Road ApplesApple Adjustable Keyboard- Road Apples are Apple's most compromised hardware
designs. For the most part, they're not really bad --
simply designs unable to provide all the performance they
should have.
It was the era of ergonomic keyboards. Years of working with conventional keyboards were
producing a rash of repetitive stress injuries, some
keyboard and computer manufacturers were being sued for poor
keyboard design, and everyone was trying to invent a better
keyboard. In this case, better meant one that wouldn't cause
carpal tunnel syndrome and would keep you out of court. Introduced in 1992, the Apple Adjustable Keyboard was
hinged at the top, allowing the user to adjust the angle
between the right and left sides of the keyboard. The split
came between the following key pairs: 5/6, T/Y, G/H, and
B/N. The space bar floated midway between the two parts. It
also came with contoured plastic wrist rests. Other innovations included volume buttons and a record
button on the right side of the keyboard and a completely
separate (and optional) auxiliary keyboard which could be
connected to either end of the main keyboard. Although the Adjustable Keyboard addressed some ergonomic
problems, it introduced new problems. Function keys were
completely absent from the main keyboard, relegated to the
auxiliary keyboard with the cursor and navigation (home,
end, etc.) keys and the numeric keypad. The F-keys became
poorly marked buttons. The Esc key was a small button on the
left end of the main keyboard. The adjustable keyboard with its palm rests took up as
much room as a regular keyboard with a wrist rest, but the
real problem was finding room for the auxiliary keyboard. It
occupied a lot of real estate, especially since it had to be
far enough from the keyboard for the ADB cable that
connected them. Worst, the Adjustable Keyboard is less reliable than any
Apple keyboard before or since. I work for a company with
three of these keyboards. On average each one has been
replaced once a year under AppleCare. For comparison, out of
60-70 conventional Apple keyboards, we have one or two
replaced per year. Today the adjustable keyboard is history. Of the several
ergonomic keyboards available for the Mac now, none are
hinged and all have function keys, cursor keys, navigation
keys, and a numeric keypad as standard features. A few even
include a trackpad, trackball, or alternative cursor
controller. 
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