Slashdot Mirror
The Top Ten Off Switches
Dan Jimbokla submitted a story that normally i would pass over, but I actually oddly enjoyed it. "CNET.co.uk has a truly funny and read-worthy article up about the top ten off switches. One of my favorite switches from the piece is #4 — The illuminated toggle switch: "This switch isn't designed for high-drain uses, typically it can only provide a maximum of 20 amps at 12 volts. That will make it suitable for a number of exciting uses though, and what it lacks in power handling, it makes up for in practicality. This switch will illuminate when the device it controls is turned on, and go off when the device is deactivated. This is logical and practical, and that has earned this switch a place in our hearts. What's more, it's far from expensive and there are even a choice of colors.""
Toggle switches rule period. Batman used toggle switches in the batmobile. Fighter pilots flick toggle switches in the movies before they blow up bad guys. The Millenium Falcon probably had a couple hundred thousand toggle switches. Cool electric guitars? They've got a toggle switch. When I built my first model rocket launcher - I think it had 3 toggle switches. A good solid 'click' of the old toggle is just the thing - all other switches pale in comparison. Even the big red button.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Can't believe they forgot IBM's big red switch.
Mouse powered Chips, Open source Processors and Lego
NOPE!!!
Apparently I threw the off switch on your attempt. Or did I throw the on switch to your failure? Don't give up though skippy - you'll get there one day.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
This is one of those articles that you think 'Why isn't there more of these!? It's great!' but then remember that if there were more, they'd quickly become old-hat.
Kudos to them for doing it right... #7 was sure a surprise.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
My god, that must be the dorkiest list in the world, ever.
Love it!
Usually that's a lead-in to some bullshit dating article...too bad toggle switches don't apply in that field!
That could also be dangerous, as many slashdotters would begin to be able to understand the opposite sex.
If so, the vacuum relay. Can switch large amounts of power and comes in a relatively small package. These are very fast as well. High power radio transmitting systems use them
Also remember to wire your emergency 'off' switches as normally closed, so if the switch fails the equipment will stop. Nothing worse that going to switch off a 30HP motor that your tie is stuck in and the damn switch isn't working.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I prefer to think of them as "on" switches. Err, except the ones which actually are off-only. Obviously.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Well nuts, somebody turned the website off.....
~
Given that the article appears to be already slashdotted, it appears this website is really the biggest, baddest off switch around.
An even more useful switch is one which lights up when the device it is controlling is off, and goes dark when it is on. But the #1 switch should be the Frankenstein-style knife switch. Nothing says fun like exposed very-high-current conductors.
I prefer to think of them as ON switches*.
Maybe we could compromise on ON/OFF switches?
* except for the ones that are for emergency off - aren't those called kill switches?
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
damn it; seeing as I work in the building it really shouldn't have been this hard!
...we will forget the off switch. I understand the need for managed shutdown, but there was always something satisfying about activating a solid on/off switch to cut all power to the system. The switch always did the same thing. It was dependable. Sometimes, if it was spring-loaded, it even had a satisfying "chunk" noise to tell you with extreme prejudice, this machine is OFF. Industrial!
At one time, before the widespread adoption of journaling file systems, people said that the requirement of managed shutdown would make Unix/Linux unacceptable for most people. Ha! Nowadays when people hit the START button to get to the SHUTDOWN, Windows will sit there, "saving your settings" for a good minute or more.
Link is not working for me.
Did they include the "guy standing over rope with axe" switch to shut down the Manhattan project reactor pile?
Sometimes low tech is the best tech.
I guess they just found the OFF-switch of the C-Net servers... :-S
http://downtime.cnet.co.uk/cnet-down.html
Looks like someone was finally able to press cnet's off switch...
They missed one of the most classic off switches of all. A link button on the front page of slashdot!
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
Don't forget the plexiglass cover for switch #1.
I've seen what happens when you leave that off.
I'd say The Button is the #1 off switch - it is the high bit on the entire world.
--
make install -not war
Come on, which one of you was it?
Heh... planned maintenance. *chuckle*
-- This post contains %100 recycled electrons Remove spam and eggs to send some mail.
Holy Crap! Call the Daily Planet... Get the news train running on this one, Mr. Kent!
"I love lamp."
..is this button. Any jolly candy-like button is alright by me.
But isn't this about OFF switches and not ON switches?-)
They don't even mention Blart Versenwald III!
All you have to do is take your low-current, low-voltage illuminated toggle switch and use it to operate a relay. Assuming your relay is rated for the right conditions, you can use that switch to open and close any circuit you want.
---don't make me break out my red pen.
My favorite is the "battle short" switch. Often seen on military hardware. It overrides all of the protective circuits that might take the system off-line during critical operations.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
You would think a website as large as Cnet would have the bandwidth to hold up to the Slashdot crowd. So, I am a bit surprised by this. Anybody got any explanations?
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
First in the queue for a wanker award. Go back to Digg.
Funnily enough was looking at this earlier today - I have one and am likely to get another.
The 'switch' is a beam, not sure what kind, which controls on/off and and brightness for a lamp. You don't flick anything, you just move your hand across and the lamp switches on.
Irritatingly the Mathmos website is arranged such that you can't directly link to a product, but here's a video of the lamp in action on another site. I know the tech isn't the highest in the world, but who cares? It looks fantastic.
Cheers,
Ian
Am I alone in disliking those "universal" symbols found on power bars? I can never remember whether the circle or the horizontal line is "ON" or "OFF." Maybe it's me, but they seem totally non-intuitive.
Three Squirrels
Yes, 1985 Series III Land Rover, packed with toggle switches! Of course last night in the cold I couldn't find the toggle switch for the interior light. No, its not activated when you open the door! If that happened, how else could you sneak into your Landy in the dark so that the enemy don't spot you!? Anyway, found that switch, then had to find the heater and the fan toggle switch... Yeah, I've not had it long enough to have done much driving on the dark or the cold...
Then there's a mysterious toggle switch on the dash that seems to do nothing. Landies are so customised that you often find odd switches that do nothing. Maybe this one used to activate the old extra front lights. Or maybe I pulled a wire out when I fixed the speedometer. Umm. Anyway, modern cars probably have touch-screens on the steering wheel for all this. Give me a toggle switch!
Just passing time until the site recovers...
The traditional wall mounted box with a pull lever on the side. It opens so you can see the simple mechanical switch inside. Lockable, so that you can insure that it won't get switched back on, while your hands are inside the guts of something electromechanical.
Simple, safe, and sure. That is why they have been used, and will be, for years.
... in my memory looks similar to the last one.
It provided power to a few mainframes in a huge radio and TV station, which in turn provided the broadcaster's newsrooms with all the information and tools to process their news.
Since this is not an uncommon setup, you might ask why this switch holds a special place in my memory.
It is because some day a cleaning lady decided to take her job seriously and cleaned it...
There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
One is on, zero is off.
Am I alone in thinking that's so intuitive as to border on obvious?
Fortunately for both of us, these are often combined into a toggle switch, and also, the power bar switch is usually lit up when it's on.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Yes, you read that right, one of the best off switches ever is fitted to the android from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Data, as he's known to his friends -- seen here snogging the face off the Borg Queen -- had one secret he only told a select few people. He could be deactivated with a power button on his leg. Yeah... but it was on his hip, not his leg. Which, I suppose, could make sex with the Borg Queen a bit of a pain...
"Oh yeah, yeah, wait, no, don't touch me th*thunk*"
Good point bringing that up, but I can think of a number of situations where you'd prefer the machinery defaults to ON when the switch breaks -- where you're never going to want to turn the machine off so urgently you can't pull the plug, or cut the wire.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Punch the ol' android under the left armpit, and it's "shutdown -h" time for Commander Yelloweyes!
Constitutionally Correct
Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?
You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
Janie Crane: "Edison... an off switch!"
Metrocop: "She'll get years for that. Off switches are illegal!"
In a way I'm surprised this hasn't become a reality yet.
#1 : "Honey did you see that beautiful woman?"
Cute story. #9 is my favorite. 2 obvious omissions are the emergency stop buttons on elevators and escalators. I'm already thinking someone needs to follow this up with the top 10 *on* switches. My vote would be for the one in Jurassic park (the 1st one), where Laura Dern has to pump the thing and then press the button to fire the knife switch.
"The ferrets, they're every where I tell you!"
They could have left one of the toggle switches out and included some sort of a dead man switch. Foot or hand operated from a train perhaps.
I used to operate light rail vehicles. If you let go of the switch the the train went into maximum braking. I remember it was abrupt, can't remember if it automatically dumped the sand in front of the steel wheels or you had to do that yourself.
This is a switch (about halfway down the page)!
Have gnu, will travel.
I've always thought of it as "IN" (inline, thus switched on) and "OUT" (out of circuit, thus switched off). Not sure why, perhaps I've picked this up when I interned at a hi-power research lab.
Biggest switch I've seen recently was a 1250 amps rated electricity switch. Housed in a transparent casing, the outside switch moves big pieces of tin-coated copper. I was watching from a safe distance while the electrician casually unscrewed the top cover, I suppose it wasn't a live circuit at the time. It is used to supply power to a printing press.
I so agree. The #1 switch fetishist switch should be the classic knife switch. These blokes must be children to have never seen one of those. (I'm pretty sure they were outlawed by any country with a functional set of safety regulations at some point in the 1950's).
I would also posit that the #2 choice would be the two station keyswitch (Launch the missiles) sort of steup.
... will replace the old-fashioned "Access Standby", which has already replaced this appallingly stone-aged "Off".
No, try again.... Not Leg, not armpit, but beneath his right shoulder blade. (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/character/1112457.html)
The blurb for number six is written very strangely. They say "You use this very special switch every day of your life" for a type of switch I've never seen before - a switch on an AC power outlet! I think whoever wrote this one must be in Brittan-or-Somewhere, as those are clearly not US power outlets, he calls AC outlets "mains", and apparently they have switches on all their AC "mains" where the writer comes from.
The weirdest part is that the writer acknowledges that "this little fella is an unusual one: most of the world's mains sockets don't have a switch on them at all! Shocking, isn't it?" Well, if most of the world's sockets don't have these switches, why do you assume the reader uses one every day?
Still, putting switches on the AC outlet is a damn good idea, why haven't we copied that one yet?
/me flips this article off.
The Gospel according to lolcat
Wow, thats textbook geek porn, a picture of that article could go in a hypothetical dictionary under the geek porn article. That and Data snogging the Borg Queen came as quite a surprise.
The best off button EVER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhzvCyhkg8c
See this button?
DON'T TOUCH IT!
It's the History Eraser Button you fool !
--so what'll happen ?
That's just it! We don't know.
Maybe something bad...maybe something good
I guess we'll never know.
Cause you're going to guard it.
You won't touch it, will you?
[narrator]
Oh, how long can trusty Cadet Stimpy hold out?
How can he possibly resist the diabolical urge to push the button that could erase his very existence?
Will his tortured mind give in to it's uncontrollable desires?
Can he withstand the temptation to push the button, that even now, beckons him ever closer?
Will he succumb to the maddening urge to eradicate history, at the mere push of a single button?
The beautiful shiny button.
The jolly candy-like button.
Will he hold out, folks?
Can he hold out?
-- QED
O = 0 = false
| = 1 = true
I do congratulate GP poster for even looking at the symbols though - most people don't. They see a switch, they see the machine in its current state. Assume that state is off, then flicking the switch should turn it on - regardless of what the labels say; unless the thing isn't plugged in / broken / etc. This is increasingly the case as switches are no longer of the toggle type, but rather a pushbutton sort of thing, where the symbol becomes a mix between the two which is a good bit more confusing, even given P poster's mnemonic, but universally accepted as a "power on/off" symbol all the same.
Here's number one on my list:
/. or digg to link to your article
Write a cute/clever/fun/geeky article with a top-ten list and maybe some pictures, then put each part of the article on its own page, with "" link. That way, instead of getting 1 page of ad banner revenue, you get ten -- all for the same article and user.
1. Write a marginally cute top ten list.
2. Divide List into 10 pages
3. Put ad-revenue generating banners on each page
4. Get
5. Profit from all the people not using banner ad blockers.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
Yes, this is cnet.co.uk. The article is written from the perspective of someone living in the United Kingdom.
and your parent-post said that his switch is better than the bIG ShIny ReD bUtTOn... You EEEEEEEEDIOT!!!!
Wouldn't an illuminated switch/toggle be more useful if it was illuminated when the device was OFF so it's easier to know how to turn it on? I'm particularly thinking of light switches here.
/ I *could* make some comment about it being useful on women too, but I won't.
I recently wanted a backup on switch with a status indicator for a 12v application. A simple solution I thought was an illuminated switch. Turns out that in the in 'Off' position, the switch shorts the Acc line to Ground - meaning, if power is already being applied to the device from the alternate source, you've at best just turned it off or worse started a fire due to the current overload.
Looks like they cheated and used a dual-position-single-throw switch and added an internal light across the Acc/Ground connectors. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Returned the switch, bought a non illuminated switch and wired a seperate status light - didn't look as good in my opinion.
I'm in my right mind and I have the answer to everything!
Now you all must be thinking that has got to be a big turn-off, but then see for yourselves. It's in a compressed and password-protected file available on Rapidshare here:
knottydaneknotsmall.zip, pasword is "animal"
The lucky ol' Great Dane dog fucked her pretty well, much more than even you geeks are getting. Even pulls the dog knott out in a rush, leading the little girl to scream a little as the knott plops from her vagina with a strange sound.
cnet's talkback feature appears to be broken, so I'll do the thing here:
Data's off-switch is awesome, but the dude's got it wrong - it isn't on his leg, it's in his side above his hip. If I remember right, above his right hip.
Triv
My house has a few wall sockets that are wired to a switch. Usually, you plug lamps or something like that into them. And I'm here in the USA, so it's not a UK-only thing.
Maybe your house just has old wiring? Although my house isn't that new, either...
could they have not featured those switches from Jurassic Park: the one when she has to go across the dinosaur infested park, the way she pumps that switch and start it up..! yes,.
My vote is for the thick red flip switches on IBM XTs. They turned the whirring old hunk of magnets on and off with a satisfying *snap*.
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
Some girls say that I am an off switch, but I don't know what they mean.
PS-I am joking. I never talk to girls, that is why I am on slashdot!
than an emergency shutdown. Some highly sensitive military gear is rigged with such devices to facilitate destroying the equipment in the event that a plane crashes behind enemy lines or a base is about to be overrun by enemy forces.
Perhaps the switch the guy pulled was to prevent the computer from falling into VC hands?
Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
No, Start -> Shutdown will always be funny. One hundred years from now when someone compiles a list of the most idiotic software switches, Windows will be the flag-bearer. Time cannot dull the idiocy of that one.
Lies about crimes
Data's off switch was on the list. But they said it was on his leg. I was always under the impression that it was on his lower back. Can anyone confirm this one way or the other? Memory Alpha seems to have no information on his off switch, and it's left me feeling rather downcast...
I think this CNET article is irresponsible for giving credit to some un-pictured mythical switch on Data's leg while not acknowledging the tractor-beam shutdown switch Obi-Wan Kenobi flipped. That sucker filled his whole palm and was mounted on a ledge with a 1000' drop-off. Here's a photo.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
CTRL-ALT-DELETE
I don't understand. If she's turned off wouldn't you just toggle the switch?
You clearly earn first prize for that bit of spooge from my wireless subnet!
How about these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Controlrods.jpg
Nuclear reactor controll rods are typically mounted to an electro-magnet, meaning a power failure will cause them to drop into the core under their own weight, disabling the chain reaction within seconds. Modern plants have multiple ways to kill the power to the magnet, this could include computer controlled systems, manual switches, thermal sensors, or literarely cutting the power cable. Also, following the chernobyl accident the guide channels are normally designed to prevent the rods from getting stuck should a damaged reactor be disformed.
..I'm all for making money on what you do. The question is, where do you (as a consumer) draw the line in terms of what you'll put up with in exchange for amusing content.
This site, to me, crosses that line into ad-banner whoring by deliberately adding clicks and thus page impressions from what would be one, to ten or more.
Write good content, toss some banner ads and make some money -- good for you. Purposely ad-whore -- then you've wasted my time and I won't come back (or recommend the site).
I'm sure they're quaking in fear at my lack of recommendation, but there you go.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
This is one of my favorite switches. Of course, we bought it, and then realized that we don't have much use for it. But it's a neat idea! Someday we'll hook it up to something.
No really an "off switch" but a nice "switch" for the self-destruct system.
That's one possibility. A guy over on the "No Ideas But In Things" blog suggested that it's for the bridge to send a 'heads up' down to the engine room, to tell them that the engine isn't doing what's been ordered previously.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
No, but I kiss yours with it!
Xenon, where's my money? -Borno
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a trekkie by any means, but I've always been a fan of the manual override switches that Picard and friends used to detatch the deflector dish from the enterprise in First Contact. Those suckers required moving around some mysterious, semi-transparent cards of some sort, pushing a (presumably top-secret) sequence of buttons on the touchscreen, and evidently a lot of effort to pull the switch out, twist, and re-seat it into the off position. So much effort that expendable crewman Hawk couldn't do it, got Borgified, so Worf had to take over his switch *and* dispose of the newly Borgified crewman.
And there were three of them, not to mention Borg that would try to kill you if you did anything suspicious.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of them anywhere, but those were some intense off switches.
You all have Oo.o and Firefox, so get World Wind.
Those are cute, friendly switches.
Time for the grown-up stuff: How about some arc-suppressing actuator-driven disconnect armatures used to de-energize transmission lines in the 115-1000 KV range? Now we're talking UberSwitch. If you're not afraid of some really ugly mid-90s HTML, see some action shots.
In other news, astrophysicists have announced that they now know what all that dark matter is: it's stupidity.
Air tripped breakers are great, stand in the wrong place and you too can be blown all the way down the corridor!
I've also heard a local hospital has a switch with a sign simply stating "£15,000". It releases all the liquid nitrogen in the nmr supermagnet.
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain
Hittin' them NOS switches, bishes! So now I live my life a quarter mile at a time.
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
No discussion of switches can be complete without a mention of a genuinely magical switch connected to a PDP-10:
A Story About 'Magic', courtesy of the venerable and surprisingly non-ubiquitous Jargon File.
Kid-proof tablet..
How can they have left out a switch this bad ass !
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/82019/500kV_Switch_Opening.html/
The original PC's power switch was known far and wide as the Big Red Switch (BRS). Given that it came from IBM, it had to be given a TLA (Three Letter Acronym). Those were the good old days.