Hacker News Reader

Comment by DanHulton | Hacker News Reader

Objects should also stop having always-on blue LEDs for power indication or whatever. When I turn off the lights at night, my living room basically stays the same luminescence, because of the wash of blue LED light from every stupid little gadget that is desperate for me to know at all times that it has power.

View on HN

I've taken apart two theater systems and a blu-ray player to sort this. It wasn't even THAT the LEDs were blue (though that's annoying as all hell by itself) but these were even WORSE as they were bare straw-hat LEDs stuck out of holes in the cases facing directly outward. The little things would genuinely spot your eyes if you looked at them dead on.

An afternoon soldering a red one + a resistor solved it. I genuinely can't fathom how people without electronics knowledge survive in this world. They must be just suffering constantly being unable to fix these things.

They survive by doing the much simpler thing of using a piece of tape to cover the hole up. Yes, I know it doesn't look super nice, but you don't need much to cover the light.

Before blue LEDs existed, green and amber LEDs were the thing and still are in some dated-appearing designs. In some ways, those are worse. But originally, red LEDs were the staple electronic equipment after transitioning from neon and incandescent lamps. Red LEDs were at least more subtle somewhat.

I think what people want is light pollution customization controls so they're not kept awake with LED Christmas trees.

Involuntary light pollution makes for a bad UX. Side cutters, foil tape, and/or electrical tape. I sometimes don't completely cover status LEDs but instead reduce them to a pinhole.

I much appreciate Ubiquiti APs being able to turn off the LED ring.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com