crwdns2933803:08crwdne2933803:0
crwdns2933797:0Sam Goldheartcrwdnd2933797:0crwdne2933797:0
crwdns2936043:0crwdne2936043:0 crwdns2933505:0crwdne2933505:0 Sam Goldheart
- crwdns2933769:0crwdne2933769:0
- crwdns2933771:0crwdne2933771:0
- crwdns2933801:0crwdne2933801:0
crwdns2933807:0crwdne2933807:0
| [* black] What else changed? We think the metal dome switch may have. Let's take a closer look. | |
| - | [* black] The dome is like a really fragile Snapple bottle cap—you press down and it springs back up. Like a Snapple cap, if you press too hard, crack it, or press it too many times, the cap will eventually stop popping back up. |
| - | [* black] The dome must reliably deform and pop back up every time a key is pressed. If anything changes about the dome—if it's cracked or deformed—the key may behave erratically. Likewise, if the two center prongs break off the key will stop working. |
| - | [* black] There are myriad reasons for the switch to crack or wear out—plain old fatigue, heat cycling, prolonged exposure to heat, moisture, outgassing from other parts, and corrosion are all possibilities. |
| - | [* black] Heat treatment or alloy reformulation could help mitigate some of these failures, but Apple may be struggling to figure out multiple problems caused by several failure modes acting together. |
| + | [* black] The dome is like a really fragile [https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/media/catalog/product/r/l/rl-070_bong.jpg|jam lid|new_window=true]—you press down and it springs back up. Like a [https://www.snapple.com/images/snapple_facts/snapple_fact_fbpreview.jpg|Snapple cap|new_window=true], if you press too hard or too many times, the cap will eventually stop popping back up. |
| + | [* black] The dome must reliably deform and pop back up every time a key is pressed. If anything changes about the dome—if it's cracked or deformed—the key may behave erratically. Likewise, if the two center prongs break or bend the key will stop working. |
| + | [* black] There are myriad reasons for the switch to crack or wear out—plain old fatigue, rapid heat cycling, prolonged exposure to heat, moisture, outgassing from other parts, and corrosion are all possibilities. |
| + | [* black] With multiple problems caused by several failure modes acting together, Apple may be chasing a solution for a few more years. |
| + | [* black] Beaton admits that this stainless steel is a better choice than say aluminum, but even with heat treatment and specialty alloys, even steel can still fail over time. If this ''is'' an issue of fatigue, failed keys will likely display cracking. (Anyone care to donate a busted butterfly to science?) |