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Why Sys-Admins Are Disabling The Lights on WiFi Access Points (networkworld.com)
More than a dozen IT professionals said they've disabled the LEDs on wireless access points, according to a Network World article shared by Slashdot reader alphadogg:
Some users don't want a beacon shining in their eyes as they try to get to sleep and others worry about the health effects of a blue light glowing all night. Some even resort to unplugging the gear when they're not using it.... "It seems when you are sick and laying in a hospital bed and have trouble sleeping, the single LED shining in your eyes is an issue," [says the wireless network staff specialist for Penn State College of Medicine]. "I get it and understand it..."
Network pros say they have begun asking vendors such as Cisco if they can provide an easier way to dim, rather than turn off the lights on the access points entirely, via wireless controllers. And some would like to see more granular control, such that the power light could be left on to comfort end users that the device is working, but blinking lights could be turned off or dimmed to avoid bothering them.
End users have tried "all sorts of makeshift fixes -- from Post-it notes to bandages to condom wrappers," but one network architect complains that when they disable the LEDs altogether, "I invariably get a ticket (or more) that the access point is offline and wireless is broken because there are no lights on..." On the plus side, when they then re-enable the LED lghts, "magically the wireless performance and coverage is perfect!"
Network pros say they have begun asking vendors such as Cisco if they can provide an easier way to dim, rather than turn off the lights on the access points entirely, via wireless controllers. And some would like to see more granular control, such that the power light could be left on to comfort end users that the device is working, but blinking lights could be turned off or dimmed to avoid bothering them.
End users have tried "all sorts of makeshift fixes -- from Post-it notes to bandages to condom wrappers," but one network architect complains that when they disable the LEDs altogether, "I invariably get a ticket (or more) that the access point is offline and wireless is broken because there are no lights on..." On the plus side, when they then re-enable the LED lghts, "magically the wireless performance and coverage is perfect!"
Why can't we get a strip ok old school lcd like in the digital watch of the 1980.
It can show the info without the light.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
They should add light sensor and dim based on that. iPhone display does that btw.
So, it has come to this. An article on Slashdot about covering up blinking lights.
Blinking lights were great before some bright spark invented those bloody ultra-bright blue and white LEDs and electrical equipment designers started indulging their fantasies of making their devices look like the mothership in Close Encounters, right down to the sunburn. Meanwhile, us slashdotters are getting older and starting to feel the effects of decades of staring at flickery screens...
Seriously guys, if the status light is casting visible shadows then its just out-and-out sloppy design. I've even had this on a HP monitor: ridiculous dazzling blue power light on the front of a monitor, with option to disable the light (so obviously people have complained) ...meaning you can't tell if the monitor is switched on at all.
And, yeah, I thank god for those little stand-up cards in hotel rooms saying "Here at PlasticHotelCorp we passionately believe that inane motivational slogans are a great substitute for actual quality" which are ideal for standing in front of the various TVs, clocks and other power lights opposite the bed.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Slashdot is a news aggregation site. Ostensibly for 'News for nerds, stuff that matters' at founding. In practice is was a blog for Rob Malda, CmdrTaco. It was also a website with an accidentally really good commenting technology.
Been around long enough to see the jokes about not reading the article? Then you have probably been around long enough to see the argument that a lot of the people still visiting the site do so for the conversation in the articles. They provide everything from group-think arguments, good counter-arguments and funny jokes about the topic to warnings about click-bait, pay-wall free options and corrected sources.
If Slashdot had ever depended upon the quality of the articles it would have failed when it was still Chips-n-Dips hosted on a university student account. The commenting system is more than a chance to keep up your HTML skillz. People in the know are really providing the value. (Queue complaints about Facebook's model, etc.) However, getting quality articles is important to attracting the readership that does not know about the site.
For instance, this article currently doesn't shows up in Google search for annoying LEDs, being a day old. But the top link is for lifehacks.stackexchange.com for whatever reason. Stackechange and Amazon dominate the front page. I almost feel sorry for companies with products on that page. Even with no such thing as bad marketing, being known for having annoying lights on your non-party-joke product is not a good thing.
The Blue LED backlash article on McConnell's blog is page three. And he discusses a vendor that sells low intensity LEDs for computer products. But I expect - or at least hope - this slashdot article to make it to at least page three with McConnell's blog if not higher.
"You cannot have a General Will unless you have shared experiences. You cannot be fair to people you don't know."