It's likely that pro and semi-pro users of screenless Mac desktops (Mini/Pro/Studio) could have the actual Mac itself buried away in an inaccessible place, such as under the desk, in a cupboard or even in another room. So with that in mind, and mourning the loss of the much missed power-switch on the keyboard, I sure wish it was possible to set something up in the Mac's equivalent of its BIOS which booted the machine as soon as you switched on the mains.
It seems the closest option is the option to 'Start up automatically after a power failure'. But for that to work you have to cut the power to the Mac while still logged in, which really is not a great thing to do, especially repeatedly over time. As well as being told off by the OS when it reboots, you're playing Russian Roulette with the SSD ToC. And if you corrupt it, you're screwed.
Everything else in my studio is turned on by one remote control, which triggers a relay that supplies power to a surge-protected power-strip. I'd like my Mac Studio to also automatically boot at this point. But no. Even though my Mac Studio is in an accessible place precisely for this reason, I still have to fumble like a blind man for the flush-fitted power switch, which Apple don't even considerately locate on the front panel, even though they could.
There's not much I miss from the days of running my studio on a Windows PC; mostly it was a traumatic experience I'd rather forget, but this was certainly one benefit. Couple of ticks in the BIOS and it would boot into Windows as soon as you turned on the mains.
(EDIT: I know there's options to have it turn on and off at fixed times. That's not really what I'm looking for.)
Moan over.
(Slight aside...what this Mac Desktop subforum lacks is a 'general' section to discuss issues that aren't specific to just one type of Mac desktop. I had to pick one subforum, so I chose Studio because that's what I own, but my 'grievance' equally applies to the Mini and probably also to the Pros.)
It seems the closest option is the option to 'Start up automatically after a power failure'. But for that to work you have to cut the power to the Mac while still logged in, which really is not a great thing to do, especially repeatedly over time. As well as being told off by the OS when it reboots, you're playing Russian Roulette with the SSD ToC. And if you corrupt it, you're screwed.
Everything else in my studio is turned on by one remote control, which triggers a relay that supplies power to a surge-protected power-strip. I'd like my Mac Studio to also automatically boot at this point. But no. Even though my Mac Studio is in an accessible place precisely for this reason, I still have to fumble like a blind man for the flush-fitted power switch, which Apple don't even considerately locate on the front panel, even though they could.
There's not much I miss from the days of running my studio on a Windows PC; mostly it was a traumatic experience I'd rather forget, but this was certainly one benefit. Couple of ticks in the BIOS and it would boot into Windows as soon as you turned on the mains.
(EDIT: I know there's options to have it turn on and off at fixed times. That's not really what I'm looking for.)
Moan over.
(Slight aside...what this Mac Desktop subforum lacks is a 'general' section to discuss issues that aren't specific to just one type of Mac desktop. I had to pick one subforum, so I chose Studio because that's what I own, but my 'grievance' equally applies to the Mini and probably also to the Pros.)
Last edited: