[craz]

I do this in my app: http://i.imgur.com/lR9eB.png

I think it's a fairly common UI pattern.

[Timothee]

It is. The annoyance comes from when the styling makes the message unclear as to which one is selected.

[micheljansen]

Would be clearer if the active one looks "pressed", sort of like real radio buttons do.

[craz]

Thanks. I'll have another play around with it and see what I can come up with.

[bobsoap]

In the screenshot, the Close button provides context - it's a clue saying "this is what a normal button looks like". But it's still not straight-forward enough: you have to think in order to understand that. Without that context, how would a user know whether the light button indicates "click me to switch", or whether it means "I'm active right now"?

A good UI doesn't make you think in order to to understand what an element does.