[fedgeball]

I had heard that you could listen to a CD and close the powerbook and still have it continue to play the CD. If true I am wondering how. Any help would be great Thanks

[nagromme]

I don't think so--unless you hook up an external display and keyboard.

The 'Book demands that you be able to actually use it, and won't run totally blind.

It occufred to me that someone should make a "fake display and fake keyboard" dongle to attach for this purpose. It would have buttons for volume, Space (pause) and Arrows (skip). hitting one would wake the system, and you'd simply launch iTunes before you shut the lid!

[Tomster]

Just out of curiosity, why would anyone want to play music with the screen closed? Sure, this option exists in the wintel world, but one has to look where the speakers are mounted in those applications. Usually, they are forward facing speakers mounted on the front of the machine. Playing music with the screen closed on a Powerbook with the speakers facing up...

If one wanted to use it with headphones like an iPod, one has to worry about transporting a computer with a spinning drive - not a good idea. Getting an iPod is much cooler and cheaper than replacing an 80 gig drive.

Finally, depending on which generation of Powerbook used, there was the issue of heat.

Just a thought -

CD player - $40
Bose QuietComfort2 headhones - $300
Not having to hear the sound of your drive heads scraping across your platters - priceless.

[mattcass]

Why would i want to listen to music with my screen closed?

Well I wouldnt be listening to the music on the Powerbook speakers. I'd have the Powerbook plugged into my home theatre. If I have a cd playing or a playlist going, I want to be able to play it, close the lid, then go do other stuff without having to worry about the screen being on or open to be banged.

That's one thing I liked about a Toshiba laptop that came out a while ago. There was a track display, controls, and remote that could all work with the screen down. Totally cool.

[Tomster]

I guess this all depends on what type of Powerbook you have. Connecting a computer to a home stereo system can be cool. Using it to play a cd seemed a bit overkill as most people with home stereo systems have cd players with easily accessible front controls, not to mention remotes.

As for playlists, try a third generation iPod with a dock. The cool thing is the output is line out.

And for the ultimate multimedia machine, how about hooking up an old , headless, beige G3? Airport Extreme lan port into the ethernet port. Huge drive loaded with music and iTunes. It can serve music wirelessly and be controlled remotely via VNC or scheduled with cron.

To the original question of this thread, can you play a cd with the lid closed? The answer is yes, but only with an external keyboard and monitor attached.

[cliff]

Keep sund awake will let you do this:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/13709

Though I realy wish there was a way to keep from being disconnected from the network when the lid was closed

[Tomster]

Originally posted by cliff:
Keep sund awake will let you do this:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/13709

Though I realy wish there was a way to keep from being disconnected from the network when the lid was closed

That software is meant to keep the sound hardware from sleeping - a power saving feature. There is sometimes an annoying click when the sound card powers up. When you close the lid of the Powerbook, the whole thing will go to sleep, including that piece of software.

[bigben1024]

I don't know how it works, but if you are using it with your home stereo, you could get an S cable and run it to your tv to see what you are choosing.

[Boondoggle]

are there any potential heat problems from running awake with the lid closed? Don't the speaker vents act as heat vents also?

maybe not good for the screen.... ?

bd.

[tooki]

No, there is no danger. On the models where keeping the lid open was necessary for proper cooling, closed-lid operation is impossible (those models will not wake up with the lid closed). (We're talking PowerBooks from 1998 here, by the way.)

Apple loves to make sure their machines don't self-destruct.

tooki

[Boondoggle]

That is cool... I just got a Al 15 and was wondering...

[sushiism]

i still dont think it would be healthy for a mac or a pc to do that, you feel how hot the things get (pcs especially) I really wouldnt want that heat going on my screen that close

[HurrayForSchool]

Welcome to the solution.

InsomniaX.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/22211

When you open it, you may not notice anything... but a little blue icon will appear in the top right menu bar. Click here, select "Enable Insomnia" and then be prepared to do what it tells you.