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0 pointsjimhefferon6y ago0 comments

So, the device comes with a slide switch, set to on. A user who cares can slide it off.

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11 comments · 3 top-level

jsiepkes6y ago· 6 in thread

It's not that simple. People will accidentally set the switch to off and won't understand why their mic doesn't work anymore. At this point there is a good chance they will call support.

This also happend with the hardware wifi kill switches we used to have on notebooks.

Milner086y ago

God the number of times people complained about their laptops being broken only to find out they'd turned WiFi off. Either through a separate kill switch or through a function key. It was a pain the arse.

ekzy6y ago

I recently installed linux on a MSI laptop that has a webcam function key switch. For some reason (could have been me), it was off and I just assumed that the camera wasn't working with linux, or that there was a hardware issue. I almost sent it back. I never owned a laptop with that kind of switch before, so I wasn't looking for this, and the keyboard icon [1] looked like some kind of screen contrast button to me...

[1] https://imgur.com/a/2Oe2k4e

1 more reply

ken6y ago

That's a little different. Wifi is an invisible feature, and it can become disabled through no action of yours. Cameras are physical, so you can make it really obvious when it's enabled and when it's not. You just look for the physical obstruction. Apple's first iSight camera, for example, had a cool leaf shutter that you opened or closed by twisting it.

I know lots of people who have had trouble getting their wifi to work. I don't know anyone who put a piece of tape across their camera and then couldn't figure out why their camera didn't work.

greggman36y ago

It is that simple. The computer can prompt "MUTE" just like TVs do

alexis_fr6y ago

Since we’re integrated between OS and hardware on Apple platforms, they could implement a “Turn on your microphone” dialog. I think this support excuse is too commonly used, when there is obvious value in the result. He’s not a minority, even my grandparents shared the photo of Mark Zuckerberg saying “If this guy hides his camera, so should you”...

skocznymroczny6y ago

You already have dialogs on macOS like "app X wants to use the microphone, allow?"

HatchedLake7216y ago· 2 in thread

It’s Apple. If you want switches on your computers, use ThinkPad or Dell.

pulse76y ago

The latest ThinkPads have a physical/mechanical switch, but just for the camera... The mic can not be turned off with this switch...

jann6y ago

Just a warning (I don’t know the specs of that ThinkPad) but just because it’s a physical switch doesn’t mean it actually physically disconnects the device.

2 more replies

mamon6y ago

Even the user that cares can sometimes forget to do it. With Apple solution you'll never forget to switch microphone off, but on the downside, you now have to trust Apple.

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