With a purely digital architecture, Digitakt is Elektron’s first nonanalogue offering since before the release of the Analog Keys in 2012. It also comes in at a significantly more affordable price point than any of its existing grooveboxes, around £350 cheaper than the Octatrack and £500 cheaper than Analog Rytm.
If the keyboard on your new MacBook Pro is hassling you, then Jonathan Mann of a-song-a-day fame has created a ditty just for you.The MacBook Pro’s keys have a habit of getting a bit sticky after extended exposure to dust and other debris, leaving some owners of the machine wondering if they’ll ever again experience the joys of a full alphabet and all that it has to offer.
Mann had his MacBook Pro about a year before experiencing the problem. In his case, the space bar stopped responding, and the situation has left him so frustrated that he decided to write a song about it called I Am Pressing The Space Bar And Nothing Is Happening.
The prolific YouTuber, who for years has been posting one song a day to his channel, sings how “nothing is happening” when he presses the key, which really can’t be much fun for Mann if he uses the laptop to tap out his lyrics.
The catchy tune describes how he waited a very long time to upgrade his Apple laptop, but having done so, the pricey Pro is no longer working as it should.
Mann’s video shows his awkward efforts at trying to clean the keyboard by holding it at an angle of 75 degrees and squirting compressed air at it — exactly as suggested by Apple on its support pages.
Fifty-four percent of people who responded told Apple they found the advice “helpful,” indicating that nearly half of those experiencing the issue ended up either taking it to an Apple Store, searching for alternative solutions online, or throwing it out of the window.
In 2016, the MacBook Pro incorporated Apple’s “butterfly” keyboard switch that debuted with the newly launched MacBook a year earlier. It offers hardly any key travel and as a consequence has proved uncomfortable for many users who type a lot. And, as Mann’s song highlights, it really doesn’t like dust.
DT reported on key-actuation issues with both the MacBook and 2016 MacBook Pro machines at the start of this year, with some owners at that time on their second or third repair after taking it back to the store. Hit the “stuck key” forum on Apple’s site and you’ll see page after page of contributions from users who are continuing to experience issues.
Hopefully Mann has managed to fix his MacBook Pro by now; perhaps he can write a song about that, too.
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A keyboard problem you may need to troubleshoot is the Sticky Keys warning that pops up when Shift is pressed 5 times in a row. Some video games use the Shift key as an action key, so learning to undo the Sticky Keys warning can come in handy.
Sticky Keys is one of the Windows accessibility features, designed for folks who have trouble using a computer keyboard. The feature is activated whenever you press the Shift key five times in a row. It can be unexpected and startling, but it can be switched off.
In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, heed these steps:
- Click the link Go to the Ease of Access Center to Disable the Keyboard Shortcut.If you already dismissed the Sticky Keys window, follow these substeps:
- Open the Control Panel’s Ease of Access Center.
- Click the link Change How Your Keyboard Works.
- Click the link Set Up Sticky Keys.
- Remove the check mark by the option Turn On Sticky Keys When SHIFT Is Pressed Five Times.
- Click the Save button.
- Close the window.
In Windows XP, follow these steps to disable the Sticky Keys warning:
- Click the Settings button in the Sticky Keys dialog box.If you banished the Sticky Keys dialog box, open the Control Panel’s Accessibility Options icon. Click the Keyboard tab (if necessary) in the Accessibility Options dialog box.
- Click the Settings button in the StickyKeys area.
- Remove the check mark by the option Use Shortcut.
- Click the OK button and then click OK to dismiss the Accessibility Options dialog box. (Optional) Close the Control Panel window.
Sticky Keys helps people use a computer keyboard with only one hand, but it would be sweet if Microsoft turned it off as opposed to leaving it on and having it shock people unexpectedly.