macbook pro ambient light sensor

macbook pro ambient light sensor - do you use it? or do you turn it off?

i personally find it a bit annoying, because the screen usually flickers because of my own shadow. want to know what do you think

edit: i reckon they should add something like a delay function to the program, so that the machine only react when both the ambient light sensor report the same light condition for about 5 to 10 seconds.

 

It doesnt bother me

 

same here doesn't bother

 

It's kind of annoying. Not sure why it has to decide to turn on/off. Why not just stay on all the time if you're plugged in, or turn it on yourself if on battery...

And why put the sensor in such a stupid place? Why not in an area where your hand is less likely to move over?

 

I leave it on, because the classrooms and work rooms I go to are quite varied in their brightness. I don't "love it" but it's nice to have, even it if does get annoying some times.

 

I have to agree with the fact that it is indeed a nice feature to have but I have never had to use it(I do not find it annoying either). During flights if I decide to watch a movie or a video etc I do so on my UMPC, and I prefer not to work during flights,so my MBP keyboard does not get a workout during flights.

 

i wonder if that frequent change of backlight intesities will harm the fluorocent backlight that it is using.. oh and is the keyboard's backlight is LED or fluorocent.

 

I find it annoying - my fingers stray over the speaker grills and then - wham - the screen dims and brightens. Definitely a mis-placement if you ask me.

 

maybe they should put it at the back base of the notebook behind the laptop's screen.. all in all i think the realistic fix for this is to use delay sensor reaction method.

 

the MBA has its ambient light sensor placed next to the iSight camera and microphone. i expect this to be implemented in the new MBP.

 

i really like it but I agree that there should be an option to only be on while on battery.

it doesn't really bother me at all where the sensors are placed, there are 2 sensors, one on each side of the keyboard, and both need to be affected for the brightness to change, atleast this is the case on the 17" model.

is there only one light sensor on the 15" model?

and I also find the delay to be perfectly adequate, there is no way moving a hand over to a mouse or whatever, would cause it to change, unless you have a hand over each sensor.

off to Apple feedback. some people may never use this option, but it wouldn't be very difficult for Apple to give this option to people that would like it.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

I have sent feedback, I recommend if you would like another option you send feedback as well.

 

I haven't really noticed it was there. If the screen does change, it's too subtle for me to notice.

 

do you guys actually have problem when you occasionally cover both sensor while typing?

and yes, apple implement the changing effect beautifully; the transition is fairlu smooth.

edit: does the macbook air have backlight keyboard? YES it does! still.. i dont want one

 

Yes, the MacBook Air has a backlit keyboard with Ambient Light Sensor as well.

That's why some regard it as the best keyboard on Mac laptops right now...MacBook design and feel, with backlight!

 

15" have dual sensors too.

It's useful enough while on battery because it saves battery life automatically, but I find that sometimes it lowers the backlight *too* low for my liking. Overall, I think it's a good thing, though the delay mechanic would be appreciated.

 

Thanks for all the tips on this thread!

I had actually started to believe that I had a hardware fault on my MacBook (or at least a pernicious software config issue).

Now I know:
- where the light sensors are located (exactly where I rest my hands between typing, as it goes - doh!);
- that keyboard backlighting is 'forbidden' whenever the machine (not me) thinks their is enough ambient light;
- that there is no 'threshold damping' on the light sensor detection, so it flicks on and off at will.


So: love the feature, hate the implementation.

 

I turned mine off day one. Drives me nuts when a hand moves over a sensor by mistake. Dim/bright/dim/bright over and over. Bleh! A delayed reaction to light dimming would make WAY more sense.

 

I turned mine off- nice feature but I could care less, Im always at maximum bright or near it

 

It drove me nuts in my living room. As shadows would move through the room, the sensor would dim my screen then brighten it two seconds later. I turned it off. I still have the sensor on for the keyboard though.