I am putting this one up because I would like to commiserate with others who are dealing with this problem.
I am traveling the world right now. Before leaving I added a lightweight external keyboard to my carry on, just in case the keyboard of my 12 inch MacBook died. Today after over a year on the road the caps lock light came on and all the keys stopped working.
This didn’t effect my work flow much, since I use the external keyboard all the time because I like it better.
Why don’t I like the laptop’s keyboards? Let count the ways.
the keys are too large and don’t have enough space between them. Okay, so they look really nice, but I am a touch typist and need to be able to tell with my fingertips where the edges of the key are at.
The bump on the F and J keys is too shallow. It is hard for me to tell when my hands are in position. (see point 1)
The key travel is too shallow. I write up to 4k words per day. If I used the keyboard on the laptop to work, my fingers would feel like they were bleeding at the end of the day.
They are too easy to break. I don’t ever eat at the same place my laptop is, so I don’t know what got into my keyboard that broke it.
I’m not really an Apple fan. I did buy, and mothball, a 2012 Mac Mini (when I thought I would learn Objective-C and become an iOS app developer.) I bought it with the official Apple keyboard, which I quickly grew to dislike, more for layout issues, and Mac behavioral issues (worst being HOME/END didn’t seem to mean the same thing there as on Windows.)
Now for the point of my post: Do you think Apple thinks people are going to switch to majority voice input and so they make horrible keyboards to ensure this?
I really don’t think they think that deeply.
I am looking into what I am going to do if they don’t get a better keyboard. I really don’t want to leave Mac OS.
I don’t love the keyboard, but you get used to anything. It broke once. They fixed it for free, even though the laptop was 3 years old, because they’ve had so many issues with it.
I used to be pretty good at changing keyboards, but not this one. I actually prefer to write my novel using the iPad keyboard case before using the macbook’s keyboard.
How long did it take to get yours fixed? I would love to get mine fixed. I am in the Andes for the next 137 days. When I leave here, I am planning on having three weeks in the states.
I am keep my fingers crossed that the rumored 16 inch is real. If it has a good keyboard I will be in heaven. I kick myself every day for selling my old 15 inch and 11 inch MacBooks. I wrote all four of my novels on them. My fifth novel is going slow without them.
It seems like it was about a week. They had to send it off and ship it back to me. I had actually tried to fix it myself since I didn’t think it was under warranty, and failed in a pretty obvious manner. But the ‘genius’ that I got at the Apple store covered me, and omitted that little detail. Sometimes fate smiles on you. I’ve always had good luck getting things fixed there.
Thanks for the info. I will contact them before I get to the US and see if they have an idea about how long it would take. A week is very doable. If we get a 16 inch before then … well you can guess what I am going to do .
When I bought an iMac a few years ago, I bought a Logitech keyboard & mouse - which are way better than what Apple provides. Then I sold my “magic” keyboard & mouse online, which more than made up for the cost of the Logitech keyboard & mouse. Interesting how Apple’s keyboard & mouse still fetch a premium price even though they’re pretty terrible.
I also have a MacBook Air with the crappy keyboard that Apple has been putting in their laptops. Fortunately, I haven’t had any keys stop working (yet), but the lack of travel makes for a lousy typing experience.
I’ll end on a positive note:
I’ve never been a fan of swipe keyboards on mobile, but I decided to give it another shot with the native keyboard in iOS 13, and I love it. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s better than other super keyboards or if its because I finally gave it a fair chance.
Oh, boy, you are smarter than me. I just sent my “magic” keyboard to Goodwill. I didn’t even think anyone would want them. I did love the track pad I bought with my iMac. When I left the US I sold the iMac along with my OG Apple wired keyboard and track pad to my business manager.
My old 11 inch air had a lovely keyboard. I went into Apple and typed on the new air, and decided to remain with the 12 inch.
I will give the swipe keyboard a look. I hate to say it, but once I got used to talking to my watch, I started talking to the phone. The iPad and laptop followed soon after. I wish I could use dictation to write my long form stuff, but as a person from the southeastern US, I can’t talk as fast as I type
I know what you mean. I don’t code any more, but I like to work on a big laptop. When I made the jump from Windows to Mac, I walked into the store to get a laptop, only to be told that they no longer had the 17 inch.
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