Comment by eref | Hacker News Reader

Comment by eref | Hacker News Reader

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The Touch Bar is also a ergonomic and UX catastrophe. Touching it accidentally happens way too often and your hands also tend to be in the way for reading it. It is also way too small and requires adjusting ones pose to read it properly.

Then there is the iPhone case with extra battery that looks absolutely hideous: https://i.imgur.com/VZM2SED.jpg

And not to mention the utter design flaw that the Mighty Mouse cannot be used during charging: https://i.redd.it/e5p6uoibkkkx.jpg

Why not change the design altogether when adding a charging port? The original design was known to be an ergonomic nightmare for years anyway.

Then there is the way the Apple Pen is supposed to be charged (and easily broken by accident): http://i.imgur.com/NjKqE2r.jpg

Why didn't they simply add a small cable accessory, or even better, a small 90° hinge like on an antenna? This is just such an awkward design decision.

The speaker grilles on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar are also mostly merely cosmetics. Form follows form. What's next? Ornaments? http://i.imgur.com/aEz8pWN.jpg

I also thought the lack of indicators for buttons in iOS 7 was a really bad decision. Luckily, they are reversing that.

> Then there is the way the Apple Pen is supposed to be charged

It's not quite that simple. The Apple Pencil is provided with a Lightning connector adapter, so that you can connect it to a Lightning cable and charge it in the same way you'd charge your phone. Conveniently, you can also quickly plug it in to an iPad for a quick boost, but I've never needed to do that.

I stand corrected. I only saw this on Reddit with an apparently misleading title.

Yeah, it’s only useful to plug it in the iPad in emergencies.

Well, for mouse ergonomics Steve wasn't your guy; he's the one who insisted on the "hockey puck" design[1] for the original iMac's mouse.

[1] http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hockeypu...

Charging port at the bottom of the mouse is not even a problem, not to mention "ergonomic nightmare". The same goes for a lot of "problems" in your list. And of course there is always someone who knows what Jobs would or would not do.

Oh really? I suppose that’s why the keyboard and touchpad both have it on the rear so you can use the device while it’s charging?

It’s clearly a problem.

The whole charging port on the bottom of the mouse isn't just for visual design. It's intentionally made to force you into using it exclusively wireless. If it were allowed to be a wired mouse far more people will have crappy experiences with the cable constantly snagging on things. Yes, technically you could plausibly run it wired until its charged enough but now there's the extra inconvenience of managing a cable. I know this all comes off as 1st world problems - and it certainly is - but Apple has always been about refining the experience. Besides, if the battery on my mouse does die, I just plug it in, go make some coffee, and come back to a mouse that'll last me for at least another week before another recharge. Fully charged, I've had it run for at least a month. The whole charge from the bottom is one of the biggest non-issues ever.

Sounds to me, like you are finding excuses to defend a bad design decision. If my mouse dies on me, then I expect to be able to plug it in and then continue to use it, with a minimal interruption of my workflow. Which, how you presented it, is not possible. I shouldn't be forced to bend my workflow around my devices, but my devices should bend to my workflow.

Yes, this is not always possible, but in this case it is just an unnecessary inconvenience. And if I decide, that I want to have the "crappy experience" of using my mouse while it's on a charging cable, then I should be able to make that decision.

This is not "refining experience", it is just bad design.

My only-slightly-tongue-in-cheek theory is that Apple thinks users should, with rare exception, be using trackpads instead.

I can't imagine ever using a mouse again. Such a miserable experience compared to a good trackpad.

My slightly tongue-in-cheek take is that Apple engineers and designers must have extremely tiny hands. One of my colleagues got one of the new 13' MBPs recently; I can't even get my hands to fit on the home row.

Huh. My personal experience is almost the opposite. I feel like I'm much faster with a mouse, and my hand cramps up when using the trackpad on my macbook for too long...

Interesting. One key for me is tap to click; I find that significantly reduces the (metaphorical) friction to using a trackpad.

>If it were allowed to be a wired mouse far more people will have crappy experiences with the cable constantly snagging on things.

Logitech and Razer's high-end wireless mice work in either wired or wireless mode. Their products are a pleasure to use in either configuration. Logitech have recently launched the PowerPlay system, which charges the mouse inductively through the mouse mat.

The Magic Mouse is absolutely awful IMO. The shape is an ergonomic disaster for palm and claw grippers, the sensor is poor and the multi-touch gestures are far less usable than a simple scroll wheel, let alone the dual scroll wheels on the Logitech MX Master. Like the old hockey puck mouse, it just isn't built to fit the human hand.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again - Apple are hugely successful, but they're playing a very risky long-term game. Their neglect of power users threatens to undermine the cultural cachet that their brand is built on. If you lose the influencers and the thought leaders, the rest of the market will eventually follow. The persistent neglect of the Mac Pro and the Mac Mini, the touch bar and the butterfly keys all send the message that Apple no longer cares about creative professionals.

Of the people I talk to, most continue to use Macs only under duress. They're dissatisfied with the hardware design choices, they're frustrated with the software quality and they feel that Apple is now a phone company with a legacy computer business. I was a Mac user from Jaguar to Mountain Lion, but I simply couldn't get the job done with Macs any more. I couldn't stomach paying a huge premium for a "pro workstation" that was anything but.

I only like MBPs because of their battery life.

Apple’s dekstop offerings right now are just bad for me as a power user.

  Yes, technically you could plausibly run it wired until 
  its charged enough but now there's the extra 
  inconvenience of managing a cable.

You have to manage the same cable when charging it from underneath, only now it's unusable until it's done charging...

I can see defending it on aesthetic grounds, and maybe even from a condescending place of not wanting the user to feel what it's like to use it tethered (I like Apple but they do this "we know what you want better than you" dance a little too much). But the point I quoted is pretty silly.

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