68kMLA Classic Interface

This is a version of the 68kMLA forums for viewing on your favorite old mac. Visitors on modern platforms may prefer the main site.

Click here to select a new forum.
BLACKBOOK! (GrayBook) W00t!
Posted by: Temetka on 2009-12-02 05:59:29
Looks good.

The only idea I have for your sleep issue is three fold:

1. Run updates. Maybe OS X isn't as happy with the new HW as you think it is.

2. Slap in a temp HD and load a fresh install of OS X to see if it sleeps properly and the light comes on.

3. Try replacing the light / sensor anyway and see what happens.
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-02 06:39:40
Looks good.
The only idea I have for your sleep issue is three fold:

1. Run updates. Maybe OS X isn't as happy with the new HW as you think it is.

2. Slap in a temp HD and load a fresh install of OS X to see if it sleeps properly and the light comes on.

3. Try replacing the light / sensor anyway and see what happens.
1. Done many times, the only thing that comes up is the MacBook EFI update that does not install because of "An unexpected error occurred (0). Your firmware can not be updated"

I believe this is result of my EFI partition being full of MSI Wind Drivers ETC.

2. Will try once I find my Snow Leopard disk.

3. This is the final step and most likely what's gonna fix it.
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-02 16:57:03
GrayBook 1.3:

-Wi-Fi really was not fixed, it worked and then flaked out. A Stripped screw on theG card prevented me from removing it easily, and with anger at the stripped screw I ripped the Standoff holding the screw and the wifi card right out! I then put my N Card and it worked speedy fast and nice reception, I am seeing many WiFi networks I have never seen.

- Added a Gigabyte of RAM putting it at 1.5GB, just a half gig less than my Wind.

- More screws put back in.

Now for the deets on 2.0:

- Tiled Keyboard

- Working Sleep light

- Colored Apple.

- Black bezel.
Posted by: Bunsen on 2009-12-02 19:27:08
Two-tone Macbook is rock }🙂

I'm not a fan of the tiled/checkerboard keyboard look. I reckon a black keyboard on a white upper body would look better - or black alpha keys with all the others being white, or vice versa. But that's just me. Whatever floats your boat.
Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2009-12-02 20:24:53
P.S.S Hey jt could you change the title of this to add a (GrayBook) at the end of BLACKBOOK!? Thanks! 😎
Looks like somebody beat me to the title mod. 😉

BTW, it's p.p.s. for post-post-script, you can add as many "posts" as needed, but you never need to add a second "script" to the "postscripts" to your (script) message/letter.

I like the name "GrayBook" a lot, but it'd be worth considering some play on words regarding the Black/White contrasts, seeing as there's not really any "Gray" involved . . .

. . . unless you've got something evil up your sleeve! }🙂 :rambo: 😉 😱)

Posted by: LCGuy on 2009-12-02 20:55:31
P.S.S Hey jt could you change the title of this to add a (GrayBook) at the end of BLACKBOOK!? Thanks! 😎
Looks like somebody beat me to the title mod. 😉
Yeah, that was me. 😛 I came online last night and I figured it'd be just as well done by me as it would anyone else. 😛

Either way, it looks like a great project...I can imagine you'd be pleased to finally have a working MacBook! 😀

Posted by: Anonymous Freak on 2009-12-02 21:34:57
Two-tone Macbook is rock }🙂
I agree. I think you (Mars, not Bunsen) should keep it two-tone. It shows that it's unique, that work was done on it.

I'm not a fan of the tiled/checkerboard keyboard look. I reckon a black keyboard on a white upper body would look better - or black alpha keys with all the others being white, or vice versa. But that's just me. Whatever floats your boat.
I think those are both great ideas as well. The keyboard should be opposite-color from the surround; possibly with alpha keys and numerics/extras different. (Or maybe just the F-keys.)

If you're going to have it single-tone, I'd say see if you can actually make it gray. (But that's a lot more work, of course.)
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-03 03:26:56
The tiled idea has been losing points in my book. Yesterday I saw one that one row of keys was white and another was black, IT looked like stairs it was so cool.

I do have a bottle neck, on the Black Keyboard, I am missing the F key, so I have to work around that.

Now, It takes some time getting used to this chiclet keyboard :lol:

Posted by: LCGuy on 2009-12-03 04:41:45
If you're used to a desktop keyboard, yeah, it will be hard. One of my main concerns when buying my MacBook was that I was afraid that the keyboard might be a bit, well, crap. However, I actually really quite like it....its probably the first laptop keyboard I've used that I would put on par with the PowerBook 1400's keyboard (which is by far the best keyboard I've ever used on a lappy)
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-03 04:45:46
No, I have been accustommed to the closed spaced keys of my MSI Wind. It's a big jump ( and probably a positive one. ) Today is the first day I take the GrayBook to school to see the reactions of the people who saw it in it's original state. 😀 I can't wait
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-05 08:55:12
The GrayBook is being awesome. Everybody loved it.

Well sleeping takes like 10 seconds to actually sleep any ideas?

Also The sleep light is dead, I have two replace it

and I have two swap the fan, it just makes the most horrible noises, like if it's chopping something. I have two other ones which work better than this one, I guess it got messed up because of the step on. It like clicks at idle, (no it's not the hard drive) and at full speed it sounds like those really old Hard Drives (like the stock ones in the first iMacs)

And I am decided on the Black Bezel and keyboard the keyboard will either be:

Rows: One row black, one white

or

Letters white: All the letter keys will be white while the other keys surrounding will be black.
Posted by: MultiFinder on 2009-12-05 09:27:12
Sleeping takes around 10 seconds? Welcome to the world of Intel Mac laptops. It's called Safe Sleep - it's writing the contents of RAM to the disk in case the battery dies or is removed or the power is otherwise cut while it is asleep. If that should happen, next time you start it up, it'll restore the contents to RAM and be right back where you left it. It's rather annoying and I turned it off on my Air 🙂

Posted by: tmtomh on 2009-12-05 11:34:18
Hey Mars, great job on this - and you really capture the essence of liberation, getting multiple partial or broken machines and making a working one out of them. I love the Black MacBooks (I wish Apple would've made the remaining $999 plastic MacBook black instead of white), and congratulate you on your good work.
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-06 07:22:51
Hey Mars, great job on this - and you really capture the essence of liberation, getting multiple partial or broken machines and making a working one out of them. I love the Black MacBooks (I wish Apple would've made the remaining $999 plastic MacBook black instead of white), and congratulate you on your good work.
Why thanks Comrade! :beige:

So I completed my keyboard now, I did the mod with the letter keys white and everything else black ( I left out the the top function keys, because I broke two keyswitches, and they were so hard to take off and put on, but it looks cool 😀 )
Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2009-12-06 08:03:09
AWESOME! [😉] ]'> Very nicely done, and ditto the comments from our three eyed friend. [😀] ]'>
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-06 08:13:06
AWESOME! [😉] ]'> Very nicely done, and ditto the comments from our three eyed friend. [😀] ]'>
You like it? I have received approval from tinker master supreme :lol: Any suggestions though? Should I make the Space Bar Black?
Posted by: macgeek417 on 2009-12-06 11:24:13
AWESOME! [😉] ]'> Very nicely done, and ditto the comments from our three eyed friend. [😀] ]'>
You like it? I have received approval from tinker master supreme :lol: Any suggestions though? Should I make the Space Bar Black?
Yes. And the arrow keys.
Posted by: Trash80toHP_Mini on 2009-12-06 12:39:08
:lol: YES, I do! [😉] ]'>

AWESOME! [😉] ]'> Very nicely done, and ditto the comments from our three eyed friend. [😀] ]'>
You like it? I have received approval from tinker master supreme :lol: Any suggestions though? Should I make the Space Bar Black?
Yes. And the arrow keys.
Dunno, if it were my hack, it'd skip any modernistic expressionism re: KeyCap coloration and emulate the two-tone keyboards of years gone by. Take a look at the beige/tan and platinum/gray keyboards of yesteryear and duplicate that color division for a "classic" design aesthetic to set off your contemporary 'book's design statement,

Retro Rocks! [😀] ]'>
Posted by: macgeek417 on 2009-12-06 12:48:06
Oh, and you hould make the [] ;' ,./ keys white, spacebay and arrow keys black. That's what I'd do anyways...
Posted by: Mars478 on 2009-12-06 16:17:56
Thanks for the suggestions 😀

I made the :[]',./ keys white and I'll switch some other keys to black tomorrow.

I just got my Nikon D3000 so the GrayBook will get a photoshoot.
< 2 >