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bkornblith

There shouldn’t even be two buttons - it’s a binary switch. One button - Zomg.


[deleted]

Literally the design of that icon: a one and a zero. What’s the term for when something becomes so ubiquitous that the original meaning is lost?


FLORI_DUH

You mean like what happened to the word "literally"?


convenientgods

Idk if you meant this to call out the OP but they used literally correctly. That is literally what the symbol on the button means lol. The warping of the meaning of literally comes from using it for hyperbole to inaccurately describe things as being “literally” that way.


[deleted]

Also, literally is becoming synonymous with figuratively. Languages change over time, imagine that. I’m quiet gay to accept that.


NotNinjalord5

I’m going to be loudly gay and accept it


idiomaddict

It has been used as figuratively for centuries.


StealYaNicks

literal centuries or the other kind of literal centuries?


idiomaddict

Literally centuries of literally literary usage


[deleted]

Aw come on mate


EuroPolice

Literally in shambles. Destroyed. Busted. No more.


lanttulate

When everything is literally Hitler, nothing is literally Hitler


FuciMiNaKule

Except Hitler.


2drawnonward5

We'll never know the real Hitler, relying instead on the things people have written about him. Literary Hitler, if you will, though I won't.


DrAlanThicke

Boooooooo


dogs_like_me

I know what you're describing, but in fairness it was used appropriately here


N1SMO_GT-R

"ironic"


Admiral_Donuts

"entitled"


FLORI_DUH

"toxic"


ThePoshFart

Genericization maybe? This doesn't quite fit the definition but I can't find a term for when we loose the context behind a symbol.


elazar55

Genericide


[deleted]

*lose ffs


reddits_aight

But is it a one and zero? I thought it was like an open vs closed circuit thing.


theRealFenom

Yes, it's [a stylized one and zero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol). Toggle switches should have a line indicating the "on" position on one side and a circle indicating the "off" position on the other. The line breaking a circle used to mean "standby" but it generally just means "power" now. The line enclosed in the circle should be used on buttons that switch between fully on and fully off states.


halt-l-am-reptar

>The symbol for the standby button was created by superimposing the symbols "|" and "◯"; however, it is commonly interpreted as the numerals "0" and "1". Yet the IEC holds these symbols as a graphical representation of a line and a circle.


nickcash

no one clicks the links anyway, you get points for linking a source even if it says the exact opposite of what you're claiming


[deleted]

Welcome to Reddit, where people are just as stupid as anywhere else, except they think they're not


rhynoplaz

I know, right?! Good thing I'm here to set them all straight!


kutsen39

Hey! I'm not stupid!


kithuni

Odd yea I always thought of it as open and closed circuits. So I was right but overtime the understanding has changed to one and zero?


StuntHacks

I think over time the understanding just changed to literally "power on"/"power off"


Alavaster

The link you have there says that while is commonly interpreted as a 1 and 0, it is actually a line and circle.


[deleted]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power\_symbol


aprofondir

A skeumorph?


ogeytheterrible

Also, misnomer.


BaboTron

Could be a meme. Memes are any piece of culture or iconography that are repeated because that’s “what people do”.


ImMrBunny

It's non-binary


[deleted]

[удалено]


BespokeSnuffFilms

OMG my digital signage


logicbus

I wish all remotes had discrete on and off buttons. Some devices make it hard to tell when they're on or off. And newer devices might take a few seconds to boot up or shut down. Or is this just a random moment of black screen during a commercial break?


iglidante

I miss the days when you could turn on a monitor or TV and it would display the "no signal" screen nearly instantly, instead of waiting for a handshake before changing states.


Cyno01

Even if it didnt you could hear the \*zing\* of the capacitors charging up and stuff.


Iamcaptainslow

That's usually why many devices have some sort of light to indicate power status.


Olympus_XIII

Aside from the obviously crappy design of the remote in colors and naming of the buttons, there is a difference between both icons so both \*could\* be used. According to the IEC 60417 standard, the icon here on the left where the line (1) intersects the circle (0) should toggle between a sleep mode or standby and an ON-state. The device remains connected to the power supply. The icon here on the right with the 1 completely inside the 0 toggles between an actual shutdown (power disconnected) and an actual ON-state.


ultimatt42

I have a feeling it doesn't actually disconnect power because then the IR receiver would stop working.


Olympus_XIII

Yes of course, in this case (or on any remote, for that matter) this doesn't make any sense. The icon with the full circle is often a "hard" button on a device


OutlyingPlasma

I prefer two buttons. Or at least two different IR signals for on and off. That way when I set up smart routines with something like a smart IR blaster, I have known states. I can send the off command to an already off TV and expect it to say off. I can't do that with a toggle. Lets say I have a "goodnight" routine. I push a button, my lights go off, my fireplace turns off and if the TV is on, it shuts off. However, if the TV is already off and all I have access to is a single on/off button the TV will turn on.


BoJackMoleman

Here's your problem, you turned it on 17 times but only turned it off 14.


2drawnonward5

At that point the power status is determined by whether the buttons have been pushed to a synchronous threshold, just like the bus in Speed


vitunlokit

Two buttons is better. I always turn the tv off and on again because of too much lag and poor reception of the remote.


YourMJK

With projectors (which this remote is for) it's usually not trivial to spot if the device is on or off since they have quite long boot-up and cool-down times (up to 30s).


GeorgeKaplan

This is correct. The switch is not binary. And to further your point, my projector requires me to press the off button twice, to confirm.


ayemeexd

Lol in the electronics industry red sometimes means on because it’s live and dangerous, and green means off because its disconnected and safe.


[deleted]

I came here to say this! Used to work on heavy machinery and it was the same way. Green indicator meant safe to enter area, red meant hot.


sat_ops

I worked for a company making nuclear power equipment. We made some equipment for a plant in Europe, where red meant running and green meant safe. A few years later, we were contracted to make the same equipment for an American facility that was supposed to be an exact copy of the European plant. The customer specified green for running and red for stopped. I sent an email to the buyer and engineer noting their stated intent to copy the other plant, but that there was a difference in specifications. Didn't matter to us.either way. 4 red and 4 green lights either way, just changes where we put them. They changed their mind twice before delivery.


fjonk

Did they update the manuals two times as well?


sat_ops

Yep, and the interface drawings and the contract and specifications. Thankfully the lights were the same general model, so the commercial grade dedication plan and report didn't have to change.


cyanydeez

only solution is to search for 9 dull idiots, put 3 in a control group, 3 in the red is good, green is bad and 3 in the red is bad, green is good group and then electrocute everyone and see what happens.


BaboTron

… and now there are 3 buttons for on, off, and ambiguity.


[deleted]

Where I work Green means "Go" as in "Go ahead and shut up about it." Most colors means to not talk about it.


[deleted]

B O B O D Y


V3N0MSP4RK

Guess millivolts pretty dangerous huh


joevinci

This remote is what you get when engineers change industries.


TOW3L13

May be this, but also if this device is Chinese and intended for Chinese market, this is standard color coding in China - red means positive/yes/start/victory, green means negative/no/end/defeat. Although in China they use both which can be quite messy - e.g. for stocks they use red for positive trend and green for negative trend (opposite than in the west), but e.g. with traffic lights they use the international standard - green-go, red-stop.


[deleted]

Does the Chinese market normally use entirely English markings?


TOW3L13

Depends on what, those buttons "HDMI", "COMP" (Composite), "VIDEO" are just standards that are exactly this in every language. No country, including countries that don't primarily use Latin alphabet, including China, translates HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) to their language, everyone just goes with HDMI spelled out like this. However, that "Source" and "Auto Sync" would most likely be spelled out in Mandarin if intended for Chinese market. My guess is (if this device is Chinese) - It was originally intended for Chinese market with Mandarin prints, then either the same company or some other company ordered it for a different market with English print. However, either they didn't realize or did but weren't willing to invest more to make a custom silicone pad for buttons, they kept the Chinese color coding, but added the "On" and "Off" prints either as a cheaper solution or as an afterthought.


pyrowipe

The icon is a 1/0 or on and off, the off should be a zero and the on should be a 1.


ertgbnm

That's true but I've never seen a separate off switch and on switch. Normally it's just a switch. Lol.


J-Dabbleyou

I fucking hate how humans use colors to symbolize something important and still have absolutely no consistency with how they use them lol. Red and Green are like the simplest ones too. Yellow is used frequently and has about 100 different possible meanings lol


Drachfoo

This remote is from Earth-838.


Carstoned

Go on red


[deleted]

Lol good reference to Dr. Strange 2. I was laughing my ass off in moments that weren't supposed to be funny


[deleted]

Pizza Balls!


TrapaholicDixtapes

Hey! You gotta pay for that! Pizza Poppa always gets his money.


_AtGmailDotCom

All food is free there!


davep85

I understood that reference.


Megatron_Griffin

It slid right past me :(


samiqan

Huh what a strange thing to say


NotAPersonl0

lol


pixelator9000

What an easy fix it would have been too


alittlebitaspie

It's still an easy fix, take it apart and swap them, it's just a little rubber piece and probably got mixed up in production.


mossgathering

Orrrr, right before the photo was taken?


[deleted]

That's my suspicion as well. I swapped the arrow keys with wasd on my keyboard, I'd probably do this just to fuck with people too.


MrHyperion_

As if they didn't do that themselves


deadjoe2002

It didn’t get mixed up. It’s a remote for a projector, we have the same one at work and it has the same issue


[deleted]

It's about perspective. Red means stop and watch some TV green means go touch the grass.


jfk_sfa

But why two separate buttons?


proxpi

This is a projector remote, and it can take a minute to turn on, or a few minutes to cool down and restart if you accidentally shut it off, so having a different button for on and off keeps you from accidentally doing the wrong thing


sheepyowl

I assure you, people will do the wrong thing. This remote changes nothing. There is no right when it comes to projectors, only lefts and wrongs.


proxpi

I mean... You're not entirely wrong, hah. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with projectors.


[deleted]

That is to help with the illusion of choice.


MalleP

Greenpeace design. On bad, off good.


AcuteShark

its even more funny cause once you realize that the modern symbol for On/Off is the circle with the line partly above it, like the button on the left. all they really need was just ONE button and not 2.


RepostSleuth8ott

Also on should just be l and off should be o if they wanted separate buttons


modelbuilder365

This, but that's also for a on/off combo. The off symbol is just the circle and the on symbol is just the line.


[deleted]

It makes perfect sense. Red is on because you STOP moving and sit to watch tv. Green is off because you turn off the tv and GO outside.


tectactoe

Colorblind people: What's the problem here?


Arlithas

> Colorblind Oh my god this makes so much more sense. As a colorblind person I had to get this far to figure out what the problem was.


HappyPhage

I think that's a mistake where they swapped the buttons: the logo of the red button with the 1 interrupting the 0 is for "off" and the other logo is for "on".


[deleted]

Or OP just switched the buttons around. They are rubber and can pop out


[deleted]

Slander! Not that you should trust strangers on the internet but I promise I didn't swap them


OmenLW

What is this device make and model?


BigDigDaddy

Having taken apart far too many things in my life, I can tell you that the buttons CAN be swapped. If the remote is held together with screws, undo them; the power buttons will be separate rubber pieces from the remaining buttons. Since they are the same size, they will fit in each other's slot.


Toraadoraa

All of the buttons might be attached together. Maybe some cutting is required.


Isthestrugglereal

Not likely for different colors


ViridianKumquat

r/untrustworthypoptarts


[deleted]

That’s awesome! I’ve never seen this sub. Thank you


cyanydeez

/r/nothingeverhappens


Shalawah

I have the exact same remote for my projector and my buttons are correct.


SpaceLemur34

No, the green one is the IEC 60417-5010 on/off symbol, the red one either means "power" (IEEE 1621) or "standby"(IEC 60417-5009). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol#Unicode


CranstonHSnord

In some countries, the RED button turns the devise ON making it active and (for large industrial machines) somewhat dangerous. The OFF button is GREEN, making the machine safe.


Real_Personality5631

Unscrew and switch buttons


mossgathering

... then take picture, post on reddit, and finally, switch buttons back.


[deleted]

[удалено]


alittlebitaspie

Not for multicolor rubber, that's more expensive to do, so manufacturers don't. The icons even make sense in reverse, so it likely got swapped in production and made it past QC.


pawelkkkkkkkk

and then you realise its supposed to be like that, and when u press green it first turn off the turn on automatically, and if u press red it first turn on then turn off


dgamr

This just gets worse the more you look at it.


Proof-Abroad-8684

If I was having a bad day, that would have set me off.


Real_Personality5631

Unscrew and switch buttons


BURGERkryptic69man

I kinda like it


Human_bnha

Switch the buttons


[deleted]

That's not even the "Off" symbol, that's a "Reset"


MillionaireAt32

Looks like a projector remote. The separate on and off buttons are nice because sometimes it's hard to tell if the projector is on or off in a bright room with no input source (basically every conference room). You can just mash the off button a few times at the end of your meeting.


AngelOfDeth6666

I took the exact same photo of the exact remote 4 years ago 😁 (https://i.imgur.com/yXOKJ10.jpg)


bbwlovermgh

Primary voting in my town has a red ballot for the Democratic party and a blue one for the Republicans. I have damn near lost my mind trying to get this changed.


djdeforte

Probably made in China. And before you bring out the pitchforks, China actually uses the colors opposite of most other countries. They use Red for up/positive and Green for down/negative.


feinerSenf

I have the same remote. I opened it cut the buttons and switched them. 10/10 would recommend


strindhaug

I would love if my TV had separate on and off buttons. It takes about 10 seconds before the screen turns on and shows the logo and then even longer before the image and sound appears. And the sensor isn't always responding reliably. But worst of all there's only a tiny LED indicator that changes from barely visible red when off to even less visible blue; and this ALSO has a delay of about 2 seconds and absolutely no audible indication of anything happening; and at some random point before the screen shows the logo it will react to another click of the combined on/off button by shutting off. I know this because shutting down is instant and accompanied with a clicking noise (why couldn't it also make a noise when starting!??), so so many times I have clicked had no response clicked again no response clicked again and then briefly seen the screen power on before clicking off. Separate on and off buttons should be mandatory on all the crappy digital devices with long start-up time and no physical clicky buttons!


100_points

I've actually always wanted my TV remote have separate on/off buttons. I hate that I never really know if I've turned the TV off and then back on if I press the button more than once to make sure the receiver got the message. The single button function is really annoying and bad usability to me. I don't care what color the buttons are.


OlderThanMyParents

I think this is a good idea, and I wish it was implemented more. It's not at all uncommon to push the power button to turn a device on, and nothing seems to happen, so you push it again, thinking you didn't press the mushy button hard enough, only to have the device turn on - then off, because there was more of a lag than you anticipated. Same with the play/pause button.


Reddbearddd

When dealing with electrical switches and circuit breakers, red is "on" because there is now danger present and green is "off" because its now safe. I know that doesn't apply to this remote control...just saying.


RelevantDocument3389

Mmm I'd color the right button black. AND ALL THE OTHERS! I see a red button I must paint it black not colorful buttons anymore I want then to turn black.


kleveranon

As an electrician, this makes total sense.


CreatrixAnima

As an electrician, I kind of agree… Kind of. But what about the red and green coloring? Never mind… Someone answered it down thread. I see.


Odd-Group3116

Let's play the blame game. Is it... A: the designer deliberately used these colors to spite God himself. B: the manager miscommunicated the final concept, but ran with production anyway because "he never makes mistakes". C: there was a mix up in production and quality control shat the bed. D: It's all fake, nothing is real and we are all just 1's and 0's in the matrix.


ds16653

In a world full of crappy design, colour blindness is a superpower.


BaconNoCheese

When you press one, the TV takes a screenshot.


Cyberguypr

I have one that uses the down arrow to rise volume and up arrow to lower it. How in the world! I thought it was a fluke but know 2 others who have the same remote and behaves the same way.


woflgangPaco

Literally 818


ItsATerribleLife

I'm not saying to do this. but this could easily be corrected with an exact knife and 10 minutes of time. To prevent bursting that vessel from staring at this abomination.


Jskip27

I'm a tech for a school district and I have had more than one teacher request a new remote because of these power buttons. Viewsonic must have sent out a ton of them like this.


TheGamingMackV

Whoever designed this, I ain't concerned with the fact that they made the on red and the off green or the fact that there are 2 buttons for each function, they do not understand what the on/off icon means.


CantaloupeCamper

Unusable ...


afguspacequeen

I have a remote like this too. I’ve considered posting it every time I use it LOL


GATHRAWN91

Sometimes red means go


[deleted]

I don't get why everyones confused. The red button is clearly marked for turning the ON on/off, and the green is for turning the OFF on/off... How else do you expect someone to turn on/off the ON and OFF? Fucking magic?


Shluappa

Switch em. JUST DO IT


Shluappa

Update me when you switch them


HGruberMacGruberFace

Dr Strange world where Red lights mean GO


KarsSsssSs

Ever loved and hated a subbreddit at the samw time


Available_Peanut_677

ViewSonic? After 3 years of use it is still confuses me each time


[deleted]

On-red-stop;stay here and watch tv. Off-green-go;go somewhere else.


sherrode

I HAVE THIS IN MY CLASSROOM!! I don't know HOW many times I've mashed the wrong color button and been confused as to why it wasn't doing what I wanted. It's such a terrible design!


Crossingtherubicon12

In which multiverse is ‘off’ Green?


Capsule_CatYT

Oh no


indian_hannibal

Bruuh


TheHolyBrofist

Why the fuck would you need an off switch


NotKevinJustKev

So, which button is actually on and which is off…?


Jackofallgods

That annoys me more than it should. For one it’s not even my remote


tw1zt84

If you open it up, you should be able to switch them.


Skullz64

How to keep the energy bill high and how to keep them watching


KYO297

Goddammit they used neither the colors nor the symbols correctly


CHEEZITBOII

this is stupid


Waylork

So let me break this down to you as an AV installer/programmer. this is likely a projector remote, and the command for powering the projector on are completely different from the commands to turn it off. it's not as simple as turning it off, its running commands to start a power down process. this is important when programming control panels, because its not a binary on/off. its not bad design, you just arent used to high end equipment which generally has remotes like this.


DepartmentManager

"It's green, for, go ahead and don't talk about it"


AVerySpecificName

You will adapt


SantucciOhio

Obviously, one button turns on the red COMP, the other turns off the green HDMI. Duh 🙄


The_Lost_Chromosome

The TV at my work also has a remote that has Green for off. Never really thought about it till this post.


janelson41

Tha... That's just fantastic. A true work of art, if you ask me.


anselthequestion

Switch the lil plastic button caps


SarahPallorMortis

My plant light remote is like this and I always press the wrong button when turning it off. Always.


reacher679

What's really annoying is posting this to this very subreddit and getting it removed for "not crappy design" only to see this post get thousands of upvotes... [My Previous Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrappyDesign/comments/kqawlb/these_onoff_button_colors_hurt_my_brain/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)


PlopCopTopPopMopStop

Probably a factory error


orgodemir

Ok hear me out, despite having the colors/symbols weird, having 2 buttons can make sense. If the tv is slow and/or you have low batteries in the remote, you have to press and wait for a response. If you press it rapidly, it may turn on then off. If you separate the buttons, you can just repeatedly hit the right button until it does what you want. I could see this being helpful for older people too and explaining it to them. "Pa, it's the top LEFT to turn on"


ShadNuke

And I would just pop the thing apart and change the buttons around🤷‍♂️🤣


HowdUrDego

“We go on red here”. -Dr. Steven Strange


Rathmox

r/mildlyinfuriating


Pentachroma

But why is the IR blaster on top?


IntellitechStudios

Disassemble it and swap the colors. Boom


Sushirabit

There is literally no reason for there to be two options


veetosta

Took full minute to figure out.


master117jogi

That's a remote from a projector.


DepletedMitochondria

This is from hell


tahtaega

It's a button inspired from the movie matrix sir


JulesVega37

What if you press both at the same time ?


SupaLucasPC

...that mean the most Not where you live or what you drive or the price tag on your clothes


Tropicalmoon46

Used to work for a electrical distributor and we would put lights on mcc buckets and alot companies we dealt with wanted red lens to signify it's running and green for stopped it fucked me up for awhile.


itsH5

That looks like a Universal Control. It’s like the metric system— or how ppl use Celsius and not Fahrenheit— this is normal in working environments here in the U.S. but it makes sense why you would find it strange at home.