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17" and ambient light change
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barcelona, SPAIN
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Hi all...
I'm wondering if the 17" computer changes to black when the ambient light goes down... or is it only the keyboard? in the video below it seems like it ...
Backlit keyboard video
It seems like it goes black, maybe thats just an effect to show the backlight better...
Anyone test this yet?
- tobs
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Banned
Join Date: Jan 2003
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duh....
my understanding is it's made of aluminium alloy......
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Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Iowa City
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Originally posted by tobster:
I'm wondering if the 17" computer changes to black when the ambient light goes down...
An intriguing question, given Apple's recent patent application that was in the news. Today it's the keyboard that goes on and off according to the light, but who knows what kind of sweet applications that sensor could have down the road.
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: You don't care.
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Here's how it works. Your powerbook is Aluminum. In the dark, its still aluminum, but the ambient light sensors detect that "Woah, no light, better get crankin'" fiber optic light cable embedded in the keyboard lights up, so the keyboard lights up. So, when it gets dark, your computer doesn't change color, rather the keys light up.
I'm English, excuse the terrible humor.
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Am I still here?
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Fran Sancisco
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Though the keyboard looks like it changes to black in the video or in pictures, it doesn't change to black. that's just the way it looks when imaged under very low light.
I demo'd this feature at macworld today on a 17" powerbook. the light sensors are located under the large perforated grilles where the tiny speakers are also located. An Apple employee showed me how the machine reacts to low light conditions by holding his hands over the sensors. the screen dims down to about 25% of maximum. the conditions there (extremely bright plastic surface under the machine) didn't allow me to see the lights under the keyboard - they're very subtle.
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barcelona, SPAIN
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Thanx for all the answers... I was actually leaning towards non changing colour but that patent Apple filed last February got me thinkin' 
Backlit keyboard is cool enough anyways!!!
- tobs
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Admin Emeritus  Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
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Originally posted by tobster:
Hi all...
I'm wondering if the 17" computer changes to black when the ambient light goes down...
The computer just gets darker as they change the camera iris to make the backlighting stand out.
We haven't yet come up with the transparent aluminum that Scotty shows the Plexiglas company how to make in Star Trek IV. (Well, actually, even that's not totally true: the Fraunhofer Institut -- the same organization that developed the MP3 format -- has made transparent aluminum-oxide ceramics, essentially clear sapphire plates, which are new in that they came up with a more practical manufacturing technique.)
tooki
(See also this page.)
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Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Barcelona, SPAIN
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Originally posted by tooki:
The computer just gets darker as they change the camera iris to make the backlighting stand out.
We haven't yet come up with the transparent aluminum that Scotty shows the Plexiglas company how to make in Star Trek IV. (Well, actually, even that's not totally true: the Fraunhofer Institut -- the same organization that developed the MP3 format -- has made transparent aluminum-oxide ceramics, essentially clear sapphire plates, which are new in that they came up with a more practical manufacturing technique.)
tooki
(See also this page.)
Wow, maybe in the future for Apple, who knows...
thx, tooki
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore, MD
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Does anyone know if the patent discussed in past weeks is the one that applies to the keyboard? If not, is there one?
Looking to research it for a class...
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: South Detroit
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I tested my TiGz to see if it reacted the same way as the computer in the movie and it did!!!!! When I turned the lights off in my house my Ti turned black just like the new one. In fact everything in my house turned black! I was even black! When I turned the lights back on everything quickly returned to normal. I can't believe that Apple never advertized this feature/bug before!
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I love the U.S., but we need some time apart.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Pleasanton, CA
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Man, that's amazing! 
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Vallejo, Ca.
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In a realm beyond site, the sky shines gold, not blue, there the Triforce's might makes mortal dreams come true.
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Akiba alleyway
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Interesting image, Mac Zealot. But does it change colour when you turn the lights down?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2003
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No, but I'm betting it has a nice warm red glow.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Australia
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I have one of those fitted to a PC I built recently. It's called a Zalman heat pipe cooler and it fits to either a GeForce4 Ti or Radeon 9700 card to replace the graphic chip's fan.
Along with a copper flower CPU heatsink, a Seagate drive and a variable fan rate power supply, I've built a near silent machine: <25 dBA - on a par with my Cube.
Apple may be able to build ultra-cool optic fibre lit keyboards, but personally I'd much rather they re-learn the skill of silent computing...
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