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mkral · Nov 25, 2003, 02:46 PM

I remember back when I had my PB 2400, there was a piece of Hardware (called the Road Rocket) or something like that, that would give you the ability to use a second monitor. At work we have an ibook 700 CD that we use for presentations. Up until now, we've always used PowerPoint so the mirroring worked fine. we are looking to upgrade to a new program that requires dual monitors. Is there any kind of hardware that would allow this? I know about the software hack, but it sure seems like that is a crap-shoot, possibly causing serious problems & I don't think it would be worth it to try it. Is there any kind of hardware based solution for enabling spanning on an iBook.

arclight · Nov 25, 2003, 04:23 PM

The spanning hack isn't a crapshoot as long as you do your research before applying it. The video cards and ibook models that are "supported" are detailed on the webpage. I know of no other way to get spanning other than hacking the firmware. I've been using the spanning hack on my 12" G3/800 since the day I bought it. It works great!

As far as hardware solutions are concerned, you would (theoretically) need another video card and that can't be a cheap solution. If you absolutley need spanning and don't want to hack the 700 then I suggest pushing to get a tower. Then you could take the 700 for yourself.

dracoleb · Nov 26, 2003, 12:22 AM

I have yet to hear of any mishaps to come out of the spanning hack. I suspect that all the hack does is enable a feature that is already there, Apple just disabled it in order to keep a distance between the iBook and Powerbook. If you really want to have an Apple supported solution get a Powerbook, though the iBook is much more cost effective.

edit: check out this post if you haven't already
iBook Spanning

mkral · Nov 26, 2003, 07:05 AM

Thanks for the replies! I saw a post on one of the mac sites talking about it within the last 2 weeks. I'm sure they were erring on the side of caution, but the way they made it sound was like they had heard of many problems on ibooks all the way up to the most recent ones. I guess with the ability to erase the hack from the computer completely, I really have nothing to lose. Thanks!

d4nth3m4n · Nov 26, 2003, 10:57 AM

you have nothing to lose if you know that your comp has more than 8mb of vram. on these older rage based comps the spanning hack was disasterous. but past that, and since you (like myself) have a 700 mhz (by that time there were 16 mb of vram) you are good to go. its always good policy to read up no matter tho.

Dan.

mkral · Nov 26, 2003, 04:38 PM

Well I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but after reading that you can simply wipe it from your HD if you have a problem & after reading these posts, I dedided to give it a try. I haven't used it yet, but I did install it on my personal ibook (12" G4) and so far the ibook still works, so that's a good thing. I'll check out the spanning tonight. If everything pans out ok, then I'll upload it to the 700 MHz at work as well.

tr · Nov 27, 2003, 08:22 PM

was reading this thread, and earlier today, just installed it on my sister's iBook 700. worked great, just like any other mac that can span. been playing DVD's all day on a TV while surfing. great fuctionality.

tr

mkral · Nov 27, 2003, 09:34 PM

Thanks for the reassurance. I'll upload it to the 700 Monday AM.

moonsocket · Nov 27, 2003, 10:47 PM

working great on my ibook G4 800

mkral · Nov 30, 2003, 04:26 PM

Well, I finally got to test it out on my G4 ibook today. It worked great. One thing I did notice was that the computer seemed more "sluggish" than normal when using spanning. not sure if this is due to needing more video horsepower to drive two displays, or if it was perhaps imagined on my part. Any ideas. I'll install it Tuesday on the 700 MHz.

erniesthings · Dec 3, 2003, 03:48 PM

The sluggishness comes from the video ram getting split 50/50 between the two displays. I haven't tried it yet, but after all the success it sounds pretty sweet.