Those little things around Apple products

[apostolosdt]

Before I recently acquired a Mini M1, my latest Mac was a Mini 2014, and I didn't realize that Apple had abandoned the pulsating light when a Mac was in sleep mode. I can't figure out the thinking behind that, but whenever a PC user saw my Macs, he/she was amazed at such little but impressive things from Apple. Another such little engineering detail is with my old 20-inch Apple Cinema monitor: the light at the side showing the monitor is on goes off when in use, since that is obvious!

Pity if Apple doesn't realize the marketing power of these and other similar little things!

 

[Dochartaigh]

I guess it's in the eye of the beholder... having any light blinking drives me nuts, especially if I couldn't turn it off... I've literally taped over them or desoldered on more than one device lol.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Another such little engineering detail is with my old 20-inch Apple Cinema monitor: the light at the side showing the monitor is on goes off when in use, since that is obvious!

I see the light on my mini Late 2012 when it is on. Why, then?

 

[apostolosdt]

I see the light on my mini Late 2012 when it is on. Why, then?

Sorry, just curious. Do you see it on the Mini or on the connected Cinema?

 

[AlixSPQR]

Sorry, just curious. Do you see it on the Mini or on the connected Cinema?

On the mini, like the picture. I don't have a cinema display. I just wondered why there is a light on the mini when it's on, since you described the cinema display's light is going off when it's on. Why the difference in behaviour? 🤔
I don't expect you to answer it, it was more of a reflection.

 

[Swissfashion]

On the mini, like the picture. I don't have a cinema display. I just wondered why there is a light on the mini when it's on, since you described the cinema display's light is going off when it's on. Why the difference in behaviour? 🤔
I don't expect you to answer it, it was more of a reflection.

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There is no other indication the Mini is powered on, unless you attach and power on a display.

 

[Sowelu]

I also miss the sleeping pulsating light. Back in the day, it was on all Macs, including MacBooks and iBooks. It was a very subtle, breathing motion. A nice touch and a useful feature. Now, since the Mac mini doesn't actually go into a deep sleep (and doesn't go to sleep on its own other than turning the display off), I guess they feel like the white led should always be on.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Heh, My ThinkPad actually has the pulsating sleep light. It's the red dot of the "i" on the ThinkPad logo on the lid. It's actually a great spot for it because it's really easy to see if it's asleep with the lid closed rather than the light on the side like the MacBooks.

 

[MrCheeto]

The fact that Apple intentionally mimicked the breathing rhythm of a person in REM sleep for their sleep status light was one of the things that I cited as an attention to detail that didn’t matter but meant a lot.

Meanwhile in Wacky Windoze World, it’s 2023 and they LITERALLY HAVE ICONS AND GRAPHICS FROM WINDOWS 95 in the system! Imagine if you booted your Mac and the happy Mac from the old Motorola days was displayed on your 8k monitor. I mean pixel-for-pixel, in 480 resolution mode, unchanged, monochrome 80’s icon. Then, to top it off, the same unchanged wrist-watch icon appeared as the system loaded.

Микрософт Виндоэ 🪟🪟

 

[magbarn]

I know this isn't the mini, but I also miss the MBP's LED battery charge light meter that would light up when you pressed the (almost) hidden button. Those were really nice little details that Apple used to have.

 

[ian87w]

Before I recently acquired a Mini M1, my latest Mac was a Mini 2014, and I didn't realize that Apple had abandoned the pulsating light when a Mac was in sleep mode. I can't figure out the thinking behind that, but whenever a PC user saw my Macs, he/she was amazed at such little but impressive things from Apple. Another such little engineering detail is with my old 20-inch Apple Cinema monitor: the light at the side showing the monitor is on goes off when in use, since that is obvious!

Pity if Apple doesn't realize the marketing power of these and other similar little things!

Wait, it doesn't do that anymore? Then what happens when it goes to sleep? Just "off"?

The current Apple has lost a lot of the old design team, who might have those kinds of attention to details. It's all about cutting corners to improve margins nowadays.

 

[apostolosdt]

Wait, it doesn't do that anymore? Then what happens when it goes to sleep? Just "off"?

The current Apple has lost a lot of the old design team, who might have those kinds of attention to details. It's all about cutting corners to improve margins nowadays.

Well, the Mini M1, when in sleep mode, still shows the little yellow light on, so it's always on unless the computer is off. And, yes, your last comment of yours explains a lot of things about today's Apple policy.

Unfortunately, Apple is not alone in that! I recall the Hewlett-Packard scientific calculators like HP-67, a marvel of electronics engineering and MARKETING. Or Hasselblad's Series V film cameras. The list is expandable.