I have never owed a Mac, (I can hear all the glasses dropping) but I am not a hater, I am actually waiting on the purchase of a new iMac. But one thing I have always noticed through using all the Mac books owned by my friends and class mates in recent years is the stupid, annoying sharp fold line which surrounds the top edge of base. May I point out for anyone who has not experienced this is that it happens to sit right on your wrist and after about half an hour of typing your left with a nice red mark that then makes everyone think your an emo.
Compared to other PC's on the market, the Mac seems to be the only one which Has this problem. Other makes like Asus, Dell, and Hp all have edges which curve down, or have a softer radius. So why have Apple done this, was it done for a reason? I have done a quick bit of research and all i could find was a bunch of forums where people were complaining about the problem and offering suggestions on how to fix it (I did actually see someone write "sand paper helps"........).
I know Apple have a very conservative house design style, and that they are renowned for being very different and making it easier for the user. Now, I have two bones to pick with that last making things easier statement. #1, this is a problem that makes user interaction uncomfortable = BAD! #2, there are always circles of middle aged people in Apple stores who are being taught by a genius! on how to use their new ipones the surf the foreign interweb...
After close inspection to the Mac Book, underneath it has a slight radius on all the edges, did Apple ever think to reverse the body, that would fix the problem... or mabey the tool maker was too busy playing angry birds and put the die in upside down...
Tom G
It's an apt assessment of a device that usually remains infallible in the public eye but to be honest, I'm not sure at what strange angle you would need to type in order to get these red marks. Furthermore I would much prefer these red marks to the electric shocks from the seems of my friends computers; perhaps we should swap friends?
ReplyDelete-Tahl
sorry seams*
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you all understood.
a good point brought up, the red marks are an exaggeration, but it still bothers most people. Have a search and people do notice it. Im not saying I wouldn't buy one because of this.
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt have said strange, I think it would be strange to type with you arms and wrists not relaxed? But each to there own.
I don't know... I'm sure the majority of pianists and typists would disagree but at the same time I am by no means downplaying the issue as you see it, I only feel that its a possible user flaw rather than a design flaw.
ReplyDeleteAs for the angle I'd just assume that it being a laptop it is designed to be used with the keys being parallel to gravity and your elbows being positioned slightly below the base; i just don't see the edge being the fulcrum, possibly a point of minor friction, but not the major point of rest.
Sorry to harp on about this but from a technical standpoint matching the radius to the bottom or increasing it in any way would limit the contact between the rubber seal and the bottom which prevents things getting in while your laptop is closed. Also this would make the magnets - which allow for that handy one-hand-opening thing - not work to their full potential for a similar reason the the rubber seal. The magnets are specifically put as far away from the hard drive as possible, 'cause as we all know magnetic media does not like magnets...
ReplyDeleteAgain, I see it as more of a user consideration over a design flaw.
-Tahl