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Smart power strips - why?

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HanoiBoi:
I've got a smart strip and I have my pc set to 'shut down' (like a software shut down) when pressing the power button. 

Sure, I'll see and hear the Windows shutdown screen and sounds, but its a bit safer to me.

Also, I've never concerned myself with the look of the boot up or shut down.  I usually have it up before guests arrive and I shut down after they leave.   And, its not like they don't know there's a PC in there.

TopJimmyCooks:

--- Quote from: HanoiBoi on December 15, 2011, 07:31:16 am ---I've got a smart strip and I have my pc set to 'shut down' (like a software shut down) when pressing the power button. 

--- End quote ---

Bingo.  With the smart strip I can hit my power button (wired to the PC's momentary power switch) and through Windows and Mala the pc will hibernate.  Mala has good hibernate functionality and I'm sure other FE's do too.  shuts everything off, then upon a second press, quickly resumes with Mala running.  If I need to get to windows I use the mouse to exit mala.  As Monmotha pointed out, there are good reasons not to shut Windows down without closing it or sleep/hibernate. 

Cynicaster:

--- Quote from: HanoiBoi on December 15, 2011, 07:31:16 am ---I've got a smart strip and I have my pc set to 'shut down' (like a software shut down) when pressing the power button. 

--- End quote ---

I was a bit surprised to have to read so many responses before seeing this one; I didn't think anybody did it any other way.

I have everything in my cabinet plugged into a smart strip, with the PC in the master.  I walk up to my cabinet, one press of the power button turns everything on and it boots right to MaLa.  When I'm done playing, I simply make sure that I exit back into the front end to store any high scores that I might have acquired during the session (I run MamePlus, BTW), and hit the power button again, which causes the PC to do a controlled shut-down.

My smart strip was about $30, taxes in.  Of all the places to cheap out on a project, I'd say cutting out a smart strip is a poor choice.   


--- Quote ---Sure, I'll see and hear the Windows shutdown screen and sounds, but its a bit safer to me.

Also, I've never concerned myself with the look of the boot up or shut down.  I usually have it up before guests arrive and I shut down after they leave.   And, its not like they don't know there's a PC in there.

--- End quote ---

Ditto. 

It's not real arcade hardware and I have no inclination to pretend it is.  It's a MAME machine and MAME machines use PC's for guts.  I could not care less if this fact is made apparent for a few brief moments during start up and shut down. 

 

bkenobi:

--- Quote from: IronBuddha on December 14, 2011, 10:10:22 pm ---I use one for the exact reasons Nephasth mentioned. But I also bought one for my entertainment system for the main reasons why it was invented, which is to save some energy and money while my TV is shut off.

--- End quote ---
Propaganda...  You are spending ~$30 to save you money on your electric bill.  Most of the drains that people try to scare you about are miniscule.  If you were to check what these drains actually are, you'd find that they won't cost you much.

I went around the house with a Kill-A-Watt and found that these money pits total $/year.  If you are concerned about the money, you will see that it will take years to pay for the strip.  If you are worried about the offsets, consider how much energy and chemicals go into creating the power strip.

But, if it makes you feel better about yourself, go for it.   :dunno

Green Giant:
I always assumed this main reason was for the monitor mostly.

Most of my stuff comes up when I send power to the computer via the button, however I have a separate button to fire up my tv.

Controlling my tv power was probably the hardest part since I didn't want to hack up the tv itself.  Solution:  hack up a cheap universal remote for the power button to connect to an extra button I had laying around.




If you have a monitor that powers up upon receiving power, then a smart strip is really nice.  Otherwise it isn't so necessary.

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