Everyone Good Died and Left Idiots In Charge of What I Like


How have we all just leaned into and accepted bad quality? And I’m not talking about the fact that most of us listen to MP3s instead of CD lossless or even vinyl, or that people would rather watch a movie on the ugliest digital nonsense platform through some crappy old PC monitor—that looks worse than the worst VHS porno you found in a bush that time.
I’m talking about how is the old MacBook pro keyboard, which cost a mere 1400 bucks in 2018, better than the new 2024 MacBook pro keyboard that costs $2099? How did that happen?

(08-29-2024, 07:07 AM)Collapsed We Swear Wrote:  Everyone Good Died and Left Idiots In Charge of What I Like


How have we all just leaned into and accepted bad quality? And I’m not talking about the fact that most of us listen to MP3s instead of CD lossless or even vinyl, or that people would rather watch a movie on the ugliest digital nonsense platform through some crappy old PC monitor—that looks worse than the worst VHS porno you found in a bush that time.  nice sort of unexpected, personalizing detail.
I’m talking about how is the old MacBook pro keyboard, which cost a mere 1400 bucks in 2018, better than the new 2024 MacBook pro keyboard that costs $2099? How did that happen?

hey you,

I would posit that making the penultima sentence a statement rather than a question would be better.  You would only have to move the 'is' after the predicate, ie 'is better'.  Leaving it as a question, IMO, makes the last sentence implicit and lessens the punch.  That is too explicit.  And since I'm here, is it really about the keyboard or is that some sort of vernacular for computer in general?
Tootles,
Bryn

(08-29-2024, 11:55 AM)brynmawr1 Wrote:  

(08-29-2024, 07:07 AM)Collapsed We Swear Wrote:  Everyone Good Died and Left Idiots In Charge of What I Like


How have we all just leaned into and accepted bad quality? And I’m not talking about the fact that most of us listen to MP3s instead of CD lossless or even vinyl, or that people would rather watch a movie on the ugliest digital nonsense platform through some crappy old PC monitor—that looks worse than the worst VHS porno you found in a bush that time.  nice sort of unexpected, personalizing detail.
I’m talking about how is the old MacBook pro keyboard, which cost a mere 1400 bucks in 2018, better than the new 2024 MacBook pro keyboard that costs $2099? How did that happen?

hey you,

I would posit that making the penultima sentence a statement rather than a question would be better.  You would only have to move the 'is' after the predicate, ie 'is better'.  Leaving it as a question, IMO, makes the last sentence implicit and lessens the punch.  That is too explicit.  And since I'm here, is it really about the keyboard or is that some sort of vernacular for computer in general?
Tootles,
Bryn

You are probably correct. I will see how it looks the other way. Thanks.

Also, it is not about computer keyboards. But I did get the idea from spending thousands of money on a new MacBook only to find the keyboard wasn't as good as the old one. It's a metaphor.

I agree that the trailing question is weak unless you modify it so it adds something - a turn or a new thought.  Instead of "what happened," repeat the initial question in the form of "what changed us?" or "What killed everyone good?"

As to keyboards, the best PC keyboard ever was the original IBM PC™ keyboard.  They were expensive (for then), weighed a ton, had that easily misaligned but still hand-scale and positive DIN connector and the two stupid little legs that would give it a slight angle if you remembered to lock both of them.  And as for repair... they contained about a  hundred  little blue-steel lever pieces (every one of which would fly out of alignment when you opened the case), a spring for every key, and you could put almost any key in the wrong place.  Trust me, I rehabbed a few.

But it had the best touch of anything, before or since.  Typing on one of those things was like a dream - I could type faster on it than I could read.  You always knew exactly what the key you were pressing had done and was about to do.

Of course they had no cola catcher layer, which is why we had to rehab them a lot.

So why why?  There's probably no place in the world where people work cheap enough to assemble them these days.  And the new ones do all the things a keyboard does (not many) cheaper and look cooler.  As for the good people, the engineers who designed that keyboard were probably ashamed that it didn't measure up to the IBM 3278.  IBM was a monopoly, and they tried not to show it too much; within limits, they had the best engineers.  Where it fell apart was when the PC became a consumer good.  Then the fashion/coolness/just-as-good-but-cheaper/inflation cycle set in.

So it's either planned obsolescence (Sloan, attr.) or Heraclitus (you can't step in the same river twice).  Standards change.  It's up to you to decide whether to accept the changes or resist them.  Sometimes the decision is taken away (computers don't come with maxi-DIN keyboard receptacles or, probably drivers for 1985-vintage mechanical keyboards any more).  But as we age and slow down, they still type faster. than. we.  can.     read.

(08-30-2024, 05:54 AM)dukealien Wrote:  I agree that the trailing question is weak unless you modify it so it adds something - a turn or a new thought.  Instead of "what happened," repeat the initial question in the form of "what changed us?" or "What killed everyone good?"

As to keyboards, the best PC keyboard ever was the original IBM PC™ keyboard.  They were expensive (for then), weighed a ton, had that easily misaligned but still hand-scale and positive DIN connector and the two stupid little legs that would give it a slight angle if you remembered to lock both of them.  And as for repair... they contained about a  hundred  little blue-steel lever pieces (every one of which would fly out of alignment when you opened the case), a spring for every key, and you could put almost any key in the wrong place.  Trust me, I rehabbed a few.

But it had the best touch of anything, before or since.  Typing on one of those things was like a dream - I could type faster on it than I could read.  You always knew exactly what the key you were pressing had done and was about to do.

Of course they had no cola catcher layer, which is why we had to rehab them a lot.

So why why?  There's probably no place in the world where people work cheap enough to assemble them these days.  And the new ones do all the things a keyboard does (not many) cheaper and look cooler.  As for the good people, the engineers who designed that keyboard were probably ashamed that it didn't measure up to the IBM 3278.  IBM was a monopoly, and they tried not to show it too much; within limits, they had the best engineers.  Where it fell apart was when the PC became a consumer good.  Then the fashion/coolness/just-as-good-but-cheaper/inflation cycle set in.

So it's either planned obsolescence (Sloan, attr.) or Heraclitus (you can't step in the same river twice).  Standards change.  It's up to you to decide whether to accept the changes or resist them.  Sometimes the decision is taken away (computers don't come with maxi-DIN keyboard receptacles or, probably drivers for 1985-vintage mechanical keyboards any more).  But as we age and slow down, they still type faster. than. we.  can.     read.

Seriously, don't talk about keyboards—and I realise the irony of that statement after writing a poem explicitly referring to keyboards. But, this MacBook situation is driving me mental. Everything inside it is perfect— it blows the 2018 one out the water by a mile. But the physical thing feels and looks cheap—although cost 600+ dollars more (yeah yeah, inflation). Ugh.

I have an old IBM keyboard and ball mouse from my dad's old accounting office.

My friend Ian restores type writers for his poetry.
I bought a gaming one that click clacks so loud I love it.

@collapsed- vinyl is alive and well as are lathe cut vinyls. Physical media even old kung fu movies and nostalgia VHS is a ebay business. I've been volunteering at a local screen printing business and music venue. Hold on to those SNES games. If the Internet goes out who knows. Plus electronics is a trade like carpentry or plumbing. Folks that work with their hands and write with their mind will always be in business in my opinion.