3 ms·

I bought into apple after falling for osx during college right around the financial crisis. I've been a fan of their approach to products since then. But the

I bought into apple after falling for osx during college right around the financial crisis. I've been a fan of their approach to products since then. But the new macbook pro's are pretty revolting to me -- I used one at the apple store for a few minutes and could barely type on the (horrible) keyboard. I played with the touchbar and immediately found myself trying to touch the screen -- something that as a fan I definitely knew would not work. Even with just a few moments use, it was immediately utterly clear to me that to the extent that the touchbar is a good idea, a touchscreen would have been a better idea ... The good idea within the touchbar is the attempt to 'augment' the keyboard/mouse user interface with touch -- augment, not replace. Microsoft tried to make touch/keyboard-mouse interchangeable but in real-life not all elements on the screen should be touchable -- the touchbar realizes this and deserves props for getting that much right. But even after acknowledging that success, the touchbar is just ... wrong -- its not any easier to lift your hands from the keyboard and use the touchbar than it would be to touch the screen -- its actually harder because you have to take your eyes from the screen and look somewhere you would not normally look to aim your fingers. I hope the idea of 'augmenting' the macOS user interface introduced with touchbar evolves to the main display -- where it might be a good idea ... I don't know how this would be accomplished though -- maybe the api's created for touchbar could be re-targeted towards user interface elements on the main touch display ...

freyir 10y ago
> But the new macbook pro's are pretty revolting to me -- I used one at the apple store for a few minutes Thank you for your in-depth review. Many people judged the new MacBook Pro based on its press release alone, but you went the extra mile and used one at the Apple Store for a few minutes.
- breatheoften 10y ago
  To be fair to me, I wasn't trying to lie or mislead about the thoroughness of my experience ... I suppose I was talking into a void but I at least was conveying the truth of my experience. My use at the apple store was enough to know I didn't want one -- which made me glad because I sort of need a new macbook and was worried I'd buy one on impulse. I immediately did not like the keyboard (never happened on an apple laptop for me before the one port Macbook which I bought for my girlfriend right when it was announced sight unseen -- when using it I tried my best not to voice my (immediate) criticism of the keyboard hoping that she would like my present ... She came from an old dell so anything was better than that monstrosity. But at some point after having the macbook one for awhile she used my macbook pro and commented how much easier the keyboard on my machine was to type on ...). I found myself unconsciously touching the display while playing around with touchbar. Attempting to use the display as a touchscreen is something I've never done before - even when playing with a microsoft laptop that had a touchscreen on it. Touching the little bar just 'felt wrong' to me ... This is certainly an unfair assessment -- but I'm not used to that feeling with apple products - the experience just legitimately felt bad to me. I'm open to having changing my mind in the future or having it changed -- I'm not really a cargo cult'er.
  - freyir 10y ago
    Sarcasm aside, it's an interesting point you make. Apple products often have an immediate visual and tactile impact that leads to impulse buys in the store. I haven't tried the new MacBook yet (not even in the store for a few minutes) but you've piqued my interest.
    - ScottBeII 10y ago
      You post a sarcastic comment mocking the GP for not having spent more than a few minutes with the laptop... and you haven't even seen or used it in person? What the fuck is wrong with you?
jessewmc 10y ago
When the chiclet keyboards came out, I immediately liked typing on them and thought they were as good or better than any previous laptop keyboard. I ordered a 2016 Macbook Pro, but when I tried the keyboard out in store I didn't like it very much. I was about 10-20% slower typing on it, and made far more mistakes than normal. I'm a fast typist so it was a big deal to me that the keyboard wasn't good. It just didn't feel right. I didn't cancel my order, against my better judgement, thinking that I might get used to the new keyboard. While waiting for it I went back to the store a couple times and spent 30 minutes typing on the new keyboard, but still it didn't feel right. When my laptop arrived, same feeling. After a week I was ready to return it, but had holiday return window so didn't rush it. Finally after 2 weeks it clicked, and I was typing up to speed and it felt good. Now when I go back to chiclet the keys feel heavy and squishy. Something about the keyboard was a very big adjustment from any other I've used, and my first impression of it was quite bad. But now that I've gotten used to it I actually prefer it to anything else. Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome, take that for what you will.

freyir 10y ago

> But the new macbook pro's are pretty revolting to me -- I used one at the apple store for a few minutes Thank you for your in-depth review. Many people judged the new MacBook Pro based on its press release alone, but you went the extra mile and used one at the Apple Store for a few minutes.

breatheoften 10y ago
To be fair to me, I wasn't trying to lie or mislead about the thoroughness of my experience ... I suppose I was talking into a void but I at least was conveying the truth of my experience. My use at the apple store was enough to know I didn't want one -- which made me glad because I sort of need a new macbook and was worried I'd buy one on impulse. I immediately did not like the keyboard (never happened on an apple laptop for me before the one port Macbook which I bought for my girlfriend right when it was announced sight unseen -- when using it I tried my best not to voice my (immediate) criticism of the keyboard hoping that she would like my present ... She came from an old dell so anything was better than that monstrosity. But at some point after having the macbook one for awhile she used my macbook pro and commented how much easier the keyboard on my machine was to type on ...). I found myself unconsciously touching the display while playing around with touchbar. Attempting to use the display as a touchscreen is something I've never done before - even when playing with a microsoft laptop that had a touchscreen on it. Touching the little bar just 'felt wrong' to me ... This is certainly an unfair assessment -- but I'm not used to that feeling with apple products - the experience just legitimately felt bad to me. I'm open to having changing my mind in the future or having it changed -- I'm not really a cargo cult'er.
- freyir 10y ago
  Sarcasm aside, it's an interesting point you make. Apple products often have an immediate visual and tactile impact that leads to impulse buys in the store. I haven't tried the new MacBook yet (not even in the store for a few minutes) but you've piqued my interest.
  - ScottBeII 10y ago
    You post a sarcastic comment mocking the GP for not having spent more than a few minutes with the laptop... and you haven't even seen or used it in person? What the fuck is wrong with you?

jessewmc 10y ago

When the chiclet keyboards came out, I immediately liked typing on them and thought they were as good or better than any previous laptop keyboard. I ordered a 2016 Macbook Pro, but when I tried the keyboard out in store I didn't like it very much. I was about 10-20% slower typing on it, and made far more mistakes than normal. I'm a fast typist so it was a big deal to me that the keyboard wasn't good. It just didn't feel right. I didn't cancel my order, against my better judgement, thinking that I might get used to the new keyboard. While waiting for it I went back to the store a couple times and spent 30 minutes typing on the new keyboard, but still it didn't feel right. When my laptop arrived, same feeling. After a week I was ready to return it, but had holiday return window so didn't rush it. Finally after 2 weeks it clicked, and I was typing up to speed and it felt good. Now when I go back to chiclet the keys feel heavy and squishy. Something about the keyboard was a very big adjustment from any other I've used, and my first impression of it was quite bad. But now that I've gotten used to it I actually prefer it to anything else. Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome, take that for what you will.