To attach power and peripherals to my laptop requires finding the correct ports in the back. Even though I know roughly where these are, I have to lift the thing up or turn it around to see well enough to make the connection. I would rather close the lid and then plug in without lifting or turning. To do this, I would just attach a sticker diagram of the ports with each one lined up. There would be a sticker for each of the four sides, filling the perimeter of the lid's surface.
Determining the laptop's ports all at once would also become easier since they are all represented on one facet.-- Ketchupybread, Feb 09 2009 Port Stickers http://www.cyberguy....asp?productID=1808 [Amos Kito, Feb 14 2009] Wi-Fi SD http://store.eye.fi..._US&SiteID=eyefisubFor your digicam. [TIB, Feb 15 2009] USB Icon System http://student-iat....er/614SVA/index.htmA new label system for USB ports, and an exploration of the problems that the existing USB port designs and labeling systems present for users. [davepepper, Mar 22 2009] But my macbook is so pretty and shiny...
Maybe make it some sort of static-cling device that can easily be removed once you've got the hang of it? The peripheral version of training wheels.-- shapu, Feb 09 2009 //But my macbook is so pretty and shiny...//Well, scratch it in then.-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Feb 09 2009 Blasphemy!-- nomocrow, Feb 09 2009 This idea doesn't apply to MacBooks because they have all their ports down the left-hand edge.-- hippo, Feb 09 2009 Two possible solutions
1. Have a screensaver with a picture of the ports
2. Point a web cam round the back-- DenholmRicshaw, Feb 09 2009 I generally grope.-- nineteenthly, Feb 09 2009 //blu-tac// sp. "engineering putty"-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Feb 09 2009 <Off Topic> I generally grope </OT>-- gnomethang, Feb 09 2009 [moves a good six feet from PC]-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Feb 09 2009 Hate to say it but you'd probably still have trouble even with stickers. I can make a pretty good guess where my USB ports are by looking at a connector that is already plugged in. But can I plug something else in? Not unless I turn my laptop around or waste five minutes of my life.-- Bad Jim, Feb 09 2009 What's the point of this when one can so easily lift and rotate the laptop to see the ports?-- Spacecoyote, Feb 09 2009 The point? If you actually have time to turn your laptop around every time you want to plug something in, more power to you, Mr. Vast Amounts of Idle Time.-- nomocrow, Feb 13 2009 I just bought a laptop today and now I can even see what you are talking about while you are talking about it. I feel so...well so connected.-- blissmiss, Feb 14 2009 Side ports are ok - it's rear ports that need stickers. The static-clingy things are a good idea - I hate stickers that won't come off. [+]-- wagster, Feb 14 2009 RFID to the rescue. USB ports glimmer ever more brightly as the appropriate plug is brought closer. Apply to any port type, in fact, make the wrong port(s) glow as well - red of course.
Maybe more data could be encoded into the proximity system as well, like the port could flash green when a USB jack is upside down.
Hey Apple: doit, doit...doit.
[Ian Tindale]: you can get a wireless SD card for your d50 (eye-fi). See linky.-- TIB, Feb 15 2009 //more power to you, Mr. Vast Amounts of Idle Time//
Hah!-- shapu, Feb 16 2009 // This idea doesn't apply to MacBooks because they have all their ports down the left-hand edge. //
So? It could still be difficult to line up the plug without looking. Knowing which side a port is on is easy—knowing the exact position is what this idea is supposed to help with.
And all of the MacBooks I've seen recently have ports on both sides.
// RFID to the rescue. USB ports glimmer ever more brightly as the appropriate plug is brought closer. Apply to any port type, in fact, make the wrong port(s) glow as well - red of course.
Maybe more data could be encoded into the proximity system as well, like the port could flash green when a USB jack is upside down. //
That's worth posting as its own idea, I think.-- notexactly, Apr 11 2019 random, halfbakery