I have hardly used the backlit keyboard feature on either my MBA or the PB G4, which the MBA replaced. Thus, I have been thunderstruck by the passionate objections of many posters to the new MBA's lack of a backlit keyboard. As a prospective MBA buyer, I guess I'm just lucky a backlit keyboard means nothing to me.
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New Macbook Airs don't have Backlit keyboards?
- Thread starter hellfire88
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Of course you were. If you're going to be snarky, use a
or otherwise people will take your post at face-value.So you guys DON'T think that the backlight KB will be back on the next update of the MBA????? So you think the future for apple will be "no BL KB"??
I was about to buy a low end PC and wait for an update (yea i know it could take a year), but if you say there is nothing to wait for ;(
I was about to buy a low end PC and wait for an update (yea i know it could take a year), but if you say there is nothing to wait for ;(
Its hard to say. Apple pulled it form the 13" MacBook but added it to the 13" MacBook Pro. Considering the 13" unibody MB and MBP have the same design its possible for Apple to bring it back in the next Air without changing the physical design.
Well technically MacBook never had backlit KB - when 2.4 Unibody CE was around it was two steps above White & 2.0 Unibody - none of which had backlit KB.
And as they kept OldWhite on life support - one might argue that 2.4 was a preparation for a badge job, when they launched 13 MBP.
But yeah, we have numerous examples with Apple, when they brought back some features they didn't see fit to include in the first place.
What if they wanted to change something dramatically, but whatever it is it wasn't ready for this time ...
So instead of adopting old version of backlit KB, they decided to drop it for now, instead of compromising new designs - maybe loosing battery life, maybe 4GB option, who knows.
One thing holds true no matter what: Next Gen - is always better
So instead of adopting old version of backlit KB, they decided to drop it for now, instead of compromising new designs - maybe loosing battery life, maybe 4GB option, who knows.
One thing holds true no matter what: Next Gen - is always better
What I meant was the unibody MB did not have the BL keyboard, but the 13" MBP did while keeping the same design as the unibody MB. So using this as an example its possible the Air can get a BL keyboard without changing its design.
Agreed absolutely - it's a mystery why they left it out ...
I more or less might explain IR & Sleep light.
But crap about to much power consumed by BLKB, etc I don't by at all
One reader wrote me that he uses his Mac laptop to do project a presentation on the screen in a dark auditorium. Having a backlit display is a definite plus.
I did notice if I set the MBA screen at a 90 degree angle or slightly less, it did light up the keyboard enough that I could identify most key characters.
My point is that those who find a MBA desirable for their situation could compensate for the lack of the backlit keyboard the same way they will have to compensate for limited memory, limited storage space, and slow USB ports.
Just keep repeating, "Wow. This thing is thin. Gee. This thing is light."
I did notice if I set the MBA screen at a 90 degree angle or slightly less, it did light up the keyboard enough that I could identify most key characters.
My point is that those who find a MBA desirable for their situation could compensate for the lack of the backlit keyboard the same way they will have to compensate for limited memory, limited storage space, and slow USB ports.
Just keep repeating, "Wow. This thing is thin. Gee. This thing is light."
Let me see if I have this right. In order to see the keyboard well in a dark room you have to put the screen at full bright to illuminate the keys. So how exactly is this conserving battery over the BL keyboard?
Sorry if already mentioned, but didn't read every post/reply here in the thread... but I'm guessing with all the people on these forums that want a backlit keyboard someone is smart enough and skilled enough to swap out an old keyboard with backlighting to the new MBA?
It wasn't a make or break point on the new MBA, but I can say it's a very nice feature to have, and if they made the 13" "with" or "without" an option I would have opted to pay for one even it it meant less battery life/time.
It wasn't a make or break point on the new MBA, but I can say it's a very nice feature to have, and if they made the 13" "with" or "without" an option I would have opted to pay for one even it it meant less battery life/time.
Maybe you should think that again?
The backlighting of the keys are not part of the keyboard itself. It needs also "hardware" soldered to the motherboard. So no way someone could just swap out an old mba keyboard to it
Maybe you should think that again?
The backlighting of the keys are not part of the keyboard itself. It needs also "hardware" soldered to the motherboard. So no way someone could just swap out an old mba keyboard to it
Theoretically all you need is the keyboard with optic wires, jack to plug it in for power, and you could set the controls to manual, via the function keys, and eliminate the ambient light sensor.
Maybe you should think that again?
The backlighting of the keys are not part of the keyboard itself. It needs also "hardware" soldered to the motherboard. So no way someone could just swap out an old mba keyboard to it
Which is why I asked in the first place
, as I do not know about how the backlit system works.You are right, seriously. Every laptop design is the result of a series of compromises. The thinner and lighter the machine is, the more compromises there are. For example, Apple apparently decided that having the thinnest MBA possible made sacrificing a lighted keyboard worthwhile because many, perhaps most, prospective buyers are like me and don't give a fig for backlit keyboards. Moral: before buying a laptop as thin and light as the MBA, the prospective buyer must be convinced that the compromises involved in using such a machine will be acceptable to him. Otherwise move on to a more conventional, that is a bigger and heavier, laptop.
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So guys... We won't see apple change their mind the next year and putting back light KB ? What would You dó if You need a laptop right now ? Buy a pc and wait for ( hopfully) bl kb or buy tje mba now ( without the bl kb) ???????
So guys... We won't see apple change their mind the next year and putting back light KB ? What would You dó if You need a laptop right now ? Buy a pc and wait for ( hopfully) bl kb or buy tje mba now ( without the bl kb) ???????
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K... You would never Go for the new one ?
darngooddesign said:
K... You would never Go for the new one ?
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I dont Think i have to have that... Guess i just affair of there Will be a. BL kb back ón the air in fee months ? Thats why i wanna know What You guys would do in my sit... Buy a cheep pc or Go all in for the mba in the hope of that it won't be possible to get a version of the mba with BL KB in the next half year... ??
darngooddesign said:
I dont Think i have to have that... Guess i just affair of there Will be a. BL kb back ón the air in fee months ? Thats why i wanna know What You guys would do in my sit... Buy a cheep pc or Go all in for the mba in the hope of that it won't be possible to get a version of the mba with BL KB in the next half year... ??
Not having a backlit keyboard in the 11.6" MacBook Air, while being needlessly inconvenient, could probably be justified as it is the first of its kind, so no one can say here, as we are about the 13.3" model, that it existed before and is now pulled out. Not having it in the 13.3" MacBook Air, is unarguably a step back for the product as it had that feature before and doesn't now. That said, I don't think 13.3" MacBook Airs have ever been as fast and agile in terms of performance as they are with this current generation. So that said, while I wouldn't be down with the absence of that feature in the 13.3" model, I'll happily take the increased speed and performance as they're no longer the "slowest Mac on sale".
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first time caller, long time listener.
Maybe they did you a favor by not having a backlit keyboard. Now you have to learn where the keys are.
In most typing class they do not allow you to look at keys. Some of you may be too old or too young to have had middle school typing classes. But, they cover up the whole keyboard with brown cardboard.
The F and the J keys have little bumps on them. The numpad 'usually' has a bump on the 5 key. Oh, and the keys don't move.
Its really disappointing to see a product with so many steps forwards and people being hung up on this keyboard back-lighting thing. And I do not hear enough praise about the higher resolution screen on the 13.3" inch. Just venting now.....
Maybe they did you a favor by not having a backlit keyboard. Now you have to learn where the keys are.
In most typing class they do not allow you to look at keys. Some of you may be too old or too young to have had middle school typing classes. But, they cover up the whole keyboard with brown cardboard.
The F and the J keys have little bumps on them. The numpad 'usually' has a bump on the 5 key. Oh, and the keys don't move.
Its really disappointing to see a product with so many steps forwards and people being hung up on this keyboard back-lighting thing. And I do not hear enough praise about the higher resolution screen on the 13.3" inch. Just venting now.....
Meh...I could take it or leave it. I only analyze it from the standpoint of "it was there before, it's not now". There's a weird psychological reaction when you take something that was previously available as a feature or attribute, especially with electronics, away in the next version of the product. I think this thread is primarily fueled by that, not by people who can't type.