All,
I believe the production version of BIOS for S10 will be available on the web by early next week. I shared the most recent beta so that we could get some additional feedback, and as I thought it would provide an immediate benefit for most, and since we had missed the 17th and 24th, and I wanted to share some progress rather than just another date.
As such, I will fulfill the requests received to this point, and will then defer to the pending production version. Please hold further requests for the beta version at this time.
I agree the responses in the thread so far have been mixed - I think some members recognize the progress that has been made in listening to the concerns about the cycling fan. We also have some outspoken critics here.
Some observations...
In trying to respond to forum conversations, it takes some time to define the true nature of the issue because various people see it differently. While I agree this has taken some time, I'm not sure it's fair to start the clock by the first post. I think it took some weeks to define the consensus concern as frequently cycling and too soon start of the fan.
There is focus on the loudness of the fan, but having measured several machines with a DB meter, I find that to be subjective and heavily influenced by ambient noise and the operation of the fan - how quickly it ramps from off to maximum speed. Radical changes in speed contribute heavily to the perception, so I think the focus on expanding the range and reducing the cycling has been the proper focus from engineering.
There may be individual fans which are out of spec and inherently loud due to a mechanical issue - a bad bearing, or interference with the fan housing. These are best handled through service - a BIOS update may not resolve those individuals while it does resolve for others.
Temperature thresholds - many have noted and quoted the atom data sheet, but I think we need to consider the overall temperature and effects on other components in the system, and the long term affect on reliability. It's an easy point to argue individually that temp could be raised 10 degrees, but at want cost to long term reliability? Would those making this arguement accept the consequences of sooner failures outside of warranty?
Individuals have the freedom to make their own decisions based on how much risk they want to assume - soldering in diodes to decrease fan RPM, or eliminating the fan altogether. As such, individual opinions may vary a bit in where they would establish operational boudaries. I have to trust that our engineers are making decisions with the longevity of the system in mind.
Best regards,
Mark
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Regards/Cordialement/Cordiali saluti/Mit freundlichen Grüßen/Saludos/
Mark Hopkins
Project Manager, Social Media
