The first WiFi laptop I had, had a hardware toggle switch - a proper clunk-click job where one position was on and one was off. I loved that. It was easy to tell when wifi was enabled, because there was a physical indication. It had another for Bluetooth, because it was two separate devices. When it eventually gave up the ghost, the replacement still had a physical switch, but this time it was a momentary "snapback" switch, which gave no indication as to whether wifi was on or off, and also controlled the Bluetooth. All laptops I've owned since have been pure software solutions, and I strongly dislike them.
Physical switches beat all. I've love a laptop with a physical cover over the camera (like the Lenovo PrivacyShields, or whatever they brand them as) and a proper physical wifi switch (preferably with a separate Bluetooth switch, but with combi-cards this is less likely as a hardware solution) and a physical microphone switch.
Blu-tac is your friend.
It's much more precise than tape, and I've managed to cover the blue LED on my monitor, but leave the infrared sensor clear enough to use the remote from about two thirds of its "uncovered" angles. Stupid cheap monitor which doesn't have all the OSD controllable by physical buttons on the monitor... why a cheap monitor has an IR remote I don't understand either. Fashion? A bullet-point for marketing?
It's blue LEDs that get me the most. They are the brightest of any colour, and for some reason are "fashionable", despite all the fuss about blue light being bad for eyes and sleep. When I was in the UK, I had satellite TV (Sky) and the box was blue-LED city. My KVM switch is the same - a nice, neat row of eight bright blue LEDs. Livable - just - at work, but at night I might as well not turn the light off in my apartment.
My solution? Blu-tac everything. Even the light switches in my apartment have LEDs on them (supposedly to help you "find" them in the dark - but at least they're green...) so I've stuck Blu-tac on them too. I find the dichotomy very interesting; a constant push to have little lights everywhere, which can't be turned off, but then turn around and say that sleeping with high artificial ambient light is bad, blue lights are worse, etc... but... mai arr-gee-beees!
Physical switches beat all. I've love a laptop with a physical cover over the camera (like the Lenovo PrivacyShields, or whatever they brand them as) and a proper physical wifi switch (preferably with a separate Bluetooth switch, but with combi-cards this is less likely as a hardware solution) and a physical microphone switch.
Originally posted by skeevy420
View Post

It's blue LEDs that get me the most. They are the brightest of any colour, and for some reason are "fashionable", despite all the fuss about blue light being bad for eyes and sleep. When I was in the UK, I had satellite TV (Sky) and the box was blue-LED city. My KVM switch is the same - a nice, neat row of eight bright blue LEDs. Livable - just - at work, but at night I might as well not turn the light off in my apartment.
My solution? Blu-tac everything. Even the light switches in my apartment have LEDs on them (supposedly to help you "find" them in the dark - but at least they're green...) so I've stuck Blu-tac on them too. I find the dichotomy very interesting; a constant push to have little lights everywhere, which can't be turned off, but then turn around and say that sleeping with high artificial ambient light is bad, blue lights are worse, etc... but... mai arr-gee-beees!
Comment