Simple ambient temperature sensor readout

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Level 1

119 points

Simple ambient temperature sensor readout

Is there a very simple way to show just the ambient temperature sensor reading on an iMac?

Not for geeky or engineering purposes. Just to know the temp that the machine and the human are in.

iStat widget shows it but really tiny, buried in all the other data, and only if you launch Widgets.

Ideally, it would just work in the background and the temperature would show up in the menu on the right side. Maybe next to the time. Alternatively, as a little floating window on the desktop.

Yep, just want to see the room temperature using the iMac thermometer I already own. That’s it.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 12, 2012 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BDAqua

Level 10

239,177 points

May 12, 2012 11:05 AM in response to Ataraxy01

Completely different than iStat Widget...

iStat Menus...

http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/

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Answer 2

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

May 12, 2012 11:57 AM in response to Ataraxy01

I second iStat Menus. I use it due to it's flexibility of what you want to display and where to display it, i.e., in the menu bar or as a dropdown menu when you click one of its items in the menu bar. You also have control on how it looks (font, font size, color) in the menu bar.

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Answer 3

Ataraxy01 Author

Level 1

119 points

Sep 18, 2012 7:52 AM in response to Ataraxy01

I found a Widget called Temperature Monitor Widget Edition by Marcel Bresink which lets you choose to show two sensors on your Mac. I show ambient and CPU.

While not showing the room temp all the time (you have to go to your widgets), it is bigger type and really simple.

I still run iStat Pro widget because it tells me a bunch of other stuff. I just have to put on my reading glasses. But for a quick room temp check, Temperature Monitor Widget Edition by Marcel Bresink, works.

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Answer 4

Feb 28, 2013 6:22 AM in response to Ataraxy01

I realize this comes a few months late, but I found this free application. It can display any temperature sensor in a window, or even in the dock icon:

http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitorWE.html

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Answer 5

Jul 25, 2015 9:51 AM in response to X423424X

It's 2015, and I have a new 27" retina iMac. It replaced my 8 year old Mac Pro, which had a room temperature sensor that could be read by an ap.

I downloaded iStat. I'm having lots of fun with the menus, but I can't find a sensor out of the many available that corresponds to room temperature.

I decided to look for USB temperature sensors. However, the only ones I could find only work with PC's. There may be something on the high end, but I wasn't interested in spending that much.

Apparently this is a fairly simple problems for people who can build small electronic devices and own boxes of sensors they bought from China. I'm fortunate that my spouse is one of those people. If there isn't already a web page explaining how to do this, I'll try and get a write-up about it, if anyone is interested.

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