I came late to the cult of Mac. I didn’t own my first Apple computer until 2003. I made up for lost time by disassembling, upgrading and tweaking a dizzying array of PowerBook G3′s and G4′s, iBooks, and PowerMacs (ranging from the old Beige G3′s to the snazzy G4′s). Never took apart a Cube though – but I’d sure like to…
I have been obsessively following the news about the Intel switch, Bootcamp, and the latest round of Mac laptops. Obviously, Jobs – or someone at Apple – is playing to the Windows-loving masses. What an amazing value proposition: a laptop that runs Mac OS X and Windows XP at native speeds!
There’s only one problem. (OK, two if you include the reports of nads-scorching heat emanating from the newest Apple portables…) The MacBook and MB Pro don’t have a right-click button.
I’m telling you now, this single design flaw (and yes, it is a flaw) will prevent more Windows users from adopting Mac hardware than any other issue.
Leaving off the right-click button was a HUGE mistake. And I’m pretty sure the Apple design team did it because they valued form over functionality. They chose aesthetics instead of usability.
Think about it: including the right-click button would have virtually NO negative effect for the vast installed base of long-time Apple users. For the switchers, it would’ve been a huge benefit.
This choice is even more baffling when you consider that the Mac OS has supported right-click functionality on 3rd party mice and other pointing devices for years.
If they’re so honkin’ eager to win over the Windows-weary and the dual-boot crowd, why oh why didn’t they include a right-click button?
(And don’t tell me about the workarounds. I don’t WANT to “ctrl-click”, or keep two fingers on the trackpad while pressing the button. And I DON’T want to use a mouse with a laptop! I just want my stinkin’ right-click button.)
So, net-net (god I hate that delicious little piece of corp-speak), I’m not buying a MacBook anytime soon.
{ 3 comments }
I have to say, on the laptops, that two finger clicking is more intuitive than finding a right button.
In fact, I never use the button on my Macbook at all, I just use 1 finger tap for left click, 2 finger tap for right click and two finger dragging for scrolling.
I’s even supposed to work under Bootcamp, but not for me yet, though it does in Parallels….
Mark
I rarely, if ever, use the trackpad on my MacBook; I use a mouse instead. Even though it's not visible, you can right click with an Apple Mighty Mouse.
I suppose it's what you're used to. Whenever I'm on a Windows-based laptop I suddenly feel like I've never touched a laptop before in my life, and it takes longer to become acclimated than I'd like.
I rarely, if ever, use the trackpad on my MacBook; I use a mouse instead. Even though it's not visible, you can right click with an Apple Mighty Mouse.
I suppose it's what you're used to. Whenever I'm on a Windows-based laptop I suddenly feel like I've never touched a laptop before in my life, and it takes longer to become acclimated than I'd like.
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