Got a Touchbar-equipped Mac?

[Filterlab]

I thought I'd throw this out there in case anyone has a Touchbar-equipped Mac. I'm on to my third one now (as well as having dozens of other Macs) but never really thought the Touchbar to be very useful, initially anyway.

In 2017 I discovered an app called BetterTouchTool which offers massive flexibility allowing one to manipulate the Touchbar to do almost anything.

Here on my 2020 MacBook Pro 13", I have...

A brightness slider also with tap to increase/decrease
A button which opens Safari on google.co.uk
A button which opens Safari on Art of Sound
A button which opens Safari on TZ-UK (watch forum)
A button which opens Safari on the Evening Standard website
The up and down arrows control the keyboard illumination intensity
A button to open Mail
A button to open Messages
A battery level indicator
A volume slider also with tap to increase/decrease/mute

Most of them are really straightforward to set up, the battery indicator requires knowledge of AppleScript (which is actually remarkably easy to learn), but practically anything can be launched or triggered, with the ability for multiple sequences to be tagged to a single button.

BetterTouchTool only costs a few quid, and works very well, worth a look if you like control over your computer.

I'm running macOS 11.0.9 Big Sur by the way.

Click for full res image

[dave2010]

I thought I'd throw this out there in case anyone has a Touchbar-equipped Mac. I'm on to my third one now (as well as having dozens of other Macs) but never really thought the Touchbar to be very useful, initially anyway.

I'm running macOS 11.0.9 Big Sur by the way.

Is the Touchbar only a laptop feature, or are there any desktop keyboards which feature that now?

I don't have a machine with Touchbar.

You mention Big Sur. Have you experience of many of the previous MacOS versions? For me, Catalina has been a complete pain. However, I assume that having migrated to Catalina, there shouldn't be too many more problems with Big Sur as mostly the basic design issues should be similar - with all software based on 64 bit technology. Is that correct, or does Big Sur introduce even more significant issues? If so, please advise what the major differences and problems might be.

Perhaps the switch to ARM chips will also present problems, which will show up in newer MacOS versions.

[Ali Tait]

Cheers Rob, have a 15” Pro with the Touch Bar, will have a look.

How are you finding Big Sur? Thought about trying the beta, guess I’m chicken though, I’ll wait for the release. :-)

[Filterlab]

Well, to answer both of the posts in one hit...

Firstly I should say that I own Mac Doctor Norwich, my Apple IT consultancy. I’ve been using Macs for 31 years since Macintosh System Software 5.0, so it’s reasonable to say I have a little experience with Macs.

Catalina deprecated all 32 bit software and macOS 11 Big Sur is the same. At its base level, running a 64 bit OS means that more can be done with less code, which makes apps run quickly and efficiently. Developers like it, and users like the results.

Big Sur is absolutely incredible. I migrated my main set up from my iMac 5K (4.0GHz i7 quad core, 64GB RAM, 4GB GPU, 1TB factory SSD) directly on to the Beta version 5 of Big Sur to start investigating potential problems. What problems did I hit? One. All I had to do was update Google Backup & Sync. Everything else, and I’m talking a 100GB of applications alone, works perfectly. Furthermore it’s a beautiful operating system, just beautiful. So clean, clear and crisp, and FAST! Admittedly the MacBook Pro 2020 is no slouch, but Big Sur is really slick, especially at the current Beta 9 version.

Obviously I don’t run my main system on beta software, that would be daft, so I reserve a secondary up to date device purely for testing and casual use. However, I must say I’m very impressed with macOS 11. Normally a beta OS, and for that matter a new OS, is fraught with problems, but not this time, not at all. Even apps I didn’t expect to run (namely Fidelia) work perfectly.

Big Sur is quite different in look and feel to macOS 10.xx but it won’t feel too far a departure for most. There’s a lot more flexibility in terms of the look and placement of many commonly known items, which makes it a lot more personalised.

As for the ARM processors, I’d be prepared to bet good money that there’s few issues, as Big Sur has been coded for both chipsets - and Apple have said that their normal support time for their machines will not deviate from the norm (one should expect 10-12 years of daily use from any Mac before complete obsolescence hits). Even now, a 10 year old Mac will run High Sierra; good for another 2-3 years yet.

If there’s nothing critical on your system, and if you have the knowledge and tools to retain data, format, and run fresh installs from external disks, I’d say give Big Sur a try. It’s pretty much complete now.

On the external Touchbar query, I don’t know of any such a device, but it would be a great bit of kit and make even more sense on a Desktop keyboard.

[Ali Tait]

Cheers Rob, looks like it'll be fine then.

This is my first Macbook Pro. Used to have a 17" Sony Vaio which I though was great, but Sony stopped making PC's so when it came time for a new one I decided on a Mac. It broke in the second week, which didn't impress me given the Vaio had given a decade of flawless service and indeed still works now..

To be fair Apple were great and replaced the logic board in a couple of days and all has been well since.

[Filterlab]

That’s good. Even though I can repair any Mac, hardware repairs barely makes up 4% of my business, such is the solidity of the hardware. Glad they sorted it for you - they’re usually very good with machines in warranty.

[Ali Tait]

Aye no complaints, first class service. Mind you, should be given what they charge. :-)

[Filterlab]

Exactly!

[Ali Tait]

Trouble is, you get sucked in. I was an HTC fan for years, then decided to try an iPhone just for a change. Then I got a watch, then a MacBook, then some AirPods..

Where does it end??

[Ali Tait]

Oh, forgot the two iPads I’ve had as well.