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Apple MacBook Refresh Could Bring E-Ink Enabled Keyboard (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes from a report via HotHardware: Apparently Apple has been working on some unique upgrades to its MacBook line, and not just underneath the hood. One of the bigger feature upgrades could actually be in the keyboard. As previously rumored, the new MacBook Pro is likely to sport a secondary touchscreen display at the top of the keyboard. It will sit in place of where the Function keys used to reside and display different graphics and icons, depending on the program that's up and running. However, according to an anonymous reddit user named "Foxconninsider," Apple's also planning to launch a new version of its Magic Keyboard -- one that takes advantage of E-Ink technology. Similar technology was developed by a start-up company named Sonder, the same company Apple is in the process of acquiring. What the tipster describes is each key having its own E Ink display. That means individual keys and/or entire rows can change based on whatever app is loaded. In any event, we should know more soon -- Apple's expected to announce new MacBook products later this month.
The only part of a laptop that has to be changed for each country is the keyboard, hampering logistics. If you can have a software-configurable keyboard, that would help reduce costs for unsold laptops, stock breaks, etc. Even in no application ever uses the facility, just that advantage should be enough, once you get to the right price-durability-functionality combo.
Also the resale value would be increased, as you can now sell it in any country.
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
I don't want to have to look at keyboard. I'm writting wile looking at the screen not keyboard.
So that sucks a bit.
They're Mac users. They're probably hunter-peckers.
I've heard that about Mac users ... or was it pecker hunters....?
I live in a trilingual area. When you buy a computer you have to decide which layout you will be most typing in and then stick with that. For many people who need to switch a lot between languages it would be nice to be able to set and see the keyboard layout according to the language used, like one can do on mobile phones and tablets. The same goes for shared computers at home (bilingual family here), in offices or on production floors.
Personally, I use Apple's english international keyboard layout as that gives me full access to the characters needed when coding, while allowing me to generate special characters (accentuated, grave, acute, umlauts) easily enough when needed, and I can't see myself switching keyboard layouts for different tasks.
Some other possible points:
- Applications with particular needs can offer special keybindings and display them on the keyboard directly.
- Some manufacturers sell their laptops only with the "national layout" - people who want that brand have to buy a new keyboard with the desired layout and then switch their laptop's keyboards (potentially voiding the warranty).
- Logistics for the manufacturer - it is no longer necessary to have different keyboard layouts for the major languages. That depends on the cost of the keyboard, though.
I was assigned a Lenovo X1 Carbon with the e-Ink display above the F-keys at a previous job. Needless to say, I was glad to turn that laptop in the day I left.
First, the geniuses at Lenovo decided that the Caps Lock key was not useful, so assumed people would be happy to hold down the Shift key for a few seconds. The caps lock key was replaced by the Home and End keys, and the backtick/tilde key was moved by the right Alt key. This made trying to do basic Linux system administration a PITA. Reaching for the escape key resulted in flipping the E-ink display to a different set of items than the F keys.
There are many things to improve on. Dinking around and moving often used keys is not an improvement. Companies keep trying to do that, be it Compaq where the space bar was cut in half, giving a large backspace key. There might be some compromises, such as locating the arrow keys somewhere different, but changing the fundamental layout of a keyboard doesn't do much other than annoy people, forcing them to have to use a USB or BlueTooth keyboard in order to get work done.
Of course, there was the implementation of the e-Ink bar. It made reaching for a F key annoying, because you were used to hitting a key, not tapping plastic, and with the escape key moved, half the time, it meant you had to tap the bar to get it to the set of function keys.
Decent idea, poor implementation, and it hindered things more than it helped, especially with critical keys moved around willy-nilly.
I'm a touch typist who keeps my fingernails to about 1mm most of the time. Right now the my 4-year-old 17" MacBook Pro keyboard has five keys where the black color on top has been eroded away: E A S D and left shift. The control and command keys area also showing some wear on the top coating.
So what happens when the key is an active electronic device? I guess at some point a key top will just stop working. At the worst it might even short something out. And I know they will want it to rewrite the key tops when you use the accent composing feature, so just hope that a key doesn't die right after you hit option-E!
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