6 ms·

This is what Touch Bar should have been from the beginning IMO. I've been on the fence to upgrade my 2012 MBP. I've been concerned about buying into the Touch

This is what Touch Bar should have been from the beginning IMO. I've been on the fence to upgrade my 2012 MBP. I've been concerned about buying into the Touch Bar hardware when it seems like it is not coming to any other Macs. Why should I devote time to learning Touch Bar and trying to find ways to integrate it with my workflow when keyboard shortcuts are more than enough—and probably better? What happens when I sit down at my iMac where I spend >50% of my time? Pock. has the answer. Turn the Touch Bar into the Mac Dock. Full screen everything and still have quick visuals on app notifications. Don't have to command-tabtabtabtab to get to a different open app—just tap it on the dock in Touch Bar. It's the perfect solution to an actual problem—give me more space on a small screen without sacrificing any of the experience.

wlesieutre 7y ago
If you also have an iPad, the Touch Bar will make an appearance on that when using it as a second screen in Catalina's upcoming Sidecar feature: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/05/apple-sidecar-app-has-touch-bar/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/05/apple-sidecar-app-has-t... Not as useful as when it's right next to the keyboard, but that's probably the closest other Macs are going to get. I could sort of imagine Apple making a desktop keyboard with one, but it seems better suited to a wired keyboard than bluetooth. You'd have to recharge the battery way more often.
na85 7y ago
I'm hoping sooner or later someone figures out how to bind/call arbitrary elisp functions from the touchbar. That for me would be the real killer app.
mattoxic 7y ago
I use Logic Pro heaps - and the touch par is actually useful there. The issue for me is remembering that it's there. I am so used to the keyboard commands.
elamje 7y ago
Just downloaded it! I have to agree that this is a much better use than the default one. The original one was hardly usable in many applications besides music players. This gives me the ability to switch apps quicker than before, especially with many full screen apps open. Thanks man.
snek 7y ago
You could also just set your dock to autohide. That's what I do on my MBA 2015 and it's great, especially considering how small 1440x900 already is.
- nomel 7y ago
  If you’re hiding the dock, reducing the delay is very useful: defaults write com.apple.Dock autohide-delay -float 0 && killall Dock
jbigelow76 7y ago
I've been concerned about buying into the Touch Bar hardware when it seems like it is not coming to any other Macs. If Apple was going to try and open a new front on the "hearts and minds of Touch Bar skeptics" war then the Mac Pro reveal at WWDC a few weeks ago would have been the time to do it, that they didn't makes me think it's not long for this world. Not because the Mac Pro sales would have been hampered by it, if a workstation class modular PC running macOS was what you have been waiting for then wrapping the cost of a Touch Bar keyboard wouldn't be a make or break price modifier (and you could always swap out keyboards later if you hate it). If the MBP is a quasi-halo product (expensive but incredibly ubiquitous) and the Touch bar isn't coming to the Mac Pro which is a true halo product I don't think you'll see it ever get pushed to any other product category either.
- nickflood 7y ago
  I tended to agree with this, but really with the desktop setup you have to move your eyes and head much farther to see the keyboard because the monitor is not fixed to it. This may be why they don't produce keyboards with the touchbar - the experience would be even less appealing.
- bredren 7y ago
  I had forgotten the Touchbar was possibly to get life on the magic keyboard. I agree if this was to happen, it should have been bundled with the Mac Pro. I also think the Touchbar apps being migrated to Sidecar may be a clue that a deprecation path exists should the dedicated hardware go away. “They live in sidecar now.”
- eddieroger 7y ago
  If memory serves, the logic to drive the Touch Bar is something that came from the Watch, which also included the Secure Enclave and other features that were more mobile than desktop. If that was true, then you can't trust the USB cable alone (or Bluetooth) to maintain the trust that circuit needs, and a keyboard with a Touch Bar would require a new circuit or at least design change to only do the display part, not the rest. It makes sense they won't put it in standalone keyboards just yet.
nodesocket 7y ago
Agree, the dock is what the touch bar should default to. I do wonder, if any, what the battery impact is with Pock?
chrisseaton 7y ago
> devote time to learning Touch Bar How complicated do you think it is that you need to spend time learning it?
- isolli 7y ago
  It's also about unlearning one's previous workflows.
- lloeki 7y ago
  Not complicated at all, it just requires an open mindset. Some tips: Customise it to your liking in the keyboard pref pane. You can press-and-drag on volume and brightness buttons of the collapsed control strip. No need to tap then slide. You can create services (now Quick Action) in Automator and they show up with the Show Quick Actions setting set. Since services can be contextual (input+app) you can get creative and do some whacky stuff in there. I have contextless Safari and Terminal there to pop up new windows whatever the focused app is.
  - mgkimsal 7y ago
    What I CAN NOT do, however, is move the 'ESC' key (or any, really) all the way to the left. There's always a 'Touch ID'-size spacer on the left of the Touch Bar.
    - a_c_s 7y ago
      That spacer still activates the 'ESC' key
      - lloeki 7y ago
        Indeed the ESC button is much wider than it appears to be.
      - Crontab 7y ago
        That's correct. I am currently considering upgrading from my 13" 2013 Macbook Air to a 15" 2019 Macbook Pro (I want it for the IPS/bigger display) and I noticed this while I was testing it at Bestbuy. Personally, if I make the purchase, I will probably just remap the Caps Lock key to ESC - assuming I can remove ESC from the Touch Bar. The one thing I didn't care for is that the Touch Bar display can time out. I would personally prefer that it stay on - or at least have the option of it staying on.
LoyCog 7y ago
We have ubar for that https://brawersoftware.com/products/ubar https://brawersoftware.com/products/ubar
nautilus12 7y ago
The thing that should concern you more about upgrading is the fact that they now solder the hard drive into the motherboard and the keys break and once broken also requires replacing the whole machine. Oh and they have no travel either. Maintainability? Who cares about that!
sundvor 7y ago
Now they just need to add the missing row of keys, and everything will be fine.
jxdxbx 7y ago
The lack of a Touch Bar on desktop Macs is ridiculous, but I generally like it. Especially when I realized that you don't for example, touch volume, wait, and slide, but just start sliding from the little button in the quick menu.
bunkydoo 7y ago
I'll agree here - I always saw it as a gimmick that was poorly implemented but this takes the cake late in the game. This would make it a worthy thing to have. Now besides that, I am in the camp that the physical keyboard and trackpad should be eliminated entirely in favor of haptics along with a palm tracking system that would know 'keyboard' from 'mouse' usage allowing the entire space to be utilized freely. But now we are entering a whole new territory of cracked screens. I've dropped a lot of shit on my keyboard before.
geekles 7y ago
Sidecar adds a Touch Bar on the iPad to all Macs that support Sidecar.
s_dev 7y ago
I've been using TouchSwitcher for a good while now: https://hazeover.com/touchswitcher.html https://hazeover.com/touchswitcher.html

wlesieutre 7y ago

If you also have an iPad, the Touch Bar will make an appearance on that when using it as a second screen in Catalina's upcoming Sidecar feature: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/05/apple-sidecar-app-has-touch-bar/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/05/apple-sidecar-app-has-t... Not as useful as when it's right next to the keyboard, but that's probably the closest other Macs are going to get. I could sort of imagine Apple making a desktop keyboard with one, but it seems better suited to a wired keyboard than bluetooth. You'd have to recharge the battery way more often.

na85 7y ago

I'm hoping sooner or later someone figures out how to bind/call arbitrary elisp functions from the touchbar. That for me would be the real killer app.

mattoxic 7y ago

I use Logic Pro heaps - and the touch par is actually useful there. The issue for me is remembering that it's there. I am so used to the keyboard commands.

elamje 7y ago

Just downloaded it! I have to agree that this is a much better use than the default one. The original one was hardly usable in many applications besides music players. This gives me the ability to switch apps quicker than before, especially with many full screen apps open. Thanks man.

snek 7y ago

You could also just set your dock to autohide. That's what I do on my MBA 2015 and it's great, especially considering how small 1440x900 already is.

nomel 7y ago
If you’re hiding the dock, reducing the delay is very useful: defaults write com.apple.Dock autohide-delay -float 0 && killall Dock

jbigelow76 7y ago

I've been concerned about buying into the Touch Bar hardware when it seems like it is not coming to any other Macs. If Apple was going to try and open a new front on the "hearts and minds of Touch Bar skeptics" war then the Mac Pro reveal at WWDC a few weeks ago would have been the time to do it, that they didn't makes me think it's not long for this world. Not because the Mac Pro sales would have been hampered by it, if a workstation class modular PC running macOS was what you have been waiting for then wrapping the cost of a Touch Bar keyboard wouldn't be a make or break price modifier (and you could always swap out keyboards later if you hate it). If the MBP is a quasi-halo product (expensive but incredibly ubiquitous) and the Touch bar isn't coming to the Mac Pro which is a true halo product I don't think you'll see it ever get pushed to any other product category either.

nickflood 7y ago
I tended to agree with this, but really with the desktop setup you have to move your eyes and head much farther to see the keyboard because the monitor is not fixed to it. This may be why they don't produce keyboards with the touchbar - the experience would be even less appealing.
bredren 7y ago
I had forgotten the Touchbar was possibly to get life on the magic keyboard. I agree if this was to happen, it should have been bundled with the Mac Pro. I also think the Touchbar apps being migrated to Sidecar may be a clue that a deprecation path exists should the dedicated hardware go away. “They live in sidecar now.”
eddieroger 7y ago
If memory serves, the logic to drive the Touch Bar is something that came from the Watch, which also included the Secure Enclave and other features that were more mobile than desktop. If that was true, then you can't trust the USB cable alone (or Bluetooth) to maintain the trust that circuit needs, and a keyboard with a Touch Bar would require a new circuit or at least design change to only do the display part, not the rest. It makes sense they won't put it in standalone keyboards just yet.

nodesocket 7y ago

Agree, the dock is what the touch bar should default to. I do wonder, if any, what the battery impact is with Pock?

chrisseaton 7y ago

> devote time to learning Touch Bar How complicated do you think it is that you need to spend time learning it?

isolli 7y ago
It's also about unlearning one's previous workflows.
lloeki 7y ago
Not complicated at all, it just requires an open mindset. Some tips: Customise it to your liking in the keyboard pref pane. You can press-and-drag on volume and brightness buttons of the collapsed control strip. No need to tap then slide. You can create services (now Quick Action) in Automator and they show up with the Show Quick Actions setting set. Since services can be contextual (input+app) you can get creative and do some whacky stuff in there. I have contextless Safari and Terminal there to pop up new windows whatever the focused app is.
- mgkimsal 7y ago
  What I CAN NOT do, however, is move the 'ESC' key (or any, really) all the way to the left. There's always a 'Touch ID'-size spacer on the left of the Touch Bar.
  - a_c_s 7y ago
    That spacer still activates the 'ESC' key
    - lloeki 7y ago
      Indeed the ESC button is much wider than it appears to be.
    - Crontab 7y ago
      That's correct. I am currently considering upgrading from my 13" 2013 Macbook Air to a 15" 2019 Macbook Pro (I want it for the IPS/bigger display) and I noticed this while I was testing it at Bestbuy. Personally, if I make the purchase, I will probably just remap the Caps Lock key to ESC - assuming I can remove ESC from the Touch Bar. The one thing I didn't care for is that the Touch Bar display can time out. I would personally prefer that it stay on - or at least have the option of it staying on.

LoyCog 7y ago

We have ubar for that https://brawersoftware.com/products/ubar https://brawersoftware.com/products/ubar

nautilus12 7y ago

The thing that should concern you more about upgrading is the fact that they now solder the hard drive into the motherboard and the keys break and once broken also requires replacing the whole machine. Oh and they have no travel either. Maintainability? Who cares about that!

sundvor 7y ago

Now they just need to add the missing row of keys, and everything will be fine.

jxdxbx 7y ago

The lack of a Touch Bar on desktop Macs is ridiculous, but I generally like it. Especially when I realized that you don't for example, touch volume, wait, and slide, but just start sliding from the little button in the quick menu.

bunkydoo 7y ago

I'll agree here - I always saw it as a gimmick that was poorly implemented but this takes the cake late in the game. This would make it a worthy thing to have. Now besides that, I am in the camp that the physical keyboard and trackpad should be eliminated entirely in favor of haptics along with a palm tracking system that would know 'keyboard' from 'mouse' usage allowing the entire space to be utilized freely. But now we are entering a whole new territory of cracked screens. I've dropped a lot of shit on my keyboard before.

geekles 7y ago

Sidecar adds a Touch Bar on the iPad to all Macs that support Sidecar.

s_dev 7y ago

I've been using TouchSwitcher for a good while now: https://hazeover.com/touchswitcher.html https://hazeover.com/touchswitcher.html