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Multiple Monitors for iBooks

Posted by pudge on from the i-wonder-if-the-warranty-covers-open-firmware-hacks-gone-bad dept.

nevershower writes "I found this while reading MacOSXHints. It's a firmware script for Radeon iBooks that allows them to use monitor spanning! DO NOT run this script if you have a Rage iBook. It might permanently bork your laptop." Borking is bad, especially if it is permanent.

5 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Whoa, Pete! by thinmac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have a 700Mhz radion iBook, so as soon as I saw this story I rebooted and made the change (it's not so much a script as a list of firmware commands, you have to copy it out or look at them on another machine and enter them by hand). I'm now typing this in on my 21 inch Sony trinitron running at 1600x1200. Works great!
    Gotta wonder, though. Apple really has limited the use of this radion chip. They disable this, and it only came with 16 megs of vram. Chip supports up to 64! If it only came with 16 more, it would be a pretty able 3d card (not that it's terrible now, just somewhat underpowered). How much would an extra 16 megs cost?

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    1. Re:Whoa, Pete! by scotto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Apple can't make the iBook too good relative to the PowerBook G4, or it's low price would cannibalize sales from their premium laptop. That's why monitor spanning is disabled and they only put 16MB of RAM in it.

    2. Re:Whoa, Pete! by frankie · · Score: 3, Insightful
      if they let you do this originally, i would have bought a 12" ibook instead of my powerbook G4

      Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! This is the exact reason why Apple disabled dual monitors on the iBook (and iMac).

      I am so very glad this hack was created. When it's time to replace my Pismo, I'll get an iBook.

    3. Re:Whoa, Pete! by dalamcd · · Score: 2, Insightful
      You're pretty dumb. ^____^

      Apple is a good (as in 'able', not as in 'holy' or something) company. They have a line of products, from low-end to high-end. If you want better than a 'cippled low-range outdated' card, you go for a higher-end product.

      All (good) businesses do this.

      By your reasoning, McDonalds should only sell the Big Mac, Microsoft should only sell WindowsXP Professional, car companies should never make a car under $50,000, and Apple should only sell PowerMacs.

      I'm 90% sure this is a troll, but whatever.

      dalamcd

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      moer liek CELtroid prime!!@1!
  2. Re:Is it possible to do the "reverse" on an iMac by GlassHeart · · Score: 2, Insightful
    In the same vein, does anyone know if it's possible to use the built in LCD panel on an iMac as a monitor for a different computer (i.e. a "video-in" for the iMac monitor)?

    I'm not sure I completely understand your needs, but would VNC be an incomplete but cheap solution?