Why you should still restart your computer
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Some people don't restart their computers until an update is required or the operating system malfunctions, but experts say that you should restart your computer frequently.
Why it matters: Restarting a computer may seem like an inconvenience to those who don't like waiting, but it's essential for maintaining performance, stability and security as some malware will remain in memory until a reboot.
Driving the news: Apple has moved the power button to the bottom of the chassis in its newly redesigned Mac mini powered by the M4 chips.
- Apple executives Greg Joswiak and John Ternus in a video posted to Bilibili, a Chinese video sharing platform, said that the design choice was made because of the reduced size of the Mac mini and that people "pretty much never use the power button" on the Mac.
- "I can't remember the last time I turned on my Mac," Joswiak said.
- Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
The big picture: When people restart their computers, it resembles a human need for rest to function well. Often, this happens when the computer signals that it can't work as fast as it can, Steven Goss, Chair and Clinical Professor of Management and Technology at New York University tells Axios.
- "I find myself restarting my computer when I have too many windows or tabs open," says Goss. "I'm running too many programs and I start to just notice that the functionality is slowing down and not performing at the capacity I need it to be performing at because I'm probably doing too many things."
- The power button on the bottom of the device, Goss says, "seems a little counter intuitive" if someone is powering it on and off.
Zoom in: People should restart their computer at least once a week so it can help catch any uninstalled updates and improve performance as most people don't know what would put malware onto their computer, Dost Khalique, senior director of the Academic Technologies Group at New York Institute of Technology's medical school tells Axios.
- Khalique said that people are so creative that within a few days, you'll see something online where you can 3D print something that will make the button much more accessible.
- "It's kind of like the iPhone with the home button, where eventually they figured out that you don't really need a home button and you can use your face or you swipe up. And so all these things are going to continue to evolve," he said.
Fun fact: If you have a Mac mini and prefer to turn on and off the computer to save power, users on X are creating concepts of a case that has an opening in the back to easily reach the power button.
