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Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

9to5mac.com

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Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#221

Post by iSnow »

aleem wrote: post #188

Apple has squandered a lot of its goodwill. It reminds me of my relationship with Microsoft products. As long as they were shipping, they were making money in the short term because people were coerced to buy in. For 5 damn years the Air didn't get a Retina display. Right now, I can't buy 2.8Ghz Macbook Pro unless I get the TouchBar. I can't buy an Air unless I settle for much lower specs. The dongles and USB-C are a…

>The dongles and USB-C are a mess

No, they are not. People have been saying the same when Apple killed NuBus, SCSI, serial, the old iPod adapter... USB-C is leaps better than old USB and is here to stay.

I wish Dell had an XPS 13 with 2x USB-C Thunderbolt.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#222

Post by tzakrajs »

I’m a tiny bit upset. I really liked the keys becoming lower profile. I don’t get any joy out of expending extra energy depressing buttons. For example, mechanical keyboards give me extreme RSI wrist pain from straining to push down all of the switches. Secretly I was hoping Apple would create a haptic capacitive touch keyboard with a display behind it.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#223

Post by vbezhenar »

karmakaze wrote: post #177
vbezhenar wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm amazed by my iPhone 8 home button. It's not a real button, it's just an imitation, but its feedback is so real. I don't know whether it would be possible, but I think that it's a possibility: to imitate an entire keyboard with just flat touch panel. That would solve all problems with those movement parts that always failing and there would be no holes for dust at all!

But imagine trying to use it without looking if it was completely flat. Keys without edges won't work well unless you're looking like on a mobile. There is tech for a display that can render relief.

Well, you can put some borders between buttons. I'm not suggesting on fully reconfigurable keyboard, while that would be interesting, I don't think that it's strictly needed. Physical keyboard layouts are static and that's OK. But the ability to display different labels on buttons might be handly. For example every Russian uses two layouts: English and Russian layout. Russian keyboards have both letters printed, usually with different colour. Now displaying correct letter on each key when user switches layouts, would be an improvement over current situation.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#224

Post by iSnow »

arvinsim wrote: post #127
bayindirh wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taptic Engine is a very good click emulator. The touchpad of newer MacBooks and tactile feedbacks of newer iPhones are just amazing. On the other side, nothing can emulate a good (even membrane) keyboard, because typing's most important sensory feedback is not touch or sound, but finger travel. I'm a programmer and use a variety of keyboards. I have an 2014 MacBook Pro, a lowish end membrane keyboard at office and a…

It's pretty hard to go back to membrane or scissor switches when one has gotten used to a mechanical keyboard. When I bough the small Magic Keyboard 2 for use with my midi controller(I needed a bluetooth keyboard), it took me weeks to adjust. It felt like banging on a flat table for a while.

I'll never understand the infatuation with mechanical kb's. I am old enough to be trained on them, but the low-travel scissor types are so much nicer to type and don't give you RSI.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#225

Post by neau »

nfellaby wrote: post #197
FabHK wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have the first MacBook Pro that came with the Touch Bar, and it's the worst computer I've ever owned. Same here (well, I have the "cheap" one without the Touch Bar). Everything has been replaced at least once (on Apple Care, fortunately) except the bottom plate. > The only reason I got it is because the MacBook Air it replaced was dying Same here. That MBA was a fine machine.

I'm still rocking my MBA form 2010, it wasn't even top spec at the time, but the keyboard, size, weight and battery are all great. The screen is pretty terrible I'll be honest, but if I'm working on it it doesn't bother me much. Plus it has one of those ever so rare HDMI out ports (no accessories necessary). I just replace the battery every so often. I'm currently weighing up the option of installing Linux onto it as…

Consider reading this reddit thread regarding Linux on a 2010 MBA, https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/9rnyw4/linux_on_...

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#226

Post by parasubvert »

Octoth0rpe wrote: post #182
mxcrossb wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the technology works just hates any sort of change. Apple’s core base is different, they embrace change regardless of its utility. So that makes it hard to evaluate this kind of tech online. I’m also noticing that the article suggests that apple’s real reason for change is poor yield and reliability. Those are objective measures, so I think we can agree that the current keyboard is bad.

> Apple’s core base is different, they embrace change regardless of its utility. I really don't know how one can come to this conclusion. Apple people bitch about _everything_ that changes. I think the one and only exception might be any time that they added retina screens to something. Source: I am an apple user.

Yes, and no.

There's bitching but Apple's audience is always the first to absorb the change that eventually hits the whole industry.

MacOS Classic to Mac OS X? They kept Classic Mode around for 5 years for a reason. Eventually the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Loss of floppy drives and serial ports in the iMac? Bitching galore, but it was the right move.

Loss of built in DVD/CD drive on the Macbook Pro (circa 2012 with the retina MBP)? Bitching, but when's the last time we needed it so often?

Lots of bitching about iPhone 6 screen sizes being too big, leading to the iPhone SE. But ultimately more people liked the bigger size.

Lots of bitching about USB-C vs. Magsafe, but ultimately USB-C is proving to be the correct move.

The touchbar feels like the main misstep. I think most of the bitching would go away if they brought back haptics on the ESC key.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#227

Post by Razengan »

cglace wrote: post #143
Razengan wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the news story you linked about outsized MBP sales was before the keyboard scandal hit the press. Even then, there was similar snarfle about Apple "failing" when the new Touch Bar redesign was first revealed, where a few handful of people were opting to speak on everyone's behalf, saying that the new MBPs will flop and nobody will buy them. Then again, this has been going on for over 20 years: http://forums.macrumo…

I think you are confusing sales with people liking the new design. People that have bought into the ecosystem may buy the new design even though they prefer the previous iteration.

If sales are not the most direct indicator of whether people like something or not, what is?

Apple has released many MacBooks with essentially the same keyboard design since 2015. If people really hated them, sales should have tanked in subsequent years, and Apple would have something different by now, 4 years later. The people who keep posting that they'll switch to PCs, would all have switched by now.

Do you suppose the number of people complaining here represent a significant percentage of the millions who have purchased MacBooks with the butterfly keyboards?

People who are satisfied with them aren't going to flock to every post to balance out the complaints. Those who do post in favor of the new MBPs get downvoted into grayness. There may be issues, but the incessant negativity feels bizarrely overblown and seems memetic at this point, if not outright paid for by rival companies.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#228

Post by iaml »

untog wrote: post #215
aleem wrote: post #188

Apple has squandered a lot of its goodwill. It reminds me of my relationship with Microsoft products. As long as they were shipping, they were making money in the short term because people were coerced to buy in. For 5 damn years the Air didn't get a Retina display. Right now, I can't buy 2.8Ghz Macbook Pro unless I get the TouchBar. I can't buy an Air unless I settle for much lower specs. The dongles and USB-C are a…

I'm conflicted about the power adapter. I miss Magsafe. But I don't miss paying ~$80 when I (admittedly, stupidly) forget my charger on a trip. I can buy a $30 USB power brick, and then a USB C extension cable for a couple of dollars if I need a longer cable. My dream is a Magsafe cable. USB C on both ends, magnetic connector in the middle (or near one end). Best of both worlds. But Apple wouldn't be able to charge $…

>My dream is a Magsafe cable

Like this[0] ?

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Adapter-Connector-Quick-Char...

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#229

Post by vimslayer »

dkersten wrote: post #46

Too late for me. I've already jumped ship and the effort of moving back isn't worth it. I still have and use apple products, but I've no interest in buying any more now, thanks to the shoddy experience I had with their more recent products. I also have no interest in airpods, so a new iphone is out too. Apple won me over quite late and then within about two years lost me again. It made me sad, because I really liked…

What are you using now? I have a ThinkPad T470p and really like it. The keyboard feels really great, although the fn key placement is a bit annoying.

Re: Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook

#230

Post by hoorayimhelping »

parasubvert wrote: post #206
aleem wrote: post #188

Apple has squandered a lot of its goodwill. It reminds me of my relationship with Microsoft products. As long as they were shipping, they were making money in the short term because people were coerced to buy in. For 5 damn years the Air didn't get a Retina display. Right now, I can't buy 2.8Ghz Macbook Pro unless I get the TouchBar. I can't buy an Air unless I settle for much lower specs. The dongles and USB-C are a…

See, I use a retina MBP touchbar and really don't agree. Apple has made some missteps but it's still the best pro laptop for my uses. Over two years with one replaced keyboard (because I spilled wine on it!) and no sticking keys. USB-C is awesome. I can reuse all my 3rd party and Apple adapters for my USB-C peripherals, including tablets and the Nintendo Switch. In retrospect, Magsafe wasn't that great (comes off too…

I get the warm and fuzzy feeling USB-C gives nerds, cause of the open standard and interoperability, and cause it only takes one attempt to actually plug it in; but I just cannot fathom how Apple replaced Magsafe with USB-C.

Magsafe was one of those magical Apple features from the mid 2000s that just delight and work incredibly well and almost seem like science fiction. It's not like they had shitty power adapters and USB-C was an upgrade. It was the Hofmeister Kink of Apple computers, and they got rid of it. I just do not understand at all.

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