Using an external display on an Apple iBook

I just got a new PC and a 17″ Acer LCD display recently. So I’ve been using my iBook and PC on a KVM switch. My PC is set to 1280×1024 resolution and the iBook maxed out at 1024×768 which is it’s native resolution. Problem was that it looked really bad at that resolution on a 17″ LCD that can do better. I wasn’t able to find any information on how to disable the iBook’s LCD and have it just use my 17″ LCD at an increased read. So I just went on experimenting. Screen Spanning Dr is required to enable clamshell mode. The follow is the process on how to do it.

To do this, plug in the external display. I had them mirroring if that made a difference. I closed the iBook and it automatically went to sleep. Then using an external keyboard, wake up the iBook while it’s still closed thus going into clamshell mode. Voilà the iBook’s LCD is disabled and the external display is on. Then crank up the resolution! Mac OS X looks beautiful at 1280×1024 res. I suggest leaving the iBook open to prevent overheating. The LCD will still be off. The iBook is made to dissipate heat through the keyboard.

Large size

Upgraded hard drive in my iBook

I upgraded the hard drive in my 14″ iBook G4 1.42ghz. I need some more room, a lot more room! I’ve always had my drive crammed to about 4gb free. I removed the 4200rpm 60gb stock HDD with a new 5200rpm 160gb HDD. Threw the old 60gb in a firewire enclosure. Once I had all the parts, it began…

The plan was to take out the 60gb and place it in the firewire enclosure and install the new 160gb HDD and then do a system migration once I install Mac OS X. So I began with opening the iBook thinking this was gonna be easy. Went good for a while then it started getting more and more complicated. The only guide I had was some outdated one with a 12″ G4 iBook. Well I continued. Removed the screws on the bottom panel and pried it off. Then I removed the shielding on the logicboard. Removed some more srews. Took off keyboard and removed a few screws. Then I popped off the entire panel where the keyboard and mouse was. I had to make sure I unplugged the 3 wires that were beneath the panel before taking it all off. Well I unplugged 2 wires, the 3rd refused to come off. The plug and the connector came off the circuit board. “f*ck.” So I continued knowing I can just solder it back on. Now I had to take off more screws and shielding and then finally I made it to the hard drive. Removed it, placed in new one. Soldered back on the connector just fine. It was for the power button. Now I had to put it back together trying really hard to remember where all the screws went. First try, it didn’t come out right, so I had to remove a few screws and place them elsewhere. So I was nearly done and then noticed that the center screw I put in was too long, it went through the area where the keyboard was and went out a 1/4″ going through the metal. So that wasn’t right and I changed the screw. I was very relieved once I was done, this took me a few hours.

To make a long story short, I got it done and it works great! Had some screws leftover but that doesn’t matter. The OS X Migration wizard worked perfectly. Oh yeah, the magnesium frame on the iBook breaks easily, there is no frame in the area where the battery is now. But it doesn’t make a difference there.

I recommend that no one does this procedure themself. It was hell. I should have gotten a quote from the Apple Store first but oh well.

See the Flickr photoset here.

And this should be interesting, an AMD chip in an Apple computer!

Insanely Funny!

I found this video in a Slashdot comment. All I will say is that it’s a must see for any geek(thats probably anyone reading this).

Al Gore uses a Palm Treo :-)

I was watching the DVD An Inconvenient Truth since my aging hippie teacher gave it to me to watch. Well while watching the film, I noticed that Al Gore uses a Palm Treo! Appears to be the Treo 700p(correct me if I’m wrong, I never owned one). I got no other info on this. I just thought I’d share. By the way, the film is great. Everyone should watch it. He really puts things together well and mentioned a lot of very good points.

Edit: It is a Cingular branded Palm Tero 650. Thanks Ryan K.