Comment by bitwize
6 hours ago
ThinkPads used to have accelerometers to protect the hard drives, so if you dropped the machine or treated it roughly, it could park the drive, protecting it from data loss.
People used to write Linux utilities that read these accelerometers, allowing for example to switch virtual desktops by physically smacking the machine on either side.
That’s horrifying.
Look, my setup works for me.
ISWYDT https://xkcd.com/1172/
i think these also existed for macs with HDDs, i recall seeing some very fun demos on youtube
HDAPs
Hard drive active protection system parked the heads in Ms, fast enough to handle a hard drop off a desk