Temperature Monitor
by Volker Weber
Temperature Monitor is a Mac OS X application that displays the current processor temperature of selected Macintosh computers.
Comments
It didn't work on my iBook. What did you get it to work on?
iBook G4. Does not work in my iMac G4.
What are your thoughts on the iBook G4, Volker?
I have a dual USB iBook 500 that has served me well (bought it the week they were released), but now has trouble doing more than 2 things at once (even running Panther). I'm considering a minimal upgrade to the laptop, and getting a G5 desktop.
Hmmh. I guess the 500 should still be good. What you need is memory. Then it would work for me. I never reboot if I don't have to. I keep my programs loaded.
I like the iBook G4 a lot. Was leaning towards the PowerBook 15", but then decided to go for a cheaper machine for a number of reasons. First, the PowerBook would have served exactly the same purposes. There was nothing the PowerBook could do better than the iBook, at least not for me. Second, I think the smaller iBook is less delicate. It goes with me everywhere and I don't want to be handicapped by an expensive artefact. And it does not get as hot due to the plastic enclosure; heat goes out the vents and not the palmrest. Finally, the iBook does not cause as much envy as the shiny PowerBook. I like the fact that some people think the iBook is inferior to their Stinkpad. :-)
This is not an easy decision to make. The 15" PowerBook is probably the best machine if you want to have just one computer, which is not my profile. The 12" PowerBook is the more powerful small machine. And it is probably the most solid one when you need to carry it a lot. The 14" iBook is the most bang for the buck, the 12" is the cheapest and the 17" PowerBook is the perfect machine for posers. OK, I take this back. It is an excellent machine for somebody that needs to move a desktop once a week.
And finally, the 15" PowerBook is by far the best looking notebook out there.
You confirm most of my thoughts. The weaknesses of the iBook 500 are, slow memory bus (66 Mhz), more memory needed (I have 384 MBytes), the 10 GB disk is marginally slow (a 7200 Hitachi Travelstar would be nice), and the video very occasionally stutters when doing Keynote presentations with anything more than minimal effects. Throw in the need to replace the battery, though, and one wonders if new machine wouldn't be wiser.
For me, the attraction of the iBook has always been its ruggedness, combined with the complete lack of noise. I prefer a single, portable computer. I do tend to keep computers around a long time, though. I have a wonderfully functional Mac IIci and an LC 580 in the museum downstairs, along with a less than stellar Mac Plus, all still fully capable of performing usefull work. The Wintel machines never seem to earn their keep long enough to earn a place alongside the Macs.
The iBook G4 can do all keynote transitions without missing a beat. As well as playing full screen MPEG 4. So, no problems there.
It is currently limited to 128+512. But of course, once the bigger chips are available (and affordable) the G4 will accomodate more.
