© 1996 Lawrence I. Charters
Washington Apple Pi Journal, Vol. 18, no. 1, January-February 1996, pp. 59-61.
When the Macintosh II was introduced in 1987, it brought with it many innovations, and support for color was merely the most obvious. One of my favorite features was the ability to turn the computer on by pressing the Power On button on the keyboard and to shut everything down by selecting Shutdown from
While this might seem a trivial matter to some, it was a revolution: no more reaching behind a computer to turn it on, and no more forgetting to turn off the monitor after shutting down the computer. Apple’s support for these innovations has not, however, been exemplary: while every Mac II model supported these features, the Centris 610, Quadra 605 and 610, and Power Mac 6100 did not, and support among Performa and LC models has been even worse.
Power Computing’s first models, the Power 80 and 100, took an indifferent approach to these innovations: the computers can be turned on from the keyboard and shut down from the Special menu, but the machines lack a peripheral power socket. Without such”a socket, monitors have to be shut down separately, which makes it highly likely that they won’t be turned off at all. To me, this was a major irritant that needed to be fixed, immediately.
Sophisticated Circuits, a Bothell, Washington company, had an immediate solution: their PowerKey Pro “smart” surge protectors. One of these software controlled boxes, together with a special ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) cable (included), will do all of the following:
- it serves as a
six outlet surge protector; - it is a telephone line surge protector;
- it allows you to start up your computer from the keyboard or, if your computer does that without assistance, allows the computer to trigger the startup of peripherals at the same time;
- it allows you to schedule the startup and shutdown of peripherals according to a user-defined schedule;
- it allows you to start up the computer, and peripherals, remotely via a phone call;
- it gives you enough control over your Macintosh to meet Energy★Star guidelines, even if your particular model doesn’t normally meet these guidelines.
PowerKey Pros come in two models, the 200 and the 600. The 200 has one “always on” outlet, one individually controlled outlet, and four outlets that are controlled as a block. The 600 has six individually controlled outlets, plus mechanical switches for controlling the outlets. Since I’ve never even seen a model 600, we’ll confine ourselves to the 200.
As a surge protector, the PowerKey Pro has a first-rate design. Unlike most surge protectors, the sockets on the Power Key are rotated in such a way that large transformer plugs (like you find, for example, on modems) don’t block each other. The telephone protection jacks are on the same end as the power cord, which helps to reduce clutter, and the power cord itself is decently long. I’ve purchased many “computer” surge protectors over the years, and Sophisticated Circuits seems to be the only manufacturer that has actual experience in using computers: the design makes sense.
The software is first-rate, too. The Power Key Pro 200 came with a copy of Connectrix Desktop Utilities (CDU), a collection of utilities that does all kinds of things but, in this case, is included for its Power Saver. Power Saver provides power management for computers that lack such features and, combined with a Power Key Pro, allows you to meet Energy Star requirements using any Macintosh computer. Since the Power Computing Power 100 has power management, I didn’t need to use
What I did need: a way to turn on a Power Computing Power 100, plus two external hard drives, plus a monitor (and eventually a modem). Installing the required Power Key Editor software required a minute or two, and then – it worked.
Everything – computer and all peripherals – turns on when the Power On key is pressed on the keyboard. Everything – computer and peripherals-shuts down when you select Shutdown from the Special menu. Since the person using the Power 100 is somewhat notorious for turning on the machine and then wandering away, sometimes for hours, the next thing to do was test out the energy conservation features. As advertised, you can set the Power Key to shut off power to the monitor after a specified period of inactivity (and turn it back on if the user presses a key), or shut down the entire system if nothing is happening. The next step was to try turning the computer on remotely via a telephone call. This proved somewhat difficult since, after arriving at a remote location, we (we?) discovered we didn’t know the telephone number of the phone line connected to the computer. After solving this problem, we called the number, let the phone ring the proper number of times, then called in via modem and u s e d AppleTalk Remote Access and Timbuktu Pro to control the remote machine. Neato! After disconnecting, the Power Key Pro shut down the machine after a specified period of inactivity.
I initially had little interest in the remote startup and shutdown capability of the PowerKey Pro, but after experimenting decided this would be a boon for telecommuters. Sadly, my boss just laughed and said “Nice try.” Ah, well …
You can also use the PowerKey Pro to turn the computer and peripherals on and off at scheduled times during the week, with no further human interaction. While I don’t need this ability, a friend uses it to control a Macintosh in a lab, allowing it to periodically turn on, collect some data, then go back to sleep.
I’m sold on the PowerKey Pro. If you have a Macintosh that can’t be turned on from the keyboard, or any Mac that has a bunch of external peripherals that must be powered up separately, invest in one. For the price of a good, stupid surge protector you can get a great, intelligent surge protector.
PowerKey Pro 200: mail order price ofroughly $100
Power Key Pro 600: mail order price of roughly $140
Sophisticated Circuits, Inc.
19017 120th Ave. NE, Suite 106, Bothell, WA 98011
(206) 485-7979
sales@sophcir.com