iBook keyboard devolution

My 1.2 Ghz 12" iBook G4 has that same space bar issue. It drives me nuts to have to make sure to hit the thing in the middle every time. It seems to me that the ribbon attaching the keyboard pushes up into the keys, making the right side of the space bar and the right command key tougher to push in. Oh well.

I only wish the keyboard was the major issue I've been having with my 1 and a half year old iBook G4 800 mhz. Thank god I purchased the Applecare extended warranty becasue it's in the shipped out for repair for the third time in as many months. The main issue I was having with it was that it all of a sudden go really slow after it had been one and I'd been using it for a while (mainly browsing the web) and my guess was the hard drive was going bad and that it started slowing down after it had to start using swap memory. I also kept hearing a click sound like maybe a CPU fan was hitting the metal under the keyboard. Anyway, they had me run that useless CD with all the diagnostic tools which said nothing was wrong, because I knew damn well it wasn't working right. Anyway, it came back with a new logic board which made no sense to me, but I fired it up and used it. The click sound went away, but the problem with the computer slowing down after using it for awhile came back, so I called Applecare again and ran the diagnostic CD which of course said everything was working great. So, I sent it off again. When it came back it worked great, except that the wireless reception was noticeably weaker. When I went to check the airport card, I noticed the antenna cable was frayed where it connects to the airport card. I also noticed some exposed wire coming from a nick in the grey material that covers the antenna wire, like maybe it had gotten caught in something. I called Applecare and they told me to reseat the card, but the signal was still weak. So they told me to bring it in for repair. I decided I would try to reseat the airport card one more time for peace of mind and the antenna connector actually came off. Anyway, I explained what happened to the tech when I dropped it off from Compusa. Well, almost three weeks later I get a call back from Compusa telling me I was going to have to pay $450 to have it repaired because this wasn't covered under Applecare because it was an "accident". I was incensed because the iBook came back from the last repair with the frayed antenna. Compusa told me to call Applecare and take it up with them. I called Applecare and explained the whole story to the guy who answered and he told me he would call the Dispatch center where it was being repaired but that he didn't know if he'd have much luck. When he transferred the call, I got stuck into some phone loop for almost an hour and hung up figuring something went wrong in the transfer. So, I called Applecare and told the whole story all over again. The agent put me on hold, checked into it, and said I would not have to pay for the repair since I was following their orders when I re-seated the airport card and it should be in the line for repair. Well, I hadn't heard anything for a few days and called again last night they told me it was still on hold for a requote and that I needed to pay for its repair. So, I had to tell the story all over again. Got put on hold and waited 45 minuntes before I gave up and told the whole story all over again. I felt like I was up on the witness stand testifying in my defense for some horrible crime. This agent seemed to know more than any of the others I talked to. He put me on hold and got someone from the repair Dispatch thing right away and that lady, who was very pleasant to deal with, apologized for all the running around I'd had to go through and that I would not be responsible for paying for the repair. She said she would put it in the normal repair cycle which should be completed within the next few days. Anyway, after all this trouble, I probably never puchase an Apple laptop ever again. My next laptop will be one of this DIY kits that are very easy to service yourself. I hate the way the iBook is put together and how difficult they make it to upgrade the RAM and hard drive.

I've owned two iBooks, a G3 and now a 1 Ghz G4. The G4 keyboard is much better than the G3 with fair to good tactile response. The G3 was awful. Compared with the Powerbook keyboard the iBook's keys are terrible. But then, they're much less expensive, too. I agree, though, this is a major product weakness.

I have a new (1.33 ghz( iBook G4 and its keyboard its fine. Better than my old G3 iBooks, imo. A lot less springy too, which is nice.

No. 11 -the palm rest is hideous. I DO wash my hands often, but there are two greyish orbs on the palmrest. I've tried every cleaner i can find, but nothing gets rid of it. try mr. clean magic eraser.

Oh yeah -- just occurred to me -- any way to use my old ADB Extended Keyboard ][ on my G5? If there is, I'd lose my volume keys, which I've grown to depend upon, but that would be a small sacrifice indeed.

Mart, good luck trying to get Ive or Jobs to design a usable keyboard. Their notion of what constitutes a usable mouse would be laughable if it weren't so pitiful. So I'm not holding my breath for a good keyboard. Among other skills, I'm a fast touch-typist, and I've had a Tactile Pro for two years now. The first one I got had a defective space bar; the second worked out okay. But I've had to live with the letters wearing off the keys -- there are now seven keys I can't read anymore. Matias trumpets that they use the same keyswitch technology as the old Apple Extended Keyboard ][, and I'll assume they're not lying. But as Lloyd Bensen might say, I still have my old Apple keyboard, and Tactile Pro, you're no Apple. Granted, the Tactile Pro is head and shoulders above Apple's newer keyboards (that's not saying much), but I'd pay $500 and my left nut for an updated version of the Extended Keyboard ][. For one, the Tactile Pro is NOISY! Seriously, it should be called the Audio Pro, because any tactile feedback is overshadowed by the loud clacking. If I worked in a cube farm, I'd probably get complaints about the noise. The old Apple has excellent tactile feedback, and makes very little noise as you type. Compared to the Tactile Pro's Chevy Cavalier, it's a Porsche + Cadillac -- luxurious performance. Bottom line, if you're looking for something better than the Apple, the Tactile Pro will suffice, but it's not an insanely great product. Matias apparently only makes money because there aren't any viable alternatives.

These are not laptop, but desktop keyboards, and I can't vouch for them as I have yet to buy one to replace the horribly spongey kb that came with my late model G4 - but I'm willing to bet they are far superior to anything Apple currently offers: http://matias.ca/tactilepro/index.php Like anyone else here, I've been to an Apple Store and was duly overwhelmed by the hardware - ALL EXCEPT the keyboards. I have a feeling Stevo is behind this aesthetic. He prefers the sound of the softer "smush" of these crappy, spongey, mistake-prone designer articles than the industrious and decisive "clack" of the old school beige keyboards. I hate these damn new designs. Any keyboard that can give you feedback, like those old school IBM based models is superior to what we put up with now. The only feedback you get from the sponges is your finger impacting on the top of the key, or the key hitting the back of the plate. The old school type provided for far, far, far more subtlety with one's typing habits, so touch-typists - and "by ear" typists who are hunt and peck, untrained types could type and think at the same time without the distraction of the annoying limitations and errors of the spongeboards. I estimate that I made 1 typing error in every 12 to 15 keystrokes whilst typing this post, and that is very annoying, when you have to then grab the mouse to find the error point or just erase numerous characters to retype an entire phrase. I wish the resident design genius, Jonathan Ive would turn his attention to this part of the Apple experience. And one thing I hope he'd realize is that the current kb's are disappointing and underperforming, whether they are for laptops or desktops.

ok, all you guys are going to hate me for this, but i really like the keyboard on my old thinkpad. its an old ibm thinkpad 600e with a pentium 2, 64mb of ram, and a 15gb hard drive. and it runs XP MCE 2005; very slowly, but it works. i really like the keyboard on it. its durable, i've never had a problem with it. all the keys are responsive and have a very nice click to them that is not too loud, but not too quiet, just enough to recognize that you've pushed the button. if it helps at all, i do plan on switching to a powerbook when they make the intel switch because i'm a counter strike player, and theres no steam client for OS X. i've already got the credit card warming up, because its a cold indiana winter, so i gotta start now.

I've gotta throw in my 2 cents. I have a 1.33GHz 12" PowerBook G4. Great keyboard. My girlfriend uses my older 500MHz iBook G3 (ordered the day that the dual USB iBooks came out, May 2001). Both have great keyboards. My PowerBook's gets the edge, because it feels a bit more stable on the bottom (due to the design of the AluBooks). It's been 4 and half years, and the iBook still has a perfect keyboard, although the space bar is getting a little slick in the center from the texture wearing off. About 6 months ago, I replaced my parents G3 tower with a 1.2GHz iBook G4. My mom's been complaining about the keyboard from early on. I checked it out, and everything seemed fine. She still has issues with the spacebar, so I finally put it next to my old 500MHz iBook, and the newer iBook has a much poorer keyboard. Don't even get me started on the quality of the magnesium case parts of the G3 iBook versus the plastic case parts of the G4 iBook. It's amazing to see Apple go backwards in quality so much.