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Alu Keyboard Caps Lock

M

M3G4

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 4, 2007
100
0
Kent, UK
hey all,

is it me or is there something wrong with the caps lock key on the new aluminium keyboards? i like the keyboards but for some reason the caps lock just doesn't engage most of the time. someone said it was because firmware stopped it from coming on instantly to prevent accidental presses, but to me it seems like a huge design flaw - in my experience it comes on instantly if you press it in a certain manner. i've already got a replacement keyboard from apple because of this but the new one has the exact same problem.
 
I understand what you're saying.

My keyboard on my MacBook Unibody and my alum keyboard at home do the same thing.

You kinda have to hit the caps lock key for more than just an instant tap. I imagine this is to prevent you from accidentally enabling caps lock.

I rather like this "feature".
 
To be honest I've found the same 'problem' with all the chiclet keyboards, from the Alu wired and wireless ones to the MB and MBA.

Which leads me to think, like you've been told, it's not a fault as such but purposely made insensitive via firmware to prevent accidental pressing.

I agree it's annoying as hell, and I find myself hitting the key with a little too much force out of pure frustration.
 
Mac Book caps lock key problem

Yes,
I have exactly the same problem on one of the new Mac Books which I got back in Nov 08. The caps lock seems to work intermittently and I find that as I am typing fast when I think that the caps lock should have worked, it has not. In is an absolute pain and I am at the point where I really hate typing anything on the machine at all. Called Apple Support back in Feb and they were very helpful in suggesting possible fixes (e.g.take out the battery and hold on the power for 10 sec to reset something). I thought it had worked but after being away for a month and starting to use the machine again yesterday it has not.
Just back from the Apple Store in Belfast today and basically there is nothing that can be done. Apparently this is an 'improvement' made by Apple to the keyboards mades since mid 2007 to stop people inadvertantly hitting the caps lock key and putting it on. (My original black Mac Book which I got in early 2006 did not have this 'improvement' and of course it worked perfectly for me). If you hit the caps lock key too quickly it just will not work. There is also no way of switching this feature off. I tried out some more Mac Books in the store and they were similarly afflicted. I have to say that while I love the machine for its aesthetics and stability, this little issue would make me shy away from ever buying another Mac.
The best the guy in the store could do was to say that I should to use the shift keys for capitalisations! The other option is plug in either an older Mac external keyboard or any PC keyboard. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a notebook though!
 
I also think it's a feature to prevent you from hitting caps lock instead of tab and messing up passwords.

It's not much of an issue though, just need to hit that key slightly harder.
 
I've noticed this as well, but I for sure think this is a feature..

If the caps lock is engaged is takes a very light tap to disengage, so its not just the keyboard. Either way this isn't much of a problem.
 
weird! i have noticed this too!

on my MacBook i had the problem and just figured "well atleast it works if i hit it hard".


and then i got a new slimline keyboard! same thing!

i know i don't have a weak left pinky (touring guitarist for... years) so i assume it's just the way it is.

it's not that big of a burden, just sometimes i wish i didn't have to hit it.. then erase to type what i wanted in caps.
 
Bummed

Wow, I thought it was just me. I also took my wired keyboard back to Apple and they gave me a new one but also said there was nothing wrong with it but replaced it for me just in case. They did not say anything about the firmware or being a built in feature.
I have to also agree w/others, it's a PITA and I don't not like it. It really slows me down and I only hope that it's changed in the future.
 
kkachurak said:
tokaitelejohn said:
I have to say that while I love the machine for its aesthetics and stability, this little issue would make me shy away from ever buying another Mac.
Really? You're going to throw away OS X and switch to what, Windows? Because you have to press the caps lock for two milliseconds more?

Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration but I find this feature to be very frustrating and it looks like several others do to. At least if the option was there to switch it off that would be progress. BUT of course since switching I have to admit that it is hard to go back to the 'joy' of windows vista. I guess I will just have to type slower.

:rolleyes:
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Do you guys have to type all in CAPS that much ? I don't think it's a PITA. It's a feature you just have to get used to.

For the few CAPS in the post, I just used the shift key anyway. That's how I'm used to type. Pinky on shift, rest of the fingers do their work.
 
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