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bugshaw: (2010)
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Laptop power options semantics

posted by [personal profile] bugshaw at 03:30pm on 27/02/2013 under
I got my new work laptop back a couple of days ago with software etc and by jove, I think it will work.

But - at home I use it with a docking station and external monitor. With the old laptop I had it set up so that when I closed its lid the monitor would stay on and I could keep working with the laptop tidily shut away.

This time, no - I close the lid, view control switches briefly to the external monitor (resizing), then goes.

In Power Options Advanced it says "When I close the lid: Do Nothing".
From its behaviour I think it is understanding "Do Nothing" to mean do not do anything, rather than the usual which is do not take any special actions like hibernating or switching off monitors or VPN connections or whatever.

I'll tell IT about it of course, but it was fun to spot the ambiguity in interpretation. (It appears I do not have the authority to change settings anyhow)
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There are 8 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 

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posted by [identity profile] ivory-goddess.livejournal.com at 08:28pm on 27/02/2013
Our work laptops are set up so that you stick 'em on the docking station and don't open the lid at all - control defaults to the external screen, keyboard & mouse. Of course, if you *do* accidentally open the lid you then have to leave it open, as closing it makes the laptop hibernate!
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posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 08:31pm on 27/02/2013
Ooh, I'll try that tomorrow morning! I didn't know that was a thing.
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posted by [identity profile] ivory-goddess.livejournal.com at 08:44pm on 27/02/2013
Well, it might not be a thing with your set-up, but no harm in trying, right? If you dock it and nothing happens, then it doesn't work...
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posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 09:23pm on 27/02/2013
Wow, yes, it does exactly that! I just needed to press the button that I've never known what it was for. Cheers :-)
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posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 09:53pm on 27/02/2013
IT support thanks you for saving 20 minutes of their time, and so do I.
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posted by [identity profile] ivory-goddess.livejournal.com at 06:09am on 28/02/2013
Glad to be of service!

In all fairness, I didn't know if it was a general 'thing' or a special set-up for us. When we first got laptops a big fuss was made about keeping the lids shut when docking in order to save energy ('you don't want 2 screens on and if you open the lid you'll have to keep it open' - presumably we couldn't be told about the 'switch screen' button!) Still, someone should have explained the basics when you were given the equipment. People aren't born with an innate ability to operate docking stations!
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posted by [identity profile] devilgate.livejournal.com at 05:29pm on 28/02/2013
"You don't want two screens on"!?!? My docking station is connected to two external screens, and I wouldn't mind if it would work with the laptop open so I could have three. Multiple monitors are great.
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posted by [identity profile] ivory-goddess.livejournal.com at 05:41pm on 28/02/2013
Very few people at (my) work would know what to do with multiple monitors, so having 2 screens on would be unnecessary duplication and a waste of energy. And we were all about saving energy when the laptops were rolled out - part of the justification for them was lower energy usage than desktops.
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