat generated by the hard drive (which is a lot) will join the heat produced by the ATI chip and after some time the chip will fail.

Some people are claiming that they fixed their broken iBooks just by pressing the ATI chip against the PCB, which could mean that the problem with the extreme heat is related to the solder and the PCB.

Just one more thing, don't forget to check every now and then the new Apple Get a Mac ads!