this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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[–] Yes_Man 132 points 6 days ago (24 children)

Mac Mini's are cool, and I appreciate that Apple has some of the most experienced and talented designers in the world... But they put the power switch on the bottom. You have to lift it up and turn it over to turn it on and off.

A Mac Mini underside, showing the power button placement.

[–] GhostlyPixel 97 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (6 children)

Remember these are the same engineers who put the Magic Mouse charging port on the bottom, making the mouse unusable while you charge it

[–] million 19 points 5 days ago (13 children)

People treat it like a mistake but not be able to use the mouse while it’s plugged in is the entire point of the design. Right or wrong the Apple designers thought a cord drag was a bad experience and designed to prevent it.

They probably looked at their target audience and realized there was a certain percentage of folks that would just leave the mouse on the cord 24/7 and wanted to prevent that.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago

They also know their target audience has plenty of people who gobble up every bad design decision and even defend it online years later.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago

People treat it like a mistake, but the Emperor has no clothes and people are catching on.

[–] LANIK2000 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

I don't understand what was wrong with the original version that just took 2 AA batteries. Reaching for the AA charger and swapping cells not awkward enough or something?

Smart and elegant design would be hiding a battery charger in the iMac it self (maybe even use something smaller than AA), not expect you to flip and plug in your mouse every time ya leave it. The Nintendo Switch, while a completely different form factor, is a great example of an elegant (you could even say "wireless") charging solution.

I'm getting really sick of the Apple esthetic of sticking out wires, be it the mouse or the dozen dongles for every portable device they now make. Uh! Can't forget the world's only pen that needs charging, for seemingly no reason.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 6 points 5 days ago (4 children)

They can fit a bigger rechargeable battery in the same space as a battery bay for replaceable batteries. Plus it eliminates the waste of throwing away batteries, and has longer battery life than similarly sized alkalines.

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[–] stoly 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)
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[–] VindictiveJudge 23 points 5 days ago (7 children)

Honestly, the mouse charger screams marketing or management. Apple's brand is partially form over function.

[–] ForgotAboutDre 6 points 5 days ago

It was very likely a designers decision. It forces the use the use case they wanted; wireless mice should be used wirelessly. I would bet they fought marketing and management to get this on the final product.

Marketing would want the mouse they can advertise as being useable with and wireless. Female ports are easier to mount and manufacture with they have depth to set the socket. So a plug on the front is much cheaper and easier to manufacture.

The fact the charging cable doesn’t get used in motion means it will last longer and you wouldn’t have people useing fraying cables on the front of their mouse.

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[–] ThePantser 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Yeah and I hear they might bring that back lol. Why haven't there been any wireless mice that use wireless charging? They could include a super thin coil that you could place under any mouse pad. It doesn't even need to charge fast so heat shouldn't be an issue. Just trickle charge when it's not being used.

Edit: guess I should have searched first. Of course it was Logitech

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[–] winkly 11 points 4 days ago
[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 days ago

What.

The fuck.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (2 children)

In case it wasn't a joke, I imagine it would be high enough for your finger to just poke under it to push the button, like you would a monitor with buttons on the bottom of the screen.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

You're using it wrong: Just place the whole computer upside down on your desk.

[–] Yes_Man 2 points 4 days ago

A reporter at the Verge just had a hands on with it and confirmed that you do, unfortunately, have to lift it up.

there’s no way to reach the power button, which is on the underside of the computer, without lifting it up.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago
[–] lepinkainen 8 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The previous model has it in the back, you can’t even feel it properly because it’s not recessed.

On the other hand the last time I turned off my M1 mini was when we moved. It’s 100% silent and takes less power than a lightbulb when it sleeps, so why would I bother powering it off.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

So while it sleeps, it still wastes electricity on literally nothing. Gotcha

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Why would you run a lightbulb 24/7?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The new design seems more lifted, I think it should be fine to fit your finger below there without having to lift it up yourself. At least for most people.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

who let the magic mouse engineers loose

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The side with the power button is now the top. There is no ports or io on the bottom.

[–] A7thStone 2 points 5 days ago

You're holding it wrong!

[–] flop_leash_973 9 points 6 days ago (4 children)

But once its on why would you ever turn it off? /s

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago

This but non-sarcastically. I have a Mac mini and I don’t think I’ve ever touched the power button (except after plugging in of course, but then you’re already fiddling)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago

I bought my iMac in March 2020... since then it's been powered down maybe half a dozen times (a couple of those were power cuts) and rebooted (outside of macOS updates) maybe ten times.

It just sits there reliably doing its thing and sucks little juice in power saving so 🤷🏻‍♂️

[–] AA5B 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

We used to have racks of these things for automated testing …. And eventually they stop responding, so someone needs to power cycle them. In the computer room. In a rack

[–] tibi 5 points 5 days ago

I seriously don't understand why Apple won't make server macs, with proper server features like IPMI, rack mounting support, virtualization. As a software developer, macs are horrible to work with.

Beyond the nightmare that is code signing and certificates (required even for debug builds), the physical devices are special snowflakes. Getting them to play nicely in a CI/CD system is really difficult. They often freeze or misbehave requiring physical access to fix. Also, if you want to target older OS X or iOS versions, you need to use an older version of XCode (that Apple makes really difficult to find) and an older version of MacOS.

There are many other use cases beyond software development, such as render farms, network storage, backup etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Assuming the desktop takes the same power saving techniques from their laptops, there is no real reason to turn it off.

[–] Usernameblankface 5 points 5 days ago

Is it meant to stay on forever once you set it up?

[–] stoly 2 points 4 days ago

I assume that the plinth lifts it high enough for your finger to comfortably fit under.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

You’ll be able to fit a finger under it I bet.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'd just get two toothpicks and make a seesaw to press it, although I pretty much never turn off my computers so I still wouldn't mind too much

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Don't worry, there will be suitable USB accessories, for just 99$.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

That's trippy. Try following the cable from end to end.

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