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Fixing annoying blue standby lights

fullcircuit.com

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Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#61

Post by hollerith »

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…

There was a time when industry did not know how to produce blue or white LEDs, only red, orange, yellow and green ones, so you see, red, orange, yellow or green LEDs are old tech, and consequently not suitable for our magnificent product.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#62

Post by wkat4242 »

jjav wrote: post #46
AdrianB1 wrote: post #35

2 problems here: color and intensity. 1. Color. Blue is more rare in nature than other colors and it has a known association with daylight that is disturbing for sleep. Why not something more neutral like orange (not red, not green)? 2. Intensity. I think the manufacturers don't even think about this. For indoor use, full brightness makes no sese, but bad UX is the default choice for most, what TV manufacturer pays a…

> Blue is more rare in nature than other colors Since the sky and the ocean are blue, that suggests a majority of visual field in nature contains blue in most cases.

Yes but not the deep intense blue from most standby LEDs.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#63

Post by Gare »

SanjayMehta wrote: post #29

Had this problem with an air conditioner whose one blue LED was bright enough to keep me awake. Two layers of yellow tape changed the colour and dimmed it enough to make it imperceptible.

Huh, all the ACs I've used so far did have a switch on the remote to turn off all the lights.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#66

Post by johnwalkr »

idontwantthis wrote: post #13
Baldbvrhunter wrote: post #2

great hack my pet peeve is flashing indicators, especially when it means "all normal"

God the worst is bluetooth headphones. Oh people would never use these in the dark and especially not with other people trying to sleep directly next to them.

They aren't needed at all. For pairing, they are kind of nice to have, but why not put them in the earcups instead of outside (at least for over-ear headphones)?

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#67

Post by coryrc »

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

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

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#68

Post by galangalalgol »

_moof wrote: post #42
Liftyee wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speculation: Perhaps they are trying to distinguish themselves from the "cheaper" products by using the "new" blue LEDs? IIRC the technology for them was figured out much later than green or red, so maybe there is a bit of leftover "futuristic" feel to them. The last time I saw a blue room-illuminator was on an ancient Belkin Bluetooth dongle. IMO the practice has gone out of style with most name brands (including Ap…

It's basically this, yes. Blue LEDs were such a game-changer that the inventor won a Nobel prize for it. When they became cheap enough to use in consumer electronics, manufacturers went absolutely nuts and put them in everything as a sort of whiz-bang look-what-we-can-do thing. But since everyone did that, they stopped feeling distinctive almost immediately. The only designers still using them for indicators are the…

Looking at flashlight runtimes on battery, it seems like white LEDs (blue with a phosphor) or blue, are much more efficient per lumen than any other color. Perhaps that could be a reason as well? I'd generally prefer green and red.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#69

Post by neilv »

I haven't had the IR remote complication like the article, but for too-bright-LED purposes, I use different colors of labelmaker tape (Brother TZe type) for different cases:

* need blocking entirely (like on my LaserJet, and a UPS) -- black tape

* too bright, but still need to see, and to differentiate colors (like on one of my living room servers) -- white tape, cut to size with hole punch

* too bright for when i use it in dim lighting, and trying to avoid blue light then (like the ThinkLight on my ThinkPad T520) -- orange or red tape

Some of this tape, I would move to behind the bezels, if I had the device open for service.

Black tape also good for covering up cameras on laptops. If I sometimes use that camera, I make it a strip with a folded-over pull tab, and when I temporarily remove it, I stick it poking up from the top of the bezel as a reminder that the tape is off.

For "hole punch" Pixel cameras in the screen, a hole-punched bit of labelmaker tape works, but IME falls off every few/several months. Secondary purpose: when I have multiple phones, different colors of labelmaker tape color-codes their identities on the screen, to help avoid accidents. (Color-coded cases would be better, but the case series I prefer only comes in black.)

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#70

Post by imp0cat »

Gare wrote: post #63
SanjayMehta wrote: post #29

Had this problem with an air conditioner whose one blue LED was bright enough to keep me awake. Two layers of yellow tape changed the colour and dimmed it enough to make it imperceptible.

Huh, all the ACs I've used so far did have a switch on the remote to turn off all the lights.

Consider yourself lucky.
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