The butterfly defect: MacBook keys wrecked by single grain of sand

Lovely, seeing as I own one.

Yes, I own one. Let the roasting begin. I probably deserve it.

Not a desirable product any more.

As an observer from the Windows/Android camp who is simply too mean to pay the Apple prices, I'd observe that the average product quality remains firmly in Apple's favour, as do user satisfaction figures, not to mention the profitability (and thus viability of the maker).

Make enough different models of stuff, eventually you'll turn out a real lemon, but that's the way of the world, whether we're talking computers, phones, cars, aircraft, or just about any manufactured good. I'll wager that Apple will learn from this, whereas Microsoft seem to intentionally repeat their errors.

There's one born ever minute

A fool and his money are soon parted.

The elegant and slimmer fix

Does anyone else worry that Apple will fix this by removing the keyboard?

When the only solution...

...is to deep-six (sometimes with extreme prejudice) the corporate accountants who are obviously making bad decisions on subjects that should be left to engineers and technical people.

Corporate accountants: destroying the world 1/100th of a cent at a time.

But...

It is all very well to say that the Cupertino Idiot Tax company could not be reached but as this site opten points out, {cr}Apple are nothing more than a product re-badger and make/assemble virtually nothing themselves.

Shouldn't El Reg be 'reaching out' (crap PC term if you ask me) to Foxconn and anyone else to puts these pieces of crap together.

Now back on topic

I looked at getting a 2016/2017 MBP and after a while in an Apple store, I just walked away and decided to make do with my 2012 MBP which has been working perfectly for one month short of 6 years now. Ok, so at least a dozen keys don't have any lettering on anymore and the case has a dent or two but it has yet to fail me. These modern ones don't have that sort of reliability. Until that improves dramatically, I'm keeping my wallet firmly closed.

At least with the Apple stores you can at least see, feel and use the 'tat' before you part with your money. Try doing that for anything other than what cheap 'End Of Line' crap PC-World are peddling at inflated prices that week. This is about their only saving grace.

Macbook

I always wondered why my colleague, who has one of these, used to smash the keyboard quite aggressively. Now I know why - it's to get around this design flaw.

Meanwhile in the real world mine has been fine since nov 2016. Another I am aware of pretty much gets used as a tray at lunch time so is covered in crumbs and has had no keyboard problems either.

I have had problems with the magic keyboard which also has very low travel, but not quite the level of MacBooks. A blast of air sorts that out as well.

Wonder when they will change the keyboard to a touch screen so there is no more of these pesky mechanical parts.

Masterplan

I'm not sure Apple actually want to stay in the desktop/laptop computer game, the flowerpot killed the desktop and now the butterflies are killing the laptop.

Funny smell about the whole thing in my opinion...

No answer from Apple but how about Lenovo?

"We would like to confirm that in the opinion of the Thinkpad designers this is the best keyboard Apple has ever produced. It's almost as good as the titanium Powerbook cases that developed stress cracking."