Hi all,

How do you deal with a computer that's too quiet and too still?

Computers have gotten progressively quieter over the years. In general, 
I very much like this trend. My current desktop and my recently departed 
netbook are both so quiet that I only hear them when the house is 
silent. In fact, if the usual household noise is going on, I often 
confirm the computer is running by touching some part of the body to 
feel the subtle vibration. this is helpful when the computer is taking 
longer than usual to power up or power down, when the shut-down is 
blocked by an app, or when the screen reader is acting up.

My newest laptop, the HP I bought a week or so ago, is completely silent 
and completely still. there's no soft click on powering up, no barely 
perceptible blowing of the fan, no subtle vibration from whatever moving 
parts may be inside. the only sign of life I have, aside from the screen 
reader, is that the bottom warms up a little after some use. This 
doesn't help me troubleshoot or verify anything because it takes a while 
to warm up and another while to cool down.

What do the rest of you do to check the system is alive when you're not 
sure?

Ciao


    VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
    http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
    Signoff: [log in to unmask]
    Subscribe: [log in to unmask]