Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!julie!mcr
From: mcr@julie.UUCP (Michael Richardson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Leaving Computer On
Message-ID: <1068.AA1068@julie>
Date: 22 Apr 89 03:31:10 GMT
References: <39870@vax1.tcd.ie> <7684@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga
Distribution: na
Organization: Sandleman Software Works' Debugging Department, Ottawa, ON
Lines: 42

Russell Wallace writes:
>Hard disks use moving parts constantly so the issue is different here. I turn
>hard disk machines off overnight but leave them on over lunch.
>
>Incidentally could any hardware designers out there give thought to the
>possibility of being able to turn off the hard disk while leaving the computer
>on? It's not just a matter of saving wear on the electronics; suppose you had
>a computing job that would take several days to do (all in memory) and you
>didn't want to leave the hard disk running that long.

  I've always wanted to do such a thing. Hard disks wouldn't be a good
idea though: at least not for a couple of hours. Days and weeks I would
understand.
  But this could be a question for things like printers, 1/4" tape
archives, MODEMs, Bridgeboards, etc.. (And software has to realise that
the subsystem was shut down---so it can sync, reinitialise when
it comes back up, etc..)
  Less stuff on overnight when dcron is running the better---less heat, etc.
If the the memory allocator realises that a whole bank of ram is unused,
turn it off.

  With PCs this type of thing isn't really that important (the electronics
required to do this costs more than replacing the components every
ten years), but when Amigas wind up in space stations, interstar
spaceships.. :-) (Or become portable)

  Most of my complaint is the turbo exhaust fan noise, which I can
do something about (but not until the store's one year Warranty on the
2000 runs out, another month), but I really wish CA would put
one of those two speed fans in...

>"To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem"
>Russell Wallace, Trinity College, Dublin
>rwallace@vax1.tcd.ie

--

  :!mcr!:
  Michael Richardson                     Amiga
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