Taika Waititi Calls Out Apple's MacBook Keyboard Backstage at the Oscars

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/f1k4nd/taika_waititi_calls_out_apples_macbook_keyboard/

by williamstein • 6 years ago

84 49 6 years ago

reddit.com

melling3• 6 years ago

Small keyboards in general make you contort your hands, wrists, and shoulders.

I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers.

iLemming8• 6 years ago

I imagine writers have it even worse than programmers.

Well, I dunno about that. One of the major projects I'm currently working with, has over 130K lines of Clojure (tests excluded), and that is not too big of a project. I'm too lazy to figure out the proper way to count "words" in that project `wc` shows over 5M. In comparison - "War and Peace" [technically] is ten times smaller.

Programmers do type a lot. Possibly, way more than writers have to. And that's just code. Have you ever thought about how much typing happens outside of coding? When reviewing PRs, replying to emails, etc.

That is why every single programmer must invest into choosing the right keyboard; learning how to maintain a proper posture; maybe learn non-traditional ways to input text - Vim and Emacs keybindings; try Stenographic input¹; Speech recognition², etc.

Because when they don't - sooner or later they end up having problems: back and neck pain, headaches, RSI, hemorrhoids.

---

¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g

² https://www.thestrangeloop.com/2019/voice-driven-development...

spats1990• 6 years ago

I'm an editor and writer and at my last job I got interested in how many words I typed a day. I put some applet on my work computer that tracked them across all applications. It was usually less than I thought; something like 10-15k words per day, sometimes more like 5-8k.

Think you're probably right about how much programmers type. I was going to write that if a programmer sets something up to track how much they type, they'd have to measure it by keystroke because I don't know whether all aspects of most programming languages would count as "words". Plus navigation, shortcuts etc. Tracking by keystroke or character would be better. But then... if you asked me what I consider a high or low number of keystrokes for a working day I'd have no idea what to tell you, whereas if you told me you typed 20-30k words or more in a day I'd be hoping you are using a good keyboard and sitting properly.

melling3• 6 years ago

Programming my voice really hasn’t caught on. I maintain a bunch of links on Github for anyone who might be interested:

https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/progra...

snowwrestler3• 6 years ago

Taika Waititi, a guy well-known for being very serious in front of a microphone and never elevating the trivial for comedic effect.

melling3• 6 years ago

He sounds like he’s got some sort of physical problem with his shoulder and tendon in his forearm.

In the video he complains about the smallness of the keyboard causing his shoulders to be in a bad position. He also talks about the “bounce back“ of the keys.

https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-demands-apple-fix-th...

Would be great if Apple just ran with this and reinvented the keyboard. That might mean nothing more than an external split keyboard that tents, for example.

snowwrestler3• 6 years ago

He was asked about union negotiations and replied with an extended riff about keyboards.

You can hear people laughing at the end of his remarks.

milemi2• 6 years ago

Is he not aware that there’s hundreds if not thousands of keyboard models on the market? Now, if he was talking about the Apple TV remote, that I’d be totally on board with.

sudhirj2• 6 years ago

Comedy is only funny if it contains truth in some form, otherwise it’s just random nonsense. Either it contains true statements that are funny in the current context, or statements that the audience either want to be true or is afraid could be.

snowwrestler3• 6 years ago

Of course there is truth; everyone knows that Apple has had problems with their keyboards.

What is funny is suggesting that that should be the #1 priority for the Writers Guild of America.

bitwize• 6 years ago

One time there was a reality show for up-and-coming comedians, I think it was Last Comic Standing. And Norm MacDonald was a judge on the show. And -- well, if you know comedy, you know Norm. Funny guy, very laid back, talks like he's on a 24/7 morphine drip, you know, it's Norm. So this guy gets up and starts doing his set, and he opens with a few jokes about Christians, comparing the Bible to Harry Potter, "you get to quote from your favorite book, I get to quote from mine", etc. When he finishes his set, the comic is hailed by the other judges for being brave enough to take on the Christians, and Norm claps back with this, in the most serious voice I have ever heard from him in all my years watching him on television, etc.:

I disagree. I don’t think the Bible joke was brave at all. I think if you’re going to take on an entire religion, you should maybe know what you’re talking about. JK Rowling is a Christian and JK Rowling famously said that if you’re familiar with the Scriptures, you can easily guess the ending of her book. I don’t like it.

It was a professional critique from one comic to another. Norm wasn't offended by the Christian jokes, he just thought they were amateur-hour comedy at the expense of an easy target.

Point being -- people who are professionally funny, like Norm MacDonald or Taika Waititi, that's not how they are all the time. And you know when they're being funny and when they're being serious.

gnicholas3• 6 years ago

I was expecting a quick call-out, but man he went on for quite a while. Very specific about what he doesn't like about them, and I can't believe how much time he spent railing on these keyboards (well deserved, IMO).

One thing that didn't make sense though was he mentioned the iMac keyboards. I assume he meant to say MacBook/Air/Pro, since those are the ones getting all the hate.

smacktoward• 6 years ago

I hate the desktop Apple "Magic" keyboard. The keys are too close together, so prolonged typing on it cramps up my fingers something awful. The key travel is absurdly low, so it's easy to miss characters. The up and down arrow keys are only half the size of the left and right, because reasons.

I wouldn't classify the Magic Keyboard as disastrous the way the MacBook keyboards have been, since it doesn't suffer the same types of catastrophic reliability problems. But ergonomically it's a horror show.

oefrha3• 6 years ago

And I hate mechanical keyboards that can be heard five rooms away. It’s a frigging desktop, you can use any keyboard, and using the magic keyboard doesn’t bother anyone else unlike clunky mechanical keyboards that are supposed to be ergonomic.

gnicholas3• 6 years ago

Are the keys closer together than Apple keyboards from a decade ago? I ask because I am content with my 2008-era Apple Bluetooth keyboard (on which I am currently typing because I hate my 2017 MPB), and I assumed that the new 16" MBP's keyboard would be fine since it imitates the Magic Keyboard.

anonsivalley6523• 6 years ago

Hold your horses a second, there are multiple Apple "Magic" and wireless keyboard versions. The original Magic Keyboard and later all suck from my view, trying to be some sort of ortho hipster conversation pieces that never get used. As it so happens, I'm currently typing on an "Apple Wireless Keyboard" (Aluminum, Bluetooth) MB167LL/A, which has a sensible layout and full inverted-T arrows. They can be had on eBay for $40 US and take 2x AA batteries that last for several months on alkalines or about a month on NiMH rechargeables. The Logitech "smart" keyboard that came with an iPad Pro case is a glorified cover that I never use as a keyboard because it's not nearly as good as the WK. I've had this WK for about 8-10 years and really abused it, but it keeps working... the same can't be said for modern Apple products.

mercer2• 6 years ago

I'm very happy with the "Magic" keyboard I currently have (the aluminum solid-wedge-shaped one with white keys).

Of course, I mostly preferred the one before it because, aside from needing batteries, the keys had a bit more bounce.

And, of course, I'm mostly very happy because it's an immense relief to type on now that I have one of those fancy MacBook Pros...

When I first got this MacBook I thought the complaints were overblown. And yet, even after having it for months I still have trouble with it:

- double-pressing keys or, more regularly, somehow not pressing properly so entire chunks of words are skipped.

- daring tion in the document to put my palms anywhere near the machine and accidentally putting the cursor in an an entirely different loca.

- trying to up the brightness or volume and the touchbar not responding. I use caps lock as esc so the missing escape key doesn't bother me too much.

and perhaps worst of all, for the first time in years I've started feeling pain in my shoulders/fingers/arms again. and the only explanation I can think of is this fucking keyboard.

musicale2• 6 years ago

I don't think the current external Magic keyboard is really an improvement over the old wired aluminum keyboard, but it isn't terrible. The new laptop renditions fix the arrow key layout somewhat, so there is hope on that front.

Recently I've tried out a Matias laptop pro keyboard. A bit retro-clunky looking and heavy, but it has good key travel and isn't as loud as some other "mechanical" keyboards. Not bad for a Bluetooth Mac keyboard.

What is your Mac keyboard of choice?

thought_alarm2• 6 years ago

My iMac keyboard sits in a drawer collecting dust.

It's a fine keyboard that's ruined by a terrible arrow key layout.

gnicholas3• 6 years ago

Which one do you have (and what layout do you prefer)?

internet_user3• 6 years ago

All of Apple keyboards are terrible. 16" Pro keyboard is still terrible, only very marginally better than previous model.

Tagbert• 6 years ago

You’ve said that twice. What, specifically, don’t you like about the newest keyboard?

general_orr• 6 years ago

hn > reddit > twitter

can we keep going

iLemming8• 6 years ago

I'm not an expert but I think that's how Internet works. Those who don't like that, probably can send their complains to Tim Berners-Lee.

majewsky• 6 years ago

When Tim considered a chain of 2 hyperlinks, he probably didn't expect it to take 20 seconds because of all the JS crap that gets loaded besides the actual content.

taikawatiti• 6 years ago

Who is taika watiti and why has he not appended a "old" to the beginning of Reddit.com?

legostormtroopr• 6 years ago

Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor. If this is really you, What We Do In The Shadows and Jojo Rabbit we’re fantastic.

iLemming8• 6 years ago

Taika Waititi is an amazing director/writer/actor

First of all - he is a vampire. And then all the other things you've mentioned.

zweep• 6 years ago

He just won the Oscar award for Best Adapted Screenplay so whether you like his work or not, he is an admired figure in the entertainment industry, which has huge cultural reach. Basically, he is a guy from the inner circle of People Whose Opinions Matter.

musicale2• 6 years ago

The worst flaw(s) of the MacBook Pro was (and still is on the 13") that the keyboard and trackpad didn't work properly. The second worst flaw was the lack of a physical esc key.

internet_user3• 6 years ago

16" Pro has a physical ESC key. keyboard still sucks just as bad.

Taika Waititi Calls Out Apple's MacBook Keyboard Backstage at the Oscars

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