Okay, I just have to say something in response to all the people who are insulting those who want a backlit keyboard, because I think it's really uncalled for.
I'm a writer. I can type without looking at the keyboard and have been able to do so since I was six years old. But when you own an iMac, a MacBook, a MacBook Air, a MacMini, and occasionally use PCs at work (ugh), you can sometimes forget where the EXTRA keys are (such as function keys, volume, F7, etc) because the keyboards aren't all the same! My iMac has a drastically different keyboard than my MacBook, and so on. That makes it kinda hard to perform shortcuts in low light. I recently had to share a room with someone, but had to work through the night, so I plugged in my earphones and worked in the dark. Do you know how difficult it was to find special keys? I had to tilt the screen down every time I wanted to perform a shortcut -- which is every thirty seconds -- thus slowing my productivity to a crawl. When the volume was suddenly too loud on a video I'd loaded, I couldn't find the volume button in the dark, so I yanked the earphones out of my ears... but the sound was still so loud coming through them, it woke the other person in the room. Coulda used the backlight
then. Likewise, I was camping and got a call that I had to finish something rather unexpectedly. Turned on the laptop, tried to get work, and couldn't see the shortcuts I needed.
And before you go on about why one would use such shortcuts, I don't upgrade my computer to be LESS productive. Remember that people might be using their laptops for more important things than chatting/blogging/Facebooking; using more than just the letters on the keyboard. Screenwriting software utilizes a lot of shortcuts to be efficient, as does design/architecture software just to name a few. Some of us don't want to click through a ton of menus and submenus to get our work done when we could hit a few shortcuts -- TOO BAD WE CAN'T SEE THEM!
My point? There are plenty of opportunities in which one might need a backlit keyboard. That's why they invented it. Maybe we shouldn't treat people like they're stupid for desiring a helpful feature and, instead, ponder why it IS useful to someone. It's like all the people who insisted that iPads would be useless; meanwhile, they've proven themselves valuable in a plethora of personal and professional scenarios, replacing clipboards and bulky laptop computers. I used to carry a 6 lb laptop, stacks of screenplays and manuscripts (and you can imagine how much ten 120-page scripts weigh), plus several books. Well, now I can carry ONE iPad to do all that, and I don't have to find a desk to set up at while I'm migrating between several offices at three different locations across the city, looking desperately for a plug. Now imagine how complicated my life would REMAIN if Apple had listened to the people who said the iPad was useless; that there was no niche for that kind of technology. People who don't see a need for an iPad feel that way because they don't need one! They check their email, they download some music, they facebook, and they call it a day. They can't fathom the complex scenarios that other people endure. And that's why you put people down for wanting a backlit keyboard -- because it's easy for you to tell someone to switch on a light or learn how to type. Thanks. What about DJs and sound mixers who work in the dark? Could be helpful!
I, for one, have been waiting for Apple to refresh the Air and was ready to buy one... but have changed my mind. I won't buy until the keyboard is backlit.
