In July 2002, Appled filed a patent for a “Breathing Status LED Indicator” (No. US 6,658,577 B2). They described it as a “blinking effect of the sleep-mode indicator in accordance with the present invention mimics the rhythm of breathing which is psychologically appealing.”
The average respiratory rate for adults is 12-20 breathes per minute, which is the rate that the sleep-indicator light fades in and out on most Apple laptops. Older models such as the Macintosh PowerBook, however, use a blinking LED indicator, with discrete pulses in one-second intervals.
The other day, I noticed that my friend’s Dell laptop had a similar feature but with a shorter fade-in-fade-out period. Its rate was around 40 blinks per second, or the average respiratory rate for adults during strenuous exercise—not very indicative of something in sleep-mode.
It’s interesting how a lot of companies try to copy Apple but never seem to get it right. This is yet another example of Apple’s obsessive attention to detail.
One way to insure that your shiny new iPad overheats is to turn it on, lay it down so that the noontime sun shines directly on its screen, and wait awhile for the iPad to be smart enough to turn itself off to avoid damage. Apparently, a group of attorneys somewhere has noticed that if you do something that stupid, the iPad in question does indeed overheat and turn itself off. Having proven to their satisfaction that the laws of physics still apply, the attorneys in question have filed a class action suit against Apple (instead of the universe, which actually enforces the laws of physics) and are currently looking for people to join them, which is the way class action lawsuits work.
via Overheating iPad results in Apple being sued – MAC.BLORGE.
Apple: Reception questionable, revenue excellent – MAC.BLORGE.
Another excellent post by my friend Michael. “Antennagate” is annoying, to be sure, for those who it affects—but the reports of Apple’s death from iPhone problems are seriously exaggerated (once again).
Must … resist … whipping … out … Amex …
‘Shoddy security’ leaves millions at the mercy of iTunes fraudsters – Times Online. Apple needs to get its head out of its ass and the sand and beef things up. Until then, you should not store your credit card info with the store!
Thanks to Ian Orles for sharing this story originally.
Thanks to Cindy from Plurk for sharing this!
