Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!titanic.cs.wisc.edu!tonyrich
From: tonyrich@titanic.cs.wisc.edu (Anthony Rich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Macs that break under normal use (was: ADB and blown motherboards)
Summary: Hardware, protect thyself!
Message-ID: <9903@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 8 Mar 90 21:18:58 GMT
References: <1494@key.COM> <1738@sequent.cs.qmw.ac.uk> <2848@mtuni.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@spool.cs.wisc.edu
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 42

In article <2848@mtuni.ATT.COM> psu@mtuni.ATT.COM (Paul Siu) writes:

[Explanation of why unplugging the ADB mini-din plug can lead to damage
 resulting in an expensive motherboard replacement.]

It's a standard engineering principle that machines should be designed
to prevent self-damage under normal use.  (Or even foreseeable,
unintentional misuse, like cables being accidentally unplugged).

Apple's engineers dropped the ball on this one.  The Mac should be
designed to withstand any connection being unplugged while the machine
is on with *no* danger of internal damage.  They also should use
connectors like the DB-9 which can be bolted-in to prevent unplugging.

Likewise, under normal use, the image of the desktop's menubar can burn
into the phosphor of the screen.  The *hardware* should be designed to
protect itself from that self-damage with hardware screenblanking.
(Cheap character-based video terminals do; I'm sure it could be done
on the Mac, even with its fancier graphics-based video).

Don't get me wrong; I like the nifty screensavers like Pyro and Moire,
too.  So put in software hooks which allow fancy software to take over
at screenblanking time to make the blanked screen look prettier.  But
basic screenblanking should be part of the hardware to prevent screen
damage under normal use even without screenblanking software.

We'll have made REAL progress when they finally figure out that the
keyboard cable should come out of the FRONT of the machine, which,
coincidentally, is where the keyboard is.  (Don't those long cables
emit more RFI, too?  If you MUST run the cable from the back to the
front, at least do it INSIDE the box!)

How about it, Apple?  We'll let bygones be bygones on the existing
line, but you've got no excuse for this kind of stuff on the new models.
Let's plug those chinks in the armor before the competition attacks.

  Tony
--
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Email:       tonyrich@titanic.cs.wisc.edu  Phone:  608-271-8450
Disclaimer:  The opinions above are mine.  Others may agree or disagree.
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