3 ms·

A smart plug would probably work just as well for most cases, but one downside is that you need to ensure your computer is safely powered off before turning off

by secure 4y ago

A smart plug would probably work just as well for most cases, but one downside is that you need to ensure your computer is safely powered off before turning off the smart plug. Conceptually, pressing the power button seems a little cleaner to me, and also works well with suspend-to-ram (what I originally wanted to do), which the smart plug can’t do. I’m not too concerned with safety — we’re talking about 3.3V (signal) and 5V (power) here.

phoronixrly 4y ago
You shut down your computer the usual way, from the OS, then toggle the plug to restart it. In case the system hangs during shut down, you'd actually want to know that it's hanging, which you can actually see in the power readings of the plug. > I’m not too concerned with safety I'm sorry to state that, but that much is evident from the photos in the blog post (assuming you're author here). While the voltages may look safe to you, the whole contraption is safe just until something goes wrong. Examples: 1. You push around a dangling wire and short out a more powerful circuit. 2. Something on your dev board for development purposes releases the grey smoke. 500mA at 5v may seem low to you, but under the right circumstances might cause a fire. I don't see any fuses or other overcurrent protection in your schematic. 3. Your mainboard gives a defect and runs more that the expected voltages/currents to your dev board. God forbid AC from something else faulty in the electric installation (just saying because I've been zapped from touching the outside of a closed case). 4. Power surges, lightning strikes... Static electricity even...
KMnO4 4y ago
Many smart plugs have some sort of energy monitor built in. I imagine you could turn off the plug when the power dropped below, eg, 5W.
numpad0 4y ago
Some motherboard BIOS has the “Restore on AC Power Loss” config item with options. I think that’s he is referring to. IIRC, each of which do following: - “Stay Off”: do nothing - “Power On”: turn on after AC is reconnected - “Last State”: turn on after AC is reconnected, only if disconnected while running

by secure 4y ago

phoronixrly 4y ago

You shut down your computer the usual way, from the OS, then toggle the plug to restart it. In case the system hangs during shut down, you'd actually want to know that it's hanging, which you can actually see in the power readings of the plug. > I’m not too concerned with safety I'm sorry to state that, but that much is evident from the photos in the blog post (assuming you're author here). While the voltages may look safe to you, the whole contraption is safe just until something goes wrong. Examples: 1. You push around a dangling wire and short out a more powerful circuit. 2. Something on your dev board for development purposes releases the grey smoke. 500mA at 5v may seem low to you, but under the right circumstances might cause a fire. I don't see any fuses or other overcurrent protection in your schematic. 3. Your mainboard gives a defect and runs more that the expected voltages/currents to your dev board. God forbid AC from something else faulty in the electric installation (just saying because I've been zapped from touching the outside of a closed case). 4. Power surges, lightning strikes... Static electricity even...

KMnO4 4y ago

Many smart plugs have some sort of energy monitor built in. I imagine you could turn off the plug when the power dropped below, eg, 5W.

numpad0 4y ago

Some motherboard BIOS has the “Restore on AC Power Loss” config item with options. I think that’s he is referring to. IIRC, each of which do following: - “Stay Off”: do nothing - “Power On”: turn on after AC is reconnected - “Last State”: turn on after AC is reconnected, only if disconnected while running