Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

c073186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
821
3
I remember back, long, long ago in the elementary school days when we had the colored Macs - you turned them on by pressing spacebar. Now I would actually like that with my Mac Pro so that I don't have to bend over to turn it on. Does this option still exist in Mac OS?
 
I remember back, long, long ago in the elementary school days when we had the colored Macs - you turned them on by pressing spacebar. Now I would actually like that with my Mac Pro so that I don't have to bend over to turn it on. Does this option still exist in Mac OS?

That wasn't really turning them on " Powering Up " but bringing them out of sleep mode and yes that's still available.
 
That wasn't really turning them on " Powering Up " but bringing them out of sleep mode and yes that's still available.

So if I shut my computer down, then it cannot be turned on by keyboard, right? I know that the keyboard brings it out of sleep mode.
 
That wasn't really turning them on " Powering Up " but bringing them out of sleep mode and yes that's still available.

You're incorrect. ADB Macs had power keys on the keyboard. Want to power one up? Push the key.

Early USB Macs had this, too. Apple went outside the USB spec to do it, however. The early iMacs the OP is remembering were in this group of Macs. Eventually Apple conformed to the USB spec and removed this feature.

It came back for a bit in a different form, on the ADC Macs. You could touch the power button on the monitor and turn on the Mac. Once ADC went away, the last "remote" power buttons were gone, too.

It's too bad. It was nice.
 
You're incorrect. ADB Macs had power keys on the keyboard. Want to power one up? Push the key.

The power key wasn't the Space Bar as the OP pointed to. The power key was a separate key on the upper right.

If the user was pressing the Space Bar, that was to wake up the computer.
 
One of those things that made a Mac, well a Mac. Good old days of Mac OS 7.6.1 (and constant crashes ^^)
 
Modern Macs do not have the power button (to turn on the computer) anymore. The last Mac keyboard to do this was the Bondi Blue G3 keyboards.
usb_kbrd_bberry_sm.jpg

Stop bickering you guys.
 
All of the pre-1997-Jobs Macs had a power key to turn on the machine (the sideways triangle - also known as reset, if my memory serves me correctly).

Modern Macs do not have the power button (to turn on the computer) anymore. The last Mac keyboard to do this was the Bondi Blue G3 keyboards.

Wow. How could I forget that? My iMac did have the regular power button on the keyboard.
 
You're incorrect. ADB Macs had power keys on the keyboard. Want to power one up? Push the key.

Early USB Macs had this, too. Apple went outside the USB spec to do it, however. The early iMacs the OP is remembering were in this group of Macs. Eventually Apple conformed to the USB spec and removed this feature.

It came back for a bit in a different form, on the ADC Macs. You could touch the power button on the monitor and turn on the Mac. Once ADC went away, the last "remote" power buttons were gone, too.

It's too bad. It was nice.

this is off topic, but why did apple abandon the ADC? it makes so much more sense than dvi. is it simply because dvi became the industry standard?
 
With ADC, Apple had to shunt an extra 28V through the MB to power the screen. There were few manufacturers who wanted to mess with it, and yea, DVI became the standard. Plus, they couldn't figure out how to put ADC on the laptops, so it was a major pain to use an ACD with a PowerBook.

As for the PowerButton on the Keyboard... That lasted from 1994 to 2001 (as the Cube, and it's extended keyboard dropped it). On the USB keyboards, you could not use the power button to restart the comptuer, like you could on ADB keyboards (that is one reason many people with B&W PowerMac G3s use ADB keyboards. Also, it was one of the later PowerMacs (and iMac G4/Alu PowerBook) that removed the circuitry from the computer to work with the PowerButton. Considering so many PCs can now be turned on from the keyboard, it seems like something that Apple should bring back, using the trianular symbol, or as I called it the "Jo-ke-nin" (from a dream). Also, remember you can use various key combinations on the keyboard along with the eject button to regain some of the functionally of the power button, like bringing up the "special" dialog (so you can put the computer to sleep, restart, or shutdown).

TEG
 
this is off topic, but why did apple abandon the ADC? it makes so much more sense than dvi. is it simply because dvi became the industry standard?

Well, one, PC people had to buy an adapter to use the displays that had ADC connectors and two, Apple eventually needed dual-link DVI for the 30" display, so they dropped the proprietary ADC, in favor of the more common standard DVI and dual-link DVI. Plus there is the power mess that the person above explained.
 
Modern Macs do not have the power button (to turn on the computer) anymore. The last Mac keyboard to do this was the Bondi Blue G3 keyboards.
<--picture of keyboard-->

I actually rather like the look of that keyboard. I wonder if it was plugged into a more modern mac such as my macbook, would the power button work?
 
Given that screens are getting bigger and in turn further away from the users in a lot of instances it would make sense to have a power button on the keyboard. It would definitely save me reaching around to the back of my iMac.
 
I actually rather like the look of that keyboard. I wonder if it was plugged into a more modern mac such as my macbook, would the power button work?

The power button will bring up the "special" dialog, but will not startup the computer as the circuitry has been removed.

TEG
 
I really wish Apple would add the power button from the old G3 keyboards to their current keyboards. It is so much easier to press a button on the keyboard than to have to reach under the desk to turn it on. That said, I use my MacBook most of the time, so it's not a huge issue for me.
 
Check out InsomniacX, its software that lets you sleep the display when you want (like having a power button on your display).

Can't you do that normally? I believe you can sleep your machine using the power button on the ACD.
 
Actually, the Macally iKey USB keyboard has a power button, but I'm not sure if it's still being made. In any case it won't turn on my G5, but it does bring up the Sleep/Restart/Shutdown dialog.

:cool:
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.