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> Strongly disagree, and I can not conceive of how it could be viewed as "better" than hardware keys. I hope this is hyperbole, because it shouldn't be hard to

> Strongly disagree, and I can not conceive of how it could be viewed as "better" than hardware keys. I hope this is hyperbole, because it shouldn't be hard to understand. The TouchBar is absolutely an improvement. I can't remember the last time I actually used a laptop keyboard's F-keys for anything, but the TouchBar makes that space useful.

zeveb 9y ago
> I can't remember the last time I actually used a laptop keyboard's F-keys for anything I use them regularly to switch consoles. MacOS supports multiple consoles, right?
- eridius 9y ago
  By consoles do you mean terminals? Terminal.app uses ⌘⌥1–9 to switch windows and ⌘1–9 to switch tabs. The F-keys aren't used by Terminal.app at all (well, they're sent to the terminal as an escape sequence).
  - zeveb 9y ago
    No, I mean complete GUI heads: completely separate GUI login sessions which use the same screen and can be switched between. Also called 'virtual framebuffers,' I think. Very awesome. I'm sure that Macs support something similar.
    - eridius 9y ago
      macOS has something called Fast User Switching, which is completely separate login sessions, but you access it through a menu on the right side of the menubar, not with keys. macOS also has Spaces, which is just virtual desktops, but again, it doesn't use the F-keys to switch between them.
      - quesera 9y ago
        I'm strongly reading GP comments as trolling, given indirect context, but I respect your approach of taking the high road by assuming simple ignorance.
        zeveb 9y ago
        I really wasn't trolling. I've not used macOS for almost twenty years now, so I genuinely didn't know if it supported multiple graphics consoles. I'm not surprised that it does, but I wouldn't have been terribly surprised if it didn't, either. My (un-trolling) point still stands, though: I use the Function keys on a daily basis, to switch between consoles.
vthriller 9y ago
> I can't remember the last time I actually used a laptop keyboard's F-keys for anything Not even F5 in a web browser?
- eridius 9y ago
  That's Windows. F5 doesn't do anything in Mac browsers.
  - Grimm665 9y ago
    What? Fn+F5 works fine in chrome.
    - dawnerd 9y ago
      so does cmd + r which is easier to hit I suppose
    - eridius 9y ago
      Funny, I actually tested Chrome before commenting just to make sure it wasn't doing something weird, and F5 definitely doesn't reload Chrome on my computer.
DoodleBuggy 9y ago
You never use the ESCAPE key? Apple roped that into the fn keys and removed it
- eridius 9y ago
  My touch bar computer still has an Esc key. It's part of the touchscreen now instead of a physical button, but it still works the same way and I've never had any problem hitting it without looking.

zeveb 9y ago

> I can't remember the last time I actually used a laptop keyboard's F-keys for anything I use them regularly to switch consoles. MacOS supports multiple consoles, right?

eridius 9y ago
By consoles do you mean terminals? Terminal.app uses ⌘⌥1–9 to switch windows and ⌘1–9 to switch tabs. The F-keys aren't used by Terminal.app at all (well, they're sent to the terminal as an escape sequence).
- zeveb 9y ago
  No, I mean complete GUI heads: completely separate GUI login sessions which use the same screen and can be switched between. Also called 'virtual framebuffers,' I think. Very awesome. I'm sure that Macs support something similar.
  - eridius 9y ago
    macOS has something called Fast User Switching, which is completely separate login sessions, but you access it through a menu on the right side of the menubar, not with keys. macOS also has Spaces, which is just virtual desktops, but again, it doesn't use the F-keys to switch between them.
    - quesera 9y ago
      I'm strongly reading GP comments as trolling, given indirect context, but I respect your approach of taking the high road by assuming simple ignorance.
      - zeveb 9y ago
        I really wasn't trolling. I've not used macOS for almost twenty years now, so I genuinely didn't know if it supported multiple graphics consoles. I'm not surprised that it does, but I wouldn't have been terribly surprised if it didn't, either. My (un-trolling) point still stands, though: I use the Function keys on a daily basis, to switch between consoles.

vthriller 9y ago

> I can't remember the last time I actually used a laptop keyboard's F-keys for anything Not even F5 in a web browser?

eridius 9y ago
That's Windows. F5 doesn't do anything in Mac browsers.
- Grimm665 9y ago
  What? Fn+F5 works fine in chrome.
  - dawnerd 9y ago
    so does cmd + r which is easier to hit I suppose
  - eridius 9y ago
    Funny, I actually tested Chrome before commenting just to make sure it wasn't doing something weird, and F5 definitely doesn't reload Chrome on my computer.

DoodleBuggy 9y ago

You never use the ESCAPE key? Apple roped that into the fn keys and removed it

eridius 9y ago
My touch bar computer still has an Esc key. It's part of the touchscreen now instead of a physical button, but it still works the same way and I've never had any problem hitting it without looking.