Apple introduces compact wired keyboard with new iMacs

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  • Reply 121 of 163
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dfiler View Post


    AI forum users are probably more avid numeric pad users than the general computing populace.



    Now why would you say that- after all you and your legion whine on and on about?
  • Reply 122 of 163
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Such as? Now I know you are totally clueless after that statement. Good bye.

    Since when have accountants or financial analysts been supplanted by automated systems?



    Don't be so quick to call people clueless. You end up looking like a naive asshole.



    Accounting departments used to be filled with rows and rows of people pecking endlessly away at numeric pads. They've been replaced by spreadsheets and a couple of excel users. It has been the defining trend for the profession of accounting. The percentage of office workers dealing with numbers all day really has undergone a paradigm shift.



    I'll bow out of this "debate" now. I just wanted to jump in and temper your naive exuberance. Hopefully the replies provided a more balanced view of the merits of the numeric pad in Apple's default hardware bundle.
  • Reply 123 of 163
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dfiler View Post


    Accounting departments used to be filled with rows and rows of people pecking endlessly away at numeric pads. They've been replaced by spreadsheets and a couple of excel users. It has been the defining trend for the profession of accounting. The percentage of office workers dealing with numbers all day really has undergone a paradigm shift.



    I'll bow out of this "debate" now. I just wanted to jump in and temper your naive exuberance. Hopefully the replies provided a more balanced view of the merits of the numeric pad in Apple's default hardware bundle.



    Again, another who does not know from where he speaks.

    The spreadsheets replaced all the rows and rows.... Any business major and major corporation uses Excel and the users of it create and manipulate the spreadsheets.

    Later.

    So I'm a naive a-hole and you're clueless d*ckhead. I'm not upset and you are. Waggh!
  • Reply 124 of 163
    I don't see the point of this for 95% of people. As long as they keep the numeric keyboard the same price I am happy. I guess the number pad is the thing of the past but people still use it but I guess not enough.
  • Reply 125 of 163
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    I bought one of these suckers tonight. The store I went to, Southpoint in NC, only had versions with WIRELESS keyboards for $50 more, $1549. I got it anyway since I had a wired kb and Logitech mouse at home. Anyone want the wireless keyboard and wireless mighty mouse for $50 (for both)? Unwrapped. This is the AI forums special. Please PM if interested.







  • Reply 126 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by luke1robb View Post


    I think this move to get rid of the num. pad and decrease the width of the keyboard is a good sign that Apple might be prepping a multi-touch glass trackpad for their desktop line. By have it be smaller, one could attach (via usb) a trackpad to either end of the keyboard (lefty or righty).



    Don't blow this off, I think its gonna happen in some manner. Multi-touch is still non-existent on their desktop line, a glaring signal to me.



    Thoughts?



    Yes! I think we're on the same wavelength here. While I'm not sure I see this release as anticipating other new keyboards - and quite frankly I'm not sure I see where they were going with this at all, except perhaps to further irk keyboard aficionados - I do think you've hinted at a very interesting market place. There is definitely a lot of community interest in a multi-touch-enabled keyboard. They've got all the technology available, so it's really somewhat of a no-brainer at this point. Personally, I'd like to see them create a bluetooth version of this concept. Even at the increased power requirements, the idea of totally eliminate the mouse (for casual users) certainly has some appeal. Now, if they released said version, replacing the keypad on the wireless version with a MT trackpad, they'd have a 4 keyboard lineup. While that's a bit extraneous on some levels, that product line-up would actually make more sense: two wired, two wireless; two compact, two multi-functional. I think I may see where they're going with this now...
  • Reply 127 of 163
    Honestly, whenever i'm not using the 10-key, it ends up getting in the way. I have limited desk space, and the long-ass keyboard gets in the way of my mouse, and ends up with my keyboard off-centered of everything else. About half the time, I hate it, the other half, its indispensable.

    And for educational purposes, i love it. As a student, entering hundreds points of experimental data into Numbers would honestly suck without a 10-key.
  • Reply 128 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dstranathan View Post


    That was a totally different keyboard with different materials. We are talking circa early 2000's (G4s)



    The new MacBooks have black keys.



    For that matter, who decided that black and aluminum go together. The only other thing I don't understand is why they didn't release a black-keyboard to match the iMacs. (And why the Mini is still white, but I digress.) It's funny that when they create a new aesthetic, it seems to take FOREVER for them to adopt it uniformly (see: GUI and brushed aluminum.)



    Incidentally, as relates to the above, the keys on the MacBook/Pros are backlit, meaning that the letters aren't simply screened on, as they were before. It's actually quite the opposite - the key is translucent and the area around the letter is sprayed a different color, allowing the letter to light up. Anyway, there's no chance of the letters wearing off this way - it would actually happen the other way around, if at all.
  • Reply 129 of 163
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    No , nor have I seen the planet Uranus, as you obviously have.



    Could one of the mods please ban this guy? He is just making juvenile one liners one after another and has posted several personal attacks (on various people) on this one thread alone.



    How is it I got a warning for calling someone a "dummy" once, but this guy is free to mouth off to everyone all day long and apparently suffer no consequences?
  • Reply 130 of 163
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    Could one of the mods please ban this guy? He is just making juvenile one liners one after another and has posted several personal attacks (on various people) on this one thread alone.



    How is it I got a warning for calling someone a "dummy" once, but this guy is free to mouth off to everyone all day long and apparently suffer no consequences?



    LOL- I've been attacked all day, been called names for defending my position about a numbered keypad. My posts are not juvenile one-liners unless warranted to something said directly to me. By the way-you call people names all the time. You're even mouthing off with your protest against me. Leave me alone already.
  • Reply 131 of 163
    ssassa Posts: 47member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by filburt View Post


    This sounds like a scheme to get people to order from Apple, instead of more affordable outlets such as Amazon.com. Otherwise, Apple would've bundled wired keyboard WITH numeric keypad as the default option, with keypadless as BTO.



    Apple has been going out of their way in order to squeeze out third party Mac resellers for some time. First, they cut back on the number of ready to ship models when they shifted to the Mac Pro, which starts killing the sales at the high end because then resellers don't have ready to sell machines with a high end graphics card or the higher end CPU options. I worked for an Apple reseller for a while and after they did that selling Apple's pro tower became challenging.



    Then they made the glossy screens the standard ready to ship config for the MBPs. A lot of people wanted a matte finish, which Apple made a CTO option only.



    Being an Apple reseller is hard enough with the thin margins they have on their machines, but between Apple's reseller agreement that is decidedly written in their favor and this latest decision it is clear that Apple really wants to kill their resellers so that they can keep as much of the margin on Mac sales as they can.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JavaCowboy View Post


    Why doesn't somebody just develop an LCD keyboard? The lack of tactile feedback would be compensated for in the same way that the iPhone/iTouch compensates for it: by showing you large versions of the letters on the screen.



    This would solve tons of problems:



    1) No need for various international keyboards, Dvorak, etc. This would be especially beneficial for French Canadians, who are cursed with an extremely rare variety of keyboard, the French version of QWERTY (in France, they use AZERTY). They need to wait longer than most if their favourite brand of keyboard changes.

    2) Keyboard shortcuts could be displayed prominently when somebody presses a modifier key (ex Comand)

    3) Gaming. Gamers could see which keys do what (ex "W" is to go forward)

    4) Dual-trackpad functionality. If I want to turn the keyboard into a giant trackpad, there's nothing stopping me).



    What's preventing computer makers in general from doing this?



    Try cost. A touch screen of a large enough area to provide a usable full size keyboard would cost several hundred dollars and still have no tactile feedback. Honestly, if it weren't so expensive (~$1500) I would prefer an Optimus Maximus keyboard instead of a touchscreen. If one of the keys dies I can buy a replacement key for ~$10, but fixing a touchscreen might not be worth fixing at all.



    Unless voice recognition improves dramatically or neural input systems come along I don't see keyboard disappearing in he near future.
  • Reply 132 of 163
    dobbydobby Posts: 797member
    Lack of numeric keypad is ok, its yet another reason why Macs will never be a gaming vehicle (although the PC seems to be loosing to consoles despite the fact that most multi-platform games use the PC as its best port!) as it further limits possibilities for games to transcend to the mac space.



    Dobby.
  • Reply 133 of 163
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    As usual, YMMV. I type 80wpm on the top row.

    What I don't get is people who insist on being vulgar and snipe-ish simply because a company doesn't tailor its options specifically to them.

    Must be such a sad life.



    I'm sorry, but the number keys are used to type words per minute?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JakeTheRock View Post


    Honestly, whenever i'm not using the 10-key, it ends up getting in the way. I have limited desk space, and the long-ass keyboard gets in the way of my mouse, and ends up with my keyboard off-centered of everything else.



    That reminds me of what would be my choice, something like the Comfort keyboard. Hands apart at shoulder with are more ergonomic anyway, and the numeric keypad can go in between the sections. That would require very little movement to go from keyboard to pointing device. Apple actually made a similar keyboard once, the adjustable Apple Ergonomic Keyboard with its cursor and numeric keypads in a separate section, but the quality was abysmal, with poor key action and tons of key bounce. If Apple made a compact, three-part design today with current quality standards, I'd be all over it. But since I don't want to spend over $100 on one of the Comfort or Kinesis ergonomic keyboards, all of my keyboards are Microsoft Natural Pro models (split and angled) picked up on eBay for $20 a pop. They're the only Microsoft product I actually like.
  • Reply 134 of 163
    knightlieknightlie Posts: 282member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by luke1robb View Post


    I think this move to get rid of the num. pad and decrease the width of the keyboard is a good sign that Apple might be prepping a multi-touch glass trackpad for their desktop line. By have it be smaller, one could attach (via usb) a trackpad to either end of the keyboard (lefty or righty).



    Don't blow this off, I think its gonna happen in some manner. Multi-touch is still non-existent on their desktop line, a glaring signal to me.



    Thoughts?



    Absolutely, there's no other way of introducing multi-touch on a desktop - a touch screen will be rubbish and Apple probably knows this. A desktop touchpad would be fantastic.
  • Reply 135 of 163
    adam12adam12 Posts: 1member
    OMGosh dude that is the coolest keyboard I have ever seen!



    RT

    www.privacy-center.pro.tc
  • Reply 136 of 163
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    You might want to actually try the new keyboards for a while though, they really are great once you get used to the different action. I started by being forced to use one on my work computer when the first Apple aluminium keyboards came out as I had a new machine at the time, and eventually I decided they were better than the old ones.



    The two major problems I have with the Apple keyboard:
    1. It's not split

    2. There's no wrist rest

    I have a very hard time using a keyboard which isn't split since it always feels like my wrists are being strained. I have a tendency to rest my elbows on the desk as I type (curved desk), which creates an odd wrist angle on keyboards which aren't split. Anytime I have to use my laptop keyboard heavily for an extended period of time, I inevitably find myself doing wrist stretches within an hour or so to help alleviate the strain I feel. Though some of that could be related to using the trackpad as well...



    Also, having to rest the bottoms of my hands on the desk at whatever angle the keyboard happens to make with it just feels wrong.



    Clicky or non-clicky keyboard doesn't matter to me (I've used both over the years). And yes, I've used a number of keyboards dating back to the Vic-20 as well. However, I do admit that I am intrigued by the shorter button press distance. Not necessarily for typing speed, but for less button pressure required to type.



    Maybe I'll cut open the Apple keyboard and see if it's possible to do a split keyboard mod on it (since I'm not doing anything else with it anyways).
  • Reply 137 of 163
    palex9palex9 Posts: 105member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Macfabulous View Post


    STOP THE WHINING ALREADY!!!!



    Apple has made it possible to choose wich ever keyboard you want! There is now 3 konfigurations. All should be happy. But NOOOOOOO!!!!! Cry babies!!!



    Besides... I use my number keypads every single minut during worktime. A little less during wake hometime. All on a MacBook Pro! I have owned numeric keyboards, but after buying and using the MBP and its keyboard, I have never wanted to look back!!! IT IS NO PROBLEM... if you ask me!



    It´s all a matter of changing habits! AND then you have a keyboard that gives you more space, and gives room for upcoming external usb-devices, and other cool upgrades.



    ...YOU STILL HAVE A CHOICE though!





    Hey, anybody can criticize what Apple does! What is pissing people off including me is that Apple recently is taking away ports and hardware features will-nilly.
  • Reply 138 of 163
    palex9palex9 Posts: 105member
    [QUOTE=Outsider;1384552]I bought one of these suckers tonight. The store I went to, Southpoint in NC, only had versions with WIRELESS keyboards for $50 more, $1549. I got it anyway since I had a wired kb and Logitech mouse at home. Anyone want the wireless keyboard and wireless mighty mouse for $50 (for both)? Unwrapped. This is the AI forums special. Please PM if interested.



    Hope you enjoy your new Mac, fellow NC/Wake County dweller.
  • Reply 139 of 163
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by palex9 View Post


    Hey, anybody can criticize what Apple does! What is pissing people off including me is that Apple recently is taking away ports and hardware features will-nilly.



    Like what?
  • Reply 140 of 163
    palex9palex9 Posts: 105member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    Like what?



    Like FireWire from the MacBook.
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