Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Microsoft Reveals Wireless 'Modern Keyboard' With Hidden Fingerprint ID Sensor

WinstonRumfoord said:
The mouse looks like an ergonomic dream compared to Apple's.
Click to expand...

Apple has never made a quality mouse. Why is this?

deno said:
I personally wouldn't buy a mouse if it didn't have a scroll wheel
Click to expand...

I prefer a scroll ball, so I can scroll horizontally as well as vertically. Are there PC mice doing this or is it just Apple's Mighty Mouse (which sucks by the way)? But point is, any mouse without scrolling function is a no buy for me. This is one area where I fully accept Microsoft knew better than me when they brought out the first(?) scroll wheel mouse. I thought it was a gimmick. I was so wrong.

djeeyore25 said:
I tried to connect my Surface Dial to macOS via bluetooth and it crashed my system. Microsoft doesn't play nice with Mac products.
Click to expand...

How is that even possible? The OS should not crash because of a Bluetooth event.

4jasontv said:
Valid for those uses. Try blender with your Magic Mouse. Lack of a middle mouse button in the scroll wheel isn't resolved well enough by remapping commands.
Click to expand...

Granted, Blender is badly designed... Most, if not ALL, 3D modeling + rendering packages suck, but Blender is in its own category of suck by being free. It's like "wow, this is free!" And then a brief time later: "I don't even care that this is free. Deleted."
 
snebes said:
Dafaq? I've never even heard of that size before. But I don't go buying batteries all that often, either.
Click to expand...
They're really easy to find. Most stores don't carry loose AAAA cells, but a 9v battery has six of them inside. They're like thinner AAA cells.
 
jsalda said:
How about the fact that MS makes an extended wireless keyboard and Apple doesn't?
Click to expand...
It isn't a fact, they've had one out for over a week. Did you miss WWDC? I believe they make more than Microsoft, as there's a space grey one too.
 
jsalda said:
How about the fact that MS makes an extended wireless keyboard and Apple doesn't?
Click to expand...
MQ052
 
  • Like
Reactions: epca12
smacrumon said:
MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN APPLE. AND MUCH MORE RESOLVED IN DESIGN.

TRUTH HURTS.

INNOVATION ISNT OCCURING AT APPLE.

DIP THAT IMAC INTO DARK DYE, CALLED IT A PRO, BUT STILL NO PROGRESS OVERALL.
Click to expand...
Total nonsense. The industry routinely copies Apple's designs, like this keyboard for example.

The iMac Pro is a monster workstation and is complete progress. You're very likely not a professional user. You want playthings to keep yourself distracted with, not tools.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macintoshmac
Scary Spice said:
Hate the Magic Mouse... So flat...

This mouse looks pretty cool and the keyboard should be sending the Mac keyboard product manager back to the drawing board!
Click to expand...
I like their keyboards but more travel would be nice. I find the mouse usable but i don't understand why Apple don't redesign it, maybe with a taptic engine
 
dysamoria said:
Granted, Blender is badly designed... Most, if not ALL, 3D modeling + rendering packages suck, but Blender is in its own category of suck by being free. It's like "wow, this is free!" And then a brief time later: "I don't even care that this is free. Deleted."
Click to expand...

I think that's quite unfair. It's powerful enough to build and edit 3D models, and with three button mouse there are no control issues. I personally wouldn't use it without at least a 7 button mouse, but you can be productive with only 3.
 
It's been a long time since I last seen a computer mouse look like an actual mouse. For this one, I immediately jumped to that thought...

And didn't anyone notice this keyboard/mouse color scheme is seamless with the Space-gray MacBooks? Even Surface itself doesn't have a machine that matches this perfectly.
 
Last edited:
jclardy said:
It's hidden in the sense that just looking casually at the keyboard wouldn't indicate that there is some fingerprint sensor, because it looks like any other key. The goal isn't to hide it from the user, but hide it in the design (Vs Touch ID on the touchbar which is quite obviously a different texture from the rest of the touchbar.)
Click to expand...

To me 'hidden' means if the function is hidden from plain sight... so for example, Apple's has a home button, that has a hidden sensor that turns the button into fingerprint reader when the screen locked (or if you need to authenticate)... otherwise the button acts as a home button.

If MS were to put the sensor into the CTRL or ALT key, the key would server as a fingerprint reader when the screen is locked (or you need to authenticate a password), otherwise it reverts back to it's regular function, I would consider it 'hidden'... the function is 'hidden' from plain sight.

.
 
Last edited:
mdelvecchio said:
The iMac Pro is a monster workstation and is complete progress. You're very likely not a professional user. You want playthings to keep yourself distracted with, not tools.
Click to expand...

The iMac Pro is a powerful device, but I wouldn't call it progress. It's a really, really high end toy. Not being being able to replace the CPU or GPU is a real issue. Sure, the device will likely work for over a decade, but pro level software will come to expect Pro level performance within two software upgrade cycles. Having a sudden increase in performance for this market will decrease priority for Mac optimization because for at least two generations porting the windows version will be indistinguishable from developing a Metal 2 version.
 
I admire Microsoft for at least trying to come up with fresh products and accessories regularly.

Apple sits on their laurels for years, gets a public outcry, then scrambles to launch new products out the door and relays the hefty price tag to the consumer. A good example is the new MBP.

Apple: "Look we're innovative as we have a nifty touch bar, and the laptop is 8% thinner".

Apple Customer: "Yeah, but I don't need a gimmicky touch bar, and now as a result of the thinness, I have to spend hundreds of dollars on dongles, docks, external drives on top of the already inflated price of the laptop while being gouged on the RAM and SSD upgrades" (upgrades are twice as expensive as Dell btw).

It's easy to "innovate" when you don't care about the final price. Metaphorically speaking (in an abstract way), that's like viewing a rich persons $1000 donation as more charitable as a poor persons $100 donation. The iMac Pro is a good example of this. "Let's take the fastest technology available and cram it into an existing iMac chassis and paint it space grey. Just take the cost and mark it up xxx%. Done." Simplistic, but you get the point.

I think innovation is coming up with effective ideas with little or no resources. Introducing a new MBP with a touch bar around the same price as last year's model is innovative. IMO, reducing the amount of ports and materials involved in the chassis should LOWER the price.
 
prowlmedia said:
why are these or the new apple keyboard backlit?!

Wonder if I can work out a hack.
Click to expand...

I'd guess it has to do with maximizing battery life. And as most people use these keyboards on a desk in front of a bright monitor, the monitor provides ample light when the lights are off.

Personally, I find it more shocking that it took Apple this long to attach a number pad to the wireless keyboard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: prowlmedia
4jasontv said:
The iMac Pro is a powerful device, but I wouldn't call it progress. It's a really, really high end toy. Not being being able to replace the CPU or GPU is a real issue. Sure, the device will likely work for over a decade, but pro level software will come to expect Pro level performance within two software upgrade cycles. Having a sudden increase in performance for this market will decrease priority for Mac optimization because for at least two generations porting the windows version will be indistinguishable from developing a Metal 2 version.
Click to expand...
Why would you expect a CPU you can't replace? The 21.5" iMac just went back to a socketed Core i# CPU. I don't think Intel has ever made a Xeon you can solder to a logic board. The cylindrical Mac Pro has a socketed CPU. Everything we've seen so far indicates the CPU, RAM, and SSDs will be replaceable, just like on the cylindrical Mac Pro.

On the GPU front, I suspect you are correct. PCI cards are junky, but at least they're easy to replace. Embedded GPUs are almost never replaceable, and certainly never upgradable to models which weren't originally offered.
 
  • Like
Reactions: epca12
Torrijos said:
This is something I don't get...

Why the recently released Apple wireless keyboard doesn't include Touch ID and visual touchbar.

It sure would have reduced autonomy a lot but all the sudden new desktop users could have accessed those features (iMac, macMini, macPro old and new the logic being in the keyboard directly).
Click to expand...

Given that the extended wireless keyboard is already $130, I'd expect it to cost, I'd assume, $400+ if it had the touchbar and Touch ID.
 
  • Like
Reactions: twinlight and CampbellSoup
Bob Zimmerman said:
Why would you expect a CPU you can't replace? The 21.5" iMac just went back to a socketed Core i# CPU. I don't think Intel has ever made a Xeon you can solder to a logic board. The cylindrical Mac Pro has a socketed CPU. Everything we've seen so far indicates the CPU, RAM, and SSDs will be replaceable, just like on the cylindrical Mac Pro.

On the GPU front, I suspect you are correct. PCI cards are junky, but at least they're easy to replace. Embedded GPUs are almost never replaceable, and certainly never upgradable to models which weren't originally offered.
Click to expand...

My issue with the iMac Pro CPU isn't that they arn't socketed. That's a must. My issue is that iMacs heat like crazy, and since they don't have any room for additional cooling, there is a good chance that upgrades with be thermal restricted.
 
DoctorDoctor said:
I love it when outdated people speak out of turn and get burned. It is like those Android users that still tell people you have to use iTunes to have an iPhone...lol. Nice job calling this one out.
Click to expand...
Now in fairness, how would I put my music on an iPhone without iTunes?
[doublepost=1497639671][/doublepost]
coolfactor said:
And how secure is the fingerprint information transmitted back to the host device? Can it be intercepted wirelessly?
Click to expand...
There’s nothing inherently unsecure here, it really depends on implementation. If it’s done properly, e.g. with a challenge/response mechanism to encrypt the data, it’s fine.
 
Torrijos said:
This is something I don't get...

Why the recently released Apple wireless keyboard doesn't include Touch ID and visual touchbar.

It sure would have reduced autonomy a lot but all the sudden new desktop users could have accessed those features (iMac, macMini, macPro old and new the logic being in the keyboard directly).
Click to expand...
This has bothered me too... It seems like the obvious way to drive adoption. You can get a simulated touch bar with Duet Display, why not here?

I don't think it's about power-- that little OLED display doesn't consume much, and the keyboard has room for a big battery. I'm guessing it's a bandwidth issue over whatever BT protocol is used. Or maybe just an engineering pipeline issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back