dell 7520 (inspiron 15R SE), fan on full speed on 12.04, 12.10, 13.04

Question

I'm working on building a website with bootstrap, and I have a navbar fixed to the top of the window. I'm trying to make the abbreviated logo (BLM) on the left of the bar transparent through the letters and the navbar (so that whatever is on the page can be seen through the letters).

Anyone know what css (or html) needs to be added to do this?

Below is my navbar code:

<!-- Fixed navbar -->
<div class="navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top" role="navigation">
  <div class="container">
    <div class="navbar-header">
      <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".navbar-collapse">
        <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span>
        <span class="icon-bar"></span>
        <span class="icon-bar"></span>
        <span class="icon-bar"></span>
      </button>
      <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">BLM</a>
    </div>
    <div class="navbar-collapse collapse">

      <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right">
        <li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
            <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
            <li class="dropdown">
              <a href="#"class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown">The Team <span class="caret"></span></a></li>
                <ul class="dropdown-menu" role="menu">
                    <li><a href="#">PersonA</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">PersonB</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">PersonC</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">PersonD</a></li>
                </ul>
            </li>
            <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
      </ul>
    </div><!--/.nav-collapse -->
  </div>
</div>

The part I'm talking about making transparent through to the page is

<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">BLM</a>

I can use CSS to make the navbar-brand transparent, but then it's just black because the navbar is black (and I don't want the navbar to be transparent).

In this example, I want to be able to see the red wall through the BLM letters

Thanks for any help/thoughts!!

Solution

So, I had the same problem with my Inspiron here, however, I've got an Nvidia 630m and Intel GPU's. To solve it, I'm using bumblebee since he manages my needs of performances, and with that, doesn't overheats my notebook. I don't know if there is such software for AMD, but you should look for that, since the fan works nonstop for this reason.

Comments

[Admin]

I think this will solve the issue - askubuntu.com/questions/205112/… . Unless you install the drivers correctly, both GPU is on and to cool down them fan must run.

[Admin]

Have you looked at this answer askubuntu.com/a/232125/32548

[Admin]

the i8kmon fancontrol from this page askubuntu.com/a/232125/32548 is no solution since it doesnt solve the real problem and has side effects like described above. the driver installation for the intel 4000 driver seems to be interessting, although the description from this page askubuntu.com/questions/205112/… doesnt work for me, maybe because thez test it with a intel 3000. ubuntu stops booting with message: "low graphics..."

[Admin]

another question.does ubuntu support the intel hd4000 graphics card? because when i switch off the amd 7730m discrete graphics card, the fans are still spinning.

[Admin]

@zanza, did you got any solution, I'm in the same problem??

[Admin]

unfortunately not. i kind of gave up. i just wait for a better kernel update. so far the min-power option helps a little

[Admin]

For NVIDIA graphics, i think its useful: bumblebee-project.org/install.html it is available for AMD gpu's too: support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/linux/Pages/radeon_linux.aspx

[Paulie_D]

You can't do that with CSS...even with transparent text it will always show the background of the parent elements (or their parents) through the text.

[zanza]

thanks for your answer. i read about this problem, but switching on the card before shutdown didn solve it. i doubt that the fan spinning has something to do with the graphics. i got the fglrx driver running on 12.04 and i still had the problem with the fan. even when i switch off the am 7730 card. i rather think it must have something to do with the motherboard or the chipset drivers. i went back to i8kfan although this is not a solution at all, it just makes it slightly more comfortable handling the problem

[Admin]

i did this, but still same issue, I have ATI Radeon HD 7730, any help??

[Admin]

can you open the ati-catalyst GUI controller now ? If you can you can set the graphics card (which one to use, either AMD ot Intel) from there and reboot. I certainly worked for me, I don't have any noise from my fan.

[Admin]

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely do it again, I currently using i8kfan turning on one fan for the time being, I'll see to it soon

[Oyibo]

Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.

[andybleaden]

It would be better to put this in as a comment. However you could help by showing how you install and use software such as i8kutils so that they can install it themselves and use it.

[Braiam]

This answer is not self contained and no edit could ever hope to salvage it.

[Admin]

Would someone confirm if this solution worked ? I tried this on Linux Mint and it screwed up the whole system ! Will this work right away on Ubuntu 13.10 ?

[singmotor]

I've done this, but as I explained above, this just makes the text more transparent, showing the black navbar below. I need to see through the navbar to the page.

[Aaron]

Instead of downvoting, maybe if you explain or illustrate what you're actually trying to achieve with a fiddle or an illustration I can help you achieve what you actually need to do.

[singmotor]

Haha, I didn't down vote your answer bud! Must have been someone else! I can make a JSfiddle though, I'll post one in a second

[Paulie_D]

@Acoustic77 What you are trying to do is not possible. If any parent element (or parent of a parent) has a background---that is what will show through the text.

[singmotor]

@Paulie_D It's definitely possible, I just need to edit the css of the navbar or navbar-brand class or both.

[Matijs]

It is not possible unless you turn the black background itself into a background image and mask out the letters.

[singmotor]

@SeanLinehan I saw you solved this (your puppy picture), That's almost exactly what I'm trying to do (navbar opacity and all). Can you help here?

[Aaron]

Have you tried setting the opacity for the entire navbar itself? and then for the text portion as well?

[singmotor]

Looks like it's possible, tried a few of these things though and can't get it: webkit.org/blog/181/css-masks css-tricks.com/animated-knockout-letters

[singmotor]

Thanks for the answer Tom! I'm not sure how to split the navbar or any of that, so definitely not an "easy" solution. But I'll look all that up and give it a try. The issue is that I was trying to have a css-blur effect in my navbar, which I won't be able to do if I split it and put the logo. But, should still achieve most of my desired effect.

[Tom]

I looked at your code, and you actually don't need to split anything at all; you already have a separate element for your logo (.navbar-brand). In your css, set display:inline-block for that element, set the background-color to none, and add your background-image. You can still have your CSS blur if you want to :)

[singmotor]

Tom, thank you so much!! should I insert the image in CSS or html? Could you explain how? I tried inserting a png image in-between the <a> </a> using html, and it doesn't appear in the navbar, but half-in and half-below