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New MBP: problem with keyboard....bleh

T

theNEOone

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 28, 2007
250
0
NYC
I've been getting accustomed to my new MBP over the last 2 weeks and have been largely pleased. There have been a couple of issues that I've posted in another thread about my overall switching experience.

However, I need to post this one separately because I'm only realizing now that it's a major issue.

My caps lock key is horribly inconsistent. If I'm typing fast, the caps lock isn't activated and I end up having to retype the letter/word. I thought that perhaps this was just an issue of getting adjusted to the keyboard, but it's not. If I rapidly press the caps lock key, the light won't turn on. This doesn't happen with any other key I've tested (for example, typing "T" repeatedly produces the expected result: a line of T's for every time I press the key).

Any ideas?


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Damnit so this is one of the "features"? Like not being able to cut/paste in finder?

Bleh...do people not speed type on Macs?

Can a few other people chime in? I hope this can be changed...


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How fast do you type?

I type 100wpm and I have no trouble with the caps lock key. I use caps lock instead of shift.
 
okatidubi said:
How fast do you type?

I type 100wpm and I have no trouble with the caps lock key. I use caps lock instead of shift.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how fast I type, but it's prob close to 100 wpm. I just can't understand why they've purposely made the caps lock key less sensitive and not allowed any way to change it....How common is it to accidentally press caps instead of shift? I don't think I've ever done that in my 15 years of using computers.


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I believe the caps lock takes a sec or two to prevent accidental hits.
 
This is actually a fairly new feature on all Apple keyboards. I think they introduced it with the previous generation of macbooks (before the Unibody generation). As others have said on this thread, it's designed to prevent accidental hits.
 
Runt888 said:
This is actually a fairly new feature on all Apple keyboards. I think they introduced it with the previous generation of macbooks (before the Unibody generation). As others have said on this thread, it's designed to prevent accidental hits.
Click to expand...

Instant activation on my 2005 iBook G4 and my 2006 Mac mini. So within the past two years or so, I guess.
 
Runt888 said:
This is actually a fairly new feature on all Apple keyboards. I think they introduced it with the previous generation of macbooks (before the Unibody generation). As others have said on this thread, it's designed to prevent accidental hits.
Click to expand...
Unacceptable.

People can learn to type better, but how am I supposed to change the behavior of they keyboard??


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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/525.19 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/1.0.154.43 Safari/525.19)

The "eject" key has the same delay to prevent your discs from ejecting if you hit "eject" instead of "Del".

I like it for both keys.
 
Just checked my keyboard - the caps lock key is instant, no delay on my MBP SR (mid-2007) 2.2, 15.4". Don't think I 'd like the delay action. Sometimes I do hit the caps lock key by mistake, but it's not a serious problem... and I'm a pretty fast keyboarder ... 70+wpm.
 
i've had the same problem as you, as i also type rather fast, the caps lock key has really annoyed me, although i usually use shift for one-characters but caps for a whole word. It was annoying but yes, for the majority of users its a good thing, accidentally hitting CAPS can happen for those who are not as familiar with the keyboard.

think they should add a function that disables that delay.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Cut, not copy. Cut, as in cut files out of one place to paste them somewhere else.

OS X manages this by drag-and-drop, because it's a more elegant solution for the current GUI.
Click to expand...

By elegant you mean holding a button down while you drag files all across the screen and wait for folders to spring load one by one, and pray you don't accidentally let go of the button before you get to the right folder. And remembering to open a new Finder window before you decided to drag.

Drag and drop is an elegant solution for Grandma, but hardly for someone who has to move around and organize files all the time.
 
Ah I was wondering why it worked funny... I didn't realize I had to hold it down for a split second.

I rarely use caps lock anyway...
 
theNEOone said:
Unacceptable.

People can learn to type better, but how am I supposed to change the behavior of they keyboard??


=|
Click to expand...

Unacceptable? What's your option then? Sell the Mac and buy a windows machine. You really don't have a choice but TO accept it if you want to continue using your mac.
 
Yeah you'll get used to it. I had thought originally that I had some crumbs under the caps key and that's why it would sometimes trigger and sometimes not. But apparently it's a "feature." Do you really use the Caps Lock that much?
 
Daremo said:
Unacceptable? What's your option then? Sell the Mac and buy a windows machine. You really don't have a choice but TO accept it if you want to continue using your mac.
Click to expand...
I absolutely have a choice. In addition to using an external keyboard, I can definitely follow your option and switch back to my Windows machine - which I thankfully haven't yet gotten rid of.

I'm continually astounded by the two sides of Apple. On the one hand, they pull off incredibly complex features and have great design. On the other, they occasionally neuter their products and omit some very basic features. It's so incredibly frustrating. Most of the time I'm pleased with the Apple experience, but sometimes I just want to crush my iPhone underneath my feet or take a hammer to my MBP's screen. Suddenly, the 1 or 2 BSOD's a month from Windows aren't as horrible as I once thought. People can kiss Apple's ass all they want, but somebody will eventually introduce products that are not only equivalent to Apple's in terms of design and build quality, but also plug the glaring holes and address their ridiculous shortcomings (yes, many are ridiculous). If Apple continues to ignore people's request for these basic features, they'll quickly reach a point where they'll have a hard time continuing their upward climb in market share.


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nishishei said:
Yeah you'll get used to it. I had thought originally that I had some crumbs under the caps key and that's why it would sometimes trigger and sometimes not. But apparently it's a "feature." Do you really use the Caps Lock that much?
Click to expand...
Yes I do. I use it very often, otherwise I wouldn't be complaining about it. There are things that I've had to get used to on the Mac (new shortcuts, new "taskbar" organization, shaky Finder functionality, Trash shortcomings). I've been ok with the majority of these things, but the keyboard issue is really getting under my skin.


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Using my pinky like I would normally typing, I have no problems with the caps lock key on my unibody. If I use my index finger and quickly tap it doesn't always work. I am fine with the way it works as with proper finger positioning on the keyboard and using my pinky it works all the time.
 
theNEOone said:
There are things that I've had to get used to on the Mac (new shortcuts, new "taskbar" organization, shaky Finder functionality, Trash shortcomings). I've been ok with the majority of these things, but the keyboard issue is really getting under my skin.
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Click to expand...

I know what you mean. Limited Finder functionality (versus Explorer) and the lack of direct page up, page down and delete buttons (even though they have the room) were huge disappointments when I first got my Mac. But you do get used to it (or maybe forget about it) after awhile. Hehe I guess it's a lesson of things aren't always greener on the other side. If you sell it, you'll take a loss (but not as big of a loss as many used PCs). But surely there are features on the Mac that can still attract you to keep it? If not, I would sell it.
 
nishishei said:
I know what you mean. Limited Finder functionality (versus Explorer) and the lack of direct page up, page down and delete buttons (even though they have the room) were huge disappointments when I first got my Mac. But you do get used to it (or maybe forget about it) after awhile. Hehe I guess it's a lesson of things aren't always greener on the other side. If you sell it, you'll take a loss (but not as big of a loss as many used PCs). But surely there are features on the Mac that can still attract you to keep it? If not, I would sell it.
Click to expand...

If you are looking for better Finder functionality, take a look at Path Finder. Have to say I love using it better then the default finder.
 
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