... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while 
downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration 
potential otherwise :-P

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clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> ... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while
> downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration
> potential otherwise :-P

Having done that once or twice before, my current machine has the reset button
disconnected.  I also changed the setting int he BIOS to 'wait 5 seconds' for
the power button.

It isn't like I accidentally hit them often, but if my machine really did need a
hard reset, holding a button for 5 seconds is a very small trade-off.

-Reactor

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Reactor schrieb:
> clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>> ... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while
>> downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration
>> potential otherwise :-P
> 
> Having done that once or twice before, my current machine has the reset button
> disconnected.  I also changed the setting int he BIOS to 'wait 5 seconds' for
> the power button.
> 
> It isn't like I accidentally hit them often, but if my machine really did need a
> hard reset, holding a button for 5 seconds is a very small trade-off.

That is indeed so, and on my previous machines I have always been using 
that setting myself (fortunately even without having learned it the hard 
way *). Not sure whether I forgot to change it on my new one - I hadn't 
even noticed I was operating the power button with my foot, until some 
programs asked me whether I wanted to save my work, so maybe I had been 
pressing the button for well over 5 seconds already.

My Linux machine uses an instant shut-down scheme though: Safely out of 
normal reach, and without input device or display connected, I regularly 
use the power button to shut it down after use.


(* unless one counts standing at my computer, pre-ATX mains power switch 
already depressed to power down, and realizing that it was a good thing 
to have a chance of thinking twice, even if in those days it meant to do 
just the opposite, keeping the power button firmly pressed while 
operating the computer with the other hand to save some yet-unsaved data...)

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clipka wrote:
> ... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while 
> downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration 
> potential otherwise :-P

Heh. I love BitTorrent for the same reason. ;-)

Also, for games that get updated a lot, manually installing all those 
patches would get frustrating, fast. Steam sorts that out too...

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>> ... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while
>> downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration
>> potential otherwise :-P
> 
> Having done that once or twice before, my current machine has the reset button
> disconnected.  I also changed the setting int he BIOS to 'wait 5 seconds' for
> the power button.
> 
> It isn't like I accidentally hit them often, but if my machine really did need a
> hard reset, holding a button for 5 seconds is a very small trade-off.

I think I can say without fear of contradiction that I have *never*, 
ever, accidentally powered down my PC.

Still, there's always power cuts and the BSoD. ;-)

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> I think I can say without fear of contradiction that I have *never*, ever, 
> accidentally powered down my PC.

I always forget that other people usually have their laptop set to 
sleep/hibernate when you close the lid (I have mine set to do absolutely 
nothing, apart from turn off the LCD of course).  It really screws up stuff 
if you click shutdown and then immediately close the lid :-)

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scott wrote:

> I always forget that other people usually have their laptop set to 
> sleep/hibernate when you close the lid (I have mine set to do absolutely 
> nothing, apart from turn off the LCD of course).  It really screws up 
> stuff if you click shutdown and then immediately close the lid :-)

Ah yes, my least-favourit feature. Set POV-Ray running on a 2-week 
project, close the lid anNOOOO!!! DON'T STOP RENDERING?!?!! >_<

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Reactor <rea### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> > ... 'cause accidently kicking my computer's power button while
> > downloading that 4 GB game would have had a somewhat higher frustration
> > potential otherwise :-P

> Having done that once or twice before, my current machine has the reset button
> disconnected.

  I'm really wondering why so many PC cases have such a huge reset button
which is so easy to push. I think this is a historical leftover from the
DOS days where it was common to have to push the reset button a couple of
times per hour (especially in the very old DOS days which had games which
couldn't be quit, and the only way was to reset). Those days are long, long
over, so why still such a design?

  In my PC case the reset button is behind a lid (which covers also the
power button and DVD drives). Even if the lid is kept open, it's hard to
press the button accidentally because it's small and recessed, rather than
bulging.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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Warp wrote:

>   I'm really wondering why so many PC cases have such a huge reset button
> which is so easy to push.

Who knows?

Mine is pretty tiny. Not small enough that you need a pen to push it, 
but you'd have to be absurdly unlucky to push it by accident.

The power switch is another matter... Still, my PC is located against a 
wall, so while it's common to kick the side, you're very unlikely to 
ever kick the front.

Well, unless you count my mother - the only women to accidentally drill 
through her own arm with a power tool...

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Invisible wrote:
> I think I can say without fear of contradiction that I have *never*, 
> ever, accidentally powered down my PC.

I think the closest I've come is shutting down the machine and then 
realizing as it's starting to close everything up that there was one more 
thing I wanted to do. But that doesn't really count.


-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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