Getting Old...
Moderator: James Steele
- Rick Cornish
- Posts: 1261
- Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:07 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Ely, MN USA
- Contact:
Getting Old...
OK—this is likely a "champagne problem," but is there any way I can turn on my Mac Studio without having to reach around behind it to hit the power button? Any sort of magic key command? (I realize I could move it to the top of my desk, but I prefer to have it where it is—except when I need to turn it on.)
I miss the old keyboards with the power button on them.
I miss the old keyboards with the power button on them.
Rick Cornish
DP 11 on M2 Mac Studio (64gB mem. + 2tB int. SSD + two 2tB ext. SSDs). VIs from MOTU, Spectrasonics, NI, UVI, 8dio, Soniccouture, East West, Spitfire, Heavyocity, Vir2, and more; plus Waves 14, Brainworx, iZotope, Wavesfactory, Oeksound, Final Mix, JST, SPL, PSP, UVI, Valhalla DSP, and other FX plugs, Roland A-88, Apogee Quartet, iCON Platform Nano, Genelec 1032a and Westlake BBSM4 monitors, Gibson HR Fusion III. rickcornish.net
DP 11 on M2 Mac Studio (64gB mem. + 2tB int. SSD + two 2tB ext. SSDs). VIs from MOTU, Spectrasonics, NI, UVI, 8dio, Soniccouture, East West, Spitfire, Heavyocity, Vir2, and more; plus Waves 14, Brainworx, iZotope, Wavesfactory, Oeksound, Final Mix, JST, SPL, PSP, UVI, Valhalla DSP, and other FX plugs, Roland A-88, Apogee Quartet, iCON Platform Nano, Genelec 1032a and Westlake BBSM4 monitors, Gibson HR Fusion III. rickcornish.net
- HCMarkus
- Posts: 10376
- Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
- Contact:
Re: Getting Old...
My Mac Studio sits in its machine closet with the "back" side facing out. Worked out great that way for me, as it put the two front-panel ports (TB on my Ultra) toward the back of the closet and closer to my interface, keeping the interface within an easy reach of the 3 meter Thunderbolt cable. Just as important, it put the power button facing the closet door, within easy reach.
If you don't mind seeing some cable sticking out towards your workspace, rotating your Mac Studio 180 degrees would at least make accessing the power button easier.
Interestingly, the "bottom of the Mini" button sometimes looks like a good move by Apple... at least if you have something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNYK17GQ?re ... in_title_1
Here's what my closet looks like when I open the door:
Out of sight, out of mind. I'd probably lose my mind if this stuff wasn't;t all hidden away! But that power button is front and center.
If you don't mind seeing some cable sticking out towards your workspace, rotating your Mac Studio 180 degrees would at least make accessing the power button easier.
Interestingly, the "bottom of the Mini" button sometimes looks like a good move by Apple... at least if you have something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNYK17GQ?re ... in_title_1
Here's what my closet looks like when I open the door:
Out of sight, out of mind. I'd probably lose my mind if this stuff wasn't;t all hidden away! But that power button is front and center.
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16175
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Getting Old...
No. The only good news is that the new Mini is worse having the button underneath. At least with my G3/4/5, I could operate them with my toe.
Having a crippled left arm makes it a lot worse. I have to reach around with my right arm to do anything.
A couple of ways to deal with this: 1) Rotate the Mac 90° so that the button is on the right or left side. Besides access to the ports, the indicator light is the only reason to have it facing forward. 2) Get a round Velcro, felt or silicone self-stick button and attach it to the power switch—makes it much easier to find with your finger.
These guys have an adapter but it only works if your Studio is rack mounted:
https://racknex.com/power-button-kit-ap ... r-pbk-002/
The one brightish spot is that, with Apple Silicon Macs, there are no more keys to depress while holding the power button. All of those options begin by holding the Power switch long enough till you can find the options with your mouse/trackpad, keyboard or both.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/102603
Clearing NVRAM(PRAM) is missing from the above. it can only be cleared manually with a Terminal Command from the Recovery Partition. Otherwise, it's supposed to clear automatically when starting from shut down (not a reboot) if the startup diagnostics detect a problem.
Having a crippled left arm makes it a lot worse. I have to reach around with my right arm to do anything.
A couple of ways to deal with this: 1) Rotate the Mac 90° so that the button is on the right or left side. Besides access to the ports, the indicator light is the only reason to have it facing forward. 2) Get a round Velcro, felt or silicone self-stick button and attach it to the power switch—makes it much easier to find with your finger.
These guys have an adapter but it only works if your Studio is rack mounted:
https://racknex.com/power-button-kit-ap ... r-pbk-002/
The one brightish spot is that, with Apple Silicon Macs, there are no more keys to depress while holding the power button. All of those options begin by holding the Power switch long enough till you can find the options with your mouse/trackpad, keyboard or both.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/102603
Clearing NVRAM(PRAM) is missing from the above. it can only be cleared manually with a Terminal Command from the Recovery Partition. Otherwise, it's supposed to clear automatically when starting from shut down (not a reboot) if the startup diagnostics detect a problem.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- HCMarkus
- Posts: 10376
- Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
- Contact:
Re: Getting Old...
Yeah, Mike's idea of a 90 degree rotation, putting the power Botton at the left front, might be more workable in your situation, Rick.
- stubbsonic
- Posts: 5150
- Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:56 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: Getting Old...
I wonder if one (perhaps you?) could rig a bicycle brake handle with a cable-in-sleeve, connected to a pivoting "finger" that pushes the button "remotely". Yea, it would take the better part of 2 days to Rube that Goldberg.
M1 MBP; OS 15.3, FF800, DP 11.33, PC3K7, K2661, iPad6, Godin XTSA (w/ SY-1000), 2 Ibanez 5-string basses (1 fretted, 1 fretless), FX galore
http://www.jonstubbsmusic.com
http://www.jonstubbsmusic.com
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16175
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Getting Old...
stubbsonic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 11:21 am I wonder if one (perhaps you?) could rig a bicycle brake handle with a cable-in-sleeve, connected to a pivoting "finger" that pushes the button "remotely". Yea, it would take the better part of 2 days to Rube that Goldberg.

I'm going to add that one to my vocabulary.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
Re: Getting Old...
EPIC!!!!stubbsonic wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 11:21 am I wonder if one (perhaps you?) could rig a bicycle brake handle with a cable-in-sleeve, connected to a pivoting "finger" that pushes the button "remotely". Yea, it would take the better part of 2 days to Rube that Goldberg.



AMPGUI themes - Andy rocks!, 3 macs, MacPro 768GB ram, 16core OS12.7.5, DP11.32, all Waves, all SLATE,PSP, IK multimedia & Audioease plugs, all PAlliance, Softube, most all Orchestral Tools, tons of NI VI's all air Spitfire, all Audiobro, all Berlin, EW PLAY, LLizard, MachFive3, Kontakt5, Omnisphere, RMX, LASS, all Soundtoys, Lexicon AU's, melodyne and others I know am forgetting, cause I'm old...Also mucho outboard rigs, MTPs, DTP, antelope WC, and 4 control surfaces with Raven.
Re: Getting Old...
Oh man.I am so going to steal that line. 

DP 11.34. 2020 M1 Mac Mini [9,1] (16 Gig RAM), Mac Pro 3GHz 8 core [6,1] (16 Gig RAM), OS 15.3/11.6.2, Lynx Aurora (n) 8tb, MOTU 8pre-es, MOTU M6, MOTU 828, Apogee Rosetta 800, UAD-2 Satellite, a truckload of outboard gear and plug-ins, and a partridge in a pear tree.