Just how bad is cigarette smoke for a computer?
Jeffrey John Letourneau
I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
"near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
Please help with some advice....
Thanks
Joyce L Owen
In article <jletourn-270...@f182-211.net.wisc.edu>,
jlet...@students.wisc.edu (Jeffrey John Letourneau) wrote:
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400).
Yes it is a stupid question. Even if you gum up your computer, it's
replaceable. Try to imagine what you are doing to your own body (and if
you live with anyone, to their bodies).
--
Joyce L. Owen
jo...@oregon.uoregon.edu
Please remove NOSPAM from header before replying.
Krishna M. Sadasivam
Jeffrey John Letourneau wrote:
>
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
> especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
> dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
> and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
> hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
> a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
> Please help with some advice....
>
> Thanks
Hi Jeffrey!
I know two smokers...one Well, I have known two people that smoke in
front of their computers. One used an Apple IIGS, the other (my Dynamics
prof ) a Mac II. The platinum colors on both machines turned a horrid
chalk black over
a period of less than 6 months. (Whether this comes off or not, I don't
know)
So forget trying to get good $$$ when reselling your machine.
And don't use your computer for an ashtray. Another friend (who won't be
mentioned since this person reads this list...and YOU know who YOU
are...) left his ....(get this)...lit cigarette ontop of his monitor
while taking a potty break!!!
Came back and the ciggie had burned a nice brown stain ontop of his
monitor. <BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!>
Needless to say, I laughed like crazy and gave the person hell over it.
So my advice, since you asked is:
<preach mode ON>
Quit smoking, it's bad for your computer, and more importantly bad for
your health.
<preach mode OFF>
This message is brought to you by the letter 'J'
Jeffrey John Letourneau
> Yes it is a stupid question. Even if you gum up your computer, it's
> replaceable. Try to imagine what you are doing to your own body (and if
> you live with anyone, to their bodies).
>
> --
> Joyce L. Owen
> jo...@oregon.uoregon.edu
> Please remove NOSPAM from header before replying.
Get off your high horse JOyce, I know it's bad for my body but for now I'm
hopelessly addicted (YES they ARE ADDICTIVE). I was just wondering if
there were any precautions I could take (i.e. like buying an air
purifier/filter) to extend the life of my computer.... As for my own life,
smoking is a crapshoot (as are many things) sometimes it gets you
sometimes it doesn't
Jeff
Cam Giesbrecht
In article <jletourn-270...@f182-211.net.wisc.edu>,
jlet...@students.wisc.edu (Jeffrey John Letourneau) wrote:
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
> smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
> especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
> dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
> and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
> hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
> a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
> Please help with some advice....
I worked for an big electronics superstore here in Winnipeg (won't mention the
name). We had a customer come in who wanted a RAM upgrade. This person
smoked at his computer all the time.
You could smell the cigarette (smell) in the computer from over 50 feet away
(I'm not kidding you). When I opened it up, it was COMPLETELY FULL of some
sort of yellow gunk (I mean packed full). I was surprised it hadn't shorted
something out.
Smoke will definately wreck your floppy and CD-ROM drives. It can really
foul up the RAM if it gets into the connectors.
It also turns the case and anything nearby yellow. As I said above, it also
makes it stink from quite a distance. If you ever want to sell it, I would say
it would make a very hard sale.
--
Cam Giesbrecht
- HyperCard Programmer
- MacOS(TM) System Specialist
- Windows 95 Networking Specialist
Consultations and Software Solutions
Apple Orchard Software Remove text in ALL CAPS to reply.
Winnipeg, Mb Canada
(Not affiliated with "Orchard Software" of Cambridge MA)
Stan Horwitz
Jeffrey John Letourneau (jlet...@students.wisc.edu) wrote:
: I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
: "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
: smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
: especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
: dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
: and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
: hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
: a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
If you must pollute your lungs, clothing, and your work environment, at least
get a fan to blow the smoke away from your computer. The smoke is as bad
for the computer as it is for everyone and everything else.
--
This message was written by Stan Horwitz.
My views are my own and not necessarily those of my employer.
Check out my home page! The URL is http://thunder.temple.edu/~stan
Note that my Web page requires Netscape or some other viewer that
recognizes frames and tables.
*** Please DO NOT include my name or E-mail address in any mailing lists
unless I explicitly make the request. In addition, please do not send
me ANY unsolicited advertisements via E-mail.
Mark Eaton
In article <jletourn-270...@f182-211.net.wisc.edu>,
jlet...@students.wisc.edu (Jeffrey John Letourneau) wrote:
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
> smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
> especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
> dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
> and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
> hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
> a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
> Please help with some advice....
Since the other respondants in this thread chose not to answer your question:
the hard drive is sealed. If the seal cracks, yeah that would be bad - for
anyone. Yeah, residue might collect on the fan filter, but dust collects
there anyways... One thing I've observed of computer users who smoke while
using their machine is that ash collects on the mouse and keyboard. This
may cause the mouse button or the key contacts to fail. This could be
probably avoided by not smoking while using your computer.
The other main problem is one of cosmetics, as the others pointed out.
--
Mark Eaton
Apple Computer
my opinions only, not Apple's
Dwight Stewart
> jlet...@students.wisc.edu (Jeffrey John Letourneau) wrote...
>
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
> smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
> especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
> dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
> and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
> hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
> a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
> Please help with some advice....
REPLY...
Since everyone else has decided it was better to preach than answer
you question, I figured I would try to give you a more responsive reply.
Contrary to what others in this thread have said, cigarette smoke is
not going to do your computer any harm. The environmental pollutants
(inks, solvents, copier toner, dust, etc.) in a typical office far
exceeds anything that is produced by cigarette smoke.
Have you looked at the dust that has collected on your fan? If all
that is not going to jam up the fan, what effect is a little smoke going
to have?
The hard drive is sealed. Nothing can get in to cause it problems.
Even if it was not sealed, dust would screw it up long before smoke had
an effect. The same with floppies (which is why they have a lid).
As for the claims about cosmetic damage, a simple wipe with a damp
cloth every few days will remove any residue (from smoke, dust, or
whatever) that might accumulate. Wipe it once a week with Fantastic
(tm) and it will be as good as new.
I'm a smoker and I have been using computers for twenty years. I have
never seen a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke (and I
challenge Joyce, Krishna, Cam, or Stan, to provide one verifiable name
of a person with a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke).
This myth has been spread around by anti-smoking fanatics as an excuse
to prevent people from smoking in the office around them.
These fanaatics latched onto a couple of studies that were done in the
early eighties (probably also by anti-smokers), which claimed that
cigarette smoke could theoretically harm computers. However, real-world
studies later proved that this threat was greatly overstated.
Dwight Stewart
Dwight Stewart
> "Krishna M. Sadasivam" <k...@microsys6.engr.utk.edu> wrote...
>
> The platinum colors on both machines turned a horrid chalk black
> over a period of less than 6 months.
Oh, come on Krishna? That is a load of crap and you know it. I have
never seen anybody's computer turn black from cigarette smoke.
> Quit smoking, it's bad for your computer...
This is a load of crap also. Give me one verifiable name of a person
with a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
Smoking cannot cause any harm to a computer.
Dwight Stewart
Dwight Stewart
> Yes it is a stupid question. Even if you gum up your computer, it's
> replaceable. Try to imagine what you are doing to your own body (and if
> you live with anyone, to their bodies).
Yes, it is terrible Joyce. How can anybody do that to somebody else?
It is so nice to see someone that is so concerned about other people.
However, why are you driving your car and poisoning other people?
Lets not be a hypocrite here. If you are so concerned about pollution,
why are you adding to the polution? If you are so concerned about his
lungs, why are you throwing so much polution into the air to harm his
lungs?
Why are you so concerned about his polution, and care so little about
your own pollution? Talk about self-centered!
Dwight Stewart
Dwight Stewart
> c...@escape.ca (Cam Giesbrecht) wrote....
>
> Smoke will definately wreck your floppy and CD-ROM drives. It can really
> foul up the RAM if it gets into the connectors.
Good grief, it seems this whole message thread is fill with
anti-smoking fanatics.
This is nonsense Cam. Cigarette smoke is not going to do any harm to
his computer. Give me one verifiable name of a person with a computer
that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
Send me one floppy that has been wrecked by cigarette smoke. Show me
one CD-ROM drive that has been wrecked by cigarette smoke. Name one
person that has had their RAM fouled up by cigarette smoke.
Stop spreading around fanatical anti-smoking crap. It is a lie (and
what does that make you?).
> It also turns the case and anything nearby yellow. As I said above, it also
> makes it stink from quite a distance. If you ever want to sell it, I would
> say it would make a very hard sale.
Again, more silly statements. I suppose your computer looks perfect.
Nothing ever settles on a non-smoker's computer. Non-smokers are
clean. Non-smokers are perfect. Get off it.
A simple wipe with a damp cloth every few days will remove any residue
(from smoke, dust, or whatever) that might accumulate on the computer.
Using Fantastic (tm) once a week will make the computer look as good as
new (even if it belongs to a non-smoker).
Now, if they would develop something to get rid of the non-smoker's
holier - than - thou attitudes.
Dwight Stewart
Dwight Stewart
> st...@thunder.temple.edu (Stan Horwitz) wrote...
>
> The smoke is as bad for the computer as it is for everyone and
> everything else.
Stan, I'll make the same challenge to you that I have made everyone
else. Give me one verifiable name of a person with a computer that has
been damaged by cigarette smoke.
You cannot give me a name because it is a simple fact that cigarette
smoke cannot cause harm to a computer.
I knew that anti-smoker's think that cigarette smoke is bad for
everyone, but now it has reached the point that it is bad for
"everything." Where does all this anti-smoking silliness end?
Dwight Stewart
Chunky
You would have to be a 1-2 pack a day smoker, always on the computer when
smoking, in an unventilated, tiny room for smoke to have any effect, even
cosmetically. The dust collected by the fan sucking in air throughout the
computer's insides is a much greater contributor to the particulates
collected within the case than cigarette smoke. Most people, even heavy
smokers, do not spend that much time smoking in front of their computers.
My home Macs (I use PCs or Pieces of Crap at work), an SE/30 and a 7500,
have never had any problems due to environmental pollutants, even though I
smoke in front of the computer (just a few a day) since I am a relatively
light smoker (<1/2 pack/day).
Anyway, some of the people on this thread should not preach to someone who
asked a simple question. This group is not the appropriate forum.
BTW, how is telling a smoker that "smoking is bad for you" constructive?
Would this be news to ANYONE? The net effect is that the preacher becomes a
"nagging mom" and the smoker feels alienated and would prefer to piss of
the preacher rather than share the same philosophy. Most of us smokers plan
to quit when we are ready (phsychologically ready to make the committment)
and we are well aware of the risks involved with smoking (many of my
friends who are MD's and Med students are smokers, like many in the medical
community). The last thing we need are nagging, self-righteous, preachers.
I'm sure non-smokers are also guilty of taking needless risks in their
lives. Don't be so quick to judge others before looking in the mirror.
-Chunky
In article <3390F6...@sccoast.net>, Dwight Stewart
<ste...@sccoast.net> wrote:
> > "Krishna M. Sadasivam" <k...@microsys6.engr.utk.edu> wrote...
> >
> > The platinum colors on both machines turned a horrid chalk black
> > over a period of less than 6 months.
>
> Oh, come on Krishna? That is a load of crap and you know it. I have
> never seen anybody's computer turn black from cigarette smoke.
>
> > Quit smoking, it's bad for your computer...
>
> This is a load of crap also. Give me one verifiable name of a person
> with a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
>
James Meade
>> "Krishna M. Sadasivam" <k...@microsys6.engr.utk.edu> wrote...
>>
>> The platinum colors on both machines turned a horrid chalk black
>> over a period of less than 6 months.
>
> Oh, come on Krishna? That is a load of crap and you know it. I have
>never seen anybody's computer turn black from cigarette smoke.
Actually this does happen. Although it's not totally black, it is a
dark, scummy film. My father is a rather heavy smoker, so I've had my
chance to see this first hand.
>> Quit smoking, it's bad for your computer...
>
> This is a load of crap also. Give me one verifiable name of a person
>with a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
>
> Smoking cannot cause any harm to a computer.
On the contrary, except the type of harm it causes isn't a corrosive
one. Cigarette smoke leaves a scummy, sticky film over a period of time.
(If you smoke in your car, take a bottle of glass clean and a paper towel
and try cleaning the windshield inside. Trust me, it *DOES* exist.)
This film can get into open card slots inside your computer, which can
ultimately render these slots unusable.
If cigarette smoke gets into your systems power supply, it could cut
off the ventilation, causing the power supply to over heat.
Even a tiny particle from free flowing cigarette smoke can cause your
computer's hard drive to crash. Having a head in your hard disk striking a
particle of dust on one of your drive's disk platters is about as
catastrophic as driving a card right into a tree at highway speeds.
On ocassion, the film from cigarette smoke can even cause your computer
to fail. The impurities from the film cigarette smoke leaves behind could
be a conductor of electricity. If enough of this film was on your
computer's motherboard or one of the cards inside, it could cause a short
circuit.
I hope this has been educational.
8==8 Bones3D 8==8
Krishna M. Sadasivam
> > The platinum colors on both machines turned a horrid chalk black
> > over a period of less than 6 months.
> Oh, come on Krishna? That is a load of crap and you know it. I have
> never seen anybody's computer turn black from cigarette smoke.
I'm only saying what I've actually seen. I'm not making this up. Why
would I?
> This is a load of crap also. Give me one verifiable name of a person
> with a computer that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
Leonard Chadwell. I'l leave it to you to track him down.
> Smoking cannot cause any harm to a computer.
Smoke 4 packs a day. It's good for you.
Tim Wright
In article <bones3d-0106...@news.winternet.com>,
bon...@winternet.com (James Meade) wrote:
> Even a tiny particle from free flowing cigarette smoke can cause your
> computer's hard drive to crash. Having a head in your hard disk striking a
> particle of dust on one of your drive's disk platters is about as
> catastrophic as driving a card right into a tree at highway speeds.
Sorry, but I really had to reply to this one. Whilst a particle of smoke
might well be under the ride height for a hard drive head, you're
neglecting a rather well known point...
Hard drives are vacuum sealed. Impurities, be they dust, cigarette smoke,
or volcanic ash are pretty much irrelevant. If the casing goes (which can
happen, if, say, you drop the drive) you'll hear a loud, painful whistling
sound and your drive is very probably toast, unless you happen to live in a
clean room. :)
Now, smoking may or may not be bad for your computer in a wide range of
technical and cosmetic fashions, but this thread is rapidly assuming an
almost religious air.
Is there a tobacco advocacy group we can take it to? ;)
> I hope this has been educational.
Ditto.
> 8==8 Bones3D 8==8
Tim.
--
ObDisclaimer: This is all my own work. LLP Limited would almost certainly
protest complete ignorance, if they knew about it, which they don't. Okay?
:)
C R Wright
In article <twright-ya0240800...@194.194.6.70>,
twr...@llplimited.com.spamkiller-remove-me (Tim Wright) wrote:
> Hard drives are vacuum sealed. Impurities, be they dust, cigarette smoke,
> or volcanic ash are pretty much irrelevant. If the casing goes (which can
> happen, if, say, you drop the drive) you'll hear a loud, painful whistling
> sound and your drive is very probably toast, unless you happen to live in a
> clean room. :)
Thank you, Tim.
> Now, smoking may or may not be bad for your computer in a wide range of
> technical and cosmetic fashions, but this thread is rapidly assuming an
> almost religious air.
Hear hear!
I will say (on a factual and non-religious basis) that we ran a number
(2-3) of Macs and one Sun Sparc10 in a very smoky office for several years.
They were all haze-brown by the time I left, and the keyboards did get
unpleasant to touch (but the ash did not seem to inhibit their function -
just got "nicotine stains on my fingers"...) The biggest hassle was the
frequency that we had to clean the screens and the keys with windex or
alcohol.
I worried most about the un-sealed floppy drives... and in order to mirror
my concerns, the Macs obliged by killing two HD floppy drives in two years.
They were, however an aging Mac IIcx and Mac IIci - so it's hard to blame
the smoke per se. The Sun never had any problems at all (but the floppy
drive was rarely used on that machine).
Cheers,
charlie
My apologies for the invalid return address, I was losing the war against
the auto-mailers and SPAM junkies. Mail should be addressed to user:
cw028212 "at" bcm.tmc.edu
Steve Ebener
Jeffrey John Letourneau <jlet...@students.wisc.edu> wrote:
> I hope this isn't a stupid question, but just how bad is it to smoke
> "near" a computer (I have a Performa 6400). The reason I ask is that I
> smoke, and I've heard conflicting reports from different people. I would
> especially be glad to hear from smokers or ex-smokers about how they've
> dealt with any problems. One friend of mine said smoke is bad for the fan
> and it can get "gunked" up and jam...he also said it can be bad for the
> hard drive. Another friend of mine said he smokes near his computer (also
> a Mac) all the time and hasn't ever had a problem. Who do I believe?
> Please help with some advice....
I've found through personal experience that smoking cigarettes in
front of the computer is worst for the floppy drive. Why the floppy
drive? Its the largest air in-take vent in the machine. For older
machines with auto-inject drives, this is a real problem. For newer
manual-inject drives, which have the plastic flap at the front of the
drive, it isn't nearly as bad.
I used to refurbish my own drive once every nine months when I smoked
cigarettes in front of the machine. Now that I smoke a pipe instead, the
drives last about a year and a half.
NOTE: When the machine was new, it took two and a half years before I
had to first refurbish the drive... This was with a SE/30 and a Centris
650, both of which have the floppy drives near the desk level.
For a 6400 with the floppy drive situated higher off the desk, you'll
have less to worry about. However, I recommend that if you must smoke
while sitting at the computer, place the computer so that it is not
directly in contact with the flow of smoke from the cigarette while it
is sitting in the ash tray.
Smoke will also discolor the case, keyboard, and monitor. :(
--
Steve Ebener
Greyland - grey...@continet.com
541/744-0568 - Fax: 541/744-0250
Macintosh Consulting & Troubleshooting
Paul Nash
In article ya02408000R02...@194.194.6.70, twr...@llplimited.com.spamkiller-remove-me (Tim Wright) writes:
> Sorry, but I really had to reply to this one. Whilst a particle of smoke
> might well be under the ride height for a hard drive head, you're
> neglecting a rather well known point...
>
> Hard drives are vacuum sealed. Impurities, be they dust, cigarette smoke,
> or volcanic ash are pretty much irrelevant. If the casing goes (which can
> happen, if, say, you drop the drive) you'll hear a loud, painful whistling
> sound and your drive is very probably toast, unless you happen to live in a
> clean room. :)
I found a nice reference on hard drives at the Quantum web site. Although their
links are a little screwed up, try
http://www.quantum.com/products/manuals/gp-scsi-manual/chap5/chap5.1.4-9.html
In particular, in the second paragraph note that the HDA is at atmospheric and
breathes as atmospheric pressure changes daily. So, while the HDA is clean,
it is not hermetically sealed...
************************* From "chap5.1.4-9.html" *************************
5.1.7 Air Filtration
Grand Prix hard disk drives are Winchester-type drives. The heads fly very
close to the media surface, at a nominal flying height of 3.0 microinches.
Therefore, it is essential that the air circulating within the drive be kept
free of particles. Quantum assembles the drive in a Class-100, purified-air
environment, sealing the drive mechanism under a metal cover. When the
drive is in use, the rotation of the disks forces the air inside the drive
through an internal filter. Figure 5-2 shows the airflow in a typical Quantum
HDA.
When the disks rotate, the lowest air pressure inside the HDA is above the
center of the spindle. A 0.3-micron breather filter bonded to the cover near
the spindle allows outside air to flow into the sealed HDA, equalizing internal
and external pressures.
The highest air pressure in the HDA is at the outer perimeter of the disks. A
constant stream of air flows through a 0.3-micron circulation filter bonded
to the base casting. Because the air pressure at the side of the filter away
from the perimeter of the disks is lower than that near the perimeter of the
disks, air flows through the circulation filter in the direction of the disk
rotation, providing a continuous flow of filtered air when the disks rotate.
schu...@ctaz.com
I have smoked around all of my computers for the past fifteen years or
so. I consider myself to be a heavy smoker at about 1 1/2 packs a day.
This "film" as it has been referred to in previous posts is true. It is
an accumulation of tar,nicotine, and the rest of the particles found in
smoke. While I have yet to experience any kind of hardware problems
attributed directly to my smoking around my computer, the film has
caused cosmetic problems. I am on my computer typically 6-8 hours a day,
7 days a week. I notice that everything that has that Mac platinum
colored plastic turns a yellowish brown. It removes easily enough with
Windex or the like. Perhaps I am the exception, rather than the rule,
but I have not had any computer problems that I can link to my smoking
habit.
Mike
Jeff B.
Just how bad is cigarette smoke for a computer?
Depends on how much the computer smokes. 2 packs a day of Camel
unfiltereds will definitely do it in. As always the sooner you can get
your computer to stop smoking, the less risk of cancer, emphysema, etc.
--
*Remove "SpamNot" from email address if you wish to reply to me via email.
Garner Miller
In article <33924C...@microsys6.engr.utk.edu>,
k...@microsys6.engr.utk.edu wrote:
> > Smoking cannot cause any harm to a computer.
> Smoke 4 packs a day. It's good for you.
I repaired computers for a living and can verify that computers CAN be
damaged by cigarette smoke. I've gotten machines with components that
were damaged by overheating -- the soot inside was SO thick that it coated
the individual chips, AND jammed the fan enough to stop it. The processor
had been destroyed.
If you smoke around 'em, folks, PLEASE make sure to have the insides
cleaned regularly. Much as I hated opening up a smelly "NicMac," it was a
lot easier than replacing the logic boards.
--
Garner R. Miller, Flight Instructor
FAA Aviation Safety Counselor
Hawthorne Aviation - Ocala, Florida
http://www.netstreet.net/hawthorne/
ACTUAL E-MAIL: gar...@netstreet.SPAM.net, but without the SPAM.
Support the Anti-Spam Amendment - Join us at http://www.cauce.org/
Matthew Senecal
Dwight Stewart wrote:
>
> > st...@thunder.temple.edu (Stan Horwitz) wrote...
> >
> > The smoke is as bad for the computer as it is for everyone and
> > everything else.
>
> Stan, I'll make the same challenge to you that I have made everyone
> been damaged by cigarette smoke.
>
> smoke cannot cause harm to a computer.
>
> I knew that anti-smoker's think that cigarette smoke is bad for
> everyone, but now it has reached the point that it is bad for
> "everything." Where does all this anti-smoking silliness end?
>
> Dwight Stewart
Cigarette smoke IS damaging to computer equipment. Sensitive components
like a drive read/write head can be seriously damaged by the impuruties
in smoke, and most parts inside the computer will need to be cleaned
regularly is a user smokes. The buildup on the system board and other
components isn't good for the machine at all.
---Matthew Senecal
Systems & Network Administrator
Dpeartment of Surgery
UCSD
Dan Scott
In article <3390FB...@sccoast.net>, Dwight Stewart
<ste...@sccoast.net> wrote:
> Good grief, it seems this whole message thread is fill with
> anti-smoking fanatics.
>
> This is nonsense Cam. Cigarette smoke is not going to do any harm to
> that has been damaged by cigarette smoke.
Actually, it can harm a computer. A friend's LC 575 (w/PPC upgrade, if
that matters) had all kinds of crashes and weird freezes that he, after
much hair-pulling and frustration, eventually determined were caused by
his cigarettes. The smoke was leaving a tacky, yellow film on every
surface inside the computer, the other airborne pollutants in his house
were constantly being drawn in by the cooling fan and sticking. As this
dreck was being accumulated it created more surface area which was also
being coated with more "glue" to which even more airborne dreck stuck.
Once he figured out the problem and cleaned the baked-on wads of yellow
cotton candy off the board and other current bearing surfaces inside the
computer the weirdness stopped. I think it took 2-3 years to start causing
the problem so, depending on how often you upgrade and how clean the rest
of your environment is, you may or may not have problems with your
hardware.
FWIW, we popped the cases on my smoke-free Classic and PPC 7200/90逆he
Classic had 5 years of 7 days a week 8-14 hrs a day use and had no grunge
accumulation even remotely resembling his, the 7200/90 (only a year-old
but running the same hours) looks very, very clean inside (but, oddly,
there is quite a bit of dust accumulating under it). Anyway, he smokes
(still does) and attributes his former hardware problems to the smoke, I
find it hard not to agree with him.
Dan Scott
dsc...@texas.net
Dwight Stewart
> Actually, it can harm a computer. A friend's LC 575 (w/PPC upgrade, if
> that matters) had all kinds of crashes and weird freezes that he, after
> much hair-pulling and frustration, eventually determined were caused by
> his cigarettes. The smoke was leaving a tacky, yellow film on every
> surface inside the computer, the other airborne pollutants in his house
> were constantly being drawn in by the cooling fan and sticking.
REPLY...
That "tacky, yellow film" could just have easily come from airborne
kitchen grease, or some other source. I don't get this constant
reference to residue build-up on the motherboard.
I just opened my computer tonight and saw no such residue on the board
(it did have a light coat of fine dust that easily wiped off with a
finger). And I have been smoking around this computer for months.
But, even if cigarette smoke was the source of this "tacky, yellow
film" you describe, I still doubt it would cause any problems (the same
with kitchen grease).
This notion that smoke (grease or whatever) residue can build up and
cause components to overheat is just plain silly. When you consider
that the electronics in these components are encased in thick plastic, I
hardly think a thin coating of anything (dust, dirt, grease, etc.) would
cause them to overheat.
As for the "current bearing surfaces" (which I assume refers to the
circuit traces) shorting by the "tacky, yellow film," I find this very
highly unlikely. Heck, I have hard enough time getting solder to make a
reliable bridge between traces when I am working on circuit boards.
Dwight Stewart
Dwight Stewart
> Cigarette smoke IS damaging to computer equipment. Sensitive components
> like a drive read/write head can be seriously damaged by the impuruties
> in smoke, and most parts inside the computer will need to be cleaned
> regularly is a user smokes. The buildup on the system board and other
> components isn't good for the machine at all.
REPLY...
Hard drives are sealed. Floppy disks have lids. Floppy drives get
all types of dirt/dust sucked into them and stay working.
I smoke and have had eight microcomputers over the last fifteen
years. None of them were ever "cleaned" on the inside and none have
suffered any problems relating to cigarette smoke (the Mac Plus did have
the motherboard fried twice by lightning - and it certainly smoked when
that happened).
I'm not saying that it is impossible for a computer to be damaged by
cigarette smoke (nothing is impossible), but I am saying that it is so
rare that it is simply not something to worry about (no matter how much
a person smokes).
Dwight Stewart
G. Herrmannsfeldt
Yes, I believe that the floppy drive would have the most problems.
Well, probably worst for the new drives like zip/jaz/EZ/etc, but they
aren't so common, yet.
IF you regularly clean the floppy drive heads, you might last somewhat
longer, but I don't know how soluble the stuff is.
CDrom are better sealed, but probably get a little on the lens after
a while. Personal experience is that CDROM drives fail anyway, and you
won't know why.
Hard drives are not completely sealed, as they need to equalize pressure,
but probably well enough.
Replace the floppy drive every year, make extra backups, store floppies
in another room when you are not using them, and you are probably fine.
-- glen
Rebecca and Rowland
Dwight Stewart <ste...@sccoast.net> wrote:
> > Actually, it can harm a computer. A friend's LC 575 (w/PPC upgrade, if
> > that matters) had all kinds of crashes and weird freezes that he, after
> > much hair-pulling and frustration, eventually determined were caused by
> > his cigarettes. The smoke was leaving a tacky, yellow film on every
> > surface inside the computer, the other airborne pollutants in his house
> > were constantly being drawn in by the cooling fan and sticking.
>
> REPLY...
>
> That "tacky, yellow film" could just have easily come from airborne
> kitchen grease, or some other source. I don't get this constant
> reference to residue build-up on the motherboard.
>
*Very* unlikely unless the Mac is used right next to the cooker.
> I just opened my computer tonight and saw no such residue on the board
> (it did have a light coat of fine dust that easily wiped off with a
> finger). And I have been smoking around this computer for months.
>
High or low tar? And what's the ventilation like? If you've got
air-conditioning, or work with the door and/or window open, you can
expect things to be different.
> But, even if cigarette smoke was the source of this "tacky, yellow
> film" you describe, I still doubt it would cause any problems (the same
> with kitchen grease).
>
> This notion that smoke (grease or whatever) residue can build up and
> cause components to overheat is just plain silly. When you consider
> that the electronics in these components are encased in thick plastic, I
> hardly think a thin coating of anything (dust, dirt, grease, etc.) would
> cause them to overheat.
The plastic is chosen to have good thermal conductivity. A layer of
dust has *extremely* poor thermal conductivity, and also blocks airflow,
further reducing the heat transfer from the circuitry inside the
package. In any event, you get a thick film of dust (I get thick
accumulations of dust inside my Performa 475, and there's no cigarette
residue to make it stick).
>
> As for the "current bearing surfaces" (which I assume refers to the
> circuit traces) shorting by the "tacky, yellow film," I find this very
> highly unlikely. Heck, I have hard enough time getting solder to make a
> reliable bridge between traces when I am working on circuit boards.
>
You won't get a *reliable* connection, but you can get funny things
happening - people who work with radios and televisions know about the
bizarre behaviour a bit of dirt can cause.
Rowland.
--
Take the animal out of the line below to construct my email address:
reb...@astrid.dog.u-net.com
Sorry - the spam got to me.
The last junk emailler to bother me was Tel...@cobunet.com
Rebecca and Rowland
G. Herrmannsfeldt <g...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
> Yes, I believe that the floppy drive would have the most problems.
>
> Well, probably worst for the new drives like zip/jaz/EZ/etc, but they
> aren't so common, yet.
>
> IF you regularly clean the floppy drive heads, you might last somewhat
> longer, but I don't know how soluble the stuff is.
>
It'll come off with alcohol - try cleaning a tar-stained computer case.
> CDrom are better sealed, but probably get a little on the lens after
> a while. Personal experience is that CDROM drives fail anyway, and you
> won't know why.
>
> Hard drives are not completely sealed, as they need to equalize pressure,
> but probably well enough.
>
The 0.3 micron breather referred to elsewhere should trap most particles
- if it's a long, wiggly thing as used in IC masks, it'll trap particles
much smaller than 0.3 microns.
> Replace the floppy drive every year, make extra backups, store floppies
> in another room when you are not using them, and you are probably fine.
>
Or keep your floppy discs in a box - I work in a very dusty house, and
I've never had any trouble with my 400-odd floppy discs.