Ok.. is it just me or does it look like that button should light up when power is on? If it's supposed to mine doesn't. If it's not supposed to how do you tell the thing is on? My screen doesn't start displaying anything for about 4 seconds or so after i turn it on. My brother who had to turn it on for me the other day to check something didn't even realize he didn't have it on after he hit the button... This is my only real gripe with the PB... hopefully it's supposed to light up and mine is just broken (broken when i got it !! GRRR)
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Power Button on 15" PB
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Nope, unfortunately. It's just a round metal button with the | in O deal. As a deaf person, you have no idea how much this annoys me, I constantly press it 6 times before seeing it has booted up. My fix? Just put it to sleep 99.9% of the time.Logik said:
MacCoaster said:
i wonder does it remember whether CAPS was on or off when you shut down?
or maybe there's a way to make it turn on when the computer turns on? ya that would be fun for people who forget when typing in their password but oh well... gotta be a way around this one.. it's a pain in the arseI like the solid metal button. I'm not bothered by it not lighting up. You get the mac sound which lets you know it's booting.
My on button is slightly off square i.e. it's not quite straight, which is sligtly irritating! Anybody else come accross this?
My on button is slightly off square i.e. it's not quite straight, which is sligtly irritating! Anybody else come accross this?
Right. Which is why I said the no light was a problem for me. See my original post.phonic pol said:
MacCoaster said:Right. Which is why I said the no light was a problem for me. See my original post.
You can feel it boot up if you keep keep your fingers on the machine.
It normally boots up first press, so wait a few secs, then try again if you don't feel/hear/see anything.
Patience peeps!
mouchoir said:You can feel it boot up if you keep keep your fingers on the machine.
It normally boots up first press, so wait a few secs, then try again if you don't feel/hear/see anything.
Patience peeps!
patience is one thing but EVERY PC laptop (this is my first mac) has lights that say there is hard disk activity, power, battery charging, etc all on the case somewhere. you can tell the powerbook is charging (the light on the power adapter fitting) but you can't tell it's been turned on by simply looking at a light.. i think for the price of this thing it SHOULD be easier to tell it's turned on... there's no excuse for not putting a small light on it to tell if it's been turned on.
i usually have the sound off because if i goto class i dont' wanna turn it on and get the power on sound while a teacher is talking or something... great way to disrupt the class.. or if i'm listening to music on my desktop... it's not all that easy to "hear" this sound sometimes.
MacCoaster said:Right. Which is why I said the no light was a problem for me. See my original post.
Goes without saying really!
Actually, considering Apple's big push towards Universal Access you would think they would address this issue. It seems like they want to make OS X the most accessible OS available, and yet they don't offer a universal method of telling if your computer is on.
Why on earth are you shutting the powerbook down to begin with? OS X was designed to run almost endlessly, just put the 'book to sleep unless you're not going to be using it for a week or two...
paul
paul
Why do I have to? Do you put one of your ears above the computer to `hear` the startup beep?mouchoir said:You can feel it boot up if you keep keep your fingers on the machine.
It normally boots up first press, so wait a few secs, then try again if you don't feel/hear/see anything.
Patience peeps!
paulwhannel said:
i don't know. just a habit from my pc using days...
but yes.. there is simply no reason we should be "guessing" as to whether the computer turned on or not. It's not "that" big of a deal but it is something that we shouldn't even be talking about.. it's that simple of a thing to fix.
Logik said:i wonder does it remember whether CAPS was on or off when you shut down?
The light on the Capslock key should turn on then off after a second during startup. That's immediately before the display turns on. I would assume that is enough visual indication, even for the deaf?
michaelrjohnson said:
Good point, the caps light flashing is part of the boot process.
And uh, why is this such a bleeding big deal? If your PB is off OR asleep, hitting the power button will turn it on OR wake it up, and if it doesn't, you have a problem. How can it be more simple? A child could follow these instructions.
paul
paulwhannel said:
It is true... I also am not quite sure what the issue is here, other than personal preference. But I guess it's something you're just going to have to live with!
PS: Paul:
Perhaps your signature is an inside joke that I dont understand, but *every* time that I read it, I literally laugh out loud... thanks!
When I first got my book it was confusing. My PC had a big power button that did a bunch of noisy stuff right away... It was weird for the book to not instantly do something. And yes, when I start to worry, I do put my ear against it to listen for the harddrive.
Do the little LEDs on the battery turn on immediately? That may make a good visual indication.
Do the little LEDs on the battery turn on immediately? That may make a good visual indication.
Too bad I have to flip the PowerBook upside down to get that information.Kingsnapped said:
The caps lock thing sounds good. Does it automatically turn on and off or do you have to check for yourself, michaelrjohnson?
MacCoaster said:
the Capslock flashing function (as Paul mentioned) is part of the startup process. Try this: next time you turn on your PowerBook, look not at the screen , but at the capslock key. If the green light turns on, then off, you have successfully began the startup process. Be patient.
michaelrjohnson said:
I've never noticed my caps lock key do that. I'll have to check that when I restart after I get around to installing 10.3.5. I almost never shut down my powerbook, and don't have a problem knowing if my powerbook has turned on when I push the button, but that's because I can hear. I don't think it is right for someone who is is hearing impaired to not have an immediate cue that there powerbook has responded to the power button being pressed, especially given Apple's huge push towards univeral access.
it's really NOT a big deal for me. but again like i said i'd prefer some sort of visual like a light to turn on when the machine is on. i don't know. the thing is so quiet and it takes between 4-8 seconds to show anything on the screen so... it's just personal preference as mentioned above. i'm sure i'll get used to it but still..
the biggest kicker for me is that i don't have the sound on so i never hear the chime
the biggest kicker for me is that i don't have the sound on so i never hear the chime
I was told in the IRC channel by cello that it only applies to external keyboards. Can anyone verify this?
Edit: external keyboards... so this sucks because mine's bluetooth and takes a while to activate.
Edit: external keyboards... so this sucks because mine's bluetooth and takes a while to activate.
MacCoaster said:
What only applies to external keyboards?
My PB's internal keyboard Capslock key flashes on startup. That isnt' accurate.
michaelrjohnson said:
OK, I just shut down and restarted my powerbook to test this out, and my caps lock key stays off through the whole boot up process. Can anyone else check this out too?