Re:16-inch MacBook Pro
by michaelmior on Wednesday November 13, 2019 @11:03AM
(#21525613)
One big difference is that using Fn-keys requires me to remember which key does what. They also provide no visual feedback on what state I'm currently in. For example, I may have a Fn-key that works as stop/start, but unless I already know what's going on, I don't know what impact pressing the key will have.
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Since I rarely look down at the keyboard, I would have those visual notifications up on the screen anyway.
And as TouchBar is a per app custom display, you'd have to look down at your keyboard to see the current status... of anything.
The Touch Bar is only on their notebooks, "looking down" is like a half inch away from the screen you're already looking at.
...which is looking down at the keyboard.
It’s half an inch away from the bottom edge of the screen, but a considerably longer distance away from the things a person usually looks at when working.
> I may have a Fn-key that works as stop/start, but unless I already know what's going on, I don't know what impact pressing the key will have.
Someone in a related thread said the app-specific keys are only available when the app has focus, so wouldn't you have the status of the app in front of you anyway?
In any case, I found the statement funny, because touch is flakey for me, so I never know what impact pressing a touch key will have.