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This. I use the function keys so rarely the whole row of keys except for the escape key could be taken out.

by fouc 2y ago

derefr 2y ago
...which makes macOS-using developers' negative reactions to the 2016 MBP touch bar kind of odd/ironic, no? We all agree that nobody needs the F keys on a Mac... so why was it such a big problem when they got virtualized under the equivalent of a car infotainment display? (Yeah, the escape key was taken out as well at first, but then it was brought back, and people still were quite hateful toward the touch bar after that.)
- fnfjfk 2y ago
  People use the brightness, volume, and music keys, rather than the Fn-modified “F” versions.
- jwells89 2y ago
  The biggest issues with the touch bar, from my perspective: - It couldn’t be used without being looked at, due to it having no physical keys - It was always kind of hacky, being essentially a long thin Apple Watch (down to running a watchOS variant) that would occasionally freeze up I think it would’ve been better received had it been composed of Stream Deck-like display keys powered by macOS itself which would’ve brought much of the dynamicism of the touch bar while also keeping tactile feedback and eschewing bolted-on watchOS-variant bugginess.
  - derefr 2y ago
    > had it been composed of Stream Deck-like display keys Mind you, a majority of the useful "things the touchbar can change into" involved non key-shaped interaction surfaces. The volume and brightness sliders; the iMovie/FCP video scrubber; the keyboard autocomplete suggestions; etc. The only way this would have worked is if arbitrary regions could have been dynamically raised/tactile-ized to match the interaction elements being shown.
    - terribleperson 2y ago
      The last time someone tried to make a highly-tactile touchscreen we got the BlackBerry Storm, and it was awful. I owned one and dropped it in a lake by accident. I did not miss it. That said, a touchscreen with software-positioned raised areas would be very neat, if it existed.
      - ssl-3 2y ago
        We have bendy touchscreens these days that withstand seemingly-impossible 180-degree bends, so some of the hard work may have already been done. From 10,000 feet up, all we really need are some mechanical actuators to allow it to be segmented in a way that can be felt. (Or. Electromagnets, and ferrofluid. Under the display.)

This. I use the function keys so rarely the whole row of keys except for the escape key could be taken out.

by fouc 2y ago

This. I use the function keys so rarely the whole row of keys except for the escape key could be taken out.

...which makes macOS-using developers' negative reactions to the 2016 MBP touch bar kind of odd/ironic, no? We all agree that nobody needs the F keys on a Mac... so why was it such a big problem when they got virtualized under the equivalent of a car infotainment display? (Yeah, the escape key was taken out as well at first, but then it was brought back, and people still were quite hateful toward the touch bar after that.)

fnfjfk 2y ago
People use the brightness, volume, and music keys, rather than the Fn-modified “F” versions.
jwells89 2y ago
The biggest issues with the touch bar, from my perspective: - It couldn’t be used without being looked at, due to it having no physical keys - It was always kind of hacky, being essentially a long thin Apple Watch (down to running a watchOS variant) that would occasionally freeze up I think it would’ve been better received had it been composed of Stream Deck-like display keys powered by macOS itself which would’ve brought much of the dynamicism of the touch bar while also keeping tactile feedback and eschewing bolted-on watchOS-variant bugginess.
- derefr 2y ago
  > had it been composed of Stream Deck-like display keys Mind you, a majority of the useful "things the touchbar can change into" involved non key-shaped interaction surfaces. The volume and brightness sliders; the iMovie/FCP video scrubber; the keyboard autocomplete suggestions; etc. The only way this would have worked is if arbitrary regions could have been dynamically raised/tactile-ized to match the interaction elements being shown.
  - terribleperson 2y ago
    The last time someone tried to make a highly-tactile touchscreen we got the BlackBerry Storm, and it was awful. I owned one and dropped it in a lake by accident. I did not miss it. That said, a touchscreen with software-positioned raised areas would be very neat, if it existed.
    - ssl-3 2y ago
      We have bendy touchscreens these days that withstand seemingly-impossible 180-degree bends, so some of the hard work may have already been done. From 10,000 feet up, all we really need are some mechanical actuators to allow it to be segmented in a way that can be felt. (Or. Electromagnets, and ferrofluid. Under the display.)