MacPrices.net

Do-It-Yourself Art Deco Laptop Stand From Scrounged Materials and 'Book Mystique Mailbag

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

by Charles W. Moore

After reading my review last week of the LapWorks Desktop Laptop Stand, longtime reader, correspondent, and friend Jacek Rochacki of the Pismo Users Club in Warsaw, Poland, sent the following report on the laptop stand he built himself from scrap metal.

Jacek, who is a professional metalsmith, writes:

I am always reading with interest your texts on laptop stands. These texts encouraged me to tell my own story.

SeveralÊyears ago I have changed my Mac Classic II for my first Mac laptop - a PowerBook 5300cs. At that time I was using just one computer, so my 5300cs served me well on the road as well as on my desk, substituting for the desktop machine. When working at home at my desk, I used an external keyboard and mouse. In order to make the system more desktop-like, I have designed and made the laptop stand as we see below:

I found at the metal scrap warehouse two pieces of metal tubing. Bending them was much easier than I thought, as I began with annealing these tubes, which, naturally, made them softer. I have filled the inside of the tubes with specially prepared pitch, like the silversmiths used in the old days, so the process of bending didn’t destroy the regular shape of tubes. Then I drilled holes, and used four pieces of thick wire, with ends/tips ready for screwing, which I made using normal screwing dices. I cut four pieces of yellow brass thin tubes of equal length to keep equal distance between the main U shaped elements, and I put them on these wires.

The finishing touch was to screw end screws that I bought at metal shop, and I blocked the holes in the main U shaped elements with rubber plugs of the right dimension; thousands of such plugs can be found for few pennies in motor car spare parts shops all over the world.

And voila - here is my laptop stand.

I like the Art Deco esthetics, and I like the contrast of yellow and silver colors, so I have electroplated the main U-shaped elements at the metal shop, where they do such service for motorcycles, and I left the end/tip screws plus these horizontal elements in color of yellow brass.

The U shape was designed deliberately, because it facilitated placing the external keyboard under the laptop, making it easy to cover the entire system with a proper textile anti-dust protector, when I have ended my daily computing activities.

The good old PowerBook 5300cs went to good hands years ago, but this laptop stand still serves well, as we see here with my Pismo:

But this is not the end of the story...

Today I do most of my writing not seated by my desk, but sitting comfortably on specially made to order armchair. So desktop solutions are not of use for me, I have no room for an external keyboard and mouse, and my laptop stand is not suitable as a stand for a laptop in my present situation. I had predicted this years ago, so let me end by showing the other function of these few tubes fixed together...I like the esthetics coming from function, and it is possible to design an object in a way that it will serve well more then one function...good exercise for imagination, I guess.

By the way: I have returned to use quite often my Wallstreet II aka PDQ; by happy coincidence I have got for literally few pennies two original Wallstreet processor cards: 266 MHz and 300 MHz. The 300 MHz was missing this round element and frame which is fixed on top of the processor chip in order to cool the processor - to transfer the heat to metal heat shield, but I have removed these parts from another, broken processor card, fixed them in my processor card, and now I enjoy the speed of 300 MHz processor.

And I have finally managed to connect my Wallstreet - still under OS 9.1, by PCMCIA Orinoco Silver WiFi card to internet as well as to my internal home net, that I have made by my AirPort Express access point, so now all my three laptops: Little Al, Pismo and Wallstreet talk one to another. The old Wallstreet is in the service again due to it’s superb keyboard, as I have no use for external keyboard with mouse when typing seated at the armchair.

Here are my three laptops when working side by side at my desk in Warsaw.

Cheers to you, Charles, and to all the Mac Friends

As always

Jacek in Warsaw, Poland

Jacek A. Rochacki
PUC - Pismo Users Club -
http://puc.santee.pl

Great stuff, and many thanks to Jacek for the report and photos.

'Book Mystique MailBag

G4 1.33 12'" problem
iBook G4 logic board
Did You See This? (Revision C MacBook troubles already)
Why Can’t MacBooks Be More Like Lego?
Is The MacBook Pro Really A Better Value Than The MacBook?
Good article on the MacBook vs. Pro
Is The MacBook Pro Really A Better Value Than The MacBook?
Book Mystique - Speck SeeThru

G4 1.33 12'" problem

From Doug

I have the 12" G4 1.33 ibook with a bad screen. After replacing many video components...2 cables (vid cable and motherboard to inverter cable), LCD screen, Power inverter inverter, the screen is still black, so I believe it is the motherboard. The computer can output to an external VGA screen and seems to work fine other than my black LCD issue.

Doug

Hi Doug;

By process of elimination, it would certainly seem to be a motherboard issue. Sincde it will still drive an external monitor, it can't be the video accelerator card itself. Could bea broken circuit in the output to the LCD display.

Charles

iBook G4 logic board

From Mel

Hi,

I just wanted to say that Denmark is right about the G4 ibook. I use mine almost daily, but hardly move it from my desk. It is two years and two months old and I just got the logic board replaced last week. I had small dots/lines which increased over a period of about 6 weeks to rendering the screen completely unreadable. I paid $300 for Apple to fix it, and I'm disgusted that they didn't replace it for free.

disgruntled Mac user

Hi Mel;

There is no disputing that there have been some iBook logic board failures, as I noted in the article at a frequency ranging from 2% to 12% depending on the particular iBook G4 model according to the MacInTouch survey.

The question is, do G4 iBook logic boards fail at a rate significantly higher than other Apple laptops and the industry average. The survey findings would indicate not, with a logic board failure rate averaging 6% to 12% across the range of PowerBooks and iBooks surveyed. Some models, such as the original Clamshell iBooks were much better than average. Some like the G3 iBooks were much worse (a horrific 30-55%.logic board failure rate). THe G4 iBooks appear to be average or a bit better than average in this regard, and Apple in general is better than the overall industry average in statistical reliability.

Since your warranty was more than a year expired at the time you required a repair (I'm assuming you didn't have extended AppleCare coverage), $300 sounds to me very reasonable for a logic board replacement.

I know this sort of problem is very aggravating and statistical probabilities ring a bit hollow when you;re among the minority afflicted with problems, but if you review the data, your probability if reliability issues has been less with Apple than with any other PC brand for two decades.

Charles

Did You See This? (Revision C MacBook troubles already)

From Joe Leo

You know how much I looovvvveeee MacBooks.

Seems Apple has already posted a knowledge base article days after the new MacBooks came out. Ridiculous.

Via MacUser.com:

http://www.macuser.com/troubleshooting/new_macbooks_may_have_external.php

Joe Leo, Columnist
PBCentral.com
"Your Mac¨ Notebook Resource"

FOR THE LATEST ARTICLES & COLUMNS FROM 'The Press Box'-
https://www.macprices.net/columns/hildreth_leo/

Hi Joe;

No I hadn't. That one somehow got past me.

I agree; it's bizarre that they didin't catch something like that before releasing these machines.

Charles

Why Can’t MacBooks Be More Like Lego?

From Tom Gabriel

Hey Charles,

Well thought-out article, especially comparing computers with various cars for ease (or lack of same) in maintenance. I just thought of an older, now considered classic line of cars (though many are still in use, especially here in California) that was and is all but legendary in terms of ease of maintenance and repair, one which Apple could turn an eye to, at least in designing straightforward repair & maintenance into the very engineering of the product.

I refer to the original air-cooled Volkswagen beetles, Karmann Ghias, and "buses". No world-beaters in speed or handling (though they could be made to be at least competitive that way), these odd-looking but supremely rugged utilitarian vehicles lent themselves to being worked on with a minimum of both tools and expertise, and did indeed become legendary for their reliability.

Undo four bolts, some cabling (including accelerator cable), and some hoses, add a couple of jack stands and a floor jack, and out comes the engine! A jack, some blocks, a flashlight, and a good-sized flat blade screwdriver, and you get your brakes adjusted (for free, by you) in maybe 10 or 15 minutes if you go slow and careful. Most other things were as easy, or easier, unless they involved some task of major overhaul.

The illustrated book, "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" became a best-selling repair manual, "for the Compleat Idiot" (forerunner to the "...for Dummies" books, perhaps). And it worked--I used it successfully to do things I, as strictly an amateur with tools, would formerly not have attempted. I probably saved myself hundreds of dollars over the years back when saving hundreds of dollars had some significance.

I see no reason why Apple (or any enterprising manufacturer - Alien, perhaps) couldn't do a design of a laptop in which most or all of the major inner components are readily accessible to the gifted or brave-hearted owner with a smidgen of technical know-how for upgrade or repair, especially with a copy of "MacBook Maintenance for Dummies" at his/her elbow. Make stuff inside a notebook as accessible to repair or upgrade as those of the Power Mac desktop towers (I own each)? Why not? An interesting challenge in product design engineering, and who knows, if one manufacturer starts doing it, others would almost certainly have to follow.

I may be pipe-dreaming (we did a lot of that in the '60s & '70s, the VW's heyday), but maybe somebody in the industry really could start the ball rolling--Apple, I hope).

Hey, I'll watch for the announcement, unlikely as it may be.

God Bless,

Tom Gabriel

Hi Tom

I like your idea. I only owned one VW Beetle - a black 1962 model, and only for a short time, although several of my friends owned them and I spent a fair bit of time in VWs over the years from the "classic"1,200 CC models like the one I had to the Super Beetle with the curved windshield and Macpherson strut front suspension, which was my personal fave of the bunch. A family member also ran a 1960 VW Microbus for about fifteen years, and really liked it, although I found it unbelievably gutless and slow when I drove it, and it was also unbelievably cold in the winter time. I remember one miserable road trip spent holding my hand over the passenger side defroster vent driving in freezing rain so that the anemic heater could clear about a six inch square patch of windshield for my cousin to see through (sort of) to drive.

Despite my general familiarity with air-cooled VWs, I ever really worked on them a lot, my particular poison in those years being British iron. I owned, and worked on extensively, some 30-35 assorted Austins, Morrises, MGs, Rileys, and even one sorry Bedford van, which was a terrible vehicle, but which had sliding drivers and passenger doors which you could leave open for a "poor man's convertible" - or perhaps more aptly - "moron's convertible" effect, since the rig had no seatbelts. Still, it was a blast on warm summer days, and fortunately, we had no injuries. I digress.

I also owned a '66 Corvair Monza, which was General Motors' homage to the VW design concept, with an air-cooled flat six mounted in the rear. My mom also had a '61 Corvair Monza for a couple of years. They weren't paragons of durability or reliability, but they looked really sharp and are fondly remembered.

I expect to you recall that someone marketed an adapter that would allow a Corvair engine to be grafted into a VW Beetle or van. The mind boggles.

Charles

Is The MacBook Pro Really A Better Value Than The MacBook?

From David Cohen

Charles,

I read your review of Dave Woodward's comments with interest.

Having read Dave's original post, I found that he was coming from one particular angle. I would be willing to bet real money that he doesn't move his laptop around very much.

As with all of these things, your perspective will vary depending on what you use the machine for. However, I have owned both a 15" MacBook Pro and a 13" MacBook, and used them as a working ICT consultant, both in the office and on the road.

Interstingly, I recently wrote my take on the situation, prompted by a discussion with colleague John Nemerovski. The text can be found over at MyMac.com - http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=2830

Not saying either viewpoint is right or wrong - I can only say what worked for me. And I am still overcome with technolust any time I am near a 17" PowerBook or MBP!

Regards,

David.

David Cohen
Writer, MyMac.Com

Hi David;

Thanks for your comment, and I thought the analysis in your article was sound based on your use and perspective.

I can't speak for how Dave uses his MacBook Pro, but my own 17" PowerBook does spend most of its life in desktop substitute mode, on a stand hooked up to an external keyboard, mouse, printer, Ethernet network, and so forth.

I do have to concede that I tend to take my old G3 iBook on road trips.

I agree that there is no absolute right or wrong here. Just what works for the user's needs and tastes.

Charles

Good article on the MacBook vs. Pro

From Aron Nelson

Charles,

I've been reading your articles for a long time now. For a while we had roughly the same computers etc...

All that being said, when it came time for me to choose a new laptop, I bought the MacBook; a white one at that. For me, I just couldn't get myself to purchase another "metal" Apple laptop. Here are the reasons:

My 15" TiBook was just a little too large to use comfortably on an airplane. I suspect my MacBook will be much better.

The TiBook got hot - the MacBook does get warm as well, but I like plastic a lot more.

I was really tired of dents and scratches and paint flaking off. For me, glossy screen is a big improvement over the older matte screens. When I got a Sony Vaio, it made my TiBook screen look sad.

I never used any cards and I don't need a light up keyboard.

There are more reasons like carbon fiber is weak on the laptops, the hinges are suspect, the meta flexes etc... etc...

The bottom line is my Core 2 Duo MacBook is so good. Fast, runs quiet and cool (most of the time), the screen is great and the keyboard feels good!

Runs Mac OS X, Windows XP and I got it with 2GB RAM, 160GB HD and I am really happy with it. It outperforms my Dual G5 @ 2Ghz for music work - it really is a great computer.

Aron

Hi Aron;

Thanks for your comment and your continued readership.

It wasn't my intertion to diss the MacBook; I agree that it's a great computer, and if one has no need or desire for the high-end bells and whistles exclusive to the MacBook Pro , then it is an excellent choice. I may end up with one myself for my next system, and it will be white if I do jump that direction.

I have to say, though, that while I was ver satisfied with the performance I got from my G3 iBook in 3+ years of service as my production workhorse, my (refurbished) 17" PowerBook has roped me in, and has me hankering for a MacBook Pro. I can live without most of the high-end stuff, but it's hard to give up once you're used to it.

But like I said, the likelihood is more probably a MacBook for me unless I can find a really irresistable deal on a refurb MacBook Pro.

Charles

Is The MacBook Pro Really A Better Value Than The MacBook?

From Brett Campbell

Charles: nice analysis, as usual.

One more factor in the MacBook's favor may be Airport reception; I haven't seen any systematic assessments, but anecdotes I've read online suggest that the MBP's aluminum case, despite improvements over the PowerBooks in this area, may still inhibit the wireless signal more than MB's plastic case. What have you heard about this?

I'm probably going to replace my 2005 15" PowerBook with a MacBook eventually, because I really don't use any of the MBP's extra features except the larger screen. (My 'Book is my only computer.) But I use it all day, so I hope the MB's screen is big enough to not overstrain my eyes. I expect I'll be using the various zoom and font-size boosting tricks a fair amount.
thanks,

Brett

Hi Brett;

Good point.

Actually, there have been a lot fewer complaints about Airport reception noted. since the MacBook Pro came out than there was with the metal PowerBooks. I guess they must have found a way to tweak it, of folks just got used to the lesser range.

As for screen size, while the extra real estate on this 17" machine is a comfortable luxury, I never minded working on the 1024 x 768 12.1" display in my G3 iBook, which is beautifully sharp and crisp. I like it better than the 14.1" display in my Pismo (same resolution).

Charles

Book Mystique - Speck SeeThru

From Brett Campbell

Good column, and I agree: subnotebook first. Also, as I emailed Adam when that LEM column came out, if he doesn't like metal-skinned portables, he should consider getting one of those Speck See Thru hardshell snap on polycarb cases for a MacBook Pro. That way he gets the plastic case (in red),

If you’ve been reading Macworld.com recently, you know that Rob Griffiths and I spent the past week with a number of Mac-industry luminaries cruising the western Caribbean. We were lucky enough to be speakers for MacMania V, a combination of a luxury cruise and a Mac conference. Interestingly, although a slew of formal classes were offered, many of the attendees told me that their favorite aspect of the cruise was access—at nearly any time of day, they could ask Mac experts for answers, information, or opinions. So I wasn’t surprised to get many, many questions over the course of the week.

What I didn’t expect was what the most frequent question would be: “Why is your MacBook Pro red?”

You see, just before I left for the cruise, Speck Products sent me a sample of the company’s new SeeThru Hardshell for 15" MacBook Pro (; $40). Made of “shatter-proof” polycarbonate plastic, the SeeThru is a two-piece protective covering for the 15-inch MacBook Pro; one piece attaches to the lid/screen of the MacBook Pro, while the other covers the bottom and sides of the notebook. (The current SeeThru is compatible with only the Core Duo MacBook Pro; versions for the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro and the MacBook are in the works.)

Although the SeeThru is available in a completely clear version that doesn’t really change the appearance of your laptop, it’s the shiny red model that has adorned my MacBook Pro for the past couple weeks, turning it into a cherry-red, attention-grabbing notebook. Wherever I went, people asked me about it—I even fielded queries from Mac-owning cruise-takers who weren’t part of MacMania V.

The SeeThru looks great, but it’s also functional. The easily-scratched and -dented external aluminum surfaces of your MacBook Pro are protected—for the first time, I was able to drop my laptop in airport-security bins without wondering if it would emerge from the X-ray with a bunch of new scratches on the bottom—while all of its ports and buttons remain accessible, thanks to perfectly-aligned openings in the plastic. (In addition to the SeeThru’s protective qualities, a MacMania attendee pointed out that he’d put adhesive “grips” on the SeeThru—something he wouldn’t feel comfortable applying directly to his brand-new MacBook Pro.)

I was more impressed than I expected to be by the fit and finish of the SeeThru; in addition to the good alignment of the port openings, the case fits securely, with no rattling or looseness. The top piece uses four small clips—two on the left, two on the right—to attach itself to your MacBook Pro’s screen/lid. The bottom piece attaches using two similar clips on the front right and left along with five along the rear of your MacBook Pro (near the notebook’s vents). Although the SeeThru makes your computer a bit thicker, the difference is small enough that most skin/sleeve cases still fit. On the other hand, there’s no opening on the bottom of the case for the MacBook Pro’s battery; you need to remove the entire bottom piece of the SeeThru to swap batteries. Fortunately, this is an easy process, and one advantage of this design is that it offers slightly better protection for your laptop—and, presumably, better ruggedness for the case itself—than if the case offered a removable battery cover. Four rubber feet on the bottom of the SeeThru keep your notebook in place on a desk or table.

As I mentioned above, I found the SeeThru’s openings to allow unfettered access to my MacBook Pro’s ports. However, I did come across a couple minor issues while using those ports. The first arises if you’re using a USB or FireWire peripheral with a very thick body that presses right up against the MacBook Pro’s body; for example, when using Micromat’s Protege, a portable FireWire utility drive, I had to insert the drive very firmly into the FireWire port to ensure that it was getting a good connection. The other issue is that some security locks, which often depend on the material surrounding the laptop’s built-in lock hole being a specific thickness, don’t work with the SeeThru, since it increases the effective thickness.

The only other issue with the SeeThru is that it slightly - we’re talking a few degrees - reduces the maximum angle to which you can open your MacBook Pro’s screen. I mention this only because that angle is already a few degrees less than that of its PowerBook G4 predecessor thanks to a change Apple made it the screen’s hinge design on the MacBook Pro.

Now, the most common question I’ve received about the SeeThru - after “Where did you get that?” - has been “Does it make the MacBook Pro hotter?” A reasonable question, considering that the SeeThru completely encloses the computer. After a couple weeks of using a SeeThru-enclosed MacBook Pro as my primary machine, my answer is, “A little, but not much.” Keep in mind that a good amount of the heat the MacBook Pro generates during use is released through the vents on the rear of the machine and the keyboard/speaker/wristrest area; those areas remain unobscured by the SeeThru. And the bottom of the case has a series of 74 small vents that let some amount of air to reach the bottom surface of your MacBook Pro, even when it’s sitting on your lap. As I write this, the temperature of my hard drive (obtained using Marcel Bresink’s Temperature Monitor utility) has been holding steady at 104 degrees Fahrenheit after several hours of constant work—only a few degrees hotter than without the SeeThru. And the SeeThru has a related—but unadvertised—benefit: Because it keeps your MacBook Pro’s hot-aluminum bottom away from your skin, you can actually use your laptop on your lap without having to use some sort of lap protector.

Considering that vendors sell similar cases for the iPod - ones that cover the player in a clear or translucent shell - for $30 or more, $40 for a case that covers and protects your entire notebook seems quite reasonable. Still, I’ve no doubt that the SeeThru will prove to be a love/hate product—some people will appreciate the opportunity to protect (and pretty-up) their notebook, whereas others will be offended by the mere idea of “covering up” a MacBook Pro. (Seriously; in addition to the numerous people I met last week who wanted more information about the SeeThru, there were two or three who reacted as if I was wrapping the Mona Lisa in tinfoil.) But if you’re looking for a way to add some always-on protection for your 15-inch MacBook Pro, and, in the case of the red SeeThru, to add a bit of flash, the SeeThru is a nice accessory for a reasonable price. I don’t plan on taking mine off anytime soon.

Hi Brett;

Thank you for the interesting and thorough review of the SeeThru case. I love the look, and by coincidence just posted a product brief about it on Applelinks this week. Glad to hear that it performs as well as it looks.

Charles

CM