light on front of powerbook, can i turn it off?

[seans9]

Ok so, the light on the front of the powerbook (the one on the display open button) is SO annoying at night. when im done using my computer i just close it and set it aside...well the blinking light in the front lights up my room and its annoying.

any way i can turn this off? im guessing no, but if you know a way, tell me please!!!

 

[ericssonboi]

I think your talking about the Sleep Light.
It glows very faint and then very bright

No you can't turn it off.

My only suggestion is to NOT put the Powerbook to sleep and leave it on.
That or disable the latch

 

[WildCowboy]

Turn your PB around and put that edge up against something.

 

[.:*Robot Boy*:.]

I think I read in that you can dim, but not turn off, the sleep light by pressing Option + Command + Eject.

 

[MacTruck]

Just open up the powerbook and cut the wires that lead to the sleep light. Good luck reselling though.

 

[inlimbo]

Cool. I never knew about Option + Command + Eject. Otherwise just chuck a t-shirt over it.

 

[dcv]

Or.... buy an iLap - they are very comfortable for working on, help keep your PowerBook cooler and the cushion at the front masks the sleep light!

 

[Tokyo]

Option + Command + Eject works, but you must press all three keys simultaneously. Doing a more natural Option + Command and then press Delete while holding down the two others, does not work; it just makes the computer sleep for a second or two, and does not produce a dimmer light.

Interesting.

Apple does not list this key combo in their help area list of keyboard commands--must be an Easter Egg. Looking at that list did provide some interesting commands I hadn't know about, though--for example, doing a Shift+Command+4 and then pressing the space bar will take a picture of the active window only. Holding down the Control key while selecting a Sh+Cmd+4 screen capture will save the captured image to the clipboard.

Oh, and make sure your finger doesn't slip when you do an Option + Command + Eject. If you do a CONTROL + Command + Eject, it quits all apps and shuts down the computer.

 

[Jay42]

New idea

Heres an idea. Try using that schedule feature in Sys.Prefs.-->EnergySaver to sleep your pb sometime when your usually asleep. For example, if you usually fall asleep at midnight, have your pb sleep at 1am. That way, you save power (dont have to leave it on) and I dont think the light should wake you up when your *already* asleep.

 

[ham_man]

You can't. Just put a towel in front of it or something soft. Worked for me...

 

[iDM]

I thought the sleeping light was the coolest thing when i first saw it. I was fascinated by it. It can sometimes be a little annoying in a very dark room your sleeping in.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

Heres an idea. Try using that schedule feature in Sys.Prefs.-->EnergySaver to sleep your pb sometime when your usually asleep. For example, if you usually fall asleep at midnight, have your pb sleep at 1am. That way, you save power (dont have to leave it on) and I dont think the light should wake you up when your *already* asleep.

Yeah, I've always liked the concept of startup/shutdown shedules, but as a college student who uses his computer at all hours of the day, it's just not efficient for me.

Personally, I just ignore the light. But really, just a piece of paper even blocks most of the light. While yes, it seems irritating that you've got this great piece of technology and it has a "feature" that's annoying to no end... there are easy solutions.

Can't wait to try that dimming key combo!

 

[Mord]

i disconnected the sleep light on a friends ibook g4 as it buged him so much, it dosent bother me at all as i sleep in a room which has a pc with umpteen blue led's on all the time and quite frankly i could sleep through and thunderstorm (and have on many an occasion).

 

[runninmac]

This seems to be bugging alot of people. Apple really should have a option to turn it off. Anyone feel like writing to them?

 

[superbovine]

the light is there for debugging information for the tech to ask for if he needs it. if you have to ask to disconnect that light you shouldn't be doing it, because you might actually need the day your pb won't come back from sleep.

 

[ITASOR]

This seems to be bugging alot of people. Apple really should have a option to turn it off. Anyone feel like writing to them?

I don't see how it bothers people. People can sleep all night long through the sounds of toilet flushes, people talking, car traffic, etc. People have nightlights, I don't see how the TINY little light bothers them. It's so TINY. My quicksilver's light was HUGE, BRIGHT, and extremely slow and it didn't bother me...I just didn't stare at it.

 

[yellow]

It's a personal perfernce, some folks are more light sensitive. I hate light when I'm trying to sleep. I have heavy, heavy curtains in our bedroom so no light gets in.

As for the topic of this thread.. please search next time, this gets asked a lot.

 

[asif786]

speaking of night annoyances..my imac drives me up the wall - but only because of the constant ****ing noise it makes...

the sleep light is cool..i remember when i first got my ibook, and i was like...wow..i still dont understand how a teeny light like that can be annoying though..

sleeping in the same room as an on computer is starting to get annoying though..the amount of heat this imac makes is phenominal!

 

[Statik]

Tape

Just cut a piece of black electrical tape to fit and put it over the light. Worked for me... I guess you could use black model paint instead, but that might hurt resale.

 

[mklos]

The easiest thing to do is to shut it off. Its not like it takes 10 hours for it to start up.

 

[jalagl]

Cool. I never knew about Option + Command + Eject. Otherwise just chuck a t-shirt over it.

The t-shirt trick works for me.

 

[dsharits]

The Option+Cmd+Eject doesn't work on my iBook. The light doesn't bother me anyway.

 

[Mechcozmo]

I think I read in that you can dim, but not turn off, the sleep light by pressing Option + Command + Eject.

That is just the shortcut for sleep. Doesn't do anything different. Just your mind saying "It is supposed to be this way, and that's how I'm perceiving it." Just a little trick.

Option + Command + Eject works, but you must press all three keys simultaneously. Doing a more natural Option + Command and then press Delete while holding down the two others, does not work; it just makes the computer sleep for a second or two, and does not produce a dimmer light.

Interesting.

Apple does not list this key combo in their help area list of keyboard commands--must be an Easter Egg.

Your fingers slipped, and pressed the Eject key but then the Delete key, causing the sleep, but after the sleep, the keypress woke it up. I've done it myself. You can try it too. I tried pressing Option+Command+Delete and just got the "Dun" noise.

Apple have stated that, for security reasons, they don't allow Easter Eggs in OS X. The closest thing to an Egg would be holding down the Shift key and activating a UI event, like minimizing a window or using Exposé.

 

[Aeronautical]

Wear sunglasses to bed (wrap-arounds are best). That will dim the light.

 

[iEric]

hey it works on my iMac G5. Or am it just a placebo effect of some sort?