The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008) • Hacker News Board

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#61

Post by graypegg » Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 11:47 PM UTC

aargh_aargh wrote: post #22

graypegg wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have actually seen the diamond "start" symbol [0] on ONE consumer-ish appliance! It was an office coffee machine at my old job, big green membrane IEC start button. These symbols are ubiquitous on industrial kit (and in your car, surprisingly enough), it's kind of a shame they are barely used at all else where. There's a pretty wide vocabulary of symbols. [0] https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iec:grs:60417:5104

You've never used one of these? https://duckduckgo.com/?ia=images&iax=images&q=photocopier+s...

A bit snarky, but yes, I've used a photocopier. I guess the shape of the symbol of the start button on the photocopiers I used slipped my mind.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#62

Post by agumonkey » Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 1:19 AM UTC

jve wrote: post #51

agumonkey wrote: post #50

I always thought it was a bad visual metaphor for open vs closed circuit

Yeah. I kind of associated I as a continuous line and O a loop which never works (something like infinite loop). But not he says it conveys 1 and 0... so simple... true or false. That would have been easier on my brains :)

the O was confusing but later the I crossing the O was kinda like a gate to me

it's funny to realize that nobody had the same interpretation of this ubiquitous thing

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#63

Post by nytesky » Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 3:16 AM UTC

quietbritishjim wrote: post #3

No, the one-inside-a-circle symbol does not indicate a toggle between off and on, as this article "surmises". Instead, it indicates stands by . This is off, but not fully off as a circle would suggest. It's nearly on. The symbol is great for that. On a push button it means activate stand by or come back out of it (i.e., turn back on fully). Still fair enough. Unfortunately, this knowledge has watered down over time.…

I think it’s mostly true for modern usage. Powering off a laptop doesn’t fully disconnect power, because the power button is not a true switch but just signals to some power management hardware which is ALWAYS on as long as there is battery charge or plug power — it catches the signal from the “power” button and executes a true power switches to start the computer boot cycle.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#64

Post by cyberge99 » Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 7:06 AM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #59

SoftTalker wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly named, as they only have two switches in the circuit.

They're called "three-way" because there are three elements to the circuits they're used in: two switches and a load. ...or so I was taught, but that explanation always seemed a little dubious to me.

I thought three-way was for three possible states: up/down, down/up, or down/down(up/up). Switch 1 up, switch 2 down, etc.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#65

Post by gorlilla » Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 12:51 PM UTC

quietbritishjim wrote: post #25

CharlesW wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, the one-inside-a-circle symbol does not indicate a toggle between off and on, as this article "surmises". According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol#Standards , "one inside a circle", IEC 60417-5010, is a fully-on/fully-off toggle. The "one breaking a circle" symbol, IEC 60417-5009, is a fully-on/standby toggle.

Agreed but the "one breaking a circle" stand by symbol, IEC 60417-5009, is what the article seemed to be referring to by "one inside a circle", given the pictures shown. I just copied their imprecise description.

I'm glad you clarified. The symbol has always represented an open 'O' vs closed '|' circuit to me (never bothering to look at the standards). The fully inside vs breaking is still fitting in that context.