Design details: Apple wireless keyboard
Just a little something I noticed on apple’s wireless keyboard: The command and option keys, which are duplicated on both sides of the space bar, are symmetrical. There’s actually such a thing as a ‘left command key’ and a ‘right command key’ if you need replacement keys, in other words.
Design is in the details!
Cristiano Betta http://cristianobetta.com/
December 3rd, 2007That is on the new keyboard. Did you notice that that keyboard layout is now also featured on the Macbooks?
Reinier http://zwitserloot.com
December 3rd, 2007Nope. My 3rd gen macbook doesn’t have symmetrical cmd keys, and instead of a right opt it still has the useless ‘enter’ key thing. That and the removal of the numlock + numeric prints is the only difference between the keyboards. And the stupid redesign of the F keys. Whyever did they shuffle those around?
Good to know, makes it easy to recognize 4g macbooks!
Cristiano Betta http://cristianobetta.com/
December 4th, 2007It’s on the 4th generation macbooks and the new F-keys suck. I get it that they wanted to introduce some new logos for on the keys: good plan. But why switch them all around? WHY!
So what is different on the 3rd generation macbooks? Something with the numlock? Explain.
Reinier http://zwitserloot.com
December 4th, 2007F6, 6789, uio, jkl, and m/dot/comma, and 0/p/colon/slash.
Check those keys on your macbook keyboard and you’ll see that they contain, in the bottom-right corner, a small number. It’s your macbook’s numeric keypad. To date I have never used it, because to my muscle memory, numpads only work if the keys are vertically perfectly aligned, and the keyboard’s keys physically aren’t. On my bluetooth keyboard, they are no longer see (see image above). I presume they’ve been eliminated from the 4th gen macbook as well, if they also changed the opt and cmd keys.
Incidentally, this explains the weird symbol on your ‘6′ key. It’s ‘clear’, and in numbers it’ll clear out your current cell while keeping the focus there, and it only works if numlock is on. Some feature of old mac keyboards, I think.