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cla · May 24, 2006, 02:11 PM

I went to the store today and got my hands on a Swedish MacBook Pro 17" -- fired up MS Word and typed away, and every single time I went for a line feed, I got an apostrophe instead!

There is no way I'm buying a $2 800 computer with a return key this tiny!

seanc · May 24, 2006, 02:43 PM

Looks the same as my iBook keyboard carriage return key, looks like you'd just have to learn to use it.

azt33 · May 24, 2006, 05:52 PM

I think that's the European (or at least Dutch) keyboard, as that is the same Return key as on my keyboard (which is a Dutch PB BTW).

Shinguuji · May 24, 2006, 07:36 PM

The UK one's have the same type of layout. The tiny enter key annoyed me when I was using a friends MBP 17" the other day.

The other thing I've noticed is that the Euro keyboards have lots of nice symbols. The US keyboard on my personal import has all the keys labelled up in idiot proof english so it says option rather than use the symbol. The same goes for shift, caps lock, tab, enter etc.

cla · May 25, 2006, 08:33 AM

What are the non-us return keys on the new MacBooks like?

Naplander · May 25, 2006, 08:47 AM

Looks exactly the same size as my 15" PowerBook G4 (english KB)

quangdiggity · May 25, 2006, 08:53 AM

thts identical to the swedish 12" PB G4

proportionally, seeing from the pict

tooki · May 25, 2006, 06:59 PM

It's a standard ISO layout, which has one more key than a U.S. ANSI layout. The return key is smaller to make room for the extra key.

tooki

Nebrie · May 26, 2006, 04:10 AM

Well, there's always Japan

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcupdate/...6/news009.html

Dr.Michael · 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by cla

I went to the store today and got my hands on a Swedish MacBook Pro 17" -- fired up MS Word and typed away, and every single time I went for a line feed, I got an apostrophe instead!

There is no way I'm buying a $2 800 computer with a return key this tiny!

The US return key is only slightly larger. It is horizontal and has the width of two normal keys. But it is above the shift key and thus covers the region where the apostrophe is on your keyboard.

Find the QuickTime VR gallery at the apple page and have a look. I guess it might be possible to get a us keyboard. But the letters have a different arrangement and special signs are missing (I guess in sweden you need special signs that are not included in the us alphabet, right?).

Bad if you type a lot of text, perfectly ok if you write programs.

Hal06 · May 26, 2006, 09:45 AM

what you really need is the optimus keyboard

tooki · May 26, 2006, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Nebrie

Well, there's always Japan

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcupdate/...6/news009.html

That's a standard JIS layout, just with a few keys on each row shrunk to fit in a laptop. The JIS keyboard is essentially ISO. (ISO doesn't specify the function of each key, just the layout and placement of keys.) http://www.tabiwallah.com/offwallah/...us_JIS_G4.html shows a Japanese TiBook, with differences from a US keyboard.

tooki

tooki · May 26, 2006, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Inside Man

what you really need is the optimus keyboard

That wouldn't help, since the Optimus basically just has dynamic key caps. It obviously cannot change the shape and location of keys.

tooki

OreoCookie · May 26, 2006, 11:14 AM

Only the US English keyboard layout has a `large' return key. I have an international English keyboard layout and it's got the same return key. I was hoping I could order a US English keyboard with my MacBook Pro, but my dealer said this is impossible. I think about switching keyboards with a friend of mine (who will have a US English keyboard).

icruise · May 26, 2006, 12:03 PM

The JIS keyboard is just horrid (not just Apple's keyboard, but the layout in general). But luckily, Apple lets you custom order a US keyboard for no extra charge. And yes, you can use Japanese just fine with it.

all2ofme · May 27, 2006, 12:19 AM

Jag håller med!

I reckon it's worth a trip to the US to get a new laptop (though I'm sure my carbon footprint disagrees...):

- decent Enter key
- cheaper (and from memory they're more expensive in Sweden than they are in the UK, even!)

If you (and the others who will use it) can touch type it shouldn't be a problem without äöå, just change your keymap and type away.

Originally Posted by cla

There is no way I'm buying a $2 800 computer with a return key this tiny!

Hal06 · May 27, 2006, 05:35 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

That wouldn't help, since the Optimus basically just has dynamic key caps. It obviously cannot change the shape and location of keys.

tooki

Well, it was just a joke about the under-sized PB intro key versus the over-sized Optimus intro key.

[email protected] · May 28, 2006, 06:21 PM

Does this effect the Macbook keyboards as well? I'm curious to see if there is a new european keyboard with the new Macbook layout.

Litflynt912 · May 28, 2006, 06:29 PM

At least it doesn't wear out like the screened on iBook G4 keys. Lots of keys gone blank!

Good thing I touchtype.

Apple employees are trained to ask this question: "Do you use handlotion?"

To which I reply, "Do I look like I use handlotion?" or "I wash my hands before I use the computer" or "Are you serious?"

Sheesh.

all2ofme · Jun 13, 2006, 12:29 PM

I can't see why it wouldn't affect them also, since the keys are all the same shape on the US Macbook as they are on the US MBP.

It's a pity that the European keyboards (at least the ones I've seen) are like this - it's a reach to the Enter key sometimes, even for my large hands.

Originally Posted by kobi

Does this effect the Macbook keyboards as well? I'm curious to see if there is a new european keyboard with the new Macbook layout.