What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[TheShortTimer]

I recorded a couple of The Outer Limits episodes on my PVR that were written by the incomparable Harlan Ellison and exported the video files to my 2011 13" MBP so that I could remove the adverts and promos and dispense with having to fast fwd through them on every viewing. The broadcast format is MPEG-2 which means they'll be playable all the way down to a G3 machine without any issue.

544 x 576 resolution isn't great but it will of course look fine perfectly on the small screen of a 12" iBook or G3 iMac. Or an 11" C2D MacBook Air for that matter.

On a side note, this is brilliant stuff and I can see why Ellison threatened to sue over similarities between the episode and The Terminator. Anyhow, time to excise the extraneous elements with the help of Avidemux and say goodbye to adverts for fabric fresheners and other delights of our consumerist society.

What a difference a few clicks make - almost 64 minutes is reduced to just under 50.

The final result was saved as an MKV which plays happily in VLC. For the G3's I'll create an AVI.

Time for the next recording...

I repeated the process as shown above and saved the edited file. Editing SDTV recordings is a doddle with Avidemux and its proven to be invaluable through the years for this line of work. Hooray for open source solutions. Originally this post contained a 2nd half but I deleted it out of fear that it strayed into the realm of piracy...

 

[B S Magnet]

I repeated the process as shown above and saved the edited file. Editing SDTV recordings is a doddle with Avidemux and its proven to be invaluable through the years for this line of work. Hooray for open source solutions. Originally this post contained a 2nd half but I deleted it out of fear that it strayed into the realm of piracy... [emphasis B S M’s]

Shivar me timbars, arrrrr! Avast ye, here lie waters fulla π-r8s! 🧐

All swabby talk aside, have you ever successfully built avidemux for Snow Leopard? If so, what version was the last to build successfully? As with many of the GUI-based open-source stuff these days, they make use of revisions to Qt5 beyond Qt5.3, so the current version of avidemux, via macports, won’t build for Darwin 10.

 

[zackkmac]

I actually forgot to even order a heatsink for it as the board comes without it, so I just grabbed one for another $11 - still not a bad upgrade for $22!

I'll see what I come up with on fitting the board.

So...going from A1181 2,1 to 5,2 is a pretty involved project and I don't know if I'll be proceeding, which kind of sucks after spending about $30 on parts so far that I can't return.

The board physically rests fine in the chassis but of course small modifications are needed to adjust for the heatsink, that part I have not done yet as I wanted to wait until *after* getting a successful boot and test run while it was partially disassembled.

But, more (4-wall to 3-wall) connector changes than expected make me wonder if it's worth going for. I thought it was just the inverter, which alone requires removing the display and its bezels to swap the cable out. But it also includes the CPU fan and heatsink thermal sensor, which my set didn't include the sensor, so I'd have to order another one. The battery connector on the new board was different (2 pins were absent, not sure if you could just remove them from the existing connector or what)...and both speakers went from 4-wall to 3-wall, as did the Bluetooth cable. Might be more but going off of memory. The idea of having to buy that many more parts to proceed just isn't it for me right now lol.

I have put it back together (albeit non-working and with the 5,2 board inside) and will put it off for now. May just get a white Unibody and max it out to scratch this Intel Mac itch I have right now.

 

[rampancy]

So...going from A1181 2,1 to 5,2 is a pretty involved project and I don't know if I'll be proceeding, which kind of sucks after spending about $30 on parts so far that I can't return.

I'm confused: You have a 5,2 motherboard, so I'm assuming you also got a 5,2 heatsink. The heatsink on the A1181 changed significantly amongst the different revisions. And is the motherboard and heatsink all you got? For some reason I had assumed you were taking the guts out of a 5,2 case and putting them into a 2,1 case.

 

[zackkmac]

I'm confused: You have a 5,2 motherboard, so I'm assuming you also got a 5,2 heatsink. The heatsink on the A1181 changed significantly amongst the different revisions. And is the motherboard and heatsink all you got? For some reason I had assumed you were taking the guts out of a 5,2 case and putting them into a 2,1 case.

Yes, I did purchase the 5,2 heatsink; However, it appears as the seller removed the heatsink thermal sensor, so while my 5,2 fan plugs in fine to the 5,2 board, there's no 5,2 thermal sensor to connect at all. The 2,1 thermal sensor is split into two while this is a single connection. I see now that a lot of other 5,2 heatsinks include this sensor, so it was oversight on my part that this one didn't.

I did purchase only a logic board and heatsink + fan, but then also grabbed that 5,2 inverter as well. But I have only the 2,1 MacBook for the rest.

I'd have to do a bit more digging, but based on what comes up when I search for these A1181 parts, it seems like Late 2007 was the iteration this model refreshed to have the 3-wall connectors. If so, wouldn't the late 2007-early 2008 black MacBooks have this too, allowing for a straight logic board swap as long as I find the right donor?

 

[rampancy]

Yes, I did purchase the 5,2 heatsink; However, it appears as the seller removed the heatsink thermal sensor, so while my 5,2 fan plugs in fine to the 5,2 board, there's no 5,2 thermal sensor to connect at all. The 2,1 thermal sensor is split into two while this is a single connection. I see now that a lot of other 5,2 heatsinks include this sensor, so it was oversight on my part that this one didn't.

I did purchase only a logic board and heatsink + fan, but then also grabbed that 5,2 inverter as well. But I have only the 2,1 MacBook for the rest.

I'd have to do a bit more digging, but based on what comes up when I search for these A1181 parts, it seems like Late 2007 was the iteration this model refreshed to have the 3-wall connectors. If so, wouldn't the late 2007-early 2008 black MacBooks have this too, allowing for a straight logic board swap as long as I find the right donor?

In short, yes.

Apple was inconsistent with its use of 3-wall and 4-wall connectors across all of the revisions of the A1181 line prior to the Santa Rosa/GMA X3100 models (IIRC after these models, Apple used 3-wall connectors), so if you get parts compatible with the GMA X3100-equipped 3,x and 4,x (e.g. the fan, backlight and speaker cables) or if you find a dead 3,x/4,x unit they should in theory be compatible with your 5,2 motherboard. You'd still have to contend with dealing with the differing screw layouts, though.

Putting aside the issues with the differing bottom case screw layout (and the differing interface of the optical drives), it should be a near drop-in replacement.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Got a (maybe silly) question. Is it possible to replace quite low-res (1280x800) display in A1342 macbook to something better? Links are welcome .

 

[B S Magnet]

Got a (maybe silly) question. Is it possible to replace quite low-res (1280x800) display in A1342 macbook to something better? Links are welcome .

To my knowledge, there isn’t, no.

I have a dead A1342 and have had the LCD assembly dismantled since receiving it in a trade (the MB had fallen victim to a milky coffee, according to its prior owner, which I was able to confirm). From examining the LCD itself, you can see this is one of the earlier Apple-LG displays which brought some of the previously separate components, such as the backlighting board, into a more integrated, custom-to-Apple’s-needs, unified setup.

It’s a different creature from earlier LCD-only setups which had a distinct plug for the backlighting (typically, with white and pink ground and leads cables) and a separate, LVDS cable for the data; with the unibody models, all of this was integrated into the LVDS itself.

 

[rampancy]

It’s a different creature from earlier LCD-only setups which had a distinct plug for the backlighting (typically, with white and pink ground and leads cables) and a separate, LVDS cable for the data; with the unibody models, all of this was integrated into the LVDS itself.

...failing that I wouldn't even know what LCD panel you'd use to do the swap. I think that on the pre-Retina 13" MacBook Pros, the resolution was always 1280 x 800.

 

[B S Magnet]

...failing that I wouldn't even know what LCD panel you'd use to do the swap. I think that on the pre-Retina 13" MacBook Pros, the resolution was always 1280 x 800.

All pre-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pros and MacBooks (through 2010), used the same basic 1280x800 resolution and size form factor, but the display internals for the pre-unibody MacBooks (i.e., pre-2009) are more in line with earlier displays (with separate connections to the logic board for LVDS data and for backlight power); all unibody 1280x800 LCDs, aluminium or polycarbonate, use the more integrated design found on all unibody 13-inch MBPs (and on the one aluminium unibody MB) between 2008 and 2012.

To my knowledge, there are no other displays with that display ratio which would work in these 13-inch models (13.3-inch, to be more precise). It’s possible, if there was one, someone like @Amethyst1 might know about it.

 

[eyoungren]

Progress over the last three days…



Looks like I'll be connecting stuff up today. We are heading into the low 90ºs and high 80ºs so soon enough this will actually get back on track to just being 'cleaning up the garage'.

Got more decisions to make but those aren't really Intel Mac related.

 

[B S Magnet]

Progress over the last three days…

View attachment 2088692View attachment 2088689View attachment 2088691View attachment 2088690View attachment 2088693View attachment 2088694

Looks like I'll be connecting stuff up today. We are heading into the low 90ºs and high 80ºs so soon enough this will actually get back on track to just being 'cleaning up the garage'.

Got more decisions to make but those aren't really Intel Mac related.

D… did I see a telephone directory on a shelf?

 

[eyoungren]

D… did I see a telephone directory on a shelf?

Yes, for a company that no longer exists. GTE was swallowed up by Verizon some time in 2000-2001 (or became Verizon, one of the two). Those two books are early 90s I believe.

Phonebooks are a useful pre-internet resource to quickly generate character names when roleplaying.

 

[zackkmac]

In short, yes.

Apple was inconsistent with its use of 3-wall and 4-wall connectors across all of the revisions of the A1181 line prior to the Santa Rosa/GMA X3100 models (IIRC after these models, Apple used 3-wall connectors), so if you get parts compatible with the GMA X3100-equipped 3,x and 4,x (e.g. the fan, backlight and speaker cables) or if you find a dead 3,x/4,x unit they should in theory be compatible with your 5,2 motherboard. You'd still have to contend with dealing with the differing screw layouts, though.

Putting aside the issues with the differing bottom case screw layout (and the differing interface of the optical drives), it should be a near drop-in replacement.

I appreciate your insight with this. I may just keep my eye out for the latest black model I can obtain and eventually just put this 2,1 back to (almost) stock. I just like this particular one because the case is in decent condition compared to others I've seen, but can probably find that again.

 

[B S Magnet]

Yes, for a company that no longer exists. GTE was swallowed up by Verizon some time in 2000-2001 (or became Verizon, one of the two). Those two books are early 90s I believe.

Phonebooks are a useful pre-internet resource to quickly generate character names when roleplaying.

I remember GTE pay phones as the ones which, if you didn’t drop in money, the dialing buttons (always silver rectangles) were unresponsive. As a bored kid, I went up to a lot of pay phones to look for change and to also press a bunch of numbers. Just listening to a pay phone whose dialing buttons worked was enough to stave off the worst of that boredom. GTE pay phones, meanwhile, were useless and annoying.

“Gee!” ”NO. GTE.”

Not a fan of that ad, either.

Me, as a kid: “Oooh, pay phone! Buttons!"

Me, sees:

Me: "AAAAAAAUGH”

 

[eyoungren]

I remember GTE pay phones as the ones which, if you didn’t drop in money, the dialing buttons (always silver rectangles) were unresponsive. As a bored kid, I went up to a lot of pay phones to look for change and to also press a bunch of numbers. Just listening to a pay phone whose dialing buttons worked was enough to stave off the worst of that boredom. GTE pay phones, meanwhile, were useless and annoying.

“Gee!” ”NO. GTE.”

Not a fan of that ad, either.

Me, as a kid: “Oooh, pay phone! Buttons!"

Me, sees:

Me: "AAAAAAAUGH”

Generally I either was at a friend's place or had/obtained change if I needed to use a phone. A vast majority of the time I called home collect (from a payphone) because someone was home.

I grew up rural, no sidewalks, let alone payphones. You had to ride your bike 15-20 minutes into 'downtown' just to get to a phone. You could ride home in that same amount of time.

So, I guess I never knew that about GTE payphones.

 

[rampancy]

Phonebooks are a useful pre-internet resource to quickly generate character names when roleplaying.

When ever I think of generating names for RPGs I think of the timeless MST3K list of names for David Ryder.

I appreciate your insight with this. I may just keep my eye out for the latest black model I can obtain and eventually just put this 2,1 back to (almost) stock. I just like this particular one because the case is in decent condition compared to others I've seen, but can probably find that again.

You can still have a lot of fun with that Mac! Toss in an SSD...then grab an IDE-SATA optical drive bay caddy and put another SSD in it too. And install Linux on it too...

Apart from the trackpad mod you mentioned, one other thing you could try doing is replacing the AirPort card with a Broadcom Crystal HD/BCM70012 card for use with VLC (You'd need the drivers, which are 10.6-only, and an older version of VLC.)

 

[eyoungren]

Ugh, this little bit at a time (20-30 mins) before I'm dripping with sweat is annoying!

Ready to start connecting stuff up, but going to wait until it's a bit cooler (tonight). I've also got an ethernet cable to run as the Powerline module in the garage failed.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

We just had the first push of cooler weather. We dropped to 59F today and a big rain system rolled in, so the desert is nice n wet with lots of very cool air rolling off the mountains. Your set up is looking great - very nice man cave looking space. I especially like the vintage arm chair.

 

[originaldotexe]

everything

i am currently installing games to my modded xbox 360 using windows 7 in parallels (on macpro4,1 with monterey)

 

[zackkmac]

You can still have a lot of fun with that Mac! Toss in an SSD...then grab an IDE-SATA optical drive bay caddy and put another SSD in it too. And install Linux on it too...

Apart from the trackpad mod you mentioned, one other thing you could try doing is replacing the AirPort card with a Broadcom Crystal HD/BCM70012 card for use with VLC (You'd need the drivers, which are 10.6-only, and an older version of VLC.)

Actually it now has other plans - I bought a 2008 model that is in excellent shape cosmetically, but needs HDD/SSD, battery, and a new LCD...all of which I have on the 2007! Just have to swap the inverter cable to 3-wall, which arrived today.

Once this is done I will put all other parts back into the 2007 and see if anyone wants it for cheap, since it'll need need a lot done to get working again.

Also looks like the 802.11ac AirPort card (plus adapter) I dropped into my 5,1 Mac Pro will fit this new MacBook 5,2 board...that would be awesome if it works once I get a newer macOS loaded.

 

[eyoungren]

We just had the first push of cooler weather. We dropped to 59F today and a big rain system rolled in, so the desert is nice n wet with lots of very cool air rolling off the mountains. Your set up is looking great - very nice man cave looking space. I especially like the vintage arm chair.

That is my 'Gamemaster' chair.

Got it, along with a couch and some other furniture in 1994 I believe. My mother knew someone giving the stuff away and claimed it for me. At the time, I was using a storage unit as an RPG setup - back before storage unit managers ran you off.

Other than a chair and a sofa, I still have the rest of the stuff.

Oh, and my wife has been trying to con me out of that chair since I met her (late 1994).

 

[eyoungren]

Ran the cable into the garage, connected to one switch, ran cable to the switch underneath the gold chair.

I have Gigabit Ethernet back…

Early 2009 Mac Mini is back up. It rolled right into its Daily and Weekly backups without a hitch!

ICY Dock is still garbage, going to have to toss the unit (after I pull the drives). I didn't trust it to have anything on it so theres nothing in that RAID that can't be lost.



Always takes a piece of me!



^ Got myself good with the serrated edge of my pocket knife. Had to hose some of the blood off the porch. Not deep enough for medical attention, but a bleeder!

Tomorrow will be the Late 2009 Mac Mini.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

@eyoungren
Your hardware took bloody sacrifice from you . So it MUST work really good .

 

[originaldotexe]

Ran the cable into the garage, connected to one switch, ran cable to the switch underneath the gold chair.

I have Gigabit Ethernet back…

Early 2009 Mac Mini is back up. It rolled right into its Daily and Weekly backups without a hitch!

ICY Dock is still garbage, going to have to toss the unit (after I pull the drives). I didn't trust it to have anything on it so theres nothing in that RAID that can't be lost.

View attachment 2089135View attachment 2089137View attachment 2089138View attachment 2089140

Always takes a piece of me!

View attachment 2089139

^ Got myself good with the serrated edge of my pocket knife. Had to hose some of the blood off the porch. Not deep enough for medical attention, but a bleeder!

Tomorrow will be the Late 2009 Mac Mini.

thats awesome! i want to pick up some kind of mac mini, probably a 2009 one, to hook up to my tv once we move. i have my own streaming server w/ jellyfin that has all my tv, movies, anime, etc and it would be nice to be able to watch on the tv using a mac mini