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Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

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Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#91

Post by ravitation »

dylan-m wrote: post #88
ravitation wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find comments like these amusing. First, you don't need to spend hours configuring the Touch Bar for it to be a functional machine, like you would trying to run Linux on a laptop... But some people do, because it's there. The Touch Bar works just fine without this article. Second, having a myriad of workarounds for its problems is a positive not a negative. Everything has problems; I'll take the platform that has a…

Heh, I'm mostly bitter because most of the places I've interviewed at lately just give everyone a Macbook Pro and that's the end of it, and I'm sick of cursing at their window manager and then running Linux on the things. (Missing webcam driver makes me grumpy when the XPS 13 I normally use supports everything perfectly). Anyway, I don't mean to rag on anyone's preferred OS. More just taking an opportunity to grumble…

I totally get that, but in a lot of cases it is easier to use MacOS than to run Linux (like not having to worry about hardware drivers pretty much at all).

Also, those are characteristics of laptops... Not specifically Macs... And I do need a mobile computer...

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#92

Post by eddyg »

kough wrote: post #87
threatofrain wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a Vimmer this is invaluable. ctrl-c and esc feel terrible after that.

I get bye with capslock remapped as control and using ctrl-[, which is the pinky of each hand and requires minimal movement. Control in general is useful for everything, escape not as often.

Ctrl-C is another option that works the same as Escape and is easier to activate with one hand.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#94

Post by X-Istence »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #60

I would have bought a Macbook Pro last winter, but given the abomination that is the Touchbar, I refused to buy one. If the next iteration of the Macbook Pro doesn't get rid of it, I'm going to just get a Windows laptop instead.

Go buy a Windows laptop instead. I don't think Apple is going to do away with it.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#95

Post by caillou »

steaknsteak wrote: post #24
notadoc wrote: post #6

How about abandoning the Touch Bar instead? Apple should ditch it entirely, or at least make it optional on all MacBook Pro models.

Agreed. It might bring some marginal convenience but overall feels like a gimmick. I'd rather just have a normal keyboard with an Esc key.

If only they would have kept the powe button, that could double a finger print reader, ant the esc button. I wouldn’t mind the oled screen I place of the f-keys.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#96

Post by Yetanfou »

ravitation wrote: post #83
Yetanfou wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like you don't need to spend hours trying to run Linux on a laptop. I'd say 20 minutes is enough in general, depending on how you install it. Quicker when using a fast network connection, slower when you first have to get a distribution. But wait, this is not all you get, there is more. You can choose which desktop you want to run, you can install application software at the same moment, you can either start wor…

In 20 minutes I've got all the hardware drivers installed? Do they even exist/work on my machine's specific hardware? Where do I even find them? I get to choose a desktop and a distro to run? I guess I also make those choices in 20 minutes? Did I mention this all comes without official support for a lot of commonly used software (Adobe Suite, Office Suite, etc)? Probably not a good idea to try to make the argument th…

Yes, as long as the laptop is one with good support - Thinkpads, HP's business machines, etc - you won't have to fiddle with device drivers. As to "where even to find them" the answer is you don't need to look as they'll be installed with your distribution unless you're using 'odd' hardware. In the latter case you will have to go looking so the choice is simple: either use known-supported hardware (a large and varied group) or accept the challenge. Given that you don't seem to like tinkering with device drivers and such you'd just use a Thinkpad and be done with it.

As to whether you'll find commercial software (which seems to be what you're after) to your liking depends on what business you're in. If you're doing video production, animation, software development or engineering the chances of finding something are higher than when you're in graphic design. Do mind though that the non-commercial alternatives (e.g. Inkscape, Krita, etc) are often on par with the commercial offerings.

And yes... I actually do make the argument that running Linux is easier than running MacOS on a Mac. I don't say running it 'on a generic laptop' is easier, as said the choice is yours. I can install it anytime, any place where I have access to the 'net or happen to carry a USB stick with a distribution, on any supported hardware. I can run it as a live distribution on other hardware. I can run it on a Raspberry Pi, on a laptop, a server, you get the picture.

Try it for yourself, it actually works on Apple hardware. Don't believe what you hear from those who feel they need to defend their decision to invest in other platforms.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#97

Post by makecheck »

ricw wrote: post #86
dljsjr wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is that this is a highly subjective "problem". I actually love the touch bar. I'm not in love with esc and f-keys not being physical but lots of the other stuff it does is pretty great. Like, the brightness and volume sliders he hates so much? I love them. Greatly prefer them over buttons. I've been developing on MacBooks for about 7 years now and I do almost no system configuration at all besides inst…

Same. Ever since I’ve found the “hold slidebar ”+slide shortcut this has gotten even better. You press , slide left or right in one go and You’ve adjusted it better than you could have previously. Prior to the touchbar I simply wouldn’t use the Fn buttons ever. Now I actually use them.

Before the Touch Bar, you could always use modifier keys in combination with volume keys for continuous (rather than discrete) volume adjustments. Except it was on the screen, with a huge volume display, using volume keys you could feel with your fingers, taking up less keyboard space overall.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#98

Post by kough »

eddyg wrote: post #92
kough wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get bye with capslock remapped as control and using ctrl-[, which is the pinky of each hand and requires minimal movement. Control in general is useful for everything, escape not as often.

Ctrl-C is another option that works the same as Escape and is easier to activate with one hand.

I both knew this and read the post I was responding to, which also brings this up as an option. I commented about Ctrl-[ because it was the last previously-unmentioned option.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#99

Post by ravitation »

Yetanfou wrote: post #96
ravitation wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 20 minutes I've got all the hardware drivers installed? Do they even exist/work on my machine's specific hardware? Where do I even find them? I get to choose a desktop and a distro to run? I guess I also make those choices in 20 minutes? Did I mention this all comes without official support for a lot of commonly used software (Adobe Suite, Office Suite, etc)? Probably not a good idea to try to make the argument th…

Yes, as long as the laptop is one with good support - Thinkpads, HP's business machines, etc - you won't have to fiddle with device drivers. As to "where even to find them" the answer is you don't need to look as they'll be installed with your distribution unless you're using 'odd' hardware. In the latter case you will have to go looking so the choice is simple: either use known-supported hardware (a large and varied…

I mean, the OP gave a real world example of the lack of drivers...

Doesn't having to write several paragraphs qualifying your previous statement make you question your position? Choosing the right hardware, being in the right industry, etc...

I'm also not just "[believing] what I hear". I've used Linux (and do pretty much everyday in some form) on multiple primary machines, and I also currently use my Mac.

Re: Making the Touch Bar useful by abandoning Apple guidelines

#100

Post by untog »

dawnerd wrote: post #25
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #11

The Touchbar has been mostly a dud for me, and I don't miss it when using my older MBP. I have customized by touch bar to include my favorite actions such as locking the screen, but it is otherwise static. My 2 biggest issues are: - It turns off after 1 min of inactivity, and find it infuriating that I have to wake it up by before using it. Effectively making everything 2 interactions away. - No haptic feedback. Even…

Primary reason it turns off is because its oled, and leaving it on would cause burn-in.

It's almost as if they shouldn't have made with with OLED
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