Living With Apple's MacBook: Minor Glitches Mar An Otherwise-Positive Experience

Continued from ‘Living With Apple’s MacBook: Day 1‘….

The most notable reason for my delayed migration to the MacBook, aside from an overall lack of available time given that it wasn’t a high priority until my Dell’s keyboard failed, was ironically the MacBook’s keyboard. This new system will certainly run Windows, but its keyboard is still tailored for OS X. The biggest hassle I’ve encountered so far is that whereas Windows-intended keyboards (as well as full-sized Mac keyboards) have distinct ‘Delete’ and ‘Backspace’ keys, the MacBook’s keyboard only has a ‘Delete’ key…..which bafflingly seems to be mislabeled. It operates like a Windows ‘Backspace’ key (i.e. in a backward delete fashion, versus in the forward delete scheme that I’d expect from its moniker) unless I combine it with the ‘Fn’ key.

Windows’ ‘Insert’ scheme is similarly muddled in Boot Camp, requiring a Fn-Enter keystroke combination to mimic it. As a long-time DOS and Windows veteran, I’ve until now continued using the obsolete (but still supported) Ctrl-Ins and Shift-Ins keystroke shortcuts for ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ functions….the MacBook will finally break me of the habit and migrate me to the more modern Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V alternatives. By default, Boot Camp uses the keyboard function keys to control the system’s hardware (i.e. volume, LCD backlight brightness, etc), and you need to combine them with ‘Fn’ in order to employ them for software functions (such as F5 for Outlook’s Send/Receive and Firefox’s Reload Page shortcuts). Fortunately, this setting can be disabled in the Boot Camp Control Panel applet (i.e. thereby using the function keys by themselves to control system software, and in combination with ‘Fn’ to control system hardware).

Recent Boot Camp Windows driver versions also emulate additional Windows keyboard functions; initially, for example, it wasn’t possible to do a PrintScreen from the MacBook’s keyboard in order to capture Windows screenshots. With that said, I miss having a distinct right trackpad button, although it can be emulated by placing two fingers on the trackpad while clicking the (only) trackpad button. I also miss the Inspiron 700m’s ability to enable and disable Wi-Fi via a keypad sequence. In combination with the omission of an LED or other visible means of alerting the user (in Windows) whether or not Wi-Fi is on, I can’t help but wonder how many folks will be burning unnecessary battery power and violating FAA regulations while using their MacBooks on airplanes.

I was amused when, in attempting to install the WinFax SE add-on to Outlook 2000, I was reminded that the MacBook has no built-in analog modem. Frankly, I don’t recall ever using the fax/modem in the Inspiron 700m for faxing (or, for that matter, for dial-up Internet access….how times have changed!) so I doubt this omission will be a problem. I will miss the Inspiron 700m’s built-in SD card reader, even thought it didn’t support SDHC cards. And I’ll really miss the MacBook’s lack of a PC Card slot, since both my Sprint (Novatel Wireless Merlin S720) and Verizon (Kyocera KPC650 and Sierra Wireless AirCard 595) EV-DO adapters all come in PC Card formats. Alternatively, I guess I can always drag a cellular router along with me, assuming I’ve got some means of powering it. I also have an Elan Digital Systems U132 USB-to-PC Card adapter with Windows XP and beta OS X drivers that I plan to try, although the U132 doesn’t support the AirCard 595 and the Merlin S720 isn’t listed on Elan’s supported-card page.

I miss the Inspiron 700m’s ability to set (and retain) different LCD backlight intensities depending on whether the system is AC- or DC-powered at the time. You might think I’d miss the Inspiron 700m’s analog mic input for Skype and other function, since the MacBook’s analog audio input is line level-only and therefore requires external boost (including potential USB redirection) of mic signals. However, due to a design flaw in the 700m the mic input wasn’t usable, anyway, and I never mustered the guts to tackle the reported fix.

I welcome feedback from other Windows-on-MacBook users on their experiences; both the positives and negatives as compared to their prior systems, as well as any workarounds they’ve discovered for the downsides. I’m off to install more hardware and software, and I’ll report back any other notable observations. Happy weekend, all!