Preventing Sleep /w Clamshell closed.

Question

I close the laptop and the computer sleeps. Any suggestions / scripts / programs in preventing this?
I've used a program called insomnia a while back, and it worked. But the makers removed it from their website (probably for a reason). And I'm missing it. Badly.
I need this because I have my laptop on while I sleep donating processing power to researchers who need any little help they can get.
But waiting like an 10 minutes before the computer would let me undim in the morning is rediculous when your a student that needs that extra bit of sleep.
Plus a 1" server is kickass.
Alwell, anything is appreciated.
Thanks,
Demetrius.
PowerBook6,4   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   It's missing the F12 key.

Answer 1

I recently found a way to do this using "hardware". The way that sleep is triggered from closing the lid is by a magnetic switch. On my 15" Aluminum PowerBook, the switch is located under the trackpad, centered left to right but towards the back of the trackpad. It is easy to locate the "G-spot" on the PowerBook by using a magnet, like a fridge magnet, and passing it over the vicintiy of the palm rest and (most likely) trackpad and you will at some point trip the sleep sensor. Anyway, once you locate it, here is how you defeat it...
There is a magnet located opposite to the sensor behind the notebook's screen. If you place a small piece of flat steel sheet over the magnetic switch, which in my case means over the rear of the trackpad, when you close the lid the mag switch will be shielded from the magnet by the steel and the PB will stay awake.
Be sure and cover the steel sheet with a cloth, or use tape or something, to prevent it from abrading against the screen. I certainly wouldn't endorse transporting the PB with the steel plate sandwitched in there. But if you were just leaving it out on a desk and not moving it, it's a pretty good method to use if you need to leave your PB running with the lid closed. And it avoids installing software.
As far as recommended sources for common household items that could be substituted for a steel plate, I have tried the following:
A flat washer: Didn't work. It was a pretty big washer. Maybe the hole in it prevented it from effectively trapping the flux lines from the magnet. Not sure.
A razor blade: The razor blade worked. I wrapped it carefully with two or three layers of masking tape for obvioius reasons.
An Altoid Mints tin: I took a tin snip and performed surgery on the lid. I cut it into a shape that fits exactly into the recess of the whole trackpad. I also covered it with duct tape. This works well, too. It is now my final solution.
I have always used a RadTech ScreensavRZ cloth inserted between my keyboard and screen and it all fits together nicely with the Altoid lid in place over the trackpad. As previously stated, I don't endorse the idea of transporting a PowerBook in this manner over any great distance while it is running. However, if I am in the middle of performing a wireless download and want to move to another room in the house or upstairs, I wouldn't be squeemish about using the solution I have come up with to transport the PowerBook, lid closed, over a short distance like that.