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This is why the macbook touchbar is so awesome. I know it got a lot of hate when it first launched, but I use it all the time and have with all sorts of customi

This is why the macbook touchbar is so awesome. I know it got a lot of hate when it first launched, but I use it all the time and have with all sorts of customizations.

sundvor 6y ago
I don't think people hate the touchbar per se, but the fact that they replaced a genuine row of keys to fit it in. If it had been in addition to a normal keyboard layout it would have been far, far better - in my opinion, speaking as a PC Streamdeck user.
- germinalphrase 6y ago
  I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it was originally designed to live in the bottom bezel of the screen, but that got cut due to aesthetic concerns. Seems like a more natural functional fit.
ak217 6y ago
The touchbar doesn't have physical buttons. Physical buttons are critical. That's the key difference between an MFD and a touchscreen. The touchbar is a one-dimensional touchscreen, with most of its downsides. This isn't to say that displays on the buttons themselves are bad. But we pay way too little attention to the ergonomics of fine motor control and tactile/muscle memory. If you look at the article linked in this post, the key point being made is how hard it is to hunt for a featureless touchscreen button while your wrist is in the air being jostled around by turbulence. You don't have to be a pilot to appreciate interfaces that go easy on your fine motor skills though. Any action that requires extended use of fine motor skill (like holding your wrist in the air while hitting a tiny spot) will be at minimum tiring (both mentally and physically), and maybe impossible for children and the elderly. An MFD with a wrist rest, uneven button spacing/sizing/tactile patterns, rotary controls in the corners, and maybe button LEDs to color-code functions in addition to on-screen labels, would be superior to the touchbar. Actually, the numpad on "full-size" keyboards is tantalizingly close to that in some ways - it would be great if someone took a full-size keyboard and replaced the numpad with something that sort of looks like it but is functionally an MFD. By the way, all keyboards already have tactile pattern aids - the little bumps on the F and J keys that let your fingers quickly know if they're correctly positioned on the home row. Everyone knows that, but it's just a glimpse of what's possible if we invest more in tactile interfaces.
thih9 6y ago
Sounds interesting! Could you give some examples on how you use it? E.g. how did you create the shortcuts, how many do you use, how do you display them or roughly what tasks are you accomplishing?

This is why the macbook touchbar is so awesome. I know it got a lot of hate when it first launched, but I use it all the time and have with all sorts of customizations.

sundvor 6y ago

I don't think people hate the touchbar per se, but the fact that they replaced a genuine row of keys to fit it in. If it had been in addition to a normal keyboard layout it would have been far, far better - in my opinion, speaking as a PC Streamdeck user.

germinalphrase 6y ago
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it was originally designed to live in the bottom bezel of the screen, but that got cut due to aesthetic concerns. Seems like a more natural functional fit.

ak217 6y ago

The touchbar doesn't have physical buttons. Physical buttons are critical. That's the key difference between an MFD and a touchscreen. The touchbar is a one-dimensional touchscreen, with most of its downsides. This isn't to say that displays on the buttons themselves are bad. But we pay way too little attention to the ergonomics of fine motor control and tactile/muscle memory. If you look at the article linked in this post, the key point being made is how hard it is to hunt for a featureless touchscreen button while your wrist is in the air being jostled around by turbulence. You don't have to be a pilot to appreciate interfaces that go easy on your fine motor skills though. Any action that requires extended use of fine motor skill (like holding your wrist in the air while hitting a tiny spot) will be at minimum tiring (both mentally and physically), and maybe impossible for children and the elderly. An MFD with a wrist rest, uneven button spacing/sizing/tactile patterns, rotary controls in the corners, and maybe button LEDs to color-code functions in addition to on-screen labels, would be superior to the touchbar. Actually, the numpad on "full-size" keyboards is tantalizingly close to that in some ways - it would be great if someone took a full-size keyboard and replaced the numpad with something that sort of looks like it but is functionally an MFD. By the way, all keyboards already have tactile pattern aids - the little bumps on the F and J keys that let your fingers quickly know if they're correctly positioned on the home row. Everyone knows that, but it's just a glimpse of what's possible if we invest more in tactile interfaces.

thih9 6y ago

Sounds interesting! Could you give some examples on how you use it? E.g. how did you create the shortcuts, how many do you use, how do you display them or roughly what tasks are you accomplishing?