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SmackBook

ealf · 1.9M views · 2006-05-23 · 0:11

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Overview

A very short demo of SmackBook, a hack that used the MacBook Pro's sudden motion sensor so that smacking the sides of the laptop switches desktop spaces.

On Hacker News

HN cites it as a fun example of novel uses of the MacBook motion sensor whenever laptop accelerometers come up.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2013–2026

Topics

Hacker culture & free softwareConsumer devices & gadgetsEmbedded systems & DIY electronics
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sudden motion sensormacbookaccelerometerdesktop switchinghack

What people said

future10se · 2026-02 · Reference

Aaackshually, the Sudden Motion Sensor was introduced on 2005 in the PowerBook G4, and continued through the intel MacBooks with hard drives. While officially undocumented, people figured out how to access it back then, with novel uses like smacking your MacBook to change spaces (virtual desktops) or swinging the Mac around to make lightsaber noises. - [VIDEO] - [LINK] (I should know, I was in university back then and swung my Mac around like an idiot, lol.) On the first Retina MacBook Pro 15" in 2012, and moving forward with all MacBooks that were SSD-only, they removed the SMS as it was not needed. To my knowledge, this is the first time we're hearing that Apple Silicon machines have an accelerometer on the SoC, officially or otherwise. It's also certainly not branded or marketed as the SMS was. ( [LINK] ) Happy to be corrected on this!

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jerlam · 2025-09 · Reference

Probably not as bad as the Smackbook, which used the HDD impact sensors to change apps: [VIDEO] "I was just hitting the side of my laptop in order to go to Safari" No longer supported because we don't use HDDs anymore.

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ratww · 2021-05 · Reference

Reminds me of the old hack someone did using the accelerometer in a Macbook hard drive to switch between Spaces: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by ealf, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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