HackerTube

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

The Onion1 HN recommender · recommended in 1 month, 2012–2025
YouTube
comedy · general · evergreen · 2012–2025 on HN

A satirical Onion News Network piece announcing the 'MacBook Wheel', a laptop with no keyboard where users type by spinning and clicking a wheel. It parodies Apple product launches and minimalist design.

HN uses it as a recurring punchline whenever a device removes keys or buttons in favor of touch or novelty controls.

12 comments from Hacker News

@dessant2018-07 · in “No Joke: The Onion Faces Layoffs by Univision, Says Report”

Two of my favourites: Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard - ▶ this video Anonymous Hero Donates Hospital 200 Human Kidneys - link

Recommends View on HN
@ayaros2025-09 · in “iPhone Air”

Meanwhile my 2019 i9 16" MacBook Pro gets battery life on par with the MacBook Wheel (as seen in this classic from The Onion: ▶ this video ) I kid you not, the hummingbird battery is real . At least I have something to look forward to when I upgrade.

@whartung2025-09 · in “Are touchscreens in cars dangerous?”

The reason they're dangerous is not because you have to interact with them, per se, its simply because they provide to much information that takes a lot of cognitive processing to interpret. Specifically, text. Reading is "hard". Even things as simple as the title of the song on the radio. Especially when the text changes. I have a modern LCD on my motorcycle, a BMW, that uses a WonderWheel (rotate to scroll up/down, and push or pull for right/left click) as an interface. It's very reminiscent of The Onions MacBook Wheel[0]. It is absolutely dangerous to use while riding. It's a cognitive black hole. Obviously, the LCD is not alone in this case, the interaction pushes it all up to eleven. But the old school car interface was numbers and small words, and, eventually icons. Consider changing the temperature in a car, for me, I'd shove the hot/cold slider around until the air coming the from the vent was comfortable vs clicking up and down and deciding "do I want 72 or 73?". And, yea, maybe it's just me. Perhaps I alone am a hazard when interacting with these things. So, maybe it's not fair for me to project my experiences to the population at large. [0] ▶ this video

@spicybright2025-05 · in “Show HN: Rotary Phone Dial Linux Kernel Driver”

That would have been a hilarious timeline if they just upgraded ipods with cell networking, at least for one model. Then you can use this for typing: ▶ this video

@vel0city2024-11 · in “Touchscreens are out, and tactile controls are back”

So a knob that doesn't even have the feedback of knowing when you've gotten to the next selection at all, you have to actually stare at it as it goes through the different choices. That doesn't seem better to me at all. Personally, in this idea of a dial I'd like one that can actually give some haptic feedback. Or even better yet just be able to actually tap on the option instead of needing to turn a dial to move a selector on the screen to choose it. At least with an old-fashioned radio knob you got the feedback of if you were tuning into the station by hearing it. But moving a selector on a screen? It's like you're arguing for the MacBook Wheel, as if a knob is the most optimal way to input arbitrary choices on a computer. ▶ this video