Sounds logical to me....I may be stating the obvious but in seems to me Apple is trying to have a very definitive differentiation in their product lines. One entry-level MacBook and a couple of MacBook Pro(s), One entry-level iPad and a couple iPad Pro(s). One entry-level iPhone Se and a couple of iPhone 7's. One entry-level 21" iMac and a couple of 27" iMac Pro's with better displays/TouchBar, etc.
The wealthiest company in the world and they have about 9 items in their product line...amazing.
It is in their D .... No I can't say it.
It does all go back to the return of SJ when he inherited the ludicrous number of products Apple had back then and cleaned house. Keep it simple stupid sure worked.
Haha...You didn't say it...but you were thinking it! You're right, I remember all the Performas, etc. Plus it may help get them off the crazy train of yearly redesigns that the press seems to always demanding.
That aside, if the Touch Bar ever does take off, I think it's more likely to do so through studio designers and artists. I spend a fair amount of time working with graphic designers, and the vast majority use desktop computers. Most notebook users I know are developers, and I don't see the Touch Bar ever becoming "a thing" in this world. (I say that as a developer who has one and even uses it)
I'm also a developer and this laptop/desktop tendency matches my experience as well. However, I use my laptop on a desktop stand with a separate keyboard and trackpad most of the time, so as cool as I think the touch bar on the new MacBook Pro is, it wouldn't be very useful to me with this setup. I considered buying a new MBP anyway, but the hassle of all the extra dongles would outweigh any advantages over the 2014 model I have now. A new keyboard with a touch bar would be more useful and a better value than a whole new computer in my case.
How about making the equivalent of the touchbar (or better) using our iPhones and iPads as extensions of our desktop systems, just as the Logic Pro Remote app does for GarageBand and Logic Pro?
That aside, if the Touch Bar ever does take off, I think it's more likely to do so through studio designers and artists. I spend a fair amount of time working with graphic designers, and the vast majority use desktop computers. Most notebook users I know are developers, and I don't see the Touch Bar ever becoming "a thing" in this world. (I say that as a developer who has one and even uses it)
I'm also a developer and this laptop/desktop tendency matches my experience as well. However, I use my laptop on a desktop stand with a separate keyboard and trackpad most of the time, so as cool as I think the touch bar on the new MacBook Pro is, it wouldn't be very useful to me with this setup. I considered buying a new MBP anyway, but the hassle of all the extra dongles would outweigh any advantages over the 2014 model I have now. A new keyboard with a touch bar would be more useful and a better value than a whole new computer in my case.
Just wondering - how useful is the touch bar? I have only ever used one in the Apple Store and I am wondering if anybody who has one a) uses it, b) finds it an effective way to get things done quicker / better.
I wonder what that will cost? I'm guessing that people will complain about the price.
That and that it won't support their 2007 iMac or something. I wouldn't be surprised if when this does come out (and I think it will), it will only support Macs from the past year or two.
I would expect that if a Mac supports Sierra, it would also support this keyboard unless this keyboard uses the newer Bluetooth spec that older Macs do not have. There has to be a cutoff right?
Just wondering - how useful is the touch bar? I have only ever used one in the Apple Store and I am wondering if anybody who has one a) uses it, b) finds it an effective way to get things done quicker / better.
At this point I would say neither better or worse. I think Gruber put it best, "the wrong way to think about the Touch Bar is to expect it be to be a game-changing input method. It’s just a modern, dynamic replacement for a fiddly, static set of cryptic buttons."
how I use it…
TouchID is of course magnificent.
I replaced the Siri button at the top right with the Mission Control "show desktop" function, which I had previously mapped as the top-right "hot corner." Very cool.
Better Touch Tool is giving me an always-available tray of custom buttons. The most important is a button mapped to cmd-~, which makes a Terminal prompt appear or disappear. On my old Macbook, I remapped the Launchpad button to this. Unfortunately, it now takes two strokes to get to (BTT, then the Terminal button), so while it's nice that I can do it at all, the "old way" was better.
I also have BTT buttons mapped to cmd-shift-[ and cmd-shift-] for jumping through tabs, but I also use BTT to map three-fingered-trackpad-swipe for this, and the latter solution is better.
The problem is that we're constrained by the creativeness — and laziness — of software developers. If Apple built-in the ability to map any keystroke or menu command to a button, the Touch Bar would instantly be massively more useful. Instead, if I want a cmd-opt-R button while using Safari (a key shortcut I use a few times an hour and frequently fuck up), I'm at the whim of the Safari developers.
I think the outrage over the Touch Bar is daft, but I don't see any signs that much is being done to make it more useful, either.
p.s. Don't miss the ESC key at all. Caps Lock is worthless and should have been replaced years ago. But I do wish double-shift would enable Caps Lock a la iOS!
Just wondering - how useful is the touch bar? I have only ever used one in the Apple Store and I am wondering if anybody who has one a) uses it, b) finds it an effective way to get things done quicker / better.
At this point I would say neither better or worse. I think Gruber put it best, "the wrong way to think about the Touch Bar is to expect it be to be a game-changing input method. It’s just a modern, dynamic replacement for a fiddly, static set of cryptic buttons."
how I use it…
TouchID is of course magnificent.
I replaced the Siri button at the top right with the Mission Control "show desktop" function, which I had previously mapped as the top-right "hot corner." Very cool.
Better Touch Tool is giving me an always-available tray of custom buttons. The most important is a button mapped to cmd-~, which makes a Terminal prompt appear or disappear. On my old Macbook, I remapped the Launchpad button to this. Unfortunately, it now takes two strokes to get to (BTT, then the Terminal button), so while it's nice that I can do it at all, the "old way" was better.
I also have BTT buttons mapped to cmd-shift-[ and cmd-shift-] for jumping through tabs, but I also use BTT to map three-fingered-trackpad-swipe for this, and the latter solution is better.
The problem is that we're constrained by the creativeness — and laziness — of software developers. If Apple built-in the ability to map any keystroke or menu command to a button, the Touch Bar would instantly be massively more useful. Instead, if I want a cmd-opt-R button while using Safari (a key shortcut I use a few times an hour and frequently fuck up), I'm at the whim of the Safari developers.
I think the outrage over the Touch Bar is daft, but I don't see any signs that much is being done to make it more useful, either.
p.s. Don't miss the ESC key at all. Caps Lock is worthless and should have been replaced years ago. But I do wish double-shift would enable Caps Lock a la iOS!
I haven't used it myself, but Leo Laporte says he is constantly accidentally tapping it while attempting to type.
I wonder what that will cost? I'm guessing that people will complain about the price.
That and that it won't support their 2007 iMac or something. I wouldn't be surprised if when this does come out (and I think it will), it will only support Macs from the past year or two.
What Macs does Apple Pay and remote unlock support via Apple Watch? That might be a baseline to consider for security. The other issue is bandwidth for the keyboard display, but I think BT High-Speed should suffice.
Yes, I think thats exactly what will be the determining factor, but try and explain that to someone who is whining because it doesn't support their 2007 iMac.
I wonder what that will cost? I'm guessing that people will complain about the price.
Who wouldn't? The latest non-backlit Magic Keyboard is $99 and it doesn't even have a numeric keypad. Add a TouchBar and I could easily see the price jump to $149.
LOL I think you're very optimistic if you think it'll only be a $49 bump for a new keyboard with an OLED display, Touch ID, Apple Pay, the Secure Element and Secure Enclave for each, the Apple-deisnged T1-chip, increased wireless speed for that OLED display, a much larger battery for all that new HW, and all of it running OS X on the a keyboard.
I would pay $250 if it was the wired keyboard with TouchId. The bar is a gimmick.
The Touch Bar has yet to be fully embraced and exploited by devs. I think it's a great idea and I'd be interested in one, but it would have to have illuminated keys. That is first and foremost for me.
I've got a couple of Apple Al extended, wired keyboards. One is only used for troubleshooting as it's neigh impossible to get a BT keyboard to boot into the Startup Manager. The other is my main Mac's keyboard.
I have wireless keyboards but they're only used when I'm not at the desk and using my Mac as my TV. At those times I don't need a bulky extended keyboard and especially not a 10-key.
The Touch Bar has yet to be fully embraced and exploited by devs. I think it's a great idea and I'd be interested in one, but it would have to have illuminated keys. That is first and foremost for me.
I've got a couple of Apple Al extended, wired keyboards. One is only used for troubleshooting as it's neigh impossible to get a BT keyboard to boot into the Startup Manager. The other is my main Mac's keyboard.
I have wireless keyboards but they're only used when I'm not at the desk and using my Mac as my TV. At those times I don't need a bulky extended keyboard and especially not a 10-key.
1) What level of "embrace" do you think should happen in less than 6 months since its been available and when it probably accounts for less than 1% of all Macs being used?
2) It seems like every major app I use has "embraced" it, include Abode and Microsoft, who have typically taken years to catch up, but that's not a surprise considering how easy Apple has made it.
3) Remember when you consider the Touch Bar you're also talking about Touch ID and Apple Pay as these are parts of the bar, and it's all controlled by Apple's T1-series chip that runs its own version of OS X. I think that's pretty amazing and not a willy nilly decision by Apple or, as @k2kw ;puts it, "a gimmick."
Comments
how I use it…
- TouchID is of course magnificent.
- I replaced the Siri button at the top right with the Mission Control "show desktop" function, which I had previously mapped as the top-right "hot corner." Very cool.
- Better Touch Tool is giving me an always-available tray of custom buttons. The most important is a button mapped to cmd-~, which makes a Terminal prompt appear or disappear. On my old Macbook, I remapped the Launchpad button to this. Unfortunately, it now takes two strokes to get to (BTT, then the Terminal button), so while it's nice that I can do it at all, the "old way" was better.
- I also have BTT buttons mapped to cmd-shift-[ and cmd-shift-] for jumping through tabs, but I also use BTT to map three-fingered-trackpad-swipe for this, and the latter solution is better.
The problem is that we're constrained by the creativeness — and laziness — of software developers. If Apple built-in the ability to map any keystroke or menu command to a button, the Touch Bar would instantly be massively more useful. Instead, if I want a cmd-opt-R button while using Safari (a key shortcut I use a few times an hour and frequently fuck up), I'm at the whim of the Safari developers.I think the outrage over the Touch Bar is daft, but I don't see any signs that much is being done to make it more useful, either.
p.s. Don't miss the ESC key at all. Caps Lock is worthless and should have been replaced years ago. But I do wish double-shift would enable Caps Lock a la iOS!
I've got a couple of Apple Al extended, wired keyboards. One is only used for troubleshooting as it's neigh impossible to get a BT keyboard to boot into the Startup Manager. The other is my main Mac's keyboard.
I have wireless keyboards but they're only used when I'm not at the desk and using my Mac as my TV. At those times I don't need a bulky extended keyboard and especially not a 10-key.
2) It seems like every major app I use has "embraced" it, include Abode and Microsoft, who have typically taken years to catch up, but that's not a surprise considering how easy Apple has made it.
3) Remember when you consider the Touch Bar you're also talking about Touch ID and Apple Pay as these are parts of the bar, and it's all controlled by Apple's T1-series chip that runs its own version of OS X. I think that's pretty amazing and not a willy nilly decision by Apple or, as @k2kw ;puts it, "a gimmick."