6 ms·

The touch bar doesn't give you the ability to touch it without click like a key. It also replaces all the f keys and the escape key. It is by far the worst thi

The touch bar doesn't give you the ability to touch it without click like a key. It also replaces all the f keys and the escape key. It is by far the worst thing made when working say on the bus. There is no world in which the touch bar is good in any way. There are zero benefits to it. On two years with this monstrosity I have regretted having it. And now I am seriously considering moving to windows with the new Linux subsystem.

stephenr 7y ago
> There is no world in which the touch bar is good in any way. There are zero benefits to it. Ok, I guess those of us who either aren't affected by it, or actually find it useful are just wrong?
- eknkc 7y ago
  I'm kind of neutral about it but haven't met anyone who said it was good. Seems like people either hate it or don't care about it. There are a lot of people who like the butterfly keyboard (apart from reliability) but I thought the sentiment on the touch bar was universal.
  - stephenr 7y ago
    My experience is that when I use the F-keys I'm almost always using the 'default' action on macOS (i.e. not sending a native F12 for example, I'm adjusting volume), and for those tasks the Touch Bar is a little more useful, because it can do more things intuitively, but, I don't do those things a lot. So I don't think it's "not good" it's just so far down on the list of how I use a computer that it isn't worth raving on about how great it is. I did like the IntelliJ integration, to get debug controls, but now that I'm back on a desktop keyboard I don't really miss the Touch Bar. What I miss is Touch ID.
    - mastazi 7y ago
      I can imagine a lot of workflows like yours, where the function keys are not very important. However I can’t imagine using a keyboard without Escape key. In my opinion, the touch bar should have been a little bit smaller, and the physical esc key should have stayed. The product linked at the top of this discussion lists the Escape key as one of the main features, I think that’s telling!
      - drclau 7y ago
        I nearly never need Caps Lock, hence I remmapped Esc to Caps Lock. IMO, it is a better position for the Esc key anyway. Top-left is a bit far from everything else anyway. As about Touchbar, I don't find it bad at all, and I'm not neutral either. I do use it, but I think it could be improved both from software and hardware point of view (say, haptic feedback would be nice). Also, I would like to have it on external keyboard too.
  - bredren 7y ago
    Has anyone attempted to copy it? Ie HP or Asus?
- wildrhythms 7y ago
  I'm a touch typist, like probably many users. What does the touchbar bring to the table for me? I was taught that looking at the keyboard was a failure to type properly. I value tactile feedback when I press a key (especially Esc). What value does the touchbar offer me?
tobyhinloopen 7y ago
WSL is great and I like my Surface Pro. It's not ready for "real" work yet IMO, but it's improving noticeably every update. WSL2 is supposed to be a great improvement again. The Surface hardware is also nice. The only downside is the mediocre touchpad, but I can live with that. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=windows-10-wsl2&num=2 https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=windows-...

stephenr 7y ago

> There is no world in which the touch bar is good in any way. There are zero benefits to it. Ok, I guess those of us who either aren't affected by it, or actually find it useful are just wrong?

eknkc 7y ago
I'm kind of neutral about it but haven't met anyone who said it was good. Seems like people either hate it or don't care about it. There are a lot of people who like the butterfly keyboard (apart from reliability) but I thought the sentiment on the touch bar was universal.
- stephenr 7y ago
  My experience is that when I use the F-keys I'm almost always using the 'default' action on macOS (i.e. not sending a native F12 for example, I'm adjusting volume), and for those tasks the Touch Bar is a little more useful, because it can do more things intuitively, but, I don't do those things a lot. So I don't think it's "not good" it's just so far down on the list of how I use a computer that it isn't worth raving on about how great it is. I did like the IntelliJ integration, to get debug controls, but now that I'm back on a desktop keyboard I don't really miss the Touch Bar. What I miss is Touch ID.
  - mastazi 7y ago
    I can imagine a lot of workflows like yours, where the function keys are not very important. However I can’t imagine using a keyboard without Escape key. In my opinion, the touch bar should have been a little bit smaller, and the physical esc key should have stayed. The product linked at the top of this discussion lists the Escape key as one of the main features, I think that’s telling!
    - drclau 7y ago
      I nearly never need Caps Lock, hence I remmapped Esc to Caps Lock. IMO, it is a better position for the Esc key anyway. Top-left is a bit far from everything else anyway. As about Touchbar, I don't find it bad at all, and I'm not neutral either. I do use it, but I think it could be improved both from software and hardware point of view (say, haptic feedback would be nice). Also, I would like to have it on external keyboard too.
- bredren 7y ago
  Has anyone attempted to copy it? Ie HP or Asus?
wildrhythms 7y ago
I'm a touch typist, like probably many users. What does the touchbar bring to the table for me? I was taught that looking at the keyboard was a failure to type properly. I value tactile feedback when I press a key (especially Esc). What value does the touchbar offer me?

tobyhinloopen 7y ago

WSL is great and I like my Surface Pro. It's not ready for "real" work yet IMO, but it's improving noticeably every update. WSL2 is supposed to be a great improvement again. The Surface hardware is also nice. The only downside is the mediocre touchpad, but I can live with that. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=windows-10-wsl2&num=2 https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=windows-...