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Apple Introduces "MacBook Wheel"

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the future-is-now dept.

CommonCents noted an Apple announcement a few hours before the anticipated keynote. He says "Apples' latest must have gadget does away with the keyboard. With the new MacBook Wheel, Apple has replaced the traditional keyboard with a giant wheel."

38 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. The Onion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The onion, where it's April 1st year round.

    1. Re:The Onion by eebra82 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Except on April 1st when it's actually June 23rd.

      --
      Full Tilt
    2. Re:The Onion by dotancohen · · Score: 4, Funny

      The onion, where it's April 1st year round.

      And where only Apple could reinvent the Wheel.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    3. Re:The Onion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      How do I use Vi editor with this?

    4. Re:The Onion by dna_(c)(tm)(r) · · Score: 2, Funny

      How do I use Vi editor with this?

      You tap 'tip tap tap tip tap tap tip tap tip tip tip tip' which spells 'EMACS' in morse code.

      Or, install VIM and then hit ANY key.

    5. Re:The Onion by JCSoRocks · · Score: 2, Funny

      This idea was invented by Shampoo.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    6. Re:The Onion by Ihmhi · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Spin the wheel in ANY direction."

      "Hey guys, which way is the any direction?"

      The more things change...

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
  2. Is it just me? by Van+Cutter+Romney · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or does the anchorwoman have a head shaped like an onion?

    --
    Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
  3. phone next? by firewood · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe next they'll invent some way to dial a phone with just some sort of rotary wheel...

    1. Re:phone next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dialing a phone with a rotary wheel will actually be a whole lot easier in my mind than typing an email with a whole wheel. I don't see how this process is faster than me typing exactly what I want. Imagine trying to program with that thing. Predictive text will not be any help with odd variables names and punctuation marks all over the place. This to me is definitely overkill.

    2. Re:phone next? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dialing a phone with a rotary wheel will actually be a whole lot easier in my mind than typing an email with a whole wheel. I don't see how this process is faster than me typing exactly what I want. Imagine trying to program with that thing. Predictive text will not be any help with odd variables names and punctuation marks all over the place. This to me is definitely overkill.

      It's quick than you think. Suppose you wanted to type Whoosh! to inform someone that they had missed a joke. Once you enter Wh you can just select Whoosh! from the dropdown list.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    3. Re:phone next? by dkh2 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hal is working on one of these already - that's why his first sentence has "quick" where the form "quicker" should have been.

      --
      My office has been taken over by iPod people.
    4. Re:phone next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I wrote this comment on the new Wheel thing... took me 45 minutes...
      And I'm not a coward... just couln't find the time to log in using the wheel...

  4. Mactini by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This reminds me of the Mactini on the The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noe3kR8KqJc

  5. 2 things put me off on this by geeper · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. 45 minutes to type a simple email.
    2. The dude that said "I'll buy anything thats shiny made by Apple!"

    --
    Error reading device 'Signature'. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
    1. Re:2 things put me off on this by geeper · · Score: 1, Funny

      Because on the freakin' web, everything is real...duh?

      --
      Error reading device 'Signature'. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
  6. I know... by XPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is a bit "out there", but to be perfectly honest I'd rather use a laptop running VISTA over that silly Macbook Wheel. It will take me more time to type an e-mail on that thing, then it would to send an e-mail on Vista. This is what happens when Steve gets sick, Apple gets desperate for ideas.

    --
    "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits" - Albert Einstein
    1. Re:I know... by mobby_6kl · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think you're missing the real genious here. What Apple/Steve did is simplify the computing experience so that it "just works". If you were to type an email in Vista, you'd have to use the confusing keyboad which has way too many buttons. A common keyboard has about a hundred too many.

      Instead, you just flick the wheel around until you get to the character you need, like you would with a safe. That's it, there's just one device you interface with, and everything is a single fluid motion around the wheel. As is often the case, you're just stuck with your old obsolete ways, while Steve has seen the light and wants to share with us all.

    2. Re:I know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      And that if you type "google" into Google, you'll break the internet!

  7. Ob ... by BESTouff · · Score: 5, Funny
    - Dear MacFan, will you defend the new MacBook Wheel without even knowing what it is ?

    - Yes, iWheel !

  8. 10-to-1 by PortHaven · · Score: 2, Funny

    Next year's big Apple announcement will be the elimination of keyboards from the MacBook Air. Just touch sensitive pads so that we can make it even THINNER!!!!

  9. Re:MacWheel Shuffle by camperdave · · Score: 2, Funny

    And if I got the MacWheel Shuffle, I could NOT show up, and half the office wouldn't notice

    You could get a cardboard cutout made of yourself to fool the rest of the office.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  10. Leave it to Apple... by techstar25 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Leave it to Apple to reinvent the wheel...

  11. Re:Why is this on the -/ frontpage? by wild_berry · · Score: 5, Funny

    MacWorld San Francisco is today. This content is made available to you as part of their 'driving and leveraging for increased consumer experience' toward the '"Idle" supersite subbrand of the Slashdot publishing matrix'.

    This post took 119 minutes to write on my new MacBook Wheel.

  12. Re:Yeah by meist3r · · Score: 3, Funny

    Your comment sucks. You suck. I love you.

  13. Re:Why is this on the -/ frontpage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    -/? This is slashdot, not dashslash.

  14. mactini by stiller · · Score: 2, Funny

    Puts me in mind of this recent spoof, by Peter Serafinowicz: http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/348881/d4b348a0/de_mactini.html

  15. Re:The really sad thing about this... by Crumplecorn · · Score: 3, Funny

    I look forward to playing UT2020 by waving my hands in the direction I want to turn and shouting 'fire'.

    I'm already training for the steady decline toward inferior input interfaces by playing FPSes on the Wii.

  16. First Post! by hansamurai · · Score: 5, Funny

    with Macbook Wheel

    --
    Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
  17. Re:Why is this on the -/ frontpage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...Says the very serious person who calls him/herself "Juggz"

  18. I can't find my car keys. by StreetStealth · · Score: 2, Funny

    How did you Added your own Sentenced, The actor asked for an aardvark. 16uy89; ?

    Sent from my MacBook Wheel.

    --
    Your mind is clear / The things that you fear / Will fade with how much you / Believe what you hear
  19. Re:The really sad thing about this... by Thalagyrt · · Score: 4, Funny

    Computer! rm -rf /var/www/old!
    # rm -rf /
    #

    SHIT!

    --
    Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo!
  20. Steve Jobs ... by PPH · · Score: 1, Funny

    ... is rolling over in his grave.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  21. Re:Yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You sound like my wife.

  22. Re:Why is this on the -/ frontpage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Take it easy. We won't miss you.

  23. Re:MacWheel Shuffle by emlyncorrin · · Score: 4, Funny

    You could get a cardboard cutout made of yourself to fool the rest of the office.

    It'd probably be less painfull if you got it made of cardboard.

  24. Re:Instead of scrolling... by GrahamCox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Even better, for phones, you coukld have a wheel with the numbers arranged around it. Then to dial *any number*, you just rotate the wheel to the number you want! It would be great, much easier than those stupid pushbuttons.

  25. Apostrophe's by jandersen · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apples' latest must have gadget

    Thi's seem's to have been written by a per'son who ha's no idea where to put hi's apo'strophe's