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Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

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Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#141

Post by efficax »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #72

I love the keyboard on new MacBooks. I'd like to have a keyboard like that for my desktop PC actually. I like how low travel it is, allowing me to type super fast with minimal effort, also it is nice to touch and makes nice sounds when typing.

I also love the 12" MB keyboards. And the new MBP keyboards are even better. I treat my 2016 12" MB like shit, throw it in my bag without a case, eat in its general area, and I've never had an issue with dust messing up the kb. But I believe that there's a design flaw here that apple should fix. But the keyboards are great from every other angle.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#142

Post by elcapitan »

I have a 13" MBP with butterfly keys for my job (desk) which work perfectly fine, and a 12" 2017 MB with butterfly keys which jam all the time, because I use it in messier environments. I have to blow canned air through the keyboard every two days to unjam some of the keys.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#143

Post by maxxxxx »

davrosthedalek wrote: post #92
pudo wrote: post #14

This, so much. Plus, call me clumsy, but the number of times I have accidentally triggered one of the magic bar buttons is beyond count. In everyday use, it often feels like my computer just randomly mutes system audio or locks the display (I had to get rid of the Siri button, it's incredibly annoying). All of that besides the fact that you cannot really use VIM any more because the ESC button is gone...

The most annoying thing about Siri is that another key press does not close that window again. It's the first thin I removed from the touch bar. The number of times I actually wanted to change the terminal colors or open a man page with the touchbar is exactly zero. I press them often enough by accident that I am annoyed. The touchbar is a solution looking for a problem. Can't find one. If you want reconfigurable key…

"Can't find one. If you want reconfigurable keys, why not put a small display in each of them?"

Good idea. The whole trend toward touch interfaces is really annoying. Something tactile is much better if you see it a lot. Same in cars. Operating a car heater through touch is much more difficult and requires more attention than old fashioned dials.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#144

Post by neap24 »

I had the most bizarre issue with my 2017 MacBook Pro keyboard: the left shift key stopped working intermittently. Thinking it was a piece of dust, I took off the key cover and tried to clean it out. Nothing worked. I finally made a Genius appointment for the day after High Sierra was released. I updated to High Sierra that morning and, suddenly, my shift key was in perfect working order again.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#145

Post by bluejekyll »

ux-app wrote: post #47
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…

yes I agree. I don't know how hardware teams with such a stellar track record as Apple have can make such awful decisions. The first time I used the new keyboard I thought that it was broken in some way (how is a shorter key travel a better thing?), and the touch bar is just stupid. I've seen people use them and the awkward way they have to stop what they're looking doing, orient themselves with the silly little scre…

I love the short throw keys. Obviously everyone has their own personal preferences. I feel like my fingers are dancing across the new keyboard. Initially I disliked the size of the keys, but now when I go back to an older keyboard I realize I even prefer those. (Edit: I still dislike the arrow keys, those suck).

Apple’s big problem is that they cater to everyone with a single offering. And since the keyboards are cut into the metal casing of the laptop, it would probably be expensive to offer an option here (though they probably should). So they make a decision, piss off some, make others happy. This is where PCs have an advantage, as you have more choice.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#146

Post by j7ake »

mickael-kerjean wrote: post #114
j7ake wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also if any Linux laptop can give me 8 plus hours of productive battery life I am also switching. I had problems with an old one where closing laptop lid drained all the battery so I constantly had to worry about the on state of my laptop

It's already here. I got between 13h (normal workload) to 25h (no internet and Emacs only) on the Lenovo x270 with arch and i3wm

Great thanks good to know. Do you have any issues with sleep or closing lid draining battery ?

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#147

Post by carlivar »

Yetanfou wrote: post #79
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…

The solution seems clear to me: you don't need to stop using laptops, you need to switch to another brand. There are plenty of laptops (or notebooks or whatever you prefer to call the things) with keyboards which work by manufacturers who put function over form instead of the other way around. The only snag you might hit is if you're stuck - emotionally or otherwise - to a given operating system but even that is solv…

The problem is the OS. Apple hasn't entirely screwed up macOS yet (give them time). It is still better than Windows and Linux in my opinion.

The hardware decline brings them closer to even with other laptops, all things considered, but I suspect many people prefer macOS enough to still stomach the bad hardware.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#148

Post by zelos »

audunw wrote: post #134
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…

> Who the hell decided that programmers don't need a functional ESC key or permanent function keys? I'm still amazed that there are programmers that complain about this. As a programmer, I've avoided ESC and the function keys for years before the touchbar came out. Apple has even had a built-in option in Mac OS to remap ESC to Caps Lock, for quite a while now. And considering how conservative Apple is when it comes t…

Debugging? Xcode defaults to F6/F7/F8 for step over/in/out. Many IDEs do something similar.

The alternative is to map some key combination, but it's much easier to be able to hit one key instead of Ctrl-something.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#149

Post by ambulancechaser »

kk_cz wrote: post #96
JSONwebtoken wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it a hidden gesture? It's literally shown in every marketing video and advertisement since demo day.

And yet somehow you still have someone (who I assume is a poweruser) who doesn't know about its existence. But to answer your question: It's hidden because it doesn't have a graphic representation on the device itself. Nothing on the volume button indicates that it's somehow a hidden slider.

its as hidden as control-alt-delete.

Re: Problems with MacBook butterfly switch keyboards

#150

Post by slantyyz »

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...

In the pre-retina days, Mac laptops were quite easy to service yourself.

I had a plastic Macbook that I spilled soda pop onto. The keyboard basically got fried. I ordered a replacement part from OWC and was able to fix it myself quite quickly.

The only downside was having to carry an external keyboard in my bag while waiting for the part to arrive since it was my work computer.

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