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Class Action Suit Filed Against Apple Over the Keyboards in MacBook Pro and MacBook Laptops (theoutline.com)
On Friday, Apple was hit with a class action lawsuit over the butterfly-switch keyboards, found on the current generation MacBook Pro and MacBook lineups, that have plagued its customers since they were released in 2015. The suit, filed in the Northern District Court of California, alleges that Apple "promoted and sold laptops it knew were defective in that they contain a keyboard that is substantially certain to fail prematurely," The Outline reports, and that selling these computers not only directly to its customers but also to third party retailers constitutes a violation of good faith. From the report: The Outline was the first outlet to substantially cover the magnitude of the issue, writing that Apple Geniuses responsible for diagnosing and repairing these Apple computers would benevolently attribute dead keys and double-spacing spacebars to a "piece of dust" stuck under the keyboard. Under Apple's warranty, Geniuses might offer to replace the entire top case of the computer, a process that takes about a week. Out of warranty, it costs about $700 to replace this part on a MacBook Pro. Apple has declined repeatedly to comment on the issue, but directs sufferers to a support page that instructs users how to tilt the computer at an angle, blow canned air under the malfunctioning keys, light candles arranged in the shape of a pentagram, and recite an incantation to Gaia in hopes of fixing their machines. Earlier this month, users kickstarted a petition on Change.org that calls on Apple to recall MacBook Pro units released since late 2016 over the defective keyboard. The petition has garnered about 20,000 signatures. Widely respected iOS developer and Apple commentator Marco Arment tweeted on the news, "We can't know for sure that Apple knew the 2016 keyboards were defective and sold them anyway. But it's hard to see how they couldn't have known. They were released 18 months earlier in the 12" MacBook, and those had the same problems with high failure rates from the start."
I've got several laptops, I generally don't open the lid though or use the built in keyboard, I hook it up to a tv via HDMI and use a logitech keyboard/mouse with a wireless USB dongle.
Doesn't everyone?
In a word, no. Most people just use a laptop as a laptop, and if they spend that much time at a desk, they have a desktop. I for one got tired of thermal throttling and stopped trying to use a laptop as a desktop. I have a fleet of shitty little netbooks that can be stolen or lost without serious consequence, and a nice desktop box.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
People are whining because their keyboards stop working when they spill coffee on them,.
It is not just coffee. If you eat a cookie, or any crumbly food, over the keyboard, you will get stuck keys. Beach sand is also a problem. You can fix most laptops by turning them over and giving them a good shake. But I have had to remove keys from my MacBook many times to clean out debris.
People may say "Hey, just don't eat cookies while browsing, and don't take your MacBook to the beach", but why should I have to sacrifice my quality of life to accommodate Apple's crappy keyboards?