Purported photos of new iMac keyboard stir debate - Page 4

It will certainly be a significant improvement over the current Mac Pro/iMac keyboard, which in my opinion, is almost as bad as the Mighty (awful) Mouse.

Wouldn't it be really nice if they could design a version of this keyboard that could fold..... I could throw into my laptop bag....

Looking back at the pic, I don't like the fact that the eject key is right over the delete key. I forsee some accidental openings of the superdrive tray.

I've never understood why the "Apple" key is called the Command key and the "Alt" key is called Option... Its just plain confusing. I have to teach people to use Macs, and I generally use Apple, and Alt (as that's easy), but then the manuals and websites use Command and Option which just confuses everyone. Why can't keys be labelled what they're called, or called what they're labelled!

You don't like the look of the Apple Cinema Displays? Just imagine that with an iSight and slot on the side...

I think someone on the Infinite Loop said, "Hey! Wouldn't it be fun to post some pictures of our new iMac prototype keyboard from three iterations ago on flikr, and watch the resulting frenzy of theories and arguments?"

I think this is real, but the "really real" one will be better . . . and different in several ways.

Even the Apple ADB keyboards from the Beige G3 has both Alt and Option labeled on the key. What I don't like about this new keyboard is that there are now 2 keys labeled "delete" which do different things. Why didn't Apple label the backspace key as backspace to begin with?

Perhaps a little history lesson is in place to help you get over your confusion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_key

I want a backlit Apple keyboard where the letters themselves are backlit. There are some third party keyboards where the entire key is lit like a Timex Indiglo watch, but I prefer the backlighting used in the MacBook Pro keyboard.

If this is an Apple keyboard, it is only a prototype to test the keys but not the looks.

My biggest complaint about this keyboard - and most keyboards - is the keypad to the right. With good ergonomics, that is where the mouse should be for right handed people. I would like to see the keypad a seperate deal that either plugs into the side of the keyboard or connects by a USB cable. That way the user can decide whether to use it and where to place it.

The keypad location started there before people started using the mouse. Now with the mouse, the keypad needs to go, else people will start to sue computer makers for causing carpal tunnel injuries due to bad keyboard and mouse design.

Don't understand what I mean? Then take a look at your current setup. Is your QWERTY keys centered on your body or not? Most people have the QWERTY keys shifted to the left due to the keypad and mouse. Therefore their arms are shifted left when they type. This is not good ergonomics. Meanwhile, the mouse arm and hand are stretched out too far to the right primarily due to the keypad.

Please Apple, give us an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, not some 30 year old out-of-date layout. Oh, and I'd love backlit keys with ground effects for the whole keybaord and mouse. That would be cool.

It did. But now for all those new PC to Mac converts it is simply Delete.

The other Delete includes an arrow to the right to delete forward. Works for me.

And we all know that if the keyboard is this thin, the New iMac will be MUCH thinner as well

It might be time for Apple to work with "nutrisystem" on a new commercial.

Hi iMac here, and I'm here to tell you "if I can do it - then so can you"

If you are trying to lose maybe 1, 2 or even as much as 10 lbs, then I'm here to show you how Buy one of the All New iMacs -

Maybe a bunch of the other desktop units in the background, looking quite fat and sweating to the oldies

Skip

Brilliant. That was a nice history lesson all around!

Yep, bead blasting. I have a movie showing the construction of the 5th Ave. store that shows polished SS that's then bead blasted to get just the right patina. Anyone else see that? It's no longer available online AFAIK.

I'd be happy if writers would just use the term satin instead of brushed. Anyway, the KB looks cool. Hope the keys feel good.

In a few years, all of this could well become moot, with touchscreen/multitouch, and more generally, haptics.

Yeah, I've done that myself and realised afterwards when people complain that brushed metal is ugly. Brushed metal is ugly like they use in the old Finder but the metal they use on the hardware isn't. I can't see myself writing anodised aluminium all the time though so maybe just aluminium would suffice.


If only. Sadly I fear the Mighty Mouse will plague us for a while yet. If the keyboard is metal and the imac is metal, it's going to look like the odd one out. More reason for people to stop using it I suppose, not that there needs to be any more reasons.


What's in people's mind shouldn't be the deciding factor though otherwise we'd all be Christians. When Apple are encouraging switchers and all the documents and tutorials say command-whatever, their immediate reaction is 'where's the command-key'. It's like saying to someone use the option key and then telling them it's the one with alt written on it, to which they reply well isn't it the alt-key then.


Are you kidding?? This is bigger news than the iphone, in fact so much bigger that we need never have another iphone thread ever again, just threads about this keyboard. I'm expecting AI to change the forum title to 'Appleinsider - overdosing on Apple's new keyboard' pretty soon.

It is *that* good.


Where I work we have at least 10 Apple Pro keyboards and they all have just the word alt and the alt-key symbol on them . These were bundled with G5 tower, G4 & Intel Mac Mini and Intel iMac. maybe the UK is different from the US setup.


I think they should move the numpad onto a multi-touch mouse. Imagine an iphone style mouse with a grid of numbers. I personally would rearrange the keys on the standard keyboard layout and remove all the redundancy but I don't think they can do that.

The touch mouse would be tricky because where would you rest your fingers? However, I think if they had one physical thumb button and then used the touch surface to determine what it did. This would support multiple key-presses too. So basically, if you anticipate making a click, hold the thumb button and tap the surface where you want. Keep holding it in for multiple presses. You would be able to just drag to scroll though so no more multiple flicks of a tiny scroll wheel.

it's a fake.

it's just a macbook keyboard with a numpad added on..
look at the position of the eject key.

same as on a macbook...not top right like on a full size keyboard.

f19? i mean seriously!

fn keys are only on laptops.

no need for them on a full size keyboards since the fkeys don't double up for anything.

this is a very nice looking fake.


oh and the numbers on the numpad should be on the left of the key not centred

People have differing ideas on what is ergonomic. Some think it's just using the loud clicky keyboards from decades ago. I'm still using the second gen Natural. And yes, my keyboard is centered around the center of the letter set rather than the center of the entire keyboard.

I suppose I wouldn't mind having a separate number pad. Not everybody uses them, and I would buy one but wouldn't mind being able to put it to the side. Apple needs to change the initial connect behavior though, I've heard of people buying number pads for their Mac notebooks and it asks them to press the keys next to the shift keys. The problem is, those keys don't exist on a dedicated number pad, so the automatic language detection causes problems.

Interesting, but that doesn't really explain why, 20 years later we've still got an Apple symbol on the key...

I tryede to sharpen the Image to see what the unsharpe text was in the picture.



Does it say "Nikon...Made in Japan" or is some thing else?

It's just a Nikon lens. It wasn't blurred intentionally, it just wasn't the focus of the photo.

Absolutely not!


Actually Apple invests considerably in ergonomics as do a number of companies but there will never be a universal standard to suit all. Even with all the well-advice that Apple posts on its 'ergonomic' site, my choice or a keyboard is Moshi's Celesta, (http://www.aevoe.com/moshi/celesta_d.htm) although, I do see quite a potential for this latest Apple iteration (if real) because I suspect it will have some prebuilt functionality that will dictate it so.

For sure, I will keep my mind open until I at least see and try it in person.

Are you a doorknob?

My Apple laptop is almost 4 years old and the keyboard says 'option' and 'alt' on the same key.

It could make some sense if the keys were aluminum too. Otherwise there's no way in hell Apple releases that ugly duck to market.

How do you clean it by the way? Suppose something gets behind the key and drops into the hole? I recall disassembling those scissor-key keyboards isn't all that trivial. No... they'll have something totally different. Also, current Apple keyboards have those lovely rounded keys that make your fingers stay in the centers, with those flat keys... we'd be better of skipping that iteration altogether and go right to the touchscreen.

Make note that the current wired keyboard has an estimated ship time of 1-3 weeks.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...nplm=M9034LL/A

Why do people keep saying how ugly white/aluminum would look? The Mini (white center, aluminum sides), iPod (aluminum back, white/black front), iMac (white case, aluminum stand), and even my G3 iBook (white (but not for long!) outer case, silver paint inside) have some combination of white and aluminum. Even the Cinema Displays have white/aluminum (aluminum bezel, white sides). Therefore, I don't think that this mock-up (or photo) is that far off.

A source told me that the keys on the final version will lite up with a red neon background and be available in pink and baby blue.

Agreed. Apple have been very good about keeping these things under wraps recently. I think Apple leaked the images to get feedback on the proposed new keyboard. Feed back from us, the people who are perhaps most critical of change. If someone had been naughty, don't you think they would have snapped pics of the new iMac instead? Surly a prototype iMac keyboard wouldn't be too far from a prototype iMac.

I'm hoping that gets replaced as well. Overall, I like the look of the thing but I can't stand the oversized iBook type keys. If this somehow turns out to be a fake, Apple needs to hire whoever did it.

Looks Sweet

I'm more curious if it will be able to hold up to a spilled cup of coffee or if cleaning will be an issue. Don't get me wrong, I'm not eating a bag of cheetos while typing on my keyboard, but they do get crap in them.

It would be great if the bottom just flipped out and you could wipe it out.

It's a step in the right direction (a touch screen keyboard). I'm looking forward to August.

I really don't see any advantage of having an extremely thin keyboard (or, while we're on the subject, for making the iMac that much smaller than it already is) - both devices already look great and don't gain any functional advantage from being slimmer (unlike, say, a portable device), so I'd rather that Apple focus on packing more functionality, or ergonomics in the case of the keyboard, into the same form factor.

At work I use a big, wide Natural keyboard with plenty of dedicated keys for launching programs and controlling media functionality - I'd probably value those things over thinness.

If I remember well, back in the days..., "not cosmetic unit" meant that the prototype was not cosmetically (or aesthetically) correct. The prototype was a functioning one, but the color, the materials, the inscriptions or else, were not the ones planned for the final/shipping version. There were also some "cosmetic unit" who were non functioning units but with real materials (at the prototype stage anyway).

Yet, I can't say if it is or not a real Apple prototype, but it looks good to me.

That is a mighty keyboard alright, but I also doubt that's the real deal. I'd prefer an ergonomic keyboard than that.

I'm a teacher and our school actually doesn't like the newer mac design because of security reasons. Some bolt cutters and 1 person could probably walk out with 3 or 4 of these things.

I love the designs, if they can keep making them slimmer, that will be great, but I agree, I don't know if it really makes them much more functional. Pretty soon all Apple computers are going to be "PORTABLE" computers.

I understand that people are always looking to save space on their physical (not computer) desktop, so less space is good. I can't wait for August.

I don't touch type - is the keyboard being flat instead of curved front to back a problem for those who do?

Don't see why it would be.

The exact symbols on the keys differ significantly around the globe.

Here is a UK keyboard:



The Option key doesn't even say option!

No way in hell would a keyboard like this fly. It's a photoshop job no doubt.

I can already see the carpel tunnel lawsuits... flat keyboard? You guys are kidding, right? There are very real, very good reasons dektop keyboards are the way they are. Angled, stepped, heavy enough to not move, etc... The necessity for them being flat on a laptop is also blindingly obvious.

Some of you guys really need to think a little before suggesting this piece of junk is actually going to make it to market, let alone a real image. I would return my Mac if it came with a keyboard like that.

Mark my words.. no way in hell. jeez you guys...

The keyboard is angled, it's just not curved. The cm step on the back ensures it would sit up at a nice angle.