From: spamtrap42@jacob21819.net   
      
   On 2026-01-01, Lawrence D’Oliveiro  wrote:   
   > On 1 Jan 2026 04:29:06 GMT, Robert Riches wrote:   
   >   
   >> I have seen embedded devices where an an LED was intentionally   
   >> toggled every so often if everything was working properly.  If   
   >> the RTOS or something connected to it were to hang, the LED would   
   >> get stuck either off or on.   
   >   
   > I can think of a better design: a light that is powered by the   
   > discharge of a capacitor, that needs to be recharged by a controller   
   > signal a few times a second, to keep it lit steadily. So if the   
   > controller ever fails, the light will go out.   
      
   Yes, that would be much better from an observer's perspective.   
      
   On the other hand, bean counters and PHBs are accustomed to   
   wringing blood out of a BoM turnip.  In many cases, the   
   incremental monetary cost of that capacitor across (tens of)   
   millions of units would not likely not be approved.   
      
   --   
   Robert Riches   
   spamtrap42@jacob21819.net   
   (Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)