We the people demand a Gadget Bill of Lights
Sometimes I think the companies that make cell phones, gadgets and PCs never actually use their own products. In particular, one of my biggest complaints is how these vendors put annoying little lights on everything but fail to illuminate their products in ways that are actually useful. The list of light-related annoyances goes on and on. Enough! It's time we consumers demand that gadget designers and manufacturers do something about where, how and why they put lights all over the devices that we bring into our homes and that affect the aesthetic quality of our lives. If you agree -- if you're annoyed by the placement, intensity or lack of user-controllability of lights on your electronics -- SUPPORT THE GADGET BILL OF LIGHTS!
9:08 AM * PERMALINK * 8 comments
Comments:
I've worked in the tech industry for over 15 years. The most passionate discussions in design reviews that I've witnessed have always been about color & placement of LEDs.
I think this is due to the fact that people (including management) realize that they are not technically astute enough to understand all of the potential issues involved in detailed discussions outside of their area of expertise and they tend to defer to the experts. But *everyone* is an expert in what color they like and where they'd like it to be.
Result: Chaos.
(Somewhat related issue: I once worked for a company that made large server equipment. One year, the #1 field service problem was replacing the small incandescent light bulb that lit up the company logo on the door of the machine. And management still refused to remove the lit logo...)
philips tv`s had a nation wide recall on the ambient lights. back lighting a tv? what next, the toaster?
LEDOFF - A treo program that allows the user to decide when and if the led will be on. and its free. http://mytreo.net/archives/2006/09/how-to-make-the-led-on-your-treo-stop-flashing.html
Thank you! I wish I had known about this when I owned a Treo.
Mike
actually the LEDs on Dells XPS laptops can be turned off rather easily...the first thing I did when I got it
***** actually the LEDs on Dells XPS laptops can be turned off rather easily...the first thing I did when I got it *****
How? -Mike
Wow... somehow this jiberish made it all the way to slashdot. Look if the lights are really so bad, cover them with some black electrical tape. Stop crying that your office or bedroom is too colorful and industries should change all their products because you dont like a color or a blinking light. Believe it or not, those lights, like the ones on power cords, or the ones on your router mean something usefull to some of us. People will whine about anything and this is proof...
Good lord.
**** Look if the lights are really so bad, cover them with some black electrical tape.****
Well, this statement provides a hint about where you and I part company. Some people care about aesthetics, and feel it's legitimate to ask companies who make products that we place all over our homes to look nice. Others feel that putting black tape over lights looks good enough.
***** Believe it or not, those lights, like the ones on power cords, or the ones on your router mean something usefull to some of us.*****
Lights on routers are useful only in the rare event that one happens to be troublingshooting the network. The products are marketed for homes. Some people feel that a panel of bright lights flashing like a dachshund on crack is a perfectly acceptable thing to have in one's living room or bedroom. Others would like the option to control lighting in our homes. This article was designed to raise the issue. Obviously, some care and others don't.
-Mike
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