7 ms·

Taika Waititi Calls Out Apple's MacBook Keyboard Backstage at the Oscars

84 points by williamstein 7y ago

melling 7y ago
Small keyboards in general make you contort your hands, wrists, and shoulders. I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers.
- iLemming 7y ago
  > I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers. Well, I dunno about that. One of the major projects I'm currently working with, has over 130K lines of Clojure (tests excluded), and that is not too big of a project. I'm too lazy to figure out the proper way to count "words" in that project `wc` shows over 5M. In comparison - "War and Peace" [technically] is ten times smaller. Programmers do type a lot. Possibly, way more than writers have to. And that's just code. Have you ever thought about how much typing happens outside of coding? When reviewing PRs, replying to emails, etc. That is why every single programmer must invest into choosing the right keyboard; learning how to maintain a proper posture; maybe learn non-traditional ways to input text - Vim and Emacs keybindings; try Stenographic input¹; Speech recognition², etc. Because when they don't - sooner or later they end up having problems: back and neck pain, headaches, RSI, hemorrhoids. --- ¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g ² https://www.thestrangeloop.com/2019/voice-driven-development-who-needs-a-keyboard-anyway.html https://www.thestrangeloop.com/2019/voice-driven-development...
  - spats1990 7y ago
    I'm an editor and writer and at my last job I got interested in how many words I typed a day. I put some applet on my work computer that tracked them across all applications. It was usually less than I thought; something like 10-15k words per day, sometimes more like 5-8k. Think you're probably right about how much programmers type. I was going to write that if a programmer sets something up to track how much they type, they'd have to measure it by keystroke because I don't know whether all aspects of most programming languages would count as "words". Plus navigation, shortcuts etc. Tracking by keystroke or character would be better. But then... if you asked me what I consider a high or low number of keystrokes for a working day I'd have no idea what to tell you, whereas if you told me you typed 20-30k words or more in a day I'd be hoping you are using a good keyboard and sitting properly.
  - melling 7y ago
    Programming my voice really hasn’t caught on. I maintain a bunch of links on Github for anyone who might be interested: https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/programming_by_voice.md https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/progra...
snowwrestler 7y ago
Taika Waititi, a guy well-known for being very serious in front of a microphone and never elevating the trivial for comedic effect.
- melling 7y ago
  He sounds like he’s got some sort of physical problem with his shoulder and tendon in his forearm. In the video he complains about the smallness of the keyboard causing his shoulders to be in a bad position. He also talks about the “bounce back“ of the keys. https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-demands-apple-fix-those-keyboards-at-oscars/ https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-demands-apple-fix-th... Would be great if Apple just ran with this and reinvented the keyboard. That might mean nothing more than an external split keyboard that tents, for example.
  - snowwrestler 7y ago
    He was asked about union negotiations and replied with an extended riff about keyboards. You can hear people laughing at the end of his remarks.
  - milemi 7y ago
    Is he not aware that there’s hundreds if not thousands of keyboard models on the market? Now, if he was talking about the Apple TV remote, that I’d be totally on board with.
    - milemi 7y ago
      Only -1? Stop slacking off shittwaddles.
- sudhirj 7y ago
  Comedy is only funny if it contains truth in some form, otherwise it’s just random nonsense. Either it contains true statements that are funny in the current context, or statements that the audience either want to be true or is afraid could be.
gnicholas 7y ago
I was expecting a quick call-out, but man he went on for quite a while. Very specific about what he doesn't like about them, and I can't believe how much time he spent railing on these keyboards (well deserved, IMO). One thing that didn't make sense though was he mentioned the iMac keyboards. I assume he meant to say MacBook/Air/Pro, since those are the ones getting all the hate.
- smacktoward 7y ago
  I hate the desktop Apple "Magic" keyboard. The keys are too close together, so prolonged typing on it cramps up my fingers something awful. The key travel is absurdly low, so it's easy to miss characters. The up and down arrow keys are only half the size of the left and right, because reasons. I wouldn't classify the Magic Keyboard as disastrous the way the MacBook keyboards have been, since it doesn't suffer the same types of catastrophic reliability problems. But ergonomically it's a horror show.
  - oefrha 7y ago
    And I hate mechanical keyboards that can be heard five rooms away. It’s a frigging desktop, you can use any keyboard, and using the magic keyboard doesn’t bother anyone else unlike clunky mechanical keyboards that are supposed to be ergonomic.
    - iLemming 7y ago
      Maybe you just haven't tried mechanical keyboards? Or perhaps you haven't tried a good one? I think once you start using split keyboard - it's hard to go back to using regular boards, same thing for when you start using mechanical keyboard. But once you start using mechanical, split keyboard (Kinesis Advantage, Ergodox, etc.) - you never willingly go back to using regular keyboards.
      - oefrha 7y ago
        I grew up on mechanical keyboards. Not split, but I’ve used some fairly expensive ones (not talking about >$1k apparently) and I’m not a fan. You just have to accept that unlike retina displays, people will have drastically different preferences for keyboards. Also, one undeniable fact is that other people in the office/household usually aren’t amused about loud keyboards.
general_orr 7y ago
hn > reddit > twitter can we keep going
- iLemming 7y ago
  I'm not an expert but I think that's how Internet works. Those who don't like that, probably can send their complains to Tim Berners-Lee.
  - majewsky 7y ago
    When Tim considered a chain of 2 hyperlinks, he probably didn't expect it to take 20 seconds because of all the JS crap that gets loaded besides the actual content.
    - iLemming 7y ago
      Yeah, Tim definitely have not envisioned the rise of JS crap, nobody has, even not Brendan Eich.
      - BrendanEich 7y ago
        Parkinson's Law applies to JS (Sturgeon's Law does too). What else is new? Use effecting script-blocking tech.
        iLemming 7y ago
        Can't agree more. Brave Browser incredibly cuts so much crap out of every payload. Sometimes, I feel (with the way how things usually done in the US) someone may try to lobby for "this kind of technology needs to be regulated..." kind of BS.
        BrendanEich 7y ago
        It could happen, given our "one dollar one vote" system. But precedent and trends favor user rights to block and screen- or just plain reader mode, if not use GreaseMonkey (Brave's site-specific script system is called GreaseLion). DRM got a carve out for HD video, ebook vendors want it, so support the EFF.
taikawatiti 7y ago
Who is taika watiti and why has he not appended a "old" to the beginning of Reddit.com?
- legostormtroopr 7y ago
  Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor. If this is really you, What We Do In The Shadows and Jojo Rabbit we’re fantastic.
  - iLemming 7y ago
    > Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor First of all - he is a vampire. And then all the other things you've mentioned.
- zweep 7y ago
  He just won the Oscar award for Best Adapted Screenplay so whether you like his work or not, he is an admired figure in the entertainment industry, which has huge cultural reach. Basically, he is a guy from the inner circle of People Whose Opinions Matter.
musicale 7y ago
The worst flaw(s) of the MacBook Pro was (and still is on the 13") that the keyboard and trackpad didn't work properly. The second worst flaw was the lack of a physical esc key.
- internet_user 7y ago
  16" Pro has a physical ESC key. keyboard still sucks just as bad.

84 points by williamstein 7y ago

Small keyboards in general make you contort your hands, wrists, and shoulders. I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers.

iLemming 7y ago
> I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers. Well, I dunno about that. One of the major projects I'm currently working with, has over 130K lines of Clojure (tests excluded), and that is not too big of a project. I'm too lazy to figure out the proper way to count "words" in that project `wc` shows over 5M. In comparison - "War and Peace" [technically] is ten times smaller. Programmers do type a lot. Possibly, way more than writers have to. And that's just code. Have you ever thought about how much typing happens outside of coding? When reviewing PRs, replying to emails, etc. That is why every single programmer must invest into choosing the right keyboard; learning how to maintain a proper posture; maybe learn non-traditional ways to input text - Vim and Emacs keybindings; try Stenographic input¹; Speech recognition², etc. Because when they don't - sooner or later they end up having problems: back and neck pain, headaches, RSI, hemorrhoids. --- ¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g ² https://www.thestrangeloop.com/2019/voice-driven-development-who-needs-a-keyboard-anyway.html https://www.thestrangeloop.com/2019/voice-driven-development...
- spats1990 7y ago
  I'm an editor and writer and at my last job I got interested in how many words I typed a day. I put some applet on my work computer that tracked them across all applications. It was usually less than I thought; something like 10-15k words per day, sometimes more like 5-8k. Think you're probably right about how much programmers type. I was going to write that if a programmer sets something up to track how much they type, they'd have to measure it by keystroke because I don't know whether all aspects of most programming languages would count as "words". Plus navigation, shortcuts etc. Tracking by keystroke or character would be better. But then... if you asked me what I consider a high or low number of keystrokes for a working day I'd have no idea what to tell you, whereas if you told me you typed 20-30k words or more in a day I'd be hoping you are using a good keyboard and sitting properly.
- melling 7y ago
  Programming my voice really hasn’t caught on. I maintain a bunch of links on Github for anyone who might be interested: https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/programming_by_voice.md https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/progra...

snowwrestler 7y ago

Taika Waititi, a guy well-known for being very serious in front of a microphone and never elevating the trivial for comedic effect.

melling 7y ago
He sounds like he’s got some sort of physical problem with his shoulder and tendon in his forearm. In the video he complains about the smallness of the keyboard causing his shoulders to be in a bad position. He also talks about the “bounce back“ of the keys. https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-demands-apple-fix-those-keyboards-at-oscars/ https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-demands-apple-fix-th... Would be great if Apple just ran with this and reinvented the keyboard. That might mean nothing more than an external split keyboard that tents, for example.
- snowwrestler 7y ago
  He was asked about union negotiations and replied with an extended riff about keyboards. You can hear people laughing at the end of his remarks.
- milemi 7y ago
  Is he not aware that there’s hundreds if not thousands of keyboard models on the market? Now, if he was talking about the Apple TV remote, that I’d be totally on board with.
  - milemi 7y ago
    Only -1? Stop slacking off shittwaddles.
sudhirj 7y ago
Comedy is only funny if it contains truth in some form, otherwise it’s just random nonsense. Either it contains true statements that are funny in the current context, or statements that the audience either want to be true or is afraid could be.

gnicholas 7y ago

I was expecting a quick call-out, but man he went on for quite a while. Very specific about what he doesn't like about them, and I can't believe how much time he spent railing on these keyboards (well deserved, IMO). One thing that didn't make sense though was he mentioned the iMac keyboards. I assume he meant to say MacBook/Air/Pro, since those are the ones getting all the hate.

smacktoward 7y ago
I hate the desktop Apple "Magic" keyboard. The keys are too close together, so prolonged typing on it cramps up my fingers something awful. The key travel is absurdly low, so it's easy to miss characters. The up and down arrow keys are only half the size of the left and right, because reasons. I wouldn't classify the Magic Keyboard as disastrous the way the MacBook keyboards have been, since it doesn't suffer the same types of catastrophic reliability problems. But ergonomically it's a horror show.
- oefrha 7y ago
  And I hate mechanical keyboards that can be heard five rooms away. It’s a frigging desktop, you can use any keyboard, and using the magic keyboard doesn’t bother anyone else unlike clunky mechanical keyboards that are supposed to be ergonomic.
  - iLemming 7y ago
    Maybe you just haven't tried mechanical keyboards? Or perhaps you haven't tried a good one? I think once you start using split keyboard - it's hard to go back to using regular boards, same thing for when you start using mechanical keyboard. But once you start using mechanical, split keyboard (Kinesis Advantage, Ergodox, etc.) - you never willingly go back to using regular keyboards.
    - oefrha 7y ago
      I grew up on mechanical keyboards. Not split, but I’ve used some fairly expensive ones (not talking about >$1k apparently) and I’m not a fan. You just have to accept that unlike retina displays, people will have drastically different preferences for keyboards. Also, one undeniable fact is that other people in the office/household usually aren’t amused about loud keyboards.

general_orr 7y ago

hn > reddit > twitter can we keep going

iLemming 7y ago
I'm not an expert but I think that's how Internet works. Those who don't like that, probably can send their complains to Tim Berners-Lee.
- majewsky 7y ago
  When Tim considered a chain of 2 hyperlinks, he probably didn't expect it to take 20 seconds because of all the JS crap that gets loaded besides the actual content.
  - iLemming 7y ago
    Yeah, Tim definitely have not envisioned the rise of JS crap, nobody has, even not Brendan Eich.
    - BrendanEich 7y ago
      Parkinson's Law applies to JS (Sturgeon's Law does too). What else is new? Use effecting script-blocking tech.
      - iLemming 7y ago
        Can't agree more. Brave Browser incredibly cuts so much crap out of every payload. Sometimes, I feel (with the way how things usually done in the US) someone may try to lobby for "this kind of technology needs to be regulated..." kind of BS.
        BrendanEich 7y ago
        It could happen, given our "one dollar one vote" system. But precedent and trends favor user rights to block and screen- or just plain reader mode, if not use GreaseMonkey (Brave's site-specific script system is called GreaseLion). DRM got a carve out for HD video, ebook vendors want it, so support the EFF.

taikawatiti 7y ago

Who is taika watiti and why has he not appended a "old" to the beginning of Reddit.com?

legostormtroopr 7y ago
Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor. If this is really you, What We Do In The Shadows and Jojo Rabbit we’re fantastic.
- iLemming 7y ago
  > Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor First of all - he is a vampire. And then all the other things you've mentioned.
zweep 7y ago
He just won the Oscar award for Best Adapted Screenplay so whether you like his work or not, he is an admired figure in the entertainment industry, which has huge cultural reach. Basically, he is a guy from the inner circle of People Whose Opinions Matter.

musicale 7y ago

The worst flaw(s) of the MacBook Pro was (and still is on the 13") that the keyboard and trackpad didn't work properly. The second worst flaw was the lack of a physical esc key.

internet_user 7y ago
16" Pro has a physical ESC key. keyboard still sucks just as bad.