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Fixing annoying blue standby lights

fullcircuit.com

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Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#201

Post by s1mon »

Eisenstein wrote: post #170
ryandrake wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to hear from someone in the consumer electronics business to weigh in on how this happens. Who in the design chain wants LED lights on everything? Probably not engineering--it's more work for them. Probably not the business managers--it adds unnecessary cost to the product. Is it the industrial designers? Do they simply have to have LEDs all over everything? Is it just dogma that everyone follows/accepts: "Y…

I don't think you need someone in the industry. It is added because without a light people don't think it is working, and the bright blue lights are tiny any cheap, and adding a way o dim them or turn them off is more expensive.

Blue LEDs were a lot more expensive when they were first introduced than red, green, amber, etc. Putting blue LEDs on products was seen as premium or trendy, but by this point, they’re not as special, but they are still more expensive than other colors. White LEDs are typically blue LEDs with phosphor that is excited by the blue light so it emits white(-ish) light. White LEDs are often similarly priced to the blue LEDs they’re based on.

[product designer who’s designed in countless indicator LEDs on products based on the product requirements and also often ends up adding tape or funtack over the LEDs on products to avoid blinking in the bedroom]

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#202

Post by TylerE »

worthless-trash wrote: post #182
TylerE wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The really nice thing about electrical tape is that has an extremely high ignition tempature, and strong voltage resistance, so can throw it on stuff that gets hot (in either sense) and not worry about it. I use it to block off the annoying LED "backlighting" on my PS5... that gets warm enough that I'd be nervous about some tapes. Also handy for actual electrical stuff, like that one speaker wire that loves to comeou…

I've had some success with kapton tape, it drops the 'bright blue' down to a dull orange. Not perfect but its adhesive and knocks the brightness of the led down.

The stuff I use (3M) is opaque to anything you’d reasonably think of doing this to.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#203

Post by userbinator »

woutersf wrote: post #181

Only mildly related but just as annoying; old cars would have a dimmer button to reduce the backlight in the dashboard. With all the screens in midern cars, even the minimum brightness is too bright for me driving in the night.it wont let your eyes adapt to the dark. My last Hyundai had a moon button to turn off screen but that was an exception ithink. I have driven hours with a cloth over the screen of my skoda octa…

I wonder if that might be the result of ((mis-)interpreting) some regulation that mandates the instruments must always be visible.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#204

Post by userbinator »

Razengan wrote: post #136

One of the best things Apple did that no one talk about but everyone definitely appreciates is the almost complete removal of status lights from their devices.

Unfortunately makes it harder to know that they're doing anything.

A subtle glow is the best for an indicator light.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#205

Post by hnaccount_rng »

coryrc wrote: post #67
cf100clunk wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would prefer that manufacturers use the traffic light colour scheme: * Red: stopped or off (preferably dimmed of completely off) * Yellow/Amber: startup or error state in which the device needs intervention * Blue/Green: running properly

You don't want to make things indistinguishable for the color-blind.

What would be an appropriate set of color choices then?

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#206

Post by hnaccount_rng »

callalex wrote: post #185
AnotherGoodName wrote: post #152

The early Intel based Macbooks lit up the whole room with an extremely bright standby led. It's one of those cases where a dictator style CEO is needed. The dictator experienced this and issued a reasonable directive to never allow standby leds on any of the company products ever again. If it's on standby it's dark. And that rule has now stuck. A good example in how different management styles can lead to products wi…

I know this advice is like 10 years too late, but if you leave the lid open on a MacBook in a dark room it will be able to use the light sensor that controls the screen/keyboard brightness to also dim the power indicator light.

This amount of overengineering is what brings me coming back to Apple. Though I don’t even use the MacSafe charger anymore

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#207

Post by TylerE »

NegativeLatency wrote: post #172
saberworks wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AppleTV 4k has super bright white led on the front (outwards to user) while the device is on. So annoying!

Don’t want to dismiss your complaint, but I find mine generally is not even that noticeable considering the main function of the Apple TV is playing media on my tv that lights up the whole room. What annoys you about it?

As someone with a fair bit of astigmatism... a visble white dot maybe 6 inches from the edge of the TV is just about worst case for making any sort of dark scene look blurry.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#208

Post by TylerE »

woutersf wrote: post #181

Only mildly related but just as annoying; old cars would have a dimmer button to reduce the backlight in the dashboard. With all the screens in midern cars, even the minimum brightness is too bright for me driving in the night.it wont let your eyes adapt to the dark. My last Hyundai had a moon button to turn off screen but that was an exception ithink. I have driven hours with a cloth over the screen of my skoda octa…

Hardly an old thing. My 2017 model supports that just fine, and it's not just a button but a circular slider that goes all the way down to the dash lights being practically off.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#209

Post by odysseus »

saberworks wrote: post #124
mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

AppleTV 4k has super bright white led on the front (outwards to user) while the device is on. So annoying!

This is why you get a mount for the AppleTV and mount it behind the tv itself. I use a total mount, the same one sold in apple retail stores.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#210

Post by NL807 »

cf100clunk wrote: post #51
mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

I would prefer that manufacturers use the traffic light colour scheme: * Red: stopped or off (preferably dimmed of completely off) * Yellow/Amber: startup or error state in which the device needs intervention * Blue/Green: running properly

>Blue/Green: running properly

this would be redundant as you'd know that the device is running in most cases

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