Alert! This web page has lost contact with the server, thus the values on this page are no longer live.
Please note, you do not need to reload the page. Just sit tight and this page will automatically reconnect to the server once it's back up.
Offline for: 0s
Don't reload this page! All content on this page updates dynamically & automatically.
ColdMac is an old Apple computer that lives in my shed and tracks its own internal and external temperatures, and also hosts this webpage displaying that data.
The shed this Mac lives in is very cold. It is located just outside Boston, MA. It is not insulated, the door has no seal, and there are two vents in the walls. So while there is a very limited amount of thermal protection, it's generally within 5 degrees or less of the actual outside temperature at night. During a sunny day, the shed can warm up much warmer than the outside temp.
This Mac is a 2009 iMac. It is loaded with internal thermal sensors. In addition to that, I use a THUM USB thermometer to get ambient readings inside the shed. In total there are 7 values I picked as the most interesting. They get logged, displayed and graphed.
The design of the system can be broken down into two halves. A simple script runs every 10 seconds that gets readings from all of the thermal sensors, and loads them into a database. On the other side, this web page pulls that data out of the database and displays it accordingly, showing the current readings, a graph of the last 24 hours, and a graph of the daily high and low for the whole season. There is a lot of javascript that makes the dynamic content happen. But in the end, the database is what makes this possible.
In addition to running all web server related software, this machine plays music on loop 24 hours a day, and runs BOINC science projects at ~30% CPU load.
For questions, comments, suggestions, and general feedback, you can contact us via:
Facebook or Email