The New MacBook Pro Keyboard Initial Impressions and Thoughts

I had the opportunity to spend some time typing on the new MacBook Pro Keyboard. As someone that uses the iMac Magic Keyboard on a daily basis, I can report that it feels identical, with slightly less travel. The initial tear down reports they are built exactly the same. That’s good news on the reliability front. I beat up on my iMac keyboard often and I’ve never had a problem. I was perfectly comfortable typing on the new laptop keyboard and I fully expect Apple to be moving this new laptop Magic Keyboard down the line soon.

A few interesting bits stand out for me in the responses to the release of this new MacBook Pro Keyboard. First, is the general fixation on it. It seems nearly all the initial reviews are centered around this new Keyboard. iFixit related it to Stockholm syndrome. I disagree. I think the reason for this reaction is closer to the boiling frog. As, year after year, the broken keyboard stories kept piling up and Apple kept making more MacBooks with the latest butterfly keyboard iteration, all of our frogs got well and cooked. A real turning point for me has been the way so many of our MPU guests start out their interview with a recitation of the number of keyboard repairs they’ve needed. The fact that this new keyboard is using a tried-and-tested keyboard released a lot of tension about Apple and the way they make things. But not without a cost.

My second observation is that most of the reporting about the new keyboard has been qualified by some variety of, “I really like this change, but we’ll have to wait and see if it is more reliable.” If you look at MacBook reviews in years past, before the butterfly keyboard, there are no such qualifications. This whole mess over the butterfly keyboard has cost Apple a degree of trust and it is going to take some time for them to recover. Not only that, we still aren’t out of the woods here because a lot of the butterfly keyboard Macs are still in circulation and many are still being sold. This bad keyboard reputation is going to linger for years as those butterfly keyboard machines remain in circulation.

All that said, given that these new keyboards are built the same way the iMac Magic Keyboard is put together, I fully expect them to be just as reliable. If you are in the market for a laptop that is anything but the big MacBook Pro, I’d encourage you to hold off until the new keyboard makes it to your machine of choice.

Mac Power Users 510: The 2019 Holiday Gift Guide 



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It’s that time again: the annual MPU Holiday Gift Guide has returned on the latest episode of Mac Power Users.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

  • The Omni Group: We’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad.

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.

PowerPhotos 1.7 Update



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I’m hard at work on the new Photos Field Guide but wanted to share one bit that I’ll be covering concerning PowerPhotos. This Mac app solves a bunch of problems for Apple Photos power users. They recently released an update to version 1.7 that adds Catalina support and adds some new features, my favorite of which is the ability to preserve reversible edits when copying photos between libraries. Also, loading libraries into PowerPhotos is now much faster.

This is a free update to previous owners. If you find yourself banging your head into Apple Photos’ limitations, particularly concerning library management, you’ll want to check out PowerPhotos.

“Sounds Like a Bug”

There is a story developing today around the Facebook iOS Application. Web Designer Joshua Maddox reports reports via Twitter discovering the Facebook app was turning on the camera with no indication to the user. Maddox reports duplicating the bug on multiple devices. Third parties are now reporting the ability to at least partially replicate the bug.

Facebook’s VP of integrity replied to Maddox, “sounds like a bug.” No shit. I’m sure I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder about Facebook, but how do they continue to under-react to privacy problems with their platform? Also, if this bug does exist, how does it exist? What were they trying to do that could possibly trigger turning on the camera?

Hopefully this, whatever it is, gets fixed soon. In the meantime, if you have Facebook installed on your iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Camera and turn off Facebook access for your camera. While you are at it, consider whether you even want the Facebook app on your phone. I know several people that use Facebook exclusively in the browser to avoid problems like this.

A Hypothetical Multi-Camera iPad Pro

Bloomberg, which normally does a pretty good job covering Apple plans since they hired Mark Gurman, is reporting several new products in the future including AR and VR glasses in several years. The more immediate prediction, however, is new iPads Pro in early 2020 featuring multiple cameras and a 3D system. I have to admit the idea of these improvements gets a yawn from me. I know Apple is working hard at AR and VR and it makes sense for these technologies to find their way onto the iPad. I’ll also grant you that I don’t see the iPad as particularly wanting on the hardware side (although I wouldn’t argue with a second USB-C port).

I also get that hardware is different from software but in the case of the iPad those two are hard to separate because they are so far apart. The iPad hardware is so refined that in order to make it better, they’re now going to the cameras, while the software, despite iOS 13, still has a lot of unpicked low hanging fruit. I sincerely hope that the big story on iPad in 2020 will be that the software is catching up to the remarkable hardware.

The 2020 Focused Wall Calendar



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As the end of the year approaches, the Focused podcast partnered with the NeuYear calendar company to create a custom 2020 Focused wall calendar. I’m thrilled with the way this came out, and I can’t wait to hang it on my wall. We intentionally priced this low ($29, including shipping to most places in the US) so people could get these on their walls.

I like the idea of a year calendar on the wall. Not only does it help you plan, but it also gives you something to look at before you say “yes” to any significant commitments. Indeed, that is one of my rules. No “yes” until I see how it looks on the wall calendar. We talk about this at length on a recent Focused episode, but if you’re interested in the calendar, get it now.

Mac Power Users 509: Brent Simmons, Man of Many Hats



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Stephen and I are joined by Brent Simmons on episode 509 of Mac Power Users. Brent works in marketing at The Omni Group and we talk about the tools of the trade, including social media and content creation, before shifting gears to discuss Brent’s RSS reader, NetNewsWire and where the Mac could be heading.

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore.

  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.

  • Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit.

  • Direct Mail: Create and send great looking email newsletters with Direct Mail, an easy-to-use email marketing app designed exclusively for the Mac.

Automators 36: Sal SOghoian’s Control Panel



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The latest Automators episode is up. While in San Francisco for the Relay event a few months ago, I spent some time with Sal Soghoian. He showed me a really clever new automation trick he is doing that combines an iPad, a Luna Display module, and his Mac combined with some cool automations and AppleScripts. I told him at the time, “As soon as you are ready to share this, I want to get you on Automators.” Well, now this cool automation lives and Sal explains the whole thing in this episode. Don’t miss it.