No Backlit Keyboard? GLOSSY screen????!!!!!

WHOA! I can't believe what I saw - this thing does not have a backlit keyboard!

I placed an online order for three units the other day at 2:34pm. I then read that these fools have gone to a lot of trouble to omit the backlighting on the keyboard - I canceled the order at 4:12pm.

In the drop-down for reason order canceled, no mention of the keyboard. SHHH - don't mention that word or we'll fire you lol. DANG you Apple - every time you come out with a good product you have to screw it all up and omit a key feature. Such a beautiful piece of work this little unit is - high res screen, size etc. Then BANG it hits you - I had no idea your product managers could be so inept. I'm still picking up my jaw on this one.

So tell me - any of you hardware engineering types know how to substitute a Macbook Pro keyboard into this thing the way it SHOULD have been? I'm SURE it can be done - to fix yet another incompetent Apple product screw up.

Think I'm kidding? Try to put your hands on this keyboard in a darkened room. Go on, try it. Not in the dang Apple store - I mean at home where you'll use it. IBM went into the backlit keyboard thing kicking and screaming too in the 90's - so they at LEAST put an LED on the top of the screen to shine down on the KB.

Nowadays you have to heavily scan Apple's product specifications - over and over looking for the undocumented flaws that they'll try to hide.

WSR wrote:

WiseJD wrote:
I continue to wonder why this backlit keyboard thing is an issue at all.

Have you not seen how cool a backlit keyboard looks?.... It's incredibly poor judgment from Apple to squeeze out the maximum battery life.

I never thought it looked that cool. It would have looked +super cool+ if only the lettering was illuminated, but Apple's backlit keyboard leak loads more light round the edges of the keys, which rather takes the shine off things (if you'll pardon the pun).

After owning my new Macbook Air for over a month, I still haven't found myself thinking "OMG, I wish the keyboard was backlit" at any point. This is probably because I'm constantly distracted by the incredible performance of all my programs running off a SSD, as well as the super high quality screen.

In fact the only problem I have with the Air is that it now makes my iMac seem horribly slow. Now saving up for an SSD replacement for that.

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.

Very well and eloquently stated. Thank you!

I agree with comments below. I have a MacBook (black) without a lighted keyboard. I have to use a plug in LED light at times. It isnt so much for regular typing, but when one needs the function keys , brightness, volume, etc., no light is impossible. Ask Steve for approval before he is away for too long..

I don't have any issues typing in the dark. The notches on F and J are used to help place your hands on the home row key.

While a backlit keyboard is nice, I don't think it's absolutely necessary. All the function key commands can be found within the OS easily.

I ordered the 13' 256 Gb /4Gb RAM... when I discovered that they took of the backlit keyboard. I cancelled the order right away.

And I must admit, the way Apple did this is really annoying : "we're going to sell you our high end very expensive product but without a feature that's available on all our other products and that existed on the previous models (but we're not going to tell you because we hope you don't notice)".

One more like this and I'm switching all my stuff to AndroId phone and tablets

I think your cancellation is your loss, as the MBA is fantastic! I can't quite understand how you have come to believe Apple tried to pull one over on you because they did not point out that the product does not have a backlit keyboard. It is clear that the feature means a lot to quite a few folks.

Of course, I wasn't speaking about me specifically but about consumers in general. I'm glad for you enjoy yours. I still don't want to pay the highest price for a computer that lack a functionality that all other models have.. and that turns out to be very useful.

This has got to be the most ridiculous topic ever. I had a MBP for years with a backlit keyboard. Having had my MBA for week now--I type in bed, in the dark, at work, everywhere--I've never once missed having the backlit keyboard.

The light from the screen provides more than enough light in the off chance that I don't know where a key is. Sadly, all the people complaining on this thread--those canceling orders or acting like Apple tried to con you--come of as a bunch of cry babies. The MBA is a wonderful computer. Best I've ever owned. My suggestion would be to learn to touch type and quit complaining.

Very well put...
Sly

Some people here seem to assume the only computer you'll ever use is the MBA.
I have an iMac, I have several PCs, among which a horribly outdated Thinkpad. I tend to use the Thinkpad a lot, just because of the LED. The whole "oh, I'm a God at touchtyping" thing just annoys me to ****. Computers have different keyboards. My iMac has a USB keyboard because I can't use my 3D software without the ****** numerical pad. I wish I had the BT one, but alas, no pad! Actually, I also own the BT one, and it's somewhere in a box. I tried to use it for a while, and it was such a pain I took half a day from my life to go to the Apple Store and buy a USB one. Another design decision that may serve a lot of people, but not me, at least.
But there is worse: I switch countries. Ever worked on a Qwerty, Qzerty and Azerty keyboard on the same day? You have what's colloquially called finger memory. It means, once in those dim-lighting conditions, you're losing productivity because you can't keep a check from the bottom of your eyes on your fingers... it's not just the function keys.

Anyway, if people need the feature, just because you don't doesn't mean they should repent or be excommunicated or stoned.

I think Steve Jobs once explained he was bent on creating stuff that's almost perfect at doing what 90% of people need, or something pretty close to that. I hope backlit is not in the 10%. I was considering getting the MBA, which is what brought me here. I'm not anymore, I'll wait for next version, hopefully with an appropriate keyboard. In the meanwhile, I'll get a 13iMBP, or maybe I'll take my business to some other manufacturer and lose the benefits of OS X. It's that important to me.

Nope, the MBA isn't the only computer I use either. I use a Dell Netbook, a iMac, a couple of Mac Pros, and I run tech for an office that uses mixed windows and mac computers. So I get using different keyboards.

What I don't get is a 19 page thread of people acting like Steve Jobs came along and cut off one of your freaking fingers. I use a lot of external drives, so not having Firewire on my MBA is an inconvenience. It's on all the other computers. But I'm not going to take to the internets to decry the horrible people at Apple.

The truth is that a backlit keyboard is a luxury feature that's nice to have but only essential to a very, very small segment of the population. I actually guarantee that 90% of the people complaining on this thread, probably don't really need it. I'd bet that if they used an MBA for a week, they'd realize that the circumstances in which it actually was essential, are very, very small.

And if you are one of those people for whom a backlit keyboard is an actual necessity (of which there are very few people), then the MBA is probably not for you. It's an ultraportable computer. It's designed to be small and light and portable. It can't be everything to everyone. It's not supposed to be.

But trying to act all indignant like Apple came along and beat your puppy because there's no backlighting on the keyboard is silly. There are people here with actual technical problems.

You wrote:
+What I don't get is a 19 page thread of people acting like Steve Jobs came along and cut off one of your freaking fingers.+

Then you haven't read it all or aren't listening closely enough..... Some people spent a grand on one expecting the feature to be there because it's not highlighted that it's been removed from the feature list.
They are very disappointed (no one puts it as melodramatically as you do though). They're venting their spleen on here, and why not?... I would have done too if I hadn't found out just in time.

Try not to be so intolerant of people.... We're being intolerant of a corporation that we expected better from. You're just getting personal about it.

I love my gen 1 Macbook Air - I was front of the queue to upgrade - then realised the backlit keyboard was missing......

Hello Apple! At least offer it as an option!