One of my favorite innovations of my thinkpad x220 and other modern laptops is a fixed Touch bar, supported by physical features of the laptop itself. There’s always an escape button accompanied by multiple, freely assignable function keys which all provide physical feedback so you could theoretically use them even in dark surroundings. All of this completely independent of the OS or 3rd-party applications!
Right? Why change something that wasn’t broken? I was issued a new Mac at work almost a year ago, and tried all sorts of touch bar configurations over the past few months. In the end I always ended up accidentally tapping the buttons while typing, and actually finding the controls took longer than just using a keyboard shortcut. So I switched the settings to just making them regular function keys again. I really wish the laptop just had simple, non-touch function keys that I could feel with my fingers. The touch bar is so useless for my workflow as a software programmer. When Apple was usability testing I wonder if people actually were found to be more productive with it.
I really wish the laptop just had simple, non-touch function keys that I could feel with my fingers.
It was a specific criteria I started looking for when buying laptops after my first touch-oriented laptop couldn’t handle lowering volume reliably. My last phone was also the one of two models with the physical buttons on the bottom. Makes a difference for me. I don’t feel like I’m fighting with gear that’s supposed to be making my life easier.
I feel like this was written by my future self. I’ve been desperately clinging to my 2013 MBP, and dread upgrading because of the touchbar. Very nice article and if (when) I need to upgrade I will definitely be using the setup he has here!
The first sentence after the photo sums up a lot of the logic given alongside negative commentary about everything Apple does:
If you have, well, HANDS, you hardly see the Touch Bar more than twice in two hours.
Look at the photo. Now look at your own hands on the keyboard. Notice a difference. I’ve never seen anyone use a computer with the keyboard so high compared to their eye line, that they can’t see past their own hands.
Think I’m being silly? Look at the left hand in the photo. It obscures the bottom of the [screen].
Ram widgets are useful, at least in my experience. While modern OSs utilize unused ram for disk cache, ram usage is still a fairly reliable indicator of when the system will begin paging. Before I open up ram-heavy applications, I always check to see if I have enough ram, or whether I should close another program first. This strategy is more effective because many applications (notably web browsers) will use more ram the longer they are open, and can be restated to decrease usage. It’s also a good heads-up for determining whether a slowdown is from a spike in disk, CPU, or RAM usage.
It’s been a while since I’ve read such snotty, arrogant drivel.
any other laptop feels like a cheap plastic toy nailed to the floor
This is the classic Apple fanboy “I’m griping at Apple but while I’m doing it I’ll remind you that my tribe is better than your tribe.” Apply laptops are pretty, but laptops are tools, and tools don’t need to be pretty. You can get your work done just as well on a Thinkpad or a sputnik. Get over yourself.
Ew, creeps! Let this shit stay in 2007. I went through it. I grew up. It looks cool and “cyberpunky” for literally one evening. You never use it afterwards.
Guess what? It’s no longer 2007 and things have changed, except evidently your prejudices.
Things must be useful, not “beautiful”
The irony of someone who paid 3000 Euros for a pretty laptop saying this is strong. It’s even stronger when the rest of the article talks about the time he wasted trying to make that laptop’s signature feature not suck. He’s the same kid who wasted time configuring his linux desktop in 2007, only now he’s wasting time configuring his touch bar and bragging about how much of an adult he is.
One of my favorite innovations of my
thinkpad x220and other modern laptops is a fixed Touch bar, supported by physical features of the laptop itself. There’s always an escape button accompanied by multiple, freely assignable function keys which all provide physical feedback so you could theoretically use them even in dark surroundings. All of this completely independent of the OS or 3rd-party applications!Right? Why change something that wasn’t broken? I was issued a new Mac at work almost a year ago, and tried all sorts of touch bar configurations over the past few months. In the end I always ended up accidentally tapping the buttons while typing, and actually finding the controls took longer than just using a keyboard shortcut. So I switched the settings to just making them regular function keys again. I really wish the laptop just had simple, non-touch function keys that I could feel with my fingers. The touch bar is so useless for my workflow as a software programmer. When Apple was usability testing I wonder if people actually were found to be more productive with it.
It was a specific criteria I started looking for when buying laptops after my first touch-oriented laptop couldn’t handle lowering volume reliably. My last phone was also the one of two models with the physical buttons on the bottom. Makes a difference for me. I don’t feel like I’m fighting with gear that’s supposed to be making my life easier.
Courageous design.
I feel like this was written by my future self. I’ve been desperately clinging to my 2013 MBP, and dread upgrading because of the touchbar. Very nice article and if (when) I need to upgrade I will definitely be using the setup he has here!
The first sentence after the photo sums up a lot of the logic given alongside negative commentary about everything Apple does:
Look at the photo. Now look at your own hands on the keyboard. Notice a difference. I’ve never seen anyone use a computer with the keyboard so high compared to their eye line, that they can’t see past their own hands.
Think I’m being silly? Look at the left hand in the photo. It obscures the bottom of the [screen].
Ram widgets are useful, at least in my experience. While modern OSs utilize unused ram for disk cache, ram usage is still a fairly reliable indicator of when the system will begin paging. Before I open up ram-heavy applications, I always check to see if I have enough ram, or whether I should close another program first. This strategy is more effective because many applications (notably web browsers) will use more ram the longer they are open, and can be restated to decrease usage. It’s also a good heads-up for determining whether a slowdown is from a spike in disk, CPU, or RAM usage.
It’s been a while since I’ve read such snotty, arrogant drivel.
This is the classic Apple fanboy “I’m griping at Apple but while I’m doing it I’ll remind you that my tribe is better than your tribe.” Apply laptops are pretty, but laptops are tools, and tools don’t need to be pretty. You can get your work done just as well on a Thinkpad or a sputnik. Get over yourself.
Guess what? It’s no longer 2007 and things have changed, except evidently your prejudices.
The irony of someone who paid 3000 Euros for a pretty laptop saying this is strong. It’s even stronger when the rest of the article talks about the time he wasted trying to make that laptop’s signature feature not suck. He’s the same kid who wasted time configuring his linux desktop in 2007, only now he’s wasting time configuring his touch bar and bragging about how much of an adult he is.