Kuo: Apple to include new scissor switch keyboard in MacBook • Hacker News Board

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

#451

Post by t34543 » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:23 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #421

iamben wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still using my MBA from mid 2013. It's a wonderful thing. Battery is "replace soon" but it's mostly plugged in. It's battered and bruised, but still fast enough. I've been debating a change for a while and figured at the start of the year I'd wait to see if they were going to ditch the bf keyboard if they release a new MBA. Super glad I waited, fingers crossed I get the same life out of the next one! Say what you…

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro (Core2Duo + 4GB of ram), I've added an SSD years ago, and it runs absolutely fine, I use it almost daily to browse the web. Even the battery still works(only for about an hour, but it does).

Can you still get OS updates? I thought mid-2010+ was needed.

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

#452

Post by alashow » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:24 PM UTC

jonplackett wrote: post #445

briandear wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Touchbar is a source of many complaints? Or just a small slice of people who complain loudly? Anecdotally, I have many relatives with touchbar MacBook Pros and they haven’t complained about it. Is it possible that many people actually like the touchbar but they don’t spend their time on specialized forums singing its praises? It just seems like the assumption that people hate the touchbar is selection bias. Aside…

Guaranteed anyone who doesn’t mind just doesn’t need to use escape very much. The problem with touchbar is it’s hard to use without looking at it - like most professionals do because it’s just muscle memory. Give me a real escape and I won’t mind the rest being a touch Bar. But I hope they make it like gaming keyboards that have real keys with tiny lcd displays on so you can customise the function but still have a re…

You can map your Caps Lock key to Esc.

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

#453

Post by dfawcus » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:27 PM UTC

pault wrote: post #406

bmurphy1976 wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This app was released recently: https://pock.dev/ It puts the dock in your touchbar. It's the first time in the 9 months I've had this laptop where I've actually gone "ok, this is useful" and I am actually using it. I now have the dock auto hide and I mostly use the touch bar to open apps. That said, I'd still prefer they ditched the touchbar in favor of function keys. I'd be happy if they shrunk the ridiculous size…

Personally, while I have never once used the touchbar, I do think the ability for apps to display contextual function keys has a lot of use cases. I would be happy if they released physical keys with little oled screens on them, like that old Optimus keyboard. Apparently it was garbage but the tech has come a long way in ten years.

A slight improvement over that invented by Apricot 36 years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_Apricot

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

#454

Post by starsinspace » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:27 PM UTC

jacobolus wrote: post #375

starsinspace wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if I throw away all the USB-A things I have and start over now... but that would be quite a waste. Also, try to find a true USB-C hub. With that I mean a box with one upstream USB-C input and several (>= 3) USB-C downstream ports. As far as I can tell, such products still do not exist. There are many USB-C-docks with USB-C input, various other downstream ports, and sometimes an additional USB-C port which is po…

You can buy cords with USB-C on one end and USB-A or USB-B on the other end. No need to dump all of your devices. > Also, try to find a true USB-C hub. I don’t understand why USB-C hubs and USB-C on power strips don’t really exist yet. They would be very useful.

When I looked into the issue of USB-C hubs some time ago, all I could find is this claim in a blog article [0] that suitable chips for such USB-C-hubs are not available:

> Update (2018-07-30): Accidental Tech Podcast reports on a rumor that next year Intel will finally ship the chip that’s needed for making a USB-C that adds additional type-C ports.

[0] https://mjtsai.com/blog/2017/10/14/the-impossible-dream-of-u...

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

#455

Post by dkersten » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:30 PM UTC

vimslayer wrote: post #229

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.

Mixture between a desktop, a cheap laptop (which I plan to replace with an X1 Carbon or a Thinkpad isn’t he coming months, although I haven’t researched it yet) and an old Mac Mini when I want to use mac software. OS-wise, I use Manjaro Linux.

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

#456

Post by gambiting » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:33 PM UTC

t34543 wrote: post #451

gambiting wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro (Core2Duo + 4GB of ram), I've added an SSD years ago, and it runs absolutely fine, I use it almost daily to browse the web. Even the battery still works(only for about an hour, but it does).

Can you still get OS updates? I thought mid-2010+ was needed.

No, the updates stopped at El Capitan unfortunately. There is a way to force it to update to Mojave but I think couple hardware bits stop working(....camera?) and I'm not that bothered.

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

#457

Post by cglace » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:34 PM UTC

Razengan wrote: post #227

cglace wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 suppos…

One, you can buy something and not enjoy it. Two, you can be given the computer by your employer and not like it. Three, you can not like the current model but buy it anyway because you want to stick with the Mac ecosystem.

I’ve been in numerous meetings where everyone is complaining about their new mpb while others in the meeting saying they are going to hold onto their older models as long as they can.

Finally, they are moving away from this design which indicates they too see a problem with the keyboard.

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

#458

Post by hyko » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:42 PM UTC

shawkinaw wrote: post #303

Am I the only person who likes the butterfly keyboard? I like the feel of the low travel and the clickiness, whenever I use an old style MacBook the keys feel mushy. I have had reliability problems though. Mostly I’ve had keys that don’t respond, but have always been able to fix those with compressed air. But once I had a sticky key that popped every other time I pressed it, that required a free Apple repair.

You are not alone! I like it too, I’ve never had the reliability issues.

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

#459

Post by bayindirh » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

nwienert wrote: post #443

snazz wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're infinitely more customizable, by not being (as) mass-produced, for one. I prefer keyswitches that have a lower weight and more travel than membrane switches, but if you legitimately prefer low-travel switches, those certainly exist in the mechanical realm too. The RSI point is significantly more controversial. Practically any type of laptop keyboard or non-split desktop keyboard puts your arms and wrists at u…

I'll just throw in one more anecdote, but I've never felt any pain whatsoever and used laptop keyboards my whole life (30 now), whereas whenever I've tried mechanical, and I've tried at least 5 now, I always revert within a few days due to discomfort/soreness. Even with a large wrist rest your hands are doing so much more work moving around. I just don't find the idea that split keyboards are more "natural" to be tru…

Funnily enough, I've used Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 for a decade, and its split design forced me to learn touch typing because I've always tried to cross that gap and landed in the split.

Also after getting used to it, it was one of the most reliable and comfortable keyboards that I've ever used. However, I've eventually wore it down and its keys started to get heavier. So, I moved to G710+, and I'm very happy now.

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

#460

Post by subinsebastien » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

FabHK wrote: post #156

Perceptes wrote: post #71

I desperately hope this is true. I have the first MacBook Pro that came with the Touch Bar, and it's the worst computer I've ever owned. The keyboard has failed twice, and the Touch Bar is inferior to the old hardware keys in every way. I hate it. The only reason I got it is because the MacBook Air it replaced was dying and I couldn't wait any more. Assuming this report is true, my only remaining worry is that they w…

> 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 have the 13" late 2013 Macbook Pro i7, 8GB. It is working perfectly fine, and as fast as it was on day one. Never replaced a single thing, and never had to do hard-drive wipe. The only problem I have is that, it is a 512GB SSD, and I have no free space left.