An Object I Hate
Unfortunately, an object I hate is my MacBook Pro, the computer that I am writing this on currently. I don’t hate the whole thing, but I I’ll admit, I didn’t do my homework; I bought based upon reputation and past personal experience with 3 previous MacBook Pro computers in a row. I think I may have suffered from the Veblen Effect when making my purchase and with Apple in general, however I can say they are helping me seeing things with some of the questionable choices recently.
What I hate? The keyboard and the touch bar. Starting with the keyboard, they keys on the keyboard provide very little Feedback. In an attempt to get thinner I assume, they amount the key presses down while striking the key is reduced in a noticeable way. It’s hard to describe, but the keyboard just feels different and it isn’t something that I am getting used to. I understand some users do like this as it does seem to reduce the typing effort, however I just can’t seem to get used to it. It has to do with the Feedback expected when I strike the key.
Secondly, the touch bar is located at the top of the keyboard and is now content specific. That would be fine, except I find that my pinky touches the touch bar repeatedly while I am typing and as a result, the screen is changes; sometimes minimizing, getting brighter or maybe darker. In my eyes, this is unintended and an Error.
The problem only occurs when I use the computer as a laptop. When the computer is in its stand, then the keyboard and touch bar are inaccessible and I use the mini keyboard on my desktop for my work. I do believe I will find another laptop to replace this computer at some point as I do want to use a laptop the amount of Performance Load that comes from striking the wrong key or accidentally touching the touch bar is becoming more than a nuisance. Since the week I started using it, I kept asking myself did Apple test this device? How far did Prototyping go with this feature?
An Object I Love
My SAMDI vertical laptop stand that I purchased on Amazon is something that I love. I bought it because I liked the curved, Symmetrical design and the fact that is made from wood. I want my laptops and devices to stand on end for better ventilation; or so I assume. When I bought this, I looked for something like this specifically to support limited space requirements to store multiple devices, 3 specifically; a MacBook Pro, iPad and PC based laptop or notebook.
The design of the stand has 3 slots, following the Rule of Thirds and uses rubber inserts too allow for several different sized (width) devices to be stored. I have used the inserts that come with the stand successfully with the devices I own. However, if someone wanted have the exact insert for their device, they are available to be purchased individually. I think this feature makes it a very versatile design that can grow and change with the needs of the user over time. One regret, I wish I would have bough the dark walnut version, but the Birch version I bought is nice and matches the desk I have at the moment.