macgui
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A clever hack fixes the new Mac mini power button's awkward location
Turn the mini upside down. Thermal management is probably not an issue. The vents on the bottom manage both the intake and exhaust. There's a fan inside. There's no functional reason not to invert it.
Nobody here knows how "large" the gap is and won't know until someone measures and report how high the base raises the raises the mini. Until then a lot of people are talking out their ass. Get a small chunk of wood, aluminum, granite, whatever, the approximate size of the base's diameter and raise it a little. Simple matter to pinch the power button and the top of the mini. I have to hold my mini in place when pushing and holding the power button on the back to force a shutdown or it slides. This new mini might not require the same effort but no one will know till they check. It is a bad design from a user standpoint but it serves Apple's purpose, whatever that might be.
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Apple stuck the Mac mini power button on the bottom
No the bottom isn't actually the top. Functionally I think the mini could be operated upside down with no ill effects whatsoever. This would be a valid choice if someone prefers not having the mini draw any current when not in use or has any other reason for turning it off when not using it. Think turning off night-lights in the daytime. Even "automatic" nightlights draw something when off.MrBunside said:They also put the exhaust ports on the bottom - is it possible that the bottom is actually the top? Functionally, leaving it black-side up makes more sense, right?
Since not everyone has the same experience some people will need to force quit more often than others. While not as aesthetically pleasing flipping the mini could be a convenient alternative, making more sense for some than others.
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Apple stuck the Mac mini power button on the bottom
"Flows through the foot" just explains ventilation. It doesn't state, imply or demonstrate that's where it needs to be.sandor said:
i was thinking the opposite - that there may be some ?fluid dynamic? reason that airflow may be impacted if it is not on a hard surface? this i am just guessing at - but i remember the Apple laptops that couldn't be used on a lap because they would overheat.MrBunside said:They also put the exhaust ports on the bottom - is it possible that the bottom is actually the top? Functionally, leaving it black-side up makes more sense, right?
https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/
about 1/3 of the way down, "Built to Chill", there is a good animation of the air flow - Apple says all the air "flows through the foot" so the power button and vents are definitely meant to be on the bottom."Meant to be" ≠ "needs to be". Apple put the ventilation on the bottom for aesthetics. The intake and exhaust are on the same level. If the exhaust were higher than the intake there might be some advantage of hot air rising and aiding in air flow. It's not. Airflow is managed by fans. So there's probably no functional disadvantage to inverting it as far as cooling is concerned.
This also means this has nothing to do with the power button being on the bottom. Apple could have put it just about anywhere they wanted to. Their choice was most likely a balance of their aesthetic and the least difficult (read: expensive) place to put it. So it didn't need to be placed on the bottom or on the bottom in the back. It's what Apple chose to do. You could probably place it on a coaster to give enough space to press the button. Because the mini is lightweight it'll probably need to "squeezed" between the thumb and index (or whatever) finger to activate the button.
Putting it in the top of the case would have probably required a lot of clever circuitry and material placement depending on how the mini is assembled. iFixit will have a teardown and more will be known with much guessing eliminated.
On an unrelated note, I'd like to see a return to an illuminated Apple logo on all MacBooks. It's obviously something Apple could do if they wanted to. But like the location of the M4 mini's power button, it's probably an expensive manufacturing endeavor that while very cool looking, wouldn't make sense from a production cost standpoint.
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Apple stuck the Mac mini power button on the bottom
There is no reason to shut the it off. Unless the user wants to. Why the fuck should anybody care about how someone else uses it? Somebody doesn't want it drawing power that's their business their call. It doesn't concern anybody else.
It's a bad design regardless of how little or how much it may affect any individual user.
No, it's not in the front of the mini. It's in the back on the left side. And no most people won't be slipping their finger under the mini, they'll be tipping it. There will be workarounds simple, involved, innovative even. But they shouldn't be necessary.
So many people whined about the Magic Mouse charging port. A huge nothingburger. This isn't the same thing. It will bother some. Others will be bothered that someone is bothered. WTF. Objectively it's a bad design.That some people aren't bothered by that doesn't mitigate the dumbness of the move.
Apple hasn't had a keyboard that powers-on a Mac in decades, since what, the ADB days? Any keyboard can wake it from Sleep. I sleep my Macs for that instant gratification. My choice. If someone wants to power off their Mac that's their choice. Why should that bother me. Wait. It doesn't.
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Is Apple Vision Pro a 'first year flop' or tomorrow, today?
SHK said:Blah, blah, blah...
So far, it's undeniable blah blah blah...It's undeniable that this iteration of the Vision was never intended to "catch on". It's a niche product. That's undeniable. In fact Cooks said it's a niche product. Trying to paint it as mass market product and some kind of failure is ignoring that. It appears you didn't even read the article.
