The Cheapest MacBook Isn’t a Mac

So you’re eyeing that new macbook, but you’re also pretty certain that your type of work or workflow doesn’t really require that hefty price tag.. Yet you still want a similar typing experience of well laid out keys? Well this isn’t your typical get a chromebook or cheap windows laptop article either — there’s a twist.

Personally I usually opt for used or refurbs, whether they be windows or mac, but due to some stumbles with Apple’s butterfly keyboard I’ve stayed away and still will while their latest revision gets a few miles on it (although it looks promising).

As a programmer I am partial to macOS for many reasons, but I propose one of them is the ergonomic placement of the command key. Placed perfectly next to your thumb so you don’t need to travel far or misalign your fingers from the home row as you are typing away. So how do you solve this on other OS’s?

While I do not have a key remap solution for Windows* I do have one that works perfectly on Linux, such as Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, ElementaryOS, GalliumOS, and KDE Neon among others. You will have the ability to use any app and terminal program seamlessly (copy & paste) without misaligned keys.

Note: Since writing this article Kinto is now compatible with Windows.

You will even have what they call word-wise so you can move your cursor by word or the entire line. To activate word-wise you just press Alt+Left/Right to move by word or Ctrl+Left/Right to move to the beginning or end of the line, and Ctrl+Up/Down to go to the top or bottom of the document.

Checkout Kinto.sh, I’m sure if you were looking for an upgrade you’ll find that it’ll make anything feel a lot more like mac, even if it doesn’t look like it on the outside. Kinto works on all chromebooks, and Windows laptops and keyboards — just run the installer and you will have an experience you didn’t think was possible on Linux.