[JoshMnem]

Very strange. What are Vim users going to do without the ESC key? Ctrl-c and ctrl-[ don't work in some Vim emulation tools or for browser extensions that provide Vim keybindings.

Function keys are important for some things. F1 (help), F5 (reload page), F11 (full screen), F12 (browser dev tools), shift-F2 (Firefox terminal), alt-F4 (close window), etc..

I almost bought a Macbook in August, but I decided to get a Thinkpad 460 instead. I deleted Windows 10 and installed Ubuntu 16.04. The Thinkpad was $1,000 cheaper than the Macbook and has better specs (24 Gb RAM), except for the screen. The screen on the Thinkpad is better in one way though: it has a matte finish, so there is less glare. There is also a middle button on the touchpad, which is great for copy/paste in Linux.

Hearing about the missing ESC key makes me very happy that I didn't switch to Mac.

Edit: I see that there is a touchbar, but I have a fully touchscreen keyboard, and it's impossible to type without looking at it. A touchbar seems like it would be less efficient than keys. Keys are programmable too, while still providing reference for your fingers.

[progman]

> What are Vim users going to do without the ESC key?

They have the pleasure to install an additional ESC server which simulates the ESC key with an ios device :-)

https://github.com/brianmichel/ESCapey

It's amazing that Apple considers the backquote/tilde key so much more important than the ESC key.

[JoshMnem]

Looks like a reasonable solution. :)

They are all important. Backticks for things like markdown, reStructuredText, ES6, and shell scripting. Tildes for file paths and regex. ESC for Vim keybinding emulation in many programs.

The ESC key on the touchbar doesn't look like it's in the right position, but maybe people will be able to retrain themselves to feel for the left edge of the touchbar with the little finger and then tap with the ring finger.

It doesn't seem ideal, but I'll try it at a store before making a final opinion. I'm still relieved that I didn't switch from Linux to Mac though. :)

[chester1000]

While I don't completely disagree, you might find this helpful :) :

F1 → ⌘?, F5 → ⌘R, F11 → ^⌘F, F12 → ⌘⌥J, ⌥+F4 → ⌘W (just window/tab) or ⌘Q (entire app).