[PKGuy323]

We just bought a MacBook Pro and an iMac and I find the aluminum to fit like a glove. I love the keyboard that came with the iMac although some keys are placed oddly on it...I chalk it up as part of the learning curve needed as a former frustrated PC user....

[TucsonCurt]

My aluminum keyboard was skipping keystrokes and I posted comments about it here when this article first appeared. (Keyboard came with a new 24" iMac in February) I took the keyboard in to the local Apple Store and they agreed to replace it. I picked it up the new one yesterday. I am now typing on the replacement and my results are MUCH, MUCH better than before. As far as I can tell, any mistakes now are simply user error. Thanks, Apple! ...and thanks to MacWorld for this article which caused me to realize that the problem I was having was actually a hardware issue.

[FredTheOldGuy]

Uh, I think I might need some clarification. I've been operating under the assumption that the author of the site's content and the designer of the site are two different people. Am I mistaken in that assumption?

[dougoftheabaci]

FredTheOldGuy said:

Uh, I think I might need some clarification. I've been operating under the assumption that the author of the site's content and the designer of the site are two different people. Am I mistaken in that assumption?

Clarification: There are three primary roles in the creation of a website. First there's the person responsible for the content. This can be a copywriter or just the site's user (usually the client). Second is the designer who creates the look and plans out the interaction of the site. Third and final is the developer who builds it. Usually the second and third are either the same person or do a bit of both, especially these days on the web. Designers are expected to build the front end (XHTML, CSS and Flash with usually some Javascript thrown in for good measure) with developers focusing on the database work.

Which brings to my second point. As a hosting provider .Mac is not a good one. Even with the discount it puts it mid-range in terms of pricing and for those who need more flexibility with what you can do it's simply not as good a choice as somewhere like Servage.net. However, for average people who just want a small website to post their pictures and share them with friends it's fine but if you want a professional website it's not the best option.

Also, iWeb is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web editor and puts out very messily coded sites. Embedded non-standard fonts, redundant CSS, no browser-reset abilities... For most people this means nothing but it's the difference between a hobbiest's site and a serious user's.

[/opinion of freelance web designer]

Also, to keep my post on topic, I love my Aluminum Keyboard. I find it easier to type on than my MacBook Pro keyboard and vastly prefer it to my MacAlly IceKey, which was the nicest keyboard I'd used to date. Also, I've had no problems with it, either using it on Mac or PC and no matter how hard or softly I type. The media keys take some getting used to as they were in different places on my IceKey but I'm getting used to them and now I love them.

[dfs]

It must be added that there is one problem with this keyboard: the spacebar. At first I thought this was simply a defect on the one I happen to have, but evidently it's a design issue. See the discussion at http://discussions.a...095501&tstart=0

[gballey]

dfs said:

It must be added that there is one problem with this keyboard: the spacebar. At first I thought this was simply a defect on the one I happen to have, but evidently it's a design issue. See the discussion at http://discussions.a...095501&tstart=0

I just looked at that thread. There are 12 messages total, and only 4 could be described as complaining about the spacebar (others were complaining about the positions of other keys, etc.). The last message was about 6 months old. Hardly seems like evidence of a significant hardware problem with the spacebar.

I tried pressing around all the edges of the spacebar of my iMac 2008's aluminum keyboard, and didn't notice it missing any key-presses.

[dbutenhof]

[quote name='gballey']
>

dfs said:

> It must be added that there is one problem with this keyboard: the spacebar. At first I thought this was simply a defect on the one I happen to have, but evidently it's a design issue. See the discussion at http://discussions.a...095501&tstart=0

I just looked at that thread. http://... The last message was about 6 months old. Hardly seems like evidence of a significant hardware problem with the spacebar.

I tried pressing around all the edges of the spacebar of my iMac 2008's aluminum keyboard, and didn't notice it missing any key-presses.

True. Aside from that, I compared hand positions among the 3 types of keyboards handy right now, including an HP keyboard on a PC laptop, and I don't see any significant difference in thumb position relative to the space bar. Certainly none of them "naturally" place the thumb in the middle of the space bar.

For that matter, I've never, ever, seen a space bar with wear marks in the middle. And I've seen plenty with very noticeable wear marks on the bottom edge.

And I've never had a space miss on the aluminum keyboard.

More likely there's something about how they've placed their keyboard that makes their elbows spread a little more than other keyboards, lowering the thumb position a little.

[spinoza2]

Dougoftheabaci's clarification is a good one, and it's precisely the point I wish to make with my Website and iWeb/.mac. A very simple, professionally designed personal Website will cost at least $1000 (without updates) if done in the way he describes; something on the scale of my site would cost many thousands of dollars more. I am not a professional designer, but I'm creating the content, I've designed the site, and have built it using iLife and .mac in a fraction of the time and without the costs of using a professional design studio. iWeb uses Javascript in an ingenious way to permit the Web creator to focus entirely on content. Its design tools allows you to produce a polished site that approaches professional quality in a simple and intuitive way. The .mac hosting service is an integral part of the whole package, because it allows you to leverage the Mac's work environment in a way that other hosting services could never approach.

I've written several articles about the topic, beginning with:
http://www.blumenbach.info/RogerBrissonHomepage/BehindtheBlumenbach_Website.html

[dougoftheabaci]

This is very true, for those who are willing to take the time and put in enough effort to make a good site, iWeb is great alternative for people who can't afford a web designer. It's great for casual web users where their site doesn't matter in the great scheme of things, at least not in the way Apple's or Nike's sites would.

My only fear is that some people will think it a viable alternative for their business. It's not. I won't go into a long list of all the technical reasons why iWeb is not yet on par with a professionally designed and built site (which can be as little as $500, actually since $1,000+ usually as a content management system). Maybe in the future it will be, but not yet.

Though I do look forward to the day when iWeb can build, good standards compliant, semantic markup that follows the best practices of web design and development. When that day comes people like me can focus more on clients who want more impressive website that require more impressive accessibility and interactivity. To get the best of the web a WYSIWYG isn't going to do it. And those are the jobs that pay the best because those are the jobs with clients who are serious about it.

(Aluminum Keyboard rocks!)

[Brettcamp]

You can use iWeb, or one of its competitors (RapdiWeaver, Kompozr, Freeway, Sandvox) without buying .mac; you just get a free or cheap FTP program so you can upload the site you create to a domain that might cost as little as a $10 or so per year.
In any case, I'd hold off buying .mac for a least a couple days, in case, as rumored, Apple renames and converts it to a free service at this week's developer conference.

Now, I know I mentioned this earlier, but shouldn't we be talking about aluminum keyboards?

[Dan Frakes]

Brettcamp, FredTheOldGuy, dougoftheabaci, spinoza2, and others discussing Web sites: Let's keep this thread on the topic of Apple's keyboard. If you'd like to have a discussion about Web sites, feel free to start a thread in the appropriate forum. Thank you.

[Z4MC]

Maybe it is a love hate thing and I have to say I LOVE IT- I am a recent Mac switcher but even before that I got 2 of them for my Windows PCs'
I must say that I always have like "notebook" style flat keys.
I find the Apple wireless keyboard to be even better than the USB version- they keys are the "same" but they feel a little softer to me (I am one of those anal about keyboards) But I have to say that I really like these and they will do it for me for years - I even bought an extra one so that when Apple changes I still have one!

The old Apple White keyboards had such long key travel that I felt like I was typing in mush.

I just wish the Apple Wireless worked with Vista "out of the box" so when I boot camp I dont have to change keyboards.

[FredTheOldGuy]

Actually, Doug, my request for clarification was directed at Spinoza and specifically in relation to the Web site he posted a link to regarding the father of anthropology, or at least the guy Spinoza (or the guy who wrote the contents for the site he created) thinks is the father of anthropology. Judging from your posts, it is obvious that you are developer of high-end Web sites, and your post did clarify things for me for which I had never actually formulated a coherent question but had vaguely wondered about.

The one thing that has taken me by surprise on this forum is just how top heavy it is in gray matter. And not just any gray matter. Quality gray matter. I was not expecting that.

Oh, and lest I be tried for and convicted of the cardinal offense of being off topic, let me say now that I am STILL trying trying to figure out whether I like this keyboard. I just don't know. I don't do 150 wpm, as one poster types, but recently in one-minute sprint on typingtest.com I was told that I typed 96 wpm, net 94. I guess that would qualify me for a job as a typist. I have no doubt, though, that I would score significantly less if I took that same test on this keyboard with its feather-light touch, and the number pad most definitely needs some navigational keys integrated with it. I simply cannot get accustomed to having so few options. (And just today, while shopping for Microsoft Office for the Mac, I discovered that I do indeed have the Mighty Mouse--one with an annoyingly short tether.)

[gballey]

FredTheOldGuy said:

...I discovered that I do indeed have the Mighty Mouse--one with an annoyingly short tether.

The tether is short because it is intended to be plugged into either end of the aluminum keyboard, which would typically be nearby.

Of course, if you use a different keyboard that doesn't have a USB socket close to where your mouse will be, you'll need a USB extension cord in order to use the MM conveniently.