Giving Up on the Current MacBook Pro Keyboard
theoutline.com
theoutline.com
And then I got a 2017 Macbook Pro at my new job. Never mind that the keys are reported to stick (mine haven't yet), it just feels terrible. Virtually zero throw in the switch. And a personal pet peeve, they made the same mistake Microsoft did with their ergo keyboard for 1 sad iteration (before they fixed it in later models) - they changed the arrow keys from the standard upside-down T layout to a diamond layout. Those designers at Apple wanted symmetry so they made it happen. Too bad it kills the ergonomics.
But the trackpad is where it really goes downhill. It's physically huge for no good reason. Worse (and the reason I'm seriously looking to see if I can swap it for an older model), it routinely (like 20% of the time) mistakes 1- and 2-finger clicks for each other. I never know which it's going to do. I never experienced this at all with any of my older Macbook Pros and Macbook Airs. Good luck giving a presentation - you're awkwardly fumbling with context menus when you don't want them, etc... audience will think you've never used a computer before. And yes, I've disabled all the stupid gesture stuff because it was even worse before I did so.
The "only 2 USB C ports and a headphone jack" is the icing on the cake. I could live with it if it were the only issue, but it just annoys me that I need to bring a docking station with me to stay plugged in while presenting and using any usb peripheral. What's the benefit here - maybe 1/2 mm thinner?
I wish they will fix at least the keyboard issues in the 2018 models. Damn Apple.
Everybody assumed that the refresh would take a winning formula and adjust it a little bit. Nobody assumed that Apple would completely screw up the keyboard, hose things with the touch bar, abuse people by only having USB-C ports, kill the MagSafe power, and still not offer modern processor and memory specs.
Everybody then assumed that when all these problems came out, Apple would own up and make it right. The fact that Apple is NOT doing that is finally pissing people off.
That ... doesn't follow. It's OS X that I buy Macs for. I have a very small number of complaints about it, but many more about every other OS I've ever used. Like mutt: it sucks less.
Also: I loved my previous Mac devices. I don't love my recent MacBook Pro. But the next Mac I buy in a few years time, they'll probably have fixed it up by then. Switching to a whole new ecosystem for the interim strikes me as crazy.
that depends entirely on what your daily activities are.
If you're a web developer and are somewhat competent, you'd be best served with fedora or ubuntu. You're able to fully customize your system, use tiling window managers such as i3wm and can actually use the same daemons as the production system will be using.
If you're a designer that uses the Adobe Suite, there is little difference between osx and windows. both work most of the time and have their own faults and upsites. if you're already in the apple ecosphere, there is little reason to change to windows - as there isn't really anything better there. Nor is there a reason to switch to mac from windows...
If you're a gamer, there really isn't anything but windows -- even today. Its gotten better with Steam, but the performance hit for non-windows systems is brutal.
If you're just an average user that only wants to use facebook, webmail and browse the internet, you'd be best served with a chromebook/chromebox. That literally just works with no manual configuration necessary anywhere. Its just that there is very little you can do on it. (The Android integration is still beta, so that doesn't count)
this list is obviously not exhaustive. I'm just trying to make a point with some examples.
I'm sure being able to fully customise your system is appealing to some, the rest of us just want to get stuff done.
Ps. Web developer since 1994.
Quite.
I want audio and auto-suspend and battery management to just work, to be able to buy peripheries that I know will work.
Also, without wanting to hit the snark too much:
>> If you're a web developer and are somewhat competent, you ... can actually use the same daemons as the production system will be using.
When you become _very_ competent, you'll be running all of those in VMs or Docker or whatever.
I just want a Unix-based laptop and I treat apple like a good community-run skin that has really good testing with a small set of hardware. That works for me.
In the rare case that I want to customize something or an developing for someone who wants customization, I’ll virtualization. I’ve been lucky enough (or maybe unfortunate since it’s fun) to not do anything related to hardware for a decade or so.
It seems i've offended you in some way.
I did not mean to imply that all competent web developers should be using ubuntu or fedora. You can be a very efficient and great programmer without ever using any linux distribution in your life. After all, StackOverflow seems to be quite good at what it does and its run on windows iirc.
Its just that you'll occasionally run into problems. If you're inexperienced with linux distributions you'll have to google their solution, making even a trivial problem such as '$PROGRAM not found' a very painful experience. And you won't really get to utilize the usability improvements from i3wm for example.
so to summarize: you don't need to use linux to be a competent developer. You won't be able to really use linux unless you're already an experienced and competent developer which is open to find new workflows. You could install it and use it, sure, but you'D become another example of why "linux desktop doesn't work"
Been using computers daily for 33 years and have no need for this. I mean, I tried once out of curiosity, but can't see the appeal. Of course, everyone's different and "you do you!" etc :-) Like the grandparent poster, macOS is the "least worst" option for me so far.
Try to install OSX on different hardware combinations (once you get chameleon working) and you will find out that it sucks, maybe even harder than Windows/Linux.
Probably
> Linux and Windows supports a much broader range of hardware combination, obviously the perfect combination and work doesn't exist for them
Yes
> Try to install OSX on different hardware combinations
Why would I do that when I can buy a Mac?
This is neither a moral stance nor a philosophical one, it's a practical one. I want a stable reliable machine to be productive on, and not to irritate me more than is strictly necessary. That's been a Mac for the last 15 years or so. One dud model in that time is not enough to get me playing with XF86config, tweaking the Registry again, or powering off my laptop when I'm done with it.
Maybe to contrast pumped prices for hardware found on other vendors' hardware, costing half or a third of it? (true especially for the entry level MacBooks, which have same hw of a 500€ laptops from Hp or Lenove
> It's OS X that I buy Macs for
As the grand-parent you're replying to notes, it doesn't work so well on non-Apple systems. The hardware is secondary.
Personally, the touch bar is a bridge too far and I won't be buying another mac. But it does take something like this (which I consider pretty egregious) to push me over the edge, so I can understand why others might choose otherwise.
Oh sure, tons of "I have a perfectly working linux on x" but drilling down it always boils down to fiddling, updating, manually correcting some value somewhere, tweaking.. etc.
I switched to a mac some 8 years ago on the desktop and 6 years ago as my daily driver laptop. I would love to break out of the apple ecosystem for something more free but I just have not been convinced it exists yet.
With all the complaints about macos, rightfully so, quality seems to be degrading somehwat, the HW/SW combination is still unbeaten in my book. I run Fusion on it, with a Windows Server VM and Linux VM w shared homedir so I can run whatever tools best fit for the job. Only real gripe is memory limit of 16GB. Oh and the touchbar. Fuck the touchbar. Could have been nice as an addition above the Fn key row.
Now let's hope my keyboard holds out ;)
TL;DR: I've had the opposite experience as you.
I am optimistic though, seriously think that when my current macbook is up for replacement there will be a handful of capable machines with proper (HW) linux support.
For me however, lacking that positive first hand experience is what makes me keep ordering macs.. for now.
I've had great experiences running Ubuntu derivatives on Dell Latitude E-series, as long as they don't have Nvidia graphics. I'm sure plenty of Thinkpad owners will tell you the same.
> It's a UNIXy system, that actually works with the hardware.
You'd think there'd be a big market for an "it just works" Linux-based laptop.
My wife likes hers.
However, people are always more vocal about things they don’t like. We expect things to work right, and when they do, it is not supposed to be a remarkable event. It’s supposed to be normal.
Crap not working right is infuriating and we let everyone know about that stuff.
That said, you can learn a lot from negative comments by seeing if the things that people complain about would bother you or not.
Negative commentary by itself doesn’t matter if what people complain about is irrelevant to you. On the contrary, if all people can find to complain about is stuff that doesn’t matter to you, you are golden.
Touchbar complaints that matter to me are primary escape key related. Otherwise it’s just meh to me. On my work keyboard the escape key is awkward so I mostly use ctrl-[. And I think my iPad “smart” keyboard doesn’t even have escape so that has reinforced it for me. I don’t really notice much anymore.
So the escape key isn’t a deal breaker for me. I mostly just don’t care about the touch bar. Don’t have one on my computer though.
However, the thin mbpr keyboards sound like thunder and that drives me nuts. The key breakage/stop working deal would suck but I can’t gauge how common that really is.
They all make abnoxious noise though. I won’t upgrade until that is fixed. I’d give up my establishment in the macOS ecosystem and go Linux with a thinkpad maybe.
Beyond that, though, 1) the cooling is the best, every previous model melted my lap, 2) I absolutely love the flexibility of USB-C, 3) I can charge whatever side suits the cable better which depends on where I am, 4) I can use powerbanks for emergency juice, 5) the screen is brighter than ever, 6) it's thinner and lighter than the previous gen, 7) the SSD is faster than the previous gen by quite a bit, 8) ditched the MagSafe proprietary power connector, I now use generic USB-3 stuff and have numerous chargers that work fine. USB-C's withdrawal tension is just right to avoid all the issues MagSafe helped with.
It can (at least with a suitable gloss on 'better'). For practical purposes there are only 3 OSs to choose from. I had determined to ditch macs because of the new fake keyboard, but having reacquainted myself with both linux & windows to prepare for the move, I'm now back to desperately hoping Apple brings out a MB with a real keyboard this year. All operating systems are horrible. MacOS is no exception, but it's the most manageable horror. It seems to me to be a bit like democracy: it's the worst except for all the others.
So, an interesting takedown[1] of Apple engineering was posted on /r/videos yesterday. I can't speak to the veracity, but there's some interesting claims there that if true would make me think twice before buying an Apple Laptop (specifically because of very long-standing issues and warranty shenanigans). There's a segment on the keyboard towards the second half as well.
are you listening, apple?
The back of my Macbook screen does make intermittent popping sounds though.
keyboard - generally liked the feel more than the previous 2015 model, but... it was louder. noticeably louder, even if I tried to type lighter. Definitely created some friction in situations where none existed before. And... MBP2016 trackpad size - just was too large for my liking. I knew of no one demanding a larger trackpad, but know of many people (myself included) who had some issues with the larger trackpad (stray palm issues, etc). The few people I know who liked or wanted a larger trackpad used an external one, which had the bonus (for them) of being movable.
I have a non-touchbar MBP with the new keyboard (and I've had it for about a year at this point), have a 15" touchbar MBP for work at my new job, and had a 13" touchbar MBP at the job I had in 2017, and none of them have had any problems. However, I usually keep the work laptops closed and use external keyboards, and I find for personal travel I tend to use my iPad with the Magic Keyboard more than the laptop. (I also have an iMac for work that requires heavy lifting.)
This is definitionally a man-bites-dog situation. "Keyboard works fine" doesn't make news; "keyboard stops working because someone at neighboring desk ate a cookie" does. I suspect that you and I are not in the minority, and that the new keyboard works fine for most people. But even if that's true, the failure rate is anecdotally orders of magnitude higher than Apple's previous keyboard design, and that makes it a problem that needs to be addressed. Like much of Apple's recent design choices, they have become too willing to compromise function to achieve form. (I know some would say they've done that for decades, but I think they mostly hit the right balance until the last 3–4 years.)
My guess is option 2. Neither option is encouraging.
The extent to which Genius Bar staff are aware of the problem, and whether or not they’ve received specific instructions about it, is something we can only guess at.
I've personally found that the steps work pretty well, and also if you have a vacuum with a brushed attachment on a lower setting may help if compressed air doesn't do it.
You could also bring it in to the apple store and they could attempt to clean it for you!
From the comments here, you'd think that no one knew they could remove the keys!
the problem is that they're (really) easy to break, and hard to replace.
I think this may have to do with the kinds of keyboards people are used to. Some prefer lighter keys, some prefer a lot of key travel, some like clicky keys, etc.
This is why Cherry makes so many kinds of switches...
On my k70 I had red Cherry MX switches . When I was in kindergarten I used Apple II keyboards.
For mobile devices I used an Motorola droid and a Treo. Also a blackberry .
EDIT: Sorry forgot to mention I touch type (I am touch typing on a IBM model M right now).
Although we have both used the apple bluetooth keyboard and Airs, so that may have contributed for the higher tolerance of the new Macbook Pro keyboard.
Right now I'm typing using a Logitech K750 solar keyboard, which feels very similar to Apple's bluetooth keyboard (although I feel that the keys need slightly more pressure to activate). It is dead silent which is great to use around coworkers.
At home I want to get a Kinesis Freestyle Edge for the ergonomics, and I'm debating if Cherry MX Browns or Blues would be better.
Whenever I profess my love for the new keyboard here, someone always asks me if I touch type.
Yes. The new MBP keyboards actually kick ass for touch typing, and I'm just as shocked when someone doesn't think that, as you are (I'm guessing) when you find out that I touch type.
I have used and loved Model M and Thinkpad keyboards, among others. Now I can't use anything else because the new MBP keyboards are so much better, in my opinion.
Yes, there are some keyboards I don't like. But they are pretty rare and almost everything else I'm fine on.
I have a 2014 MPB I like, a MS Wireless Keyboard 700 I use as my daily keyboard, a Logitech K260, and various Dell, HP and Acer keyboards. All are fine for me.
I used to work with a guy who smoked at his desk (back when indoor smoking was less of a faux pas), and his mechanical keyboards were full of ash.
It’s not as if we’re demanding a keyboard that works at the bottom of the ocean or can handle ingress by lunar dust.
Overall I think Apple reached and then slightly overshot the point of no more returns on "thin and light."
Joined a startup, raring to go, and they needed to get me a top-end MacBook Pro (16GB instead of 8GB as I recall). Apple stores in SF refused to stock the top-end, pointing me to their build-to-order options at the store. +5 days minimum.
Went with a mail-order house and next day aired in a top-end MacBook Pro laptop (which they had plenty of in every color). Shift key was DOA. Took it in to the Apple store. They had the gall to tell me that since I didn't buy it directly from Apple, they wouldn't (not couldn't, wouldn't) repair it in store, but would send it to their warranty center in Houston (right after Harvey). Got it back fixed, but so many days wasted.
Apple gets so many really difficult things right. Simple-seeming things like basic customer service and proactive quality control escape them.
And if they don't stock your configuration in store, there's no way to just hand you a new one either.
I'm not saying your experience was any less shitty than it was, but there's nothing else they could have done than what they did.
For me, it has always fixed problems of keys that stopped working, but it doesn't seem to necessarily fix keys that double press. I assume that is related to an issue of the membrane itself or something under it.
This is in response to the GP's comment "They had the gall to tell me that since I didn't buy it directly from Apple, they wouldn't (not couldn't, wouldn't) repair it in store" - which isn't the case, this is the policy for the butterfly models.
Unlike the earlier chiclet design they don't pop the keycaps off, they literally replace the top case.
If you're out of warranty this is a $500 repair.
You're shocked that a corporation lies?
iTunes. shudder
They made bad compromises. People who actually needed a macbook pro were not asking for a slimmer package. People focusing on size and weight might.
Case in point: I bought a Macbook (not pro, but with second gen butterfly switches) for my wife, she doesn't seem to mind, even when typing essays. She is not a touch typist however.
I'm typing this in a Macbook Pro at work, but using a bluetooth keyboard, so it is a non issue. At home, same deal, except I'm planning to upgrade to a mechanical keyboard.
If I am on the go, then I'll have to use the integrated keyboard. But this is rare for me. If you only use it on the go occasionally, then the keyboard may not be a deal breaker.
Still, my Dell Chromebook has a MUCH better keyboard, and it only cost me a couple hundred bucks. This is seriously wrong.
I can concur, have had sometimes flakey keys going on 1.5 years now. I'm fairly adept at removing the keycaps but have several that trigger double-presses from time to time. It's frustrating.
https://theoutline.com/post/4277/dont-buy-the-new-macbook-pr...
After 10 years on the Mac, I'll be switching to ThinkPad / Linux / Hackintosh if the next MBP doesn't fix the keyboard issue.
For a while I was happy about this state of affairs, but over time I became increasingly dissatisfied.
Late last year I started a new job and essentially demanded that I be allowed to choose my own hardware. I ended up getting a high-spec X1 Carbon and running a Fedora variant on it.
It works very, very well. And the keyboard is great. I won't be going back to a mac any time soon.
https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/83frmc/macbook_pro_2...
The subreddit is mostly rabid diehard Apple fans, so the amount of discussion there on this is telling.
I'm on my 7 year old MacBook Air and I've never had keyboard issues. Looks like I'll be waiting for the 2018 MBP to upgrade.
Much of the time it's fine because I have it docked, giving me access to a regular external keyboard. But when I travel or use my treadmill desk, forcing me to use the built-in keyboard...ugh. The key travel distance provides poor tactile feedback, making it feel like I haven't pressed hard enough. And my typo rate goes through the roof. I didn't have those problems with my 2012. And Apple's decision to go with only USB-C is a constant source of inconvenience; I wrongly expected it would pass over time. All this, and no noticeable performance improvement.
I still have the 2012, I haven't had time to prep it to sell. I'm seriously considering finding other ways to deal with its limitations so I can ditch this awful 2017 instead. What an expensive mistake.
It was a nuisance when a laptop designed for portability cant be carried around easily. I found when its vertical/in a backpack it lets dust move around and settle under the keys. Every time I carry it around previously unlocked keys end up 'sticky' & it constantly needs cleaning.
With the Surface and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) its quite refreshing with Windows 10. On occasion I do still use the mac for Xcode but that's about it. Not to mention the alcantara keyboard is an absolute pleasure to use.
The issue is that the pinchers at the top of the key no longer hold after a while, so the keys fall off. I do like having four E keys, though. (Rather than try to guess which key would fail next I just bought a bunch of E keys).
When I took it to an Apple store they told me they couldn't just replace the keys and wanted to do a whole top case, leaving me without my computer for a week. I think they guessed (correctly) that if you have one key come up that the rest will follow. My "I" key is feeling loose and will probably go in the next week or two.
My issue appears to have been the brackets on the keys themselves perhaps broke or wore down over time due to how impressively fast and heroically accurate I type.
The keyboard still works perfectly whereas my acquaintances that have bought newer models have had the keys falling, failing, discolour and whatnot.
That and the ineffable mate screen and screen size.
I've changed the memory, the hard drive and the battery to keep going and it's still going, albeit with more fan noise.
I'm really afraid/don't want to switch to a new/lesser MacBook Pro.
With Ubuntu 18.04, Linux is more usable than ever... already runs my desktop and I'll be switching my laptop to Linux as well unless Apple releases something more suitable for power users this summer.
Overall, I'm not unhappy, really. It is faster than my old one was, and much lighter, and has better battery life as long as I'm not doing anything CPU-intensive. Would I have been happier with the older 15-inch model they're still selling? In retrospect, I don't think I would have been any less happy, and I would have saved some money.
The 2015 model and before remains the best Mac laptop, it's too bad they couldn't just update that to have 32GB RAM and a modern CPU. The keyboard is already great, it already has many ports that are widely used, it has a hardware escape key and function keys, it does not have an annoying touch bar, it's an upgrade in every possible way compared to the newer mess for what a "pro" user actually cares about.
(I have a 64GB RAM Acer for workstation use, though.)
It's just... So clean...
Or just build a hackintosh.
At work I just use an external KB while I’m working at my desk (98% of the time), rendering the macbook’s internal KB almost entirely moot.
Locking people out of your software store if they don't buy your hardware for their development is an absolute scandal.
Whenever i see someone complain about brand X, it is because hey picked up the cheapest model on offer at some corner store. Buy the business models...
I even bust out my T42p from time to time when I want to play old 4:3 games. My X200 is my media center for my bedroom TV as well.
I've used Thinkpads since ~1995. Lenovo has screwed up here and there, but I'd say they're still 90% as good as the IBM ones (after the initial 2-3 years).
Now that more and more functions are moving back into the server - did I say server, it should have been 'cloud' of course... - these older machines are actually getting more usable again as their rather anaemic processors (1.8GHz Pentium M) and limited memory capacity (2GB + 128MB VRAM) are getting to be less of an issue.
The mac UI is nicer than the various Linux window managers.
Running a mac lets me do cross platform development
Well that is entirely subjective. To me OS X is a cluttered, distracting, cold-grey mess.
I have an Anker USB-A/USB-C charger for my phone and it charges my TouchBar MBP just fine. Beats having to buy an expensive Apple charger to have one at home and one at the office.
Other than that, the 2015 has USB-A, HDMI, better keyboard, smaller touchpad, and actual Fn keys.
I'm going to wait a bit. I was one of the people who took their iPhone 6 in and paid full price for the battery (3 times because 3 of the 4 phones we bought had the same problem). I plug it into thunderbolt 3 docks at home and work, so I guess I can hold out until Apple admits it sucks and has an actual fix. I'm under AppleCare but I just don't see the gain in sending it in to get replaced by another keyboard that will break again.
Also had the left command key just fall off. I know I rest my finger on it, but it shouldn't just fall off.
I like the low travel that some complain about, but any keyboard is useless if it doesn't work consistently.
Can you elaborate or link-to some more info on "replace the entire key and membrane"? Apple want to replace the top-case at AUD $650...
Failed: compressed air
Failed: cleaning under the key.
Success:
Remove the key (careful, these keys really like to break the bottom u hooks)
Remove the butterfly
Peel off the glued membrane
Cleaned all with 90% alcohol.
Took a new membrane (you might be able to use old) and used E6000 glue and a toothpick to glue it back (don't get the contacts).
Replaced butterfly and key.
Not a good solution, but it worked.
I got the key, butterfly, and membrane from replacementlaptopkeys.com.
It looked like the contacts were getting coated/corroded and not making good contact? Perhaps heat?
I feel like this is a bit overstated. What about "Just avoid holding it in that way", or Apple Maps v1, or the Magic Mouse 2 that requires you to stop using it to charge it?
> Just avoid holding it in that way
Pretty minor defect when honestly compared with other options on the market at the time, blown out of proportion by the media.
> Apple Maps v1
Forced move for business reasons, recognized by most Apple employees as shitty but inevitable.
> Magic Mouse 2
A few minutes of downtime every month is annoying and maybe a mistake, but less critical than a non-functioning non-replaceable keyboard.
Maps was bad. Real bad.
> The police department stated that the error was potentially life-threatening, as national park temperatures could rise to 114 °F (46 °C) and those traveling would be without water supplies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Maps#Early_inaccuracy
Just because they made updates over the last 7 years doesn't take away from the fact that the initial release was a big "design screwup".
Magic Mouse v2 yeah I get the charge time doesn't last long but it's still a stupid design. Less critical sure I agree.
The antenna problem may have been worse than I remember. I'd still say that at least that has cheap and easy user fixes once you become aware of the issue.
Apple stated they don't want people to leave the mouse plugged in forever, hence having an unnecessary wire, so the design ended up the way it is to force wireless use.
I don't really mind, can see that point I guess. I like the MM2 to be perfectly frank, but I recognise that I'm a minority.
However, Apple's Genius people told me that they wouldn't offer a warranty repair, because I had apparently damaged it. They wanted several hundred dollars to replace parts, of which needed to be ordered in and would have seen me without the machine for about a week, which wasn't really ideal. At a guess, the ribbon to the motherboard had broken. But honestly this is the first computer I've ever owned that I haven't just ripped apart and fixed myself, due to the perceived complexity of the operation to do so. (I don't need the magic smoke escaping from my primary workhorse).
So since then, I've just had my mechanical keyboard and mouse plugged in, effectively making my laptop an expensive desktop. Coworkers love mechanical keyboards @ 120words/min
Didn't we know it would be worse before it ever even hit the store? Why subject yourself to that inconvenience, especially if you're a developer. You got shit to do, don't let your tools be one of your obstacles.
I think there should've been a massive recall. I don't know why people put up with spending a fortune on a laptop and you can't even type on it...
Info here and serial number checker here: https://www.apple.com/ca/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-r...
My symptoms are non-existent while touch typing on cheap keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches.
Using Apple feels like hitting concrete with my fingertips.
I think they're doing something REALLY wrong here and have been for some time now...
I admit it's a pleasure to type on this keyboard all day long though.
I was toroughly disappointed when I bought the $179 'magic keyboard' from Apple (the dark one from the mac pro), and found out the tech is the outdated keyboards, with 2.5x price tag!
No single key problem on this keyboard can overshadow its biggest problem: the useless arrow keys.
I still prefer working on an external keyboard, but when it's working fine I don't mind it so much.
Aside from being much better to develop in than Windows (iTerm2 is a dream, even compared to CygWin/ConEmu) a few things seem really shitty;
1) The keyboard. It's bad. Really bad. The space key on mine is starting to stick already and its only been a few months. I'm using a cheap Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard with the keys remapped to OS X defaults.
2) Mouse handling. I have no idea what is going on over at Apple but mouse code has been awful for as long as I can remember and the Magic Mouse we were given with these laptops are probably the most unergonomic device I've ever used. They are really terrible.
I'm using a wireless Logitech mouse which is much better, but there are crasy OS issues with sensitivity/acceleration that no matter how much configuring and tweakingf I do, never feels right.
3) The last OS X update seems to have caused a LOT of issues for people using certain models of external display adapters. I've basically lost a 1/3 of my screen space because I can only get one external monitor to work at a time since the machine updated to 10.13.4.
But the Mac keyboards have been broken for a while. A pointless function key where the control key belongs? No one has explained that one to me yet. So, just keep the stupid thing shut and problem solved.
I think the tolerances for "pressed" are too small for "real world" use. Any crumb will "lock up" the key.
The new one is made of little buckling metal parts.
They mainly changed designs so that they could make the keyboard thinner – the new one is something like half the depth, or less. Since key travel is reduced, they needed a snappier mechanism to keep enough tactile feel.
The feel of the new keyboards is actually impressively okay for something with so little key travel. (Personally I would prefer something with the snap of the new keyboard and at least as much travel as the old keyboard.)
The problem is that the little metal pieces get easily slightly bent and stop snapping as much as they should, and also dust gets into the contact mechanism and stops keys from registering.
13” TB owner here with a double-responding \. Haven’t done anything about it because 95% of the time I’m using an external Filco.
Since even cheap laptop keyboards work basically forever it seems likely to be eligible?
(Massive) Australia Tax notwithstanding, I wonder if people could buy things "via" Australia in order to be able to send them back and benefit from the country's consumer replacement laws and such.
Would be fiddly, but I wonder if it would be worth it?
tl;dr buy a keyboard cover if you have this machine, or just contend with cleaning under the key with alcohol.
I've had a fairly good experience with the keyboard on these machines. The 12 inch MacBook had a perfect keyboard. I love the low travel keyboard and they really got it right.
But then on the MacBook Pro, it seems like the butterfly mechanism was changed to make it more susceptible to foreign matter causing key malfunctions. Admittedly I eat at the computer, so this is probably my fault, but the 12 inch MacBook didn't do this.
Either way, every time oddities like double characters or non-responsive keys happened, I'd carefully pry up the key, use a q-tip soaked in 70% isopropyl alcohol and just clean out the area. You have to get a LITTLE bit of alcohol into the actual switch dome. Basically, you take the q tip with alcohol on it and dab the middle of the little dome madly for a while. Then you stick the key back on and it usually works.
I got really unhappy about how often this started happening, especially since some keys' retention clips broke after so many removal cycles, so I just bought a silicone keyboard cover (the MoKo) one off Amazon. It held the keys in place.
No more problems. That's what it took. It works great now. And the cover doesn't even make it terrible to type on, due to the low travel.
A keyboard cover does seem necessary.
Have a new MBP with old-stool keyboard (yes I have and esc key), and it feels good so far, but oh boy will I be pissed if it shits the bed.
these things are too expensive to fail that easily. "design" is one thing but, fragiltiy not ok.