Das Keyboard promises that their Model S for Mac is a worthy successor to the legendary IBM Model M, but I beg to differ

I make my living typing, and always have. From my days as a systems administrator to today doing whatever it is that I do, half my waking hours are spent in front of the keyboard. I’ve long used a very specific and much loved keyboard: A 1987 IBM Model M. But, in need of Macintosh keys and a USB connection, I jumped at the opportunity to pick up the brand-new Das Keyboard Model S for Mac. Here’s what I thought of it, my recommendation, and why I’m sending it back.

What I Look for in a Keyboard

I literally spend 8 to 10 hours a day typing, and I’ve gotten fairly fast over the last 2 decades. The only really satisfactory keyboard I have ever used is the one I continued to use most of that time, an IBM Model M manufactured in 1987. What’s so great about this keyboard that people like me continue to use them?

The IBM Model M is “defend your house from zombies” solid, with a thick steel backing plate and rigid plastic case. The “buckling springs” under each key give a perfect “press and pop” feeling, with each key press rewarding the finger and ear with a satisfying “clack.” This old-school typewriter feel is much sought after, and has spurred a vibrant aftermarket for otherwise-obsolete IBM keyboards.

To see how to use an old 101-key keyboard with a Mac, see Command and Control: The Clash of Keyboards

But I use a Mac. Macs have USB ports and make heavy use of the control, option, and command keys. IBM Model M keyboards are short on keys, and use AT or PS/2 connectors, making them less than compatible with Apple Macintosh computers, or recent Windows PCs, for that matter.

Introducing the Das Keyboard Model S For Mac

The Das Keyboard Model S is smaller and lighter than the IBM Model M

I’ve heard rumblings about Das Keyboard and their enthusiast oriented clicky keyboards for a while, but they only recently came out with a product specifically designed for use with Apple Macintosh computers. The Model S line uses Cherry MX blue mechanical key switches, known for their satisfying tactile feel. And the Model S for Mac includes Option and Command keys, along with media and sleep keys for use with Mac OS X.

Not having used a Das Keyboard, I decided to give it a try to see if it really “compares to the legendary IBM Model M”, as promised on the company’s website. I went ahead and ordered my keyboard, and it shipped much more quickly than I had expected. I must’ve gotten one of the first keyboards off the line, because the estimated ship date is still a month from now!

The Das Keyboard Model S is truly an enthusiast oriented keyboard, with 6 key rollover and a built-in USB hub. But the USB hub uses a separate connector from the keyboard, is only 2 ports, and interferes with right-handed use of mice or Apple’s Magic Trackpad. The dark glossy finish contrasts with flat black keys, though I do not care for the illegible lowercase font used by Das Keyboard.

Unboxing and Initial Impressions

Shipping was fast, but I was surprised by the small size and light weight of the box I received. The inner container, though glossy and thankfully not overly verbose, looks and feels cheaper than one would expect from a high-end enthusiast product. Honestly, it would get lost on the shelves at Fry’s or Micro Center amid thir ocean of worthless, mushy, flexy junk keyboards.

This is a shame, because the keyboard itself really is impressive in a “2001 monolith” or “Death Star” sort of way. The sharp angles make it appear at once smaller than it is, yet more substantial than the plastic junk most companies call keyboards. The style is entirely different from the slim slabs of aluminum sold by Apple, yet both are iconic in their own way.

But the Das Keyboard Model S for Mac feels much lighter than its 3 pound weight would suggest. Although I didn’t expect it to have the same heft as my 6 pound IBM Model M, it does not feel much more substantial than the cheap Compaq keyboard I had sitting in my closet. The keys are extremely lightweight, with a feathery feel that filled me with dread. This is no Model M.

Das Keyboard Model S Typing Feel

I gave the Das Keyboard a thorough workout, using it exclusively for over a week of heavy typing. Although I could type just as fast on the Model S as the trusty IBM, I did not enjoy the feel at all.

Cherry’s MX Blue switches have a two-piece “snap” design Image: GeekHack.org	IBM Model M uses a buckling spring Image: WakWak.com

The Cherry MX blue key switches do indeed have a nice snap, but they are undone by an overall feeling of lightness to the action. The keycaps do not feel “locked in” or solidly-connected, They wobble slightly as you type, and are so light that you may not know you’ve pressed them at all if not for the snap and pop of the switch.

What’s worse, in fast typing I found myself “getting ahead of” the key switches. Unless released to spring back nearly their entire travel, the switch will not snap or pop at all on the next press, though the character input will still register. Perhaps it is my typing style that is at fault, but I found myself typing extra characters without knowing it.

I’m disappointed that Das Keyboard would emphasize the comparison between this keyboard and the Model M so strongly in their marketing materials, and disgusted that reviewers would go along with this farce. No one who had ever tried both back-to-back would ever make this comparison. Das Keyboard is fine on its own, but is nothing like a Model M. It’s like slamming the door on a Honda Civic and a Mercedes S Class: Both are satisfying, but there’s no mistaking one for the other.

Another peculiarity of the Das Keyboard Model S for Mac is its handling of the media keys. Unlike Apple’s own keyboard, and the Unicomp Spacesaver M I am currently typing on, the Das Keyboard requires one to press the function key to activate the media keys. And these media keys are oddly shifted to the left: reverse, play/pause, and fast-forward are on F6, F7, and F8 rather than F7, F8, and F9; mute, volume down, and volume up are similarly shifted from F10 through F12 to F9 through F11. I find this extremely curious in a keyboard designed for the Mac.

Stephen’s Stance

Make no mistake, the Das Keyboard Model S for Mac is a whole class better than the plastic junk most people use, and the snappy Cherry MX blue key switches are more rewarding than any scissor or membrane keyboard out there. But this is no IBM Model M, so buckling spring fans should look elsewhere. I would not hesitate to recommend the Das Keyboard Model S for Mac to anyone looking for an alternative to Apple’s scissor key aluminum slabs or built-in MacBook keyboards, but I will be returning mine and evaluating a Unicomp Spacesaver M instead.

Pros:

• Great to see a company so committed to the keyboard, a critical computer component
• Classy black monolith shape
• Good (but not great) Cherry MX blue keyswitches
• Macintosh keys (option, command, and media)

Cons:

• Totally different feel from the IBM Model M feel, despite Das Keyboard’s marketing
• Paltry 2 USB ports are in the wrong spot and use their own separate cable
• Mac media keys mis-located and require function-Fx press
• More expensive than the son-of-Model M sold by Unicomp

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2012. | Review: Das Keyboard Model S for Mac (and Why I’m Sending It Back)
This post was categorized as Apple, Features, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This is not exactly the photo I intended to take...

Among the useful features and applications bundled into Mac OS X, Photo Booth is not exactly the most useful. Still, it’s handy to sometimes have an application to snap a photo of yourself or your surroundings while on the go. But Photo Booth has no preferences pane, and the default delay and BRIGHT screen flash can ruin your picture. Here’s a quick tip on how to use Photo Both with either (or both) turned off!

Eliminate the Flash

When Photo Booth takes a picture, it flashes the entire screen to white momentarily. I’ve never found this at all useful, and in fact have resorted to all sorts of unnatural acts to eliminate it – dimming the screen, moving away, and even covering it up. See the photo above for an idea why it’s particularly awful with the large, bright screen on the iMac!

But it’s easy to eliminate the flash. Just hold down the Shift key when you press the camera button! Note that you don’t need to keep holding it down, so you can get in position before the photo is taken.

Eliminate the Delay

I normally like having the delay, since it gives me a chance to see what I’ll look like. But there are times that you want to take a photo right now, and there’s a fix for that too.

Hold down the Option key when you press the camera button to take a picture immediately.

Use the Keyboard

As an avid keyboarder (and mouse hater) I was pleased to locate a shortcut to snap a photo. Command-T will take a photo with no click, and this can be combined with the options above as well!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | How To Use Mac Photo Booth With No Flash or Delay
This post was categorized as Apple. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Here’s my simple cheat sheet to Apple’s various media players.

	QuickTime 7	QuickTime X	Front Row
Play/Pause
Chapter Rewind	+
Chapter Forward	+
Rewind		+	Hold
Fast Forward		+	Hold
Slow Rewind	Hold
Slow Forward	Hold
Step Rewind
Step Forward
Volume Up
Volume Down

For a company that prides itself on user experience and consistency, these controls are maddening. The only consistent control is the space bar as a play/pause toggle, and that’s pretty much universal in media players.

The mix of rewind and forward transport controls is just insane!

• The arrow keys are easy and obvious to press, yet they are mapped to a generally useless feature (step or frame rewind/forward) in QuickTime 7 and X! Why not use them for rewind and fast forward?
• Why doesn’t QuickTime 7 have a nice easy rewind/fast forward control, Apple? Command-arrow plays forward or backward, a totally useless feature.
• Front Row has the most intuitive (to me) control set, and includes a nice graphical indication of the three levels of fast reverse/forward offered by holding down left or right arrow.
• QuickTime X’s fast reverse/forward is a two-key combination with Command and arrow, making it difficult to remember and execute. I keep mixing it up with the chapter controls (which use Option and arrow) and losing my spot in the video.

I have seen lots of lists of QuickTime and Front Row keyboard shortcuts, but many seem wrong. Perhaps Apple eliminated some commands over time? For example, OS X Daily claims J, K, and L are rewind/fast forward transport commands for QuickTime 7, but these don’t seem to work in Snow Leopard.

Note that Final Cut Pro uses another different set of transport controls. J, K, and L are rewind, pause, and forward, and multiple presses change the speed. It uses the arrow keys for frame advance, too, but adds a 1 second advance with shift-arrow. So an Apple power user has to learn four different transport command sets? Give me a break!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Apple QuickTime and Front Row Keyboard Shortcuts
This post was categorized as Apple. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

After a very, very long wait, Apple has finally updated the Mac Mini, their entry-level “bridge” Mac. It’s amazing that, after 19 months without an update, Apple’s new Mini looks exactly the same as the old Mini. But what’s under the hood matters, and Apple delivered a mixed bag there. The new Mini is an excellent home server, which is how mine will be used, but some poor choices limit its abilities out of the box.

You might also be interested in my initial Mac Mini review, or my post on upgrading the RAM and hard disk drive in my Mac Mini!

Out With the Old

Apple completely redesigned the innards of the Mini for 2009. It has always been a laptop in a box, so we were not surprised to see the updated MacBook’s specs duplicated here. The Mini includes that machine’s efficient and current Intel Core 2 Duo mobile CPUs, Nvidia chipset and graphics, 1066 MHz RAM, 802.11n and gigabit Ethernet networking, DVD SuperDrive, and 2.5″ hard drive.

A few welcome additions were made relative to the MacBook’s specs. The new Mini features five USB ports. It also brings joy to the hearts of the Apple faithful in the form of a FireWire port, albeit sporting the square 9-pin S800 socket rather than the old familiar 6-pin 400 spec. But the most interesting addition on the little Apple desktop is its two independent video ports: A Mini-DVI and a Mini DisplayPort. Each of these additions squarely focuses the Mac Mini at the desktop market, and each is welcome.

USB Madness

When the array of five USB ports was spotted in pre-release spy photos, Mac fans went nuts. Why would the new Mini add yet another port? And who needs five USB ports anyway? I, for one, was very glad to see this change. I’ve lamented the reduction in the number of USB ports found in laptops lately, and I think most end users would agree that more USB ports are needed. Witness two consumer phenomena to support this proliferation of USB ports:

1. One of the hottest-selling peripherals for the old Mac Mini was the Mini-shaped USB hub, and many of the other accessories targeted at the Mini included built-in hubs
2. Despite Seagate’s sagging numbers, USB hard drives continue selling like hotcakes, with an insider recently telling me that they’ve reached a 2:1 attach rate (meaning most computers have two of them!)

A disturbing trend in parallel with the disappearance of USB ports is the hobbling of those that remain. My MacBook Pro has just two ports and both are limited: One is low on electrical power and the other is shared with internal peripherals.

I assumed that the Mini merely included an internal hub, limiting the value of those five ports. I am pleased to report that this is not the case! The Mini actually has four separate internal USB busses and the five ports are spread among three of these:

So if you’re adding high(er)-performance devices to your New Mini, let me suggest this strategy:

1. Connect your most-important device to port 2 and it will have a bus all to itself (except when you use an IR remote, which isn’t often)
2. If you have only one other high-performance USB device, connect it to port 1 or 5 and connect your keyboard and mouse to ports 3 and 4, or vice-versa
3. If you have two more high-performance USB devices, don’t connect them to ports 1 and 5 or ports 3 and 4 – spread them out on 1 and 3 or 4 and 5!

The new Mac Mini's five USB ports share three USB busses

Or just use the handy FireWire port and grin smugly as only a Mac user can!

Square Pegs

We’ve heard a hundred times that the Mac Mini was designed to a philosophy of “bring your own keyboard, mouse, and display”. In other words, it’s optimized for what people already have rather than being bundled with a keyboard, mouse, and display like the iMac or forcing people to buy all new peripherals. But Apple’s relentless push to move their hardware platform forward has gotten in the way of this goal when it comes to the new Mini.

Although the inclusion of a FireWire port alongside the multitude of standard USB ports is welcome, Apple chose to use the 9-pin S800 port style rather than the more-familiar 6-pin port. FireWire peripherals aren’t common as it is, and S800 devices and cables are far less familiar. Although it is backward-compatible, thus the “bilingual” name often used by Apple, the much-faster S800 port requires the purchase of adapter cables to use older 400 Mb FireWire devices. Although I’m a storage geek and do own a few FireWire peripherals, none are compatible with the port on my new Mini. I have a “bilingual cable” in the mail to me as we speak, and there is a port adapter dongle, but this port stands in the way of the “bring your own” ethos.

The same can be said of Apple’s choice of video ports. It’s nice that Apple’s Mini DisplayPort is offered royalty-free, but this hasn’t made adapters any more common. Their VGA and DVI adapters are priced at $29 each, and third-party cables haven’t appeared yet, though Monoprice promises them this month. So one of the two video ports is of limited use, unless you dropped over $800 on the gorgeous Apple 24-inch LED Cinema Display. Let’s not even mention the troublesome $99 dual DVI adapter!

Then there’s the Mini-DVI port. Apple bundles a Mini-DVI to DVI-I adapter with the Mac Mini, so those of you who own a DVI monitor (and cable!) are all set. But this adapter lacks the VGA pins, so you can’t use a DVI to VGA adapter to hook up to your older VGA monitor or KVM. For that, you need to order a special Mini-DVI to VGA adapter (also in the mail).

So let’s get this straight: If you want to actually hook your pre-existing peripherals to the new Mac Mini, you had better hope they’re USB or DVI-I. Otherwise, you’re looking at spending $20 to $30 each for FireWire, Mini-DVI, and Mini DisplayPort adapters. The lack of a VGA solution is especially annoying, since it would have been simple for Apple just to include the VGA pins in their Mini-DVI adapter, allowing folks to use the DVI-to-VGA adapter they probably already own.

Inner Weakness

Although the new Mini is solidly engineered and built, Apple made two major sacrifices in internal specs in the interests of profit margins: The base Mini ships with too little RAM and a too-slow and too-small internal hard drive. I knew this going in, and was happy to buy the base model anyway, since I intended to upgrade it rather than spend $200 extra for a little more RAM and drive space or wait for a build-to-order custom Mini.

There is simply no excuse for Apple to ship the base mini with 1 GB of RAM. OS X Leopard is a full-featured 64-bit operating system, and 1 GB is too little to do much of anything with these days. RAM prices keep falling fast, so even the fancy DDR3-8500 SO-DIMMs used by the Mini cost just a few dollars. At least the company used a single 1 GB stick instead of two useless 512 MB units like the old Mini! I was lucky enough to find a fellow buyer who upgraded his RAM and is sending me his leftovers, but I may spend $50 in the next few months for a matched pair of 2 GB sticks.

Then there is the hard drive. The Mac Mini uses Hitachi’s base-model TravelStar 5K320 (HTS543212L9SA02) drive unit, easily the slowest hard drive I’ve used recently. It’s limited to 1.5 Gb SATA, and its single platter may help in the power and heat department but it gives a poor performance show. Xbench (not the best measure to be sure) shows this little drive  trailing the 120 GB Fujitsu MH2120BH drive that came in my (late 2007) MacBook Pro by about 30%, and almost 50% slower than the 320 GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVT that I now use! Note that Apple apparently uses larger-capacity versions of this same drive in the bigger Minis and MacBooks. I wonder if the performance is any better?

The Mac Mini's internal 120 GB Hitachi hard disk drive lags its contemporaries and drags overall system performance way down, especially with just 1 GB of RAM

Although I was surprised by just how slow the hard drive was, especially when the limited RAM leads to swapping, I always planned to upgrade both. As I mentioned, there’s a second 1 GB stick on the way, and I ordered a blazing 320 GB 7200 rpm Hitachi TravelStar 7K320 at ZipZoomFly for $59 (after rebate). These should turn the Mini’s performance around!

Despite the shortcomings of the base Mac Mini, I would not recommend buying the upscale or build-to-order models if you’re open to upgrading it on your own. You can upgrade a Mini to 2 GB and 320 GB/7200 rpm for under $100 instead of spending $200 from Apple for the same RAM and a slower drive. However, if you’re hesitant to open the case, do not buy the base Mac Mini! Get at least the 2 GB model from Apple – 1 GB just isn’t enough!

I’ll be documenting my evolving home server environment, based around this little Mac, here on the site. Subscribe to my Apple feed (or stick with Everything) to keep up to date!

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | New Mac Mini Is A Diamond In The Rough
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

That green light just means that Num Lock is on

A brief moment of panic today: I open up my MacBook Pro and can’t log in. The left half of the keyboard doesn’t seem to work, and there’s an odd green light on under the function keys.

Turns out, it’s just Num Lock, which I’ve never used.

Thanks, Apple, for making an entirely inscrutable Num Lock indicator and darkening an otherwise bright day of travel!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Panic! Green Light and MacBook Pro Keyboard is Half Dead!
This post was categorized as Apple. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Although some shortcomings have appeared, I’m pleased with the Mac overall. It definitely met my expectations and continues to meet my needs, mixing portability and performance in an excellent package.  I am impressed by Apple’s hardware design and component choices, especially when compared to other computers with similar specifications that I have used.  And, as noted by Tom’s Hardware, the specification of the machine was reasonably priced, especially since I purchased it at a substantial discount and upgraded it myself.

This post is part of my series focused on switching from PC to Mac.

• How To Buy Discount Apple Computers
• Got Some AppleCare For Cheap
• Switch! or How the Mac (Finally) Won Me Over
• Switch Day 1: This Mac is Hot!
• Switch Day 58: Ten Pros and Cons of the MacBook Pro

1. The Value Quotient is High

The value of a computer system is determined by two elements: Its specification, in terms of the components used, and the net price.  Macs are known to be pricey but often include high-end components and materials in their construction.  Focusing solely on the core interchangeable components of my Mac, evaluating it as a generic PC, the overall value for the money is very high.

My MacBook Pro contains a high-spec NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics card with 128 MB of dedicated GDDR3 video memory, an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 “Merom” CPU, Intel’s “Santa Rosa” PM965 chipset, built-in FireWire S800 and USB, a slot-loading 8x DVD-RW drive, gigabit Ethernet, Wireless-N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, webcam, and slick features like an LED-backlit display and keyboard and infrared remote control.  My system’s MSRP was $2000, but I purchased it for $1524 (after receiving the rebate check).

Although PCs are available for less (I bought a family knockabout laptop for $435 recently!), a similar spec laptop from any major manufacturer would cost at least this much, even a year after this model MacBook Pro came out.  In my case, I am comparing the Mac to the Dell XPS M1330 laptop I use for work, which arrived the day before the Mac.  The Dell is a “thin and light” model with a 13″ screen, but feels almost the same weight as the Mac and is actually somewhat fatter with its 9-cell battery. The Dell retailed for $1700, including the inferior 8400M GS graphics and no gigabit ethernet.

Judging by these objective observations, the Mac was clearly a good value and features a strong set of components.  Note that both machines feature the flawed NVIDIA graphics chips, as do nearly all high-end notebooks, so I can’t fault anyone for that particular component choice.

2. Performance rocks

Even though my MacBook features the Merom CPU clocked at a modest (by 2008 standards) 2.2 GHz rather than the latest 2.4 GHz or more Penryn, the system as a whole just flies.  Mine is packed with 4 GB or RAM instead of the stock 2 GB, and my upgraded 320 GB hard drive is slightly quicker than the stock, both of which improve overall performance somewhat.  But even tasks that aren’t memory-intensive are super-quick, thanks to the 800 MHz front-side bus and solid system design.  The system is snappy in OS X, encodes video with ease, and is subjectively faster than my similar Dell when using Windows Vista Ultimate in Boot Camp.  The Dell has the same chipset and CPU, but is clocked at 2.0 rather than 2.2 GHz and has only 2 GB of RAM, so comparisons are not exactly apples-to-apples, but the Dell is noticeably slower.  

3. The Display is Gorgeous

The wide, LED-backlit 15″ screen is just gorgeous.  The off-angle performance is so good, even with the backlight turned all the way down, that the Mac suffers from serious over-the-shoulder “eavesviewing” issues.  My Dell is pretty much invisible off-angle, even without the privacy screen supplied by my company, but the Mac shows your photos and documents even at extreme angles. Not that I’m complaining, though – this performance just makes it that much more beautiful when I’m alone. There’s no need to constantly adjust the screen angle for optimal viewing.

4. The Chassis is Sturdy

The Mac really shines when one compares its sturdiness to the competition.  The Dell is flexy and plasticky, as is just about every non-ThinkPad PC notebook I’ve used recently.  But the Mac raises the bar even compared to my favorite laptop of all time, the brick-strong HP OmniBook 800.

The only poor spot is the nifty magnetic latch.  Although it works well most of the time (and exists – the Dell has no latch at all), it doesn’t lock closed as cleanly as I would like.  There is a gap around the edges, and lifting the closed Mac from one side tends to make the latch disengage.

5. Input is Solid

I’m a stickler for a good keyboard and can’t fault the Mac here.  It’s not exactly a Model M, but the keys feel good and are arranged and sized reasonably.  Even adjusting to the Mac keyboard layout hasn’t been much of an issue, since most functions remain in similar positions between Mac and Windows.

The trackpad is especially strong. PC notebooks normally have perplexingly tiny trackpads, so I’m always running out of space, but the Mac’s is generously sized and highly usable. It’s easily four times larger than the Dell’s!  I do wish there were two ”mouse” buttons, though.  Although OS X and Windows in Fusion supports two-finger-tap as a right-click, Boot Camp frustratingly does not!

6. The Apple Remote Could Be Improved

Let’s start by stating that I have never owned a PC that came with a remote control, so the Mac deserves kudos for even including one, though the 2008 models don’t. But the remote is just odd. Although it’s usable enough, it’s not integrated, hardware-wise, with the system. It’s clearly a throwback to the glossy white plastic Apple look of a half-decade ago, so like the power brick and DVI adapter it seems totally out of place next to the brushed aluminum MacBook Pro. And, judging from its size and shape, I expected it to dock in the ExpressCard slot of the Mac like a MoGo mouse, but it’s slightly too fat for that. Also, an IR remote seems out of date in these Bluetooth days. So, Apple, how about a dockable, Bluetooth, matching remote next time?

7. Battery Life Isn’t Great

Battery life has been about three hours in my hands, which isn’t terrible, but isn’t as good as I hoped. I ended up buying a second battery for the Mac for transcontinental flights. I did the same for my last Dell, of course, so this isn’t news. On the bright side, the Mac battery was cheaper and far more readily available than the Dell – I just dropped by the bright, cheery Apple store in Palo Alto during my last trip and picked one up instead of waiting for Dell to deliver one to my home. I still can’t get hot-swap to work, though, since my Mac refuses to suspend to disk.

8. Upgradability is Mixed

Upgrading the RAM on a MacBook Pro is just right, but swapping out the hard drive was much more difficult than it should have been. Disks should be user-replaceable, even in laptops, and the regular MacBook gets this right. The Mac also has poorer expandability than most PC laptops, since its Wi-Fi (sorry, “AirPort Extreme”) card is buried inside and it lacks a slot and antenna wiring for a 3G cell card. The fact that the Pro only has an ExpressCard slot isn’t that novel in today’s world, however, but the regular MacBook’s lack of one was a major factor in my choosing the Pro.

9. It’s Hot and Loud

My first impression was that the fan was deafening and the bottom was toasty. After using it for a few months, I have either gotten used to both or they aren’t as bad anymore. The machine still gets pretty hot on the bottom under heavy use, and the fan still makes a loud “whoosh”, but neither is unbearable or unusual when compared to other PCs, like my previous Dell XPS M1210.

10. Light Sensors are Confounding

I was intrigued by the idea of the MacBook Pro’s ambient light sensor, which would dim the display backlight and unique keyboard backlight under changing light conditions. But this was the first feature I disabled after actually using it. The sensor is located under your left pinky when typing, so the display suddenly dims and brightens as your hand passes over it. So I just adjust the backlight manually.

Then there is the keyboard backlight. The key cap markings are dark enough to be difficult to see in bright light, but the sensor won’t let the light come on, even when you press the hotkey to turn it on manually! I ended up installing Lab Tick to turn it on manually within OS X, but I expected more from Apple engineering. The light sensor is worse than useless.

11. USB is a Disappointment

As I noted in another post, the lack of a full-power dedicated USB port is a special disappointment. The 15″ MacBook Pro has just two ports, like most modern PC notebooks, but both are compromised. The one on the left lacks the power to spin up an external hard drive, and the one on the right is shared with the internal iSight camera. At least the FireWire is blazing fast and fully-powered! But I expected a better design from Apple.

12. The AC Adapter Is Obnoxious
    My biggest complaint is the “elegant” MagSafe AC adapter. Count the flaws:
    • The poor strain relief on the thin cable is known to fray and burn
    • Third-party replacements and alternatives are not available thanks to Apple patents
    • The cord-wrap “ears” aren’t large enough to actually hold the entire wrapped cord
    • The fact that there are three different identical-looking adapters with different wattage outputs is a nightmare waiting to strike the unwary
    • The iPod-like on-brick plug just barely hangs on when the weight of the brick is hung from a vertical wall outlet
    • Glossy white?!?

The AC adapter is a perfect example of the form-over-function flaws always cited by Apple critics. I expected better, and Apple refuses to admit the defects even as these things spark and burn.

Again, I’m happy overall with the Mac and would definitely buy one again. In fact, I think it’s about the best computer purchase I’ve ever made, even including the iPhone and my beloved OmniBook 800 and Portege 3010 subnotebooks. The flaws are minor compared to the overall strengths!

(Ok, there are twelve pros and cons, but ten rolls off the tongue better!)

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Switch Day 58: Ten Pros and Cons of the MacBook Pro
This post was categorized as Apple, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I just solved the problem.  The old Apple Extended Keyboard, as revered by Apple fans as my IBM Model M, continued the function key mapping past F12, adding F13, F14, and F15 where Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break is on an IBM 101-key layout.  Then they mapped F14 and F15 to dim and brighten the screen, respectively.  See the problem?  Yeah, the IOGear hotkey is “dim dim”!

This post is part of my series focused on PC/Mac Integration.

• Vista, OS X Boot Time Compared
• Quick and Easy Bluetooth Sharing Between PC and Mac
• Yes, FireWire is Faster Than USB
• How to Keep an IOGear KVM from Dimming Your Mac's Screen
• Command and Control: The Clash of Keyboards

It turns out that this is easy to fix.  Leopard’s Keyboard & Mouse Preferences panel includes a tab to remap Keyboard Shortcuts.  Down at the bottom of the list is “Display”.  Expand it and you’ll see the two mappings in question – just un-check them and you’re good to go!

While you’re there, marvel at how none of the other function key shortcuts match up to their functions on the pre-2008 MacBook uses!  It’s a really bizarre oversight on the part of Apple to map bright/dim to F14/F15 and to F1/F2 on the same computer at the same time, depending if you’re using the built-in keyboard or not!  Apparently, the company shifted all the mappings around for the late 2007 desktop and early 2008 portables, too.

By the way, about that KVM – it’s pretty good, especially for the money.  I previously used a GCS62, which is a PS/2 in and out model with no audio, but the GCS632U is more suited to weirdos like me that like to use a PS/2 keyboard and mouse with a modern computer.  It takes PS/2 in but sends USB out to the connected computers, and includes audio, too.  It’s rock-solid, unlike the Belkin Flip I tried before, but I do wish the audio cable wasn’t captive to the video like it is – it’s just not long enough for the Mac.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | How to Keep an IOGear KVM from Dimming Your Mac’s Screen
This post was categorized as Apple, Computer History, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This post is part of my series focused on PC/Mac Integration.

• Vista, OS X Boot Time Compared
• Quick and Easy Bluetooth Sharing Between PC and Mac
• Yes, FireWire is Faster Than USB
• How to Keep an IOGear KVM from Dimming Your Mac's Screen
• Command and Control: The Clash of Keyboards

In this era of switchers, Boot Camp, KVM, USB, and virtualization, the question of how to deal with computer keyboard irregularities has become all the more important.  One of the most critical usability factors in cross-platform typing is the question of what to do about the so-called modifier keys: Control, Command, Alt, and the like.  See, each platform has its own key combinations for GUI shortcuts and common operations like copy and paste.  And although most are similar, they are different enough to frustrate even the expert user.

The Alt and Control keys found on most PC keyboards date from the first PCs, with so-called Windows and Menu keys introduced in 1995 and Fn or Function modifier keys found on laptops both before and after.  Combined with the Shift key (which pre-dated the personal computer) these are the most common modifier keys used today.

Most Windows commands use some combination of Ctrl, Alt, and Shift but the mapping is haphazard at best.  Generally, Alt-combinations control the GUI (switching windows and selecting menus) while Ctrl-combinations perform actions (copy and paste) but this is not always the case.  However, even though variations abound, the standard 101-key IBM layout dating from 1986 (shown at right on a 1987 IBM Model M) has dominated.  This places two “Ctrl” keys at the outermost position of the bottom row of keys with two “Alt” keys flanking the space bar.  The Windows, Menu, and (on notebooks) Fn keys are squeezed in between Ctrl and Alt.

The situation is quite different on the Macintosh.   Hardware-wise, the Mac inherited the Command (“open apple”/”cloverleaf” ⌘) and Option keys found on the Apple IIe of 1982, and added a Control key with the Mac II and SE to enable business-friendly terminal emulation capabilities.  As seen in the keyboard at right from my Mac SE, the Control key, as on the PC XT, occupies the space now associated with Caps Lock at left in the third row, while the Option and to-be-named Command key (with the Apple outline) sit roughly where the Windows and Alt keys would eventually live.

The popular Apple Extended Keyboard swapped Caps Lock and Control, settling the key layout of the Macintosh that has lasted through today, and added “Alt” to the Option key, clarifying its purpose.  In 2007, Mac fans were thrown into a frenzy as Apple made one more change, removing the Apple from the Command key and (finally) adding the word, “Command”, in its place.

If you’re a geek like me, you will find the history of these keys to be an interesting aside.  Wanting to add more functionality to their (integrated) keyboards, most early personal computer makers looked for ways of adding modifier keys without “breaking” existing programs, which were hard-coded for earlier layouts.  Most manufacturers settled on the so-called “Bucky bit” strategy, adding keys that modified the binary ASCII code from other keys. Alt set the eighth bit to 1, turning H (01001000) into 11001000, which could be a non-printable control character or one from another character set.  Similarly, Ctrl zeroed out the sixth and seventh places, turning both H and h (01101000) into backspace (00001000).  Apple took a different tack, literally wiring the open and closed apple keys to the joystick buttons on the Apple II.  Of course, nowadays keyboards merely send appropriate ASCII signals using a microcontroller, but these ingenious approaches certainly showed creativity!

This brings us to today.  Although both the PC and Mac feature a key called Control on the left, the Mac places Alt/Option next, followed by Command.  On the PC, the center spot is taken by the Windows key and the Alt is on the right.

This mapping problem is compounded by the fact that these keys do different things.  Command on the Mac takes on the GUI and action duties from both Control and Alt on the PC.  Alt and Ctrl stay true to their original uses, modifying the result of other keypresses and sending control codes, respectively.  None of this was much of an issue in the days of incompatible keyboard protocols, but today’s USB devices can be used with either platform, and virtualization and remote control have made rapid switching much more common.

Consider my case:  I use an IOGear USB KVM switch to control both my Mac and PC from a single keyboard (that ancient IBM) and mouse, as well as to output audio and video to a single LCD monitor.  I find myself switching rapidly between Vista on the PC, OS X on the Mac, and Vista in VMware Fusion, throughout the day.  And when I unplug the Mac and set it on my lap (in “Better Energy Saver” mode to keep from burning myself), I am suddenly using a Mac keyboard for OS X and Vista as well.  So sometimes the key combination for “copy” uses the key all the way to the left and sometimes it uses the one closest to the space bar, and this variation does not necessarily follow the OS I’m currently using or the keyboard I’m currently typing on.

OS X thoughtfully allows you to change the mapping of Control, Option, and Command in the Keyboard and Mouse preferences panel, and even lets you set different customization for different keyboards.  Lots of ex-Windows users use this to swap Command and Control with Control and Windows on a Windows keyboard, which harmonizes many familiar DOS/Windows command shortcuts.  And if you’re as insane as some Apple fans users, you could also use this panel to move Caps Lock and Option back to their original locations.

But is it a good idea to mess with the keyboard settings like this?  I think not.  Eventually you will need to use a “correct” keyboard, whether you are using a Windows or OS X computer, and crutches like this just serve to frustrate your efforts to acclimatize.  I think it’s best to simply live with it – to get used to using the right key combinations, no matter which input device or operating system one is using.

Of course, there’s one more problem for me.  See that keyboard layout up at the top?  My primary keyboard is, as I’ve mentioned, a 1987 IBM Model M.  Despite possibly being the best keyboard ever made, it is a 101-key model, not the more modern 104-key Windows unit.  I’ve gotten used to using Ctrl-Esc for the Windows key, and even Shift-F10 for the menu.  But I’m having a real problem with OS X because I simply do not have a Command key, and no amount of “getting used to it” will change this fact.  So for now I had to remap Control to Command, and I will have to live without a Control key in OS X.  Anyone have a better idea?

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Command and Control: The Clash of Keyboards
This post was categorized as Apple, Computer History, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I was surprised that, although the keyboard seems to be functional, Mahalo doesn’t show the OLED keys actually change.  I would have thought that would be a good use of 15 seconds…  The updating doesn’t seem to work either – the keys have pictures, and they flicker and go out when Art unplugs the board’s power, but they never get updated with the “tasteless” designs he creates on the iMac!  In fact, when he powers on the keyboard again, it appears that it never comes back to life at all – random colored squares are displayed instead of letters!  Could it be that the ultra-board still doesn’t, you know, work?!?

He spends a lot of time demoing the ability to create custom key displays, even mentioning that you could play Tetris on the board,  but there were some concerning bits…  He never mentions animation, says that the key macro plugins “have to be created by us”, and stresses that the initial shipment (“now”) won’t be user-upgradeable.  So if you want your Maximus today, you get a pretty, $1500 keyboard with lots of pictures that you can’t change.  Yay!

I’m still not sold on the Maximus.  I love the concept of in-key displays in general, as in a remote control or computer peripheral, but am not sure that this is the right execution of that concept.  Ars Technica reports that the keys are wide and the screens don’t move, making typing difficult, Wired notes the amazing greasiness of the keys, and did I mention how expensive it is?  But hey, you can pull a Cash/Kemp and buy that keyboard one key at a time!  I’d love to see some company in Shenzhen take the idea and run with it.

On the other hand, I really do like the Lebedev Mini Three.  For “only” $150, you get a three-key display that might do what Windows SideShow hasn’t been able to deliver – add peripheral displays to the PC.  And since that “PC” can be a Mac, lots of folks will be happy!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Optimus Maximus: Ultimate Keyboard Non-Demo at CES!
This post was categorized as Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

First, an introduction to the Maximus: It’s a 113-key PC keyboard. But each key is actually a mini OLED display, so the user can apply custom labels on the fly based on what application is in use. This is fairly cool – the (Photoshopped) demo pictures show a specialized Quake layout and talk about Hiragana and even Quenya (for all you Elves in the house!).

So imagine a massive keyboard (most common ‘boards have 101 to 105 keys) with glowing, possibly animated, keys. One that has to be plugged into its own power supply because no USB port could handle the load. One where the layout might just change on you when you alt-tab (or command-tab – Mac OS X works, too) over to another application. One that cost you more than many desktop PCs.

Having a hard time imagining it? Well, you’ll have to because even though it’s been the geeky fanboy’s dream since 2005, it’s still not shipping. Wait ’till February, they say! In the mean time, you can get a fairly cool 3-key version (is something with just three keys really a keyboard?!?) called the Mini Three for just $150! And as if one vaporware keyboard wasn’t enough, the Optimus people just announced variants with 47, 10, and one (One?!? The space bar?!?) programmable key for the cost of a sweet hi-def digicam, a full-price TiVo Series 3, or an iPhone (plus tax)! And they’re all shipping in February! Really! Here, look at the box!

This is madness. I love keyboards, but this thing is not a keyboard. It’s a multi-display peripheral that also has keys – which is why the Mini Three is fairly cool.

Me? I’ll stick to my beloved 1987 IBM Model M – a keyboard that has served me for nearly two decades, attached to a dozen different PCs. A keyboard that people can truly wax enthusiastic for, since it’s a keyboard not some multi-display monstrosity. A keyboard that you can type 90 words per minute on. A keyboard that can handle a coffee spill. A keyboard that makes people on the other end of conference calls say “what is that noise?” A keyboard you can still buy (new old stock) for under $100!

Though I do miss the programmability of the Gateway AnyKey sometimes…

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2007. | Optimus Maximus: It’s Beyond This Keyboard-Head
This post was categorized as Computer History, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.