06-03-2005, 10:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Those Blue LEDs Are Keeping Me Awake And Suppressing My Immune System
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,67574,00.html
"When Australian applications consultant Martin Pot bought an LCD monitor last December, he got an unwanted extra: a dazzlingly bright blue LED, or light-emitting diode, just below the screen. Pot found the LED "distracting" and "annoying," and finally resorted to covering it up just to get some work done. A rare sight only five years ago, blue LEDs now seem to be everywhere: on laptops, DVD players, air ionizers and even toothbrushes. And they have some consumers seeing red."
 :soapbox:
I wrote about this almost 3 years ago and the situation has gotten much worse. My current Pocket PC has several green, red and blue blinking abominations. Our rec room looks like Mission Control in Houston with the blinking and solid lights from a 802.11g USB adapter on a TiVo, the cable modem, mouse, printers, power supplies, routers, etc. And the blue lights are the most annoying in the extreme. My old Media Center PC had a huge blue ring on it that looked like a blasted spotlight when you had all the lights out and were trying to enjoy a movie. It is ridiculous to have to disable my bluetooth stack on my XDAIII just to go to sleep, but I do because in a dark room, that LED looks like a flash of lightening. Manufacturers, they were cool several years ago (slightly), but enough already!
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06-03-2005, 10:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 116
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Funny you should mention this...
I just got a new Iomega 250Gb external hard drive for my Dell laptop. It has a bright blue LED that stays on ALL THE TIME! I actually thought this morning about taping a piece of black tape over it...
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06-03-2005, 11:07 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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My HP laptop and accessories have a lot of blue LEDs. I agree with you that blinking blue LEDs are annoying, but I don't mind the ones that are always on. It really gives my laptop (desktop replacement, for college) setup a nice look.
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06-03-2005, 11:59 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 135
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My wife's PC, at the far end of the house, is connected via Netgear USB Super G Wireless NIC, and has that damn flashing blue LED. What the heck were they thinking??? The Netgear USB G wireless NIC it replaced was on-solid blue LED -- I could at least "tolerate" that. Idiots!
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06-04-2005, 12:01 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SofaTater
Funny you should mention this...
I just got a new Iomega 250Gb external hard drive for my Dell laptop. It has a bright blue LED that stays on ALL THE TIME! I actually thought this morning about taping a piece of black tape over it...
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Yeah, my 300GB Segate OneTouch external drive has a big blue LED (two actually) on the button. Solid on if the drive is on, and they alternate flashing if it is working. Now that I think about it, my new Maxell external DVD burner has one too. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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06-04-2005, 12:26 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 8
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Thats's nothing guys... i got a webcam which has blue status LED, and it just so happens that it's so bright that it's not possible to stare in the cam at night... i had to open the dang thing and 'disable' it.
(btw. it had no other purpose just to flash eyes...)
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06-04-2005, 12:37 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 541
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My iJuice charger has a blue LED. TO SHOW THAT IT IS RECEIVING POWER AND PLUGGED IN. I actually use it in order to navigate around my room during the night.
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06-04-2005, 12:41 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by sponge
My iJuice charger has a blue LED. TO SHOW THAT IT IS RECEIVING POWER AND PLUGGED IN. I actually use it in order to navigate around my room during the night.
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Haha, does anyone else see Ed posting an "alternate uses for blinking blue LEDs" news item in the near future? 
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06-04-2005, 12:57 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 359
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I don't get this I mean there should be the functionality in all devices to turn off these LED's. I know that they are GREAT because they work off such small amounts of electricty but that is still a power draw!
I hope in the future they make a way to turn them on or off via software or hardware switches. In PPC's and TV's a simple menu item to Turn off LED notifications. In things like removeable HDD's and things like that a small switch.
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06-04-2005, 01:13 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,520
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SofaTater
Funny you should mention this...
I just got a new Iomega 250Gb external hard drive for my Dell laptop. It has a bright blue LED that stays on ALL THE TIME! I actually thought this morning about taping a piece of black tape over it...
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I did just that on the base of my e830 cradle. There's a thin strip of electrical tape that goes all the way around.
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