ThinkLight 0644 on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
ThinkLight was a
The
IBM UK ThinkPad DesignsThinkLight
on ThinkWiki — section listing ThinkPad models that feature the ThinkLight {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm Thinkpad Thinklight
ThinkLight was a keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
light present on many older ThinkPad
ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablet computers, tablets designed, developed and marketed by Lenovo, and formerly by IBM until 2005, when IBM's Personal computer, PC business was acquired by Lenovo. ThinkPads have ...
families of notebook computers
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
.
The series was originally designed by IBM, and then developed and produced by Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
since 2005. The ThinkLight has been replaced by a backlight keyboard on later generations of ThinkPads, and Lenovo has discontinued the ThinkLight in 2013.
Description
A white or amberLED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
(depending on model) is located on the top edge of the display
Display may refer to:
Technology
* Display device, output device for presenting information, including:
** Cathode ray tube, video display that provides a quality picture, but can be very heavy and deep
** Electronic visual display, output devi ...
, illuminating the keyboard to allow use in low-light conditions. It is activated with the key combination ''Fn-PgUp'' (the bottom left and top right keys of the keyboard). Later ThinkPads use the combination ''Fn-Space'' instead. Lenovo later started to include backlit keyboards, and some models included both the ThinkLight and a backlit keyboard. For those models, the ''Fn-Space'' shortcut is also used in conjunction to control a backlit keyboard (if the laptop has it). The on-screen display of ThinkPad computers will display a light on and a light off indicator. The ThinkLight can be activated when the monitor is on or off but not while the computer is off.
Some ThinkPads, like the Z and R series (though not all - some R61 and R32 models still have the white light) feature an amber LED due to the lower cost, while other models, like the T series, use a white LED (which is generally preferred).
The G series and SL series omit the ThinkLight.
A few ThinkPads (17" W700 and W701) have featured the ThinkLight with dual white LEDs.
Alternatives
The HP EliteBook
HP EliteBook is a line of business-oriented high-end notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard ( HP Inc.). The EliteBook series, which fits above the lower-end ProBook series, was introduced in August 2008 as a replacement of th ...
series notebooks contain a similar keyboard light called HP Night Light. Unlike the ThinkLight, it is activated by a physical button next to the Night Light, rather than a keyboard shortcut. Third-parties offered external LED-based illumination solutions for the HP 200LX series of DOS
DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems.
DOS may also refer to:
Computing
* Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...
palmtop
A handheld personal computer (PC) is a miniature computer typically built around a clamshell form factor and is significantly smaller than any standard laptop computer, but based on the same principles. It is sometimes referred to as a ''palmto ...
computers in the late 1990s.
The Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
Latitude ATG series laptops have also contained a pair of red LEDs which are controlled in a very similar way to the IBM ThinkLight and also serve to illuminate the keyboard.
Some computer manufacturers have opted for backlit keyboards instead of illuminating the keyboard from above; but some ThinkPads included both the ThinkLight and a backlit keyboard (for example, T530, T430 and X230 models).
See also
*Selective yellow
Selective yellow is a colour for automotive lamps, particularly headlamps and other road-illumination lamps such as fog lamps. Under ECE regulations, headlamps were formerly permitted to be either white or selective yellow—in France, selectiv ...
References
External links
IBM UK ThinkPad Designs
on ThinkWiki — section listing ThinkPad models that feature the ThinkLight {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm Thinkpad Thinklight
Thinklight
ThinkLight was a keyboard light present on many older ThinkPad families of notebook computers.
The series was originally designed by , and then developed and produced by Lenovo since 2005. The ThinkLight has been replaced by a backlight keyboa ...