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

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

#461

Post by jwandborg » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

lumost wrote: post #192

afandian wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Lenovo Yoga Book is a hinged tablet. Bottom half is a glass surface with both capacitive touch and Wacom digitiser. It comes with a Wacom pen, which has a swappable ballpoint pen nib so you can draw on paper and have it digitised. There's a backlit silkscreen-type stencil that shines through a (permanent) keyboard layout. And touchpad. So, it's touch-screen typing on a fixed keyboard layout. And you can swap betw…

Most products hit a point where the design space has been explored and there are only a few reasonable options. Outside of the recent touchbar and keyboard missteps apple picked up on the notion that people want laptops that are thin, and light with low bezel screens and big touchpads, a battery that works for the whole day and performance sufficient for huge numbers of tabs. They've run with that design philosophy f…

> I've been looking for a Linux laptop with similar specs to an mbp but it simply doesn't exist.

I don't believe you've been thorough enough in your search.

Great Linux laptops are often deceivingly marketed as Windows laptops, and you should expect the pricing to be similar to the MacBook.

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

#462

Post by gxx » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

bmurphy1976 wrote: post #316

stickfigure wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just last week bought a pristine, maxed-out 2015 MacBook Pro. Yet I think you're wrong about most of this. * I hate magsafe. I've owned a dozen of these and almost all of them have come apart just behind the magsafe connector. Expensive, proprietary, and fragile. I would much much rather have USB-C than shell out $90 every two years. * USB-C is great. A bunch of different ports means carrying a bunch of different c…

> The new keyboard. The ergonomics are fine, but I am hard on keyboards and nevertheless expect 5+ years of duty (my last machine was bought new in 2013, and just wasn't cutting it with 8G of RAM). I can't have an unreliable and expensive keyboard. I just don't get it. I've had my MPB with the new keyboard for 9 months now and I hate it more than ever. The ergonomics are absolutely terrible, the layout (particularly…

Soon after buying a 2016 Macbook Pro quicly I learned from personal experience how fragile thekeyboards were. Ater it was repaired under warranty I quickly sold it and bought two maxed out 2015 MacBook Pros hoping they would last until Apple got around to fixing the keyboard. It looks like my bet will be rewarded.

Also contributing to my decision is that the Touch Bar did not work for me at all. I have less than perfect eyesight. I need keys with tactile feedback and that don't move around to be sure I'm sure I'm accurately hitting the right key.

I do still have a non-touchbar 13 inch 2017 MacBook Pro that I use from time to time. I move around a lot and work in many locations. I've cursed Apple many times when suddenly needing to connect to an older USB or HDMI device but not having my dongle collection with me this time... The need to carry dongles seems like a kludge that detracts from the elegrant compactness the computer itself.

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

#463

Post by ksec » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #341

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…

If Apple gets rid of the TouchBar + fixes the keyboard that'd eliminate 90% of the complaints against Macbook Pros.

Well, not really 90%. The trackpad is too big and introduce false positive that to some user is above threshold. I don't need such a large track pad for christ sake.

The Display cable, while Apple making is 1cm longer, will only make it last a year or two more. That is 3 - 4 years of Display Lifespan. I hardly call this durable.

The Thunderbolt and USB-C design is a bag of hurt, the amount of short circuit , logic board failure due to it is unacceptable.

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

#464

Post by coupdejarnac » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:53 PM UTC

ryanlol wrote: post #315

_asummers wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever tripped over a cable with the Magsafe connector while attached to your laptop? It comes off, like it's supposed to. What about the USB-C connectors? The laptop comes off the desk.

What is the use case for tripping over your laptop charger cable? I just can’t see myself having to do that very frequently, but I definitely remember the constant struggle that was keeping the magsafe cable plugged in.

The use case is taking your laptop out of the office and working in other places: the whole point of a laptop.

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

#465

Post by screye » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:53 PM UTC

RayVR wrote: post #144

Having used the 2018 MacBook Air for about 3 months now, I can say I really detest it and I would return it if that were possible. 1) the keyboard. This thing really feels like slamming your fingers into a metal slab. I think my iPad Pro keyboard is better. The MacBook Air keyboard is also very loud. For something with so little depth the sound is shocking. 2) the webcam. Total garbage. In a laptop this expensive I t…

With Jony Ive gone, I hope they finally move towards function over form.

From what I've been reading, the push for portraying Apple as a fashion company, came directly from Ive's side.

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

#466

Post by efficax » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:54 PM UTC

audunw wrote: post #441

JDiculous wrote: post #36

Great, the butterfly keys were an enormous downgrade in terms of comfort, and one of the reasons I sold my 2017 Macbook Pro. But will they still keep that awful touchbar where the Esc and F1-12 are supposed to be? Then I'll still be passing.

> But will they still keep that awful touchbar where the Esc and F1-12 are supposed to be? If you use the escape key often, it should be where caps-lock is. Mac OS X even has a built-in setting for this. If you only use it once in a while, it doesn't really matter that it's a virtual touch key. F1-12 has always been a horrible interface. They're too far away from home row. There's a reason why many hyper-optimized ke…

> If you use the escape key often, it should be where caps-lock is. Mac OS X even has a built-in setting for this.

Blasphemy. Caps lock should be banished from all keyboards and replaced with control.

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

#467

Post by ksec » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:54 PM UTC

RayVR wrote: post #144

Having used the 2018 MacBook Air for about 3 months now, I can say I really detest it and I would return it if that were possible. 1) the keyboard. This thing really feels like slamming your fingers into a metal slab. I think my iPad Pro keyboard is better. The MacBook Air keyboard is also very loud. For something with so little depth the sound is shocking. 2) the webcam. Total garbage. In a laptop this expensive I t…

>2) the webcam.

There were many complaint about it. Somehow post 2015 model, all Macbook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air Retina has regressed in one way or another.

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

#468

Post by tjr225 » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:55 PM UTC

subinsebastien wrote: post #460

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 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.

I have an i5 version of this. Bought it from the refurb store in 2014 and it is the best computer I have ever owned. Unfortunately the keyboard is getting a little finicky, presumably from dust. In any case 6-7 years is a pretty impressive life span for a notebook in my opinion.

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

#469

Post by stevenwliao » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:58 PM UTC

jwandborg wrote: post #461

lumost wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most products hit a point where the design space has been explored and there are only a few reasonable options. Outside of the recent touchbar and keyboard missteps apple picked up on the notion that people want laptops that are thin, and light with low bezel screens and big touchpads, a battery that works for the whole day and performance sufficient for huge numbers of tabs. They've run with that design philosophy f…

> I've been looking for a Linux laptop with similar specs to an mbp but it simply doesn't exist. I don't believe you've been thorough enough in your search. Great Linux laptops are often deceivingly marketed as Windows laptops, and you should expect the pricing to be similar to the MacBook.

What's the battery life like on Linux laptops these days?

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

#470

Post by screye » Thu, Jul 04, 2019, 5:58 PM UTC

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…

Apart from the OS, hardware wise there are quite a few laptops that are better pound-for-pound.

The XPS and Huawei MatebookX pro seem to be better in every way, with the polish that is expected of Apple products. Think pads cater to a different market, but have all the same bells and whistles too.

The XPS and Thinkpads have great linux support, so it helps bridge the OS downsides to a certain extent.