One Step away from New Mac Studio; But what about Keyboard & Mouse?

[AcousticDreams]

I was planning on buying a Mac Studio MI Max next week. But I was out running errands and decided to pop in to the Mac store to ask some questions.

They claim it is a 3 to 4 week delivery. ( I thought it would be a week by now, but instead it is a longer wait) This actually creates a little bit of a problem for me...since I have a lot of trips lined up two months from now. So I either order it now and get one month with it before I leave...or order it mid September when I finish with my trips. Most likely I will still order it now. One month of hands on now is better than waiting I think.

So It seems I still have a few small decisions to make first:
1. Should I buy the compatible apple keyboard?
The lowest grade Keyboard of Mac is $99. and frankly, I am sure that is all I will need. The question still remains, is the Mac compatible keyboard my best option for dependability & functionality? I....would assume it is. In fact, I am probably out of my mind even bringing this topic up. I am buying Mac because they have spent so much time making sure everything works with each other. On the other hand...it is just a keyboard. And other manufacturers are certainly less expensive. But my gut says, spend the extra money and get the Mac Keyboard.

What are your thoughts?

2. There is a NEW kind of mouse in town...the Apple town that is.
It is called the Magic Track Pad. Instead of a mouse that you move around...it is a small rectangle in which you move your finger around. Price is $129
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/M...-touch-surface
The regular mouse which is $79.

My gut says to stay with the regular mouse. As my brain is already configured to operate in this style.

Or should I be looking at a non mac mouse brand? What are your thoughts?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

So I either order it now and get one month with it before I leave...or order it mid September when I finish with my trips.

I think for the foreseeable future, you're going to have a wait no matter when you order. China is still very much on guard and there are very likely going to be shutdowns, even of entire cities, that will interrupt supply. The world is unlikely to fully return to pre-pandemic levels of operation for years.

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Should I buy the compatible apple keyboard?

I own two Apple keyboards. I still have the wired one that came with the Mac Pro cheese grater I used to own. I also have a wireless keyboard that came with my iMac. I prefer the wired keyboard because it has a numerical section on the right; the wireless keyboard does not. If the lack of a numerical section isn't a deal breaker for you, the wireless keyboard works very nicely and a charge lasts a long time.

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

There is a NEW kind of mouse in town...the Apple town that is.
It is called the Magic Track Pad.
My gut says to stay with the regular mouse. As my brain is already configured to operate in this style.

Or should I be looking at a non mac mouse brand? What are your thoughts?

That Magic Track Mouse has been around for years now. For people who are used to working on an Apple laptop and are moving to an Apple desktop, it probably makes the transition flawless but for anyone else it's going to slow you down until you adjust. That said, the Apple wireless mouse is nice. You can do all the pinching and expanding stuff on the top of the mouse so it has more functionality than most other mice. You can even do right-clicks despite the mouse only having a single top button. The mouse knows if your finger is pressing on the left or right side. For myself, I'm used to a mouse so I stick with a mouse.

[sdelsolray]

Most DAWs take advantage of the numeric keypad for shortcuts. Indeed, without a numeric keypad many functions are more difficult to execute.

I suggest getting an Apple keyboard with numeric keypad and an Apple magic mouse.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jim1960

If the lack of a numerical section isn't a deal breaker for you, the wireless keyboard works very nicely and a charge lasts a long time.


That Magic Track Mouse has been around for years now. For people who are used to working on an Apple laptop and are moving to an Apple desktop, it probably makes the transition flawless but for anyone else it's going to slow you down until you adjust.

Good Advice Jim1960! That was my feeling that it seemed harder to use. So I will stick with the apple mouse. I am already use to it with my Imac.

I don't see the need for the extra numeric pad. The person at the Mac store said people who do accounting are the ones who benefit.

There are two versions of the keyboard without the extra pad numeric.
One with a Touch ID and the other without.
Quote:
"Magic Keyboard is now available with Touch ID, providing fast, easy, and secure authentication for logins and purchases. "

Since I am living single in a house all alone....I don't see the need for extra security? Not worried about someone in the house trying to log in. And as far as for purchases? Not sure how this button provides extra protection? I don't make that many purchases anyway...and if I am really worried I just use Paypal for purchases.

[Bob Womack]

On my DAW at work, the locators are accessed with the numeric pad. If you want quick operation, fast location is really important. I was recording yesterday, for instance and overdubbing guitar parts. I just moved locator number four at the head of the insert with preroll space. When a take croaked I hit stop, #4, "delete," and "*" with my pick hand and I was punched in for a new try.

Oh, and my engineer's side personal computer is a cheese grater Mac Pro. Ten years on I am still using the wired keyboard, though I use Logitech ergo Graphic Design mouses on both of the computers. I get lonely without all my little buttons.

Bob

[keith.rogers]

I've got both the old AA wireless keyboard (no numeric keypad) and mouse, and the new ones that charge from USB. They've been fine, and I am so converted to them I don't like the "standard" keyboards we've got left over from old Windows systems. I don't miss the numeric keypad, though if I had one, it would probably find use, as I was used to that before.

The one thing that does bug me is the USB/lightning charging port on the [bottom of the] mouse means it is not usable while being charged. Luckily I still have one of the old AA mice I can swap in while the new one is getting charged. (I like the rechargeable feature, so got an extra one for the old Mini, leaving me with the battery-powered spare, which never worked well with rechargeable batteries.)

[FrankHudson]

I've never cared much for Apple Keyboards or mice. Maybe that's just me. They likely work (though some users of my 2018 Mac Mini generation had trouble with getting the Apple bluetooth keyboards to work in general with that model, at least early on).

Hand ergonomics are something I care about a lot, and for my old hand, Apple's stuff doesn't please me.

I think you may still need a wired (USB) keyboard when doing the initial setup on first power up of a new Mac desktop. This was once the case. It's only needed for a couple of minutes, but I wouldn't want you to get that new Studio, unbox it eagerly, and then not have some any-kind-of USB keyboard handy to get it going, so have one even if you have to borrow one from a friend. Use whatever keyboard afterward.

A lot of power users like the LogiTech MX Master bluetooth mouse. I may try one when my current older (wired, USB) Microsoft mouse wears out. I use an USB connected DAS keyboard with mechanical switches (not the loudest of that kind, but not silent either) as I'm not typing with an open mic when recording. For recording and audio editing work, keyboard ergonomics aren't key (pun intended), but that keyboard's nice when you need to do a lot more typing when doing other things.

[KevWind]

While the numeric buttons are certainly not critical. Myself I do no use the wireless keyboard that came with my iMac I actually use the USB wired keyboard that came with my old 2010 Cheese Grader. And there are couple of commands in Pro tools I use often that I have simply become used to using the numeric ..
I do however find the wireless mouse that came with the iMac very handy Plus I like that it is USB charged instead of batteries

[jim1960]

This is the Apple wireless keyboard I'd want for a new Mac Studio. It has the numeric section and it doesn't have Touch ID. I don't lock any of my devices so that finger scan tech is nothing I need and feels like a headache avoided should it ever malfunction.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

This is the Apple wireless keyboard I'd want for a new Mac Studio. It has the numeric section and it doesn't have Touch ID. I don't lock any of my devices so that finger scan tech is nothing I need and feels like a headache avoided should it ever malfunction.

Did not know they offered that , it looks exactly like my wired keyboard layout . Good to know thanks

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

This is the Apple wireless keyboard I'd want for a new Mac Studio. It has the numeric section and it doesn't have Touch ID. I don't lock any of my devices so that finger scan tech is nothing I need and feels like a headache avoided should it ever malfunction.

Did not know they offered that is looks exactly my wired keyboard layout . Good to know thanks That would free up a connection in my USB hub