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nadav123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2007
9
0
Is there a way to turn on my mac with a keyboard key like the F19 key...
I like the how on the OLD apple keyboards u just press a key??

Please HELP
 
Last edited:
cats could figure out how to press the keyboard but not hte button on the back?

I assumed it had to do with the moved from ADB to USB.

LOL!
Nah had something to do with passing the electrics through the keyboard.
The first USB keyboards (the one that came with the original iMac, and Power Mac G3 and early models of G4) still had the Power Switch on the keyboard.

I think the USB Pro-keyboards were the first without the Power Switch.
 
About the only thing you can do is put the computer to sleep. When sleeping, a keyboard key or touching the mouse will wake it. This is what I do on my Mac Pro and iMac.
 
LOL!
Nah had something to do with passing the electrics through the keyboard.
The first USB keyboards (the one that came with the original iMac, and Power Mac G3 and early models of G4) still had the Power Switch on the keyboard.

I think the USB Pro-keyboards were the first without the Power Switch.
Yeah, the USB power key was dropped with the first Pro keyboard. But I was under the impression the circuitry was taken out due to some convoluted reasoning that people were hooking their keyboards up to USB hubs (rather than directly) and then having difficulties powering-on.
 
I know this thread is old, but I have a bit to add to it. My understanding for the reason Apple dropped the power switch from USB keyboards was because it was a non-standard, unsupported use of the USB standards specification. Apparently when they did it with original iMac's USB keyboards they were violating the USB standards.
 
Easy. Just buy an older keyboard that still has that function. voila, fixed.

Its not the keyboard that has the function but the computer. When apple used proprietary interfaces, it was easy to have a power button on the keyboard. Going to USB, you lost that ability.

Its like when apple finally went to DVI with their displays. We lost the ability to turn on the computer from the monitor.
 
so ... still no way ?

Post #18, immediately before yours, is still true.

I think it's highly unlikely that USB, or even some future interface for keyboards, will add the ability to start the computer using a keyboard key. So for the foreseeable future, there will still be no way. If that changes, and I'm still alive (or have successfully transferred my intellectual essence to silicon), I promise to update this thread.
 
Post #18, immediately before yours, is still true.

I think it's highly unlikely that USB, or even some future interface for keyboards, will add the ability to start the computer using a keyboard key. So for the foreseeable future, there will still be no way. If that changes, and I'm still alive (or have successfully transferred my intellectual essence to silicon), I promise to update this thread.

they could make a non-usb keyboard or just an external button with a proprietary connection
 
they could make a non-usb keyboard or just an external button with a proprietary connection

A non-USB keyboard won't be compatible with USB. Why would they do that?

An external button with a proprietary connection would need a separate proprietary connector. Again, why would they do that?
 
A non-USB keyboard won't be compatible with USB. Why would they do that?

An external button with a proprietary connection would need a separate proprietary connector. Again, why would they do that?

because of repairability . a power button is difficult to repair. a keyboard ... you buy a new one (even if it has to be an apple one )
 
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