Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards • Hacker News Board

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#101

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 8:41 AM UTC

cstejerean wrote: post #10

vittore wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think cursor is the worst. why not cut off shift and do up and down proper keys.

The up/down keys are the only issue I have with the new keyboard. I routinely manage to hit it wrong and the cursor doesn’t move. The rest of it I actually like, including the touchbar.

Cursor keys were quite a switch from the trusty old MBA. The layout is a bit different (left/right are full size keys instead of half height) and the keys are so flush with the enclosure that it was just much harder to find them "blind".

Though, having had the MBP now for nearly a year, it's not an issue anymore.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#102

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 8:56 AM UTC

kalleboo wrote: post #80

threeseed wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Escape key is always in the same position (top left). I always hit it with 100% accuracy just like I did on my previous MacBook. And I am not making excuses for Apple. I think they should've made Escape key in particular a physical key.

No right now in the top left corner of my touchbar is an (X) key, the esc key is to the right of it.

My understanding is that even though by default there is some (inexplicable) space left of the escape key on the touchbar, that space still functions as the escape key.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#103

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:02 AM UTC

TrickyRick wrote: post #94

micaksica wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your story resonated with me because I had the same experiences with a 12” MacBook. While I can’t really use you as an example, since you kind of need a Mac for a lot of the work you do specifically, I’ve heard the same complaints about Apple hardware from other long-time Mac users that don’t actually need to have a Mac. I am curious how many of those of us that don’t need macOS day to day have voted with their walle…

For all it's faults, the MacBook Pro is still the best computer for what I do, as someone who doesn't have to use a Mac. macOS being a big factor in favor of it.

Sure, I also bought the MBP, but for the first time in a decade I bought an Apple product grudgingly, getting it not because it's the best machine at a reasonable price, but because switching would be too expensive.

The MacBook Air was a great little nifty machine, powerful enough for my (modest) needs. The MBP is expensive (even the "cheap" "Escape key" edition) with a finicky keyboard and 3h battery life if you actually use the CPU.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#104

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:02 AM UTC

Zanni wrote: post #88

saurik wrote: post #21

Based on the title I assumed that this person was going to be complaining about joint damage due to the low key travel. This keyboard on my 12" MacBook is so bad that between having to get the top case replaced to fix broken keys (when as stated in the article, careful blowing didn't work and trying to replace the keys caused them to break) and my fingers feeing like they have aged many years from the poor ergonomics…

If you're damaging your keys and hurting your fingers, you may be typing too hard for the keyboard. I'm not suggesting that that's your fault, just that there may be a mismatch between your preferred typing style and Apple's. I looked at the 12" Macbook when they first came out and was attracted by the small form factor but completely turned off by the keyboard's almost non-existent key travel. I much preferred the h…

"You're typing it wrong"

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#105

Post by mrmondo » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:05 AM UTC

I might sound like the black sheep here - but I really enjoy typing on the new MacBook keyboard, even when switching from my DAS ultimate on my desktop and back - I truly enjoy it and make far less mistakes while typing faster.

What I do think is completely useless is he touchbar, nice idea but no real use.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#106

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:07 AM UTC

tomcam wrote: post #49

I too have found this keyboard it to be a disaster. I made the mistake of buying two MacBooks as soon as the first 12" model was released, one for me and one for my wife, and my wife's keyboard had so many problems we took it in to Apple. All they could do was offered to swap out the keyboard for a mere $400. My wife refused, and the problem mysteriously solved itself. Meanwhile, mine "works", but the short key trave…

FWIW, I've had intermittent problems with one or the other key on the MBP keyboard, but as you said, after a while they went away. Maybe I ground down that damn speck of dust.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#107

Post by madmax108 » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:09 AM UTC

It constantly amazes me how a product which is so widely criticized by the dev community, ends up selling so well. Really shows how Apple dropped the ball from making a system which became the de-facto developer laptop (whether I like that it did or not is a different question), right upto this clunky mess which is a far cry from their earlier versions

I still maintain that the 2012 rMBP, which were the last Macbooks that came out under Jobs IIRC, were the most stable developer-focussed iteration of the MBP. No heating issues, a sexy screen, stable non-glitchy non-hanging OS, and a wonderful experience overall!

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#108

Post by jmkni » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:12 AM UTC

nrclark wrote: post #5

My work gave me one of the 2016 15" MBPs as my main computer, and the keyboard is horrible. My V key double-presses about half the time, and the rest of the keys are really hard to press down all the way. Some of the keys make a weird metal rattle when I press them. Typing on that wretched keyboard for more than an hour or so literally bruises my fingers. Since I do most of my day-to-day work at a dock with an extern…

They definitely should have offered the touch bar as an option, so people who wanted it could have it and the rest could have normal function keys!

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#109

Post by jmkni » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:16 AM UTC

jankotek wrote: post #11

I have Dell XPS 13. When keyboard broke (probably my fault), technician come to my house next day and replaced it in front of me. For free, as part of basic warranty. I was on holiday in other country...

Likewise when my screen broke, their technician rolls into my office the following day with a new one, no questions asked

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#110

Post by FabHK » Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 9:17 AM UTC

http-teapot wrote: post #63

reustle wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Keys do have issues weekly or so, but that's resolved by hitting the key a bunch I've been considering moving to a 12 MacBook but hearing stuff like this scares me

I have two 12 MacBook at home. I've replaced the keyboard twice on one and zero times on the other. Each time some keys got stuck in pressed position which meant we had to press harder. My other had similar issues except the keys popped back up somehow. That occasional glorious press on "Return" key may lock it... and it feels terrible.

Plus ça change...

My first computer was the ZX 81 with its pressure-sensitive membrane keyboard. While I was tinkering around, I accidentally dropped a screw driver on the "K" key, which was now permanently depressed, and subsequently I had to lift it up a bit with a suction cup (or, well, orally) before I could type...