My only rant against Apple these days is that when I use my iMac I've had to resort to using a Microsoft keyboard. That's because at the ripe age of 45 I have some arthritis in my fingers, and the keys on Apple's keyboards are too hard to press. You might be surprised, but it really hurts to press those hard keys thousands of times a day.
Making the switch
Before "making the switch" to a Microsoft keyboard, I went through all of my Apple keyboards one more time. I have three Apple keyboards, including an old candy-colored iMac keyboard, a USB-style keyboard that came with my iMac, and an Apple wireless keyboard that I bought separately. Each one is just too hard to use.
Using a Microsoft keyboard on an iMac may look ridiculous, but in this case I need to choose function over form. A shiny little wireless keyboard looks much nicer, but softer keys let me keep working. In the words of Dieter Rams, "Good design makes a product useful ... is unobtrusive ... is honest." Dieter Rams wouldn't design an electric shaver that leaves you in pain every day, would he?
A simple solution
A very simple solution would be for Apple (or someone else) to make a keyboard with whatever design they want -- plastic, aluminum, wood, whatever -- and use the much softer keys that come with every MacBook and MacBook Pro computer that is shipped. Those keys are much softer, and I often use my MacBook Pro instead of my iMac just because the keys are softer -- even though I'd much rather look at that gorgeous 24" iMac display.
Looking at the situation in reverse, I also have to ask, "Why aren't those rock-hard iMac keys installed on every MacBook and MacBook Pro?" Hmm ... I can't be the only person in the world who hates hard keys, can I?
books by alvin
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