Weird find, QNX, and cooling

From: Doug Yowza <yowza_at_yowza.com>
Date: Sat Jan 9 19:22:38 1999

[talking to myself]

> Was there a GUI for this version of QNX? I can't find one, nor anything
> that exploits the touch screen on this box.

I found the GUI. It's called (gasp) windows. Luckily, it's not a
Microsoft product.

> There are three fans inside the box, but it's sealed. I always thought
> that fans worked by exchanging hot air for cooler air. What good are
> fans inside a sealed box?

AFAICT, it works by blowing hot air over the back of the magnesium case
which has huge heat radiating fins on the back. This can't be very
effective....

> Long shot: the display blanks after a few minutes, and hitting a key (it
> has a keyboard port) or touching the screen doesn't unblank it. Any
> guesses on how to wake it back up (BTW, there's no power switch on this
> thing -- it wants to be on *all* the time).

Erhm, this appears to be a thermal problem :-( Not only will the display
shutdown after a few minutes, but it will stay shutdown after cycling
power unless I let it cool down for a while. I'm tempted to drill holes
in the back of the case to allow hot air to escape, but then I won't be
able to mount this cool computer in the shower as I was planning.... (Did
I mention that my goal in life is to be permanently wired to the net?)

-- Doug
Received on Sat Jan 09 1999 - 19:22:38 GMT