Mac Roundtable Podcast » Mac Roundtable 2010.07.14 Episode #86

A cool CPU is a happy CPU. I’m actually wondering if there’s any quantitative data showing the benefit of a cooler CPU versus minimal power consumed by running fans a bit faster.

CoolBook http://www.coolbook.se/CoolBook.html

Reduce processor voltage to reduce clock speed

ThermographX (no update since 2008, doesnt’ see all temp sensors, but does graph)

http://www.kezer.net/shareware/thermographx/

TemperatureMonitor (free, current)

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

Shows values, can store history as well.

iStat Menus (now pay), MenuMeters (free), Matias iRizer (portable stand)

http://matias.ca/irizer/index.php

Thermapak http://www.thermapak.com/

Podium CoolPad and Traveler CoolPad http://www.roadtools.com/index-2.html

Griffin Elevator http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/elevator

Be careful if the little rubber “feet” fall off your laptop – replaced my lost one with a penny taped to the bottom of my MBP!

Even if you’re not experiencing a heat-wave, it’s worth monitoring your temps and fan speeds anyway. If they begin to creep up over weeks or months, your machine may be full of fluff and crap! I vacuumed out my G5 iMac because it over-heated and always had fans going, now it runs much much better.

(Side note: UPS protects computer equipment against brown outs and possible power surge during heavy peak power use times.)

CABLE MODEM ISSUES DUE TO HEAT

Many cable modems offer a status page here:

http://192.168.100.1 or http://192.168.1.1 typically.

(nice if your cable modem isn’t locked down)

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/signal.html

**Some important figures are**

Receive Power Level and Transmit Power Level (in dBmV)

Downstream/receive should be between -15 and +15

Upstream/transmit should be between +5 and +58 (below 50 is best)

Another important figure is SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) may not be available, have to break out the big guns to get this value:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/docsdiag/

This is a Java program that will extract many values (via SNMP I assume) that web status page may not make available.

Run from command line:

docsdiag -jar docsdiag.jar (-vvv)

SNR should be 30 dB or higher, mine is 34.5 right now.

There are also error figures

SigQu: received without error = 1737538425 codewords

SigQu: correctable errors = 106961 codewords

SigQu: uncorrectable errors = 9387 codewords

I was told if the last two values steadily increase, this can also indicate an issue.

iPhone 4 Antenna Thoughts:

Article on Engadget from their experiences.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/13/yes-the-iphone-4-is-broken-no-the-iphone-4-is-not-broken/

Our Picks:

John: 3M MPro 150 Pocket Projector ($395 retail)

http://www.3m.com/mpro/products150.html

Steve: http://safariextensions.tumblr.com/ – list of available Safari extensions to tide you over until Apple opens their gallery.

Bart: Apple World Travel Adaptor kit – http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB974ZM/B?fnode=MTY1NDA4NA&mco=MTA4NDYwMDk ($39)

Jonathan: Sirius XM APP: http://www.siriusxm.com/oniphone/indexd.xmc

Requires Premium streaming account, but allows you to listen on your computer and your iPhone/iPod. Free 7 day trial. You can add it onto your SiriusXM account for an extra $3 a month.

Chuck: Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go MiFi with pay-as-you go plan

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/phones/mobile-broadband-2200.html

Chuck’s Review: http://www.chuckjoiner.com/2010/07/14/virgin-mobile-broadband-mifi-portable-connectivity-with-no-contract/

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July 16, 2010

Mac Roundtable 2010.07.14 Episode #86

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