Premium: Fixing Norm’s MacBook Air Keyboard
I destroyed several of my MacBook Air’s keys in an unfortunate indoor quadcopter accident. But before bringing it into the Apple store to pay to have it repaired, I took a stab at repairing the keys myself with cheap replacement parts bought online. It’s not something I’ve done before, but as it turns out, it’s not that difficult!
48 thoughts on “Premium: Fixing Norm’s MacBook Air Keyboard”
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It has been almost 2 weeks in between premium videos.This is exactly why I unsubscribed and will lapse on said subscription. I am really about to dispute the charge with the bank.
You “thought we might want to watch you fix a keyboard?” You thought wrong. These videos are fluff. Give the subs some worthy videos. I would take product reviews, talks with IFixIt, or even you visiting a cool place (excluding 2 minute videos like the GOT visit). These videos should be exclusive. A repair from you is far from exclusive. Honestly, people would rather just watch Adam and Jamie. I highly doubt this media channel would be where it is today without them.
Additionally,
No regular “missive” has been received by me.
No mention for Adams stuff on sale.
No message about Tested meetups.
I would be hard pressed to see Netflix charge $5 a month for this much “content.”
First off: I really love tested.
Nevertheless I just cancelled my subscription.
The premium stuff is way too poorly produced. Mostly unedited and always VERY BAD SOUND quality!! Why are the premium videos lower standard? For a tech blog you guys should know how to make good content with a minimal setup. And please Norm, could you help Will with his clothing choices? People are watching. If you could tell him to keep the hoodie and the tight T-shirts at home, that would be great. It’s really not flattering.
Same, and the lack of production quality that was promised after geek week
Blackwood
Good, I am not alone. I was attacked for commenting on the length of the last GOT video. Yep, the clothes and their fit need some work.
Yep, it seems that these videos are just whatever is left on the computer.
I don’t want to rant too much because I think Tested is really great. It’s amazing how you guys manage to distill exactly the topics that interest me, every time again. Edit: That is why I will not cancel my subscription.
I must however agree with the above posts about the ‘Premium’ content. I’ve wanted to comment about this since long, but this latest addition does it. It is nothing less of an insult to your subscribers. Have some dignity please. Tested has everything to be so much more. Tested would be perfect if you could just avoid these little middle-fingers to your readers.
PS: Also why does a tech site use the worst player ever, why is there no fullscreen?
I don’t know why you are all complaining so much. The way I see it the subscription is to support tested to make all of the content they produce and to keep the site alive. The subscription is a way to say that you like the site and want it to stay open. You should want to subscribe even without the additional premium features. Any additional features are done as an added bonus at the expense of the time and effort of norm and will, which is why I am guessing there is little post production. Just my two cents.
Aren’t they also supported by Jamie and Adam? I’m not saying they should back all the costs, buts it’s not like tested is entirely independent anymore.
I personally can’t justify paying for premium if there not going to give compelling content. And it’s not like the sites really hurting for money is it considering Jamie and Adams backing.
Adam and Jamie don’t own Tested, they are two more personalities, editors and content creators on the team. Adam and Jamie don’t finance Tested in any way, unless there is something I’ve missed over the last two and a half years. When working on Tested Adam and Jamie, like Will/Norm/Joey, are working for Whalerock Industries, formerly BermanBraun. Before that, Tested was under Whiskey Media, they weren’t exactly independent then either.
I think you underestimate how much it costs to operate a site like Tested, and perhaps overestimate Adam and Jamie’s personal wealth.
I’d guess that Adam/Jamie probably have a very different contract, given their level of engagement and fewer direct responsibilities (and the fact that Tested is the creation of Will and Norm), but how exactly this works we will probably never know, nor would we reasonably expect them to share such details of the site.
The logo says “Jamie & Adam Tested” for God’s sake. I am not sure they back it directly, but they should play a lot bigger part, especially for premium.
Them putting their name on tested is backing, however not direct financial backing. They are certainly branding the “Jamie & Adam” and adding value to the site, which comes with income.
That does *not* mean they own it. Seriously. There are about a million things in this world that have names attached that are not owned or operated by those names.
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson isn’t owned by Craig Ferguson, he’s just the host. The show is created by David Letterman’s production company and paid for by CBS. You know who Tested’s production company is? Whalerock Industries, the logo is right there at the bottom of the page. It is paid for by ads, subscriptions, merch and sponsorships such as the ones for Geek Week and the Inventern. Trust me when I say that the Motorola Droid’s ad-budget has a lot more money to put towards a few ad spots on Tested than Adam and Jamie have in the bank to fund this site.
If that true, than I’m even more confused by the acquisition. My understanding was they were helping fund the site. If not, then why was Jamie and Adams name added? Makes them definitely look like they own the site to some degree.
If they don’t own it , who the hell does?
All I’m saying is I then don’t understand why tested then didn’t just go independent if Jamie and Adam aren’t funding it at all. Who owns the site then?
Frankly I don’t think tested is focusing on tech enough anymore. Seems more stories about volcanoes and astronomy.
I think you’re expecting a little too much from the subscription service. I agree that there could be better content for subs like exclusive interviews and and regular behind the scene shows, but considering this is a relatively new feature, I think we should allow some leeway for the guys. They haven’t gotten everything for the subs down yet, but over the next year or so I think they’ll find some sort of happy medium. Basically, I’m saying it’s to early for you to be complaining about subscriptions when they haven’t really started putting out real premium content yet. I think this type of video is just something to keep us subs happy until they can start unloading the good stuff.
I was regularly supporting Tested by subscribing to a profit making channel on YouTube. I was promised more content “just for you.” I do not see any content “just for me!” Only crappy videos with poor editing and little effort. They need to change the premium subscription page to state that you will only “support Tested” rather than promote that number of content I will receive.
I should have just bought their t-shirts if I wanted to support them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNPLrbdUzVA
Whalerock Industries does, which used to be BermanBraun (name changed a few weeks ago).
Similarly, for the first 5-6 years of Mythbusters, Adam and Jamie were just hired talent (they are now producers of the show, having gained significant bargaining advantages over the years in contract negotiations :p Mythbusters is owned by Beyond Productions which is located in Australia, each new season is paid for by Discovery. That is how content production on a big scale is done.
I wasn’t there when the calls were made and deals done, but Adam and Jamie were probably approached by BermanBraun to front a site about science, making, art etc., and instead of starting with a new brand, they instead aquired Tested. There was some overlap in the proposed site’s focus and what Tested was already doing (funny experiments and humor mixed with serious coverage), they were in the same location and the site already had good personalities that would compliment Adam and Jamie’s interests, skillsets etc.
It is also possible that when Whiskey Media was sold, Tested was aquired and someone then approached Adam and Jamie about getting involved with the site. I don’t know, and as far as I remember it was never fully laid out in the weeks following the big announcement.
And those videos about volcanoes and astronomy are reposts from other sites. They did not make those videos, they just posted them here.
I want to state for the record that I love the site. My criticisms were not meant to hate, merely to offer critique. I’ve been a member of the site for years.
And that was kinda the problem. I don’t think Jamie and Adams involvement was or has been fully explained yet. Maybe it’s not stuff we need to know, but it still causes confusion on what’s going on.
I should note that I think the inclusion of Adam (Jamie hasn’t even really done anything for the site) has been a very good thing. I’ve never heard of Adam savage before and got to learn more about him. And he seems like a great, interesting guy.
My worrys are mostly wondering what this sites trying to be and saying they need to be offering more for premium. Not keyboard repair videos that probably would have been a regular video otherwise.
They are a tech site..you don’t think they could have put together some better premium content in a month? They could have thrown raw video of filming each week or took an effort to reach out to the premium community. It was like “Thanks for your money, bye now!” This is 2014, and this is why this content is not passable for the subscription model.
Without complaints like this, I doubt they would kick it into high gear anytime soon. I really hope they do post some good stuff. But they need to hear how we think this junk is.
I get that. I haven’t been overwhelmed by the Premium videos either, the player has had issues (mostly fixed now, and we have the option to download directly if we wanted), the videos have been short or rushed and audio could definitely be better.
Then again, the guys said when they launched premium subscriptions that they would be funding the site itself, allowing them to do more content in general, take more fieldtrips per year. They said that premium content would be stuff that wouldn’t normally fit on the site, like the AI commentary track, or an unedited part of a cave vid. It would be rougher as to not eat up the resources being spent on improving the normal content.
So let’s think about it, as long time readers of the site…
Last year around this time we were seeing less content, there were usually gaps in the Still Untitled episodes, there would be days without articles, weeks without a cave video. The Podcast was irregular at times as well.
For the last few months there have been new Still Untitled’s every Tuesday, they are getting longer and the guys are reallty finding their rhytm. The Podcast is on every Thursday, there is a Cave Vid pretty much every week, when there hasn’t been we have gotten a handful of videos with Jamie instead. Last year saw more field trips, with tons of video and photo content. We have gotten a handful of Talking Room’s with big names, and judging by hints in the podcast, one with Guillermo del Toro is coming. They just wrapped up the Zoidberg project with Frank, which is bound to give us some awesome content in the next couple of weeks. IMO the site is putting out more, higher quality, stuff than ever.
Subscriptions have played a big part in that being possible, at least with regards to having regular episodes of Still Untitled and more Cave stuff.
It might have been confusing at first, but I don’t think there are really any structures in place that aren’t readily apparent. There is no reason to think Adam and Jamie’s involvement is anything more than what it says on the tin. They *might* have a partnership through their production company, but I’ve never heard that mentioned anywhere.
Adam contributes a lot, Jamie less so. There is one likely explanation for this: Mythbusters is produced by Beyond Productions, but it is my understanding that Jamie’s M5 Productions is also working as a subcontractor on the show and has been doing so full-time for most of the show’s run. Which means that on top of their duties as television hosts, producers and a travelling stage-show Adam has his projects, speaking engagements and two kids to raise, while Jamie has projects, his family, speaking engagements but also a sizable business to run. Busy dudes.
Its weird, i think the backlash on the video could have been averted with a bit more production, and context. This is a video showing you how to repair your macbook air keyboard but I guess that would make a better non-premium video.
i think some of you need to grow up a little and not attack someone for wearing a hoodie to work and need to work on being critical while still maintaining a respectful tone. See my comments in the forums for premium content.
The guy who posted that comment only has one post, are the youtube trolls migrating?
As for complaints about Premium content, the guys ask for suggestions to what readers/viewers/listeners want to see at the end of every Still Untitled. Why not send your suggestions in?
Blackwood If you have criticism for the site, you should at least be respectful. Will and Norm will both likely read your comment–don’t be a jerk.
Who was making fun of people ?
Yeah , of course . All understandable.
I’m not premium but just wanted to say, I thought I was a bad pilot, but Norm you have raised the bar!
THIS!!!
Although the premium content is not anywhere near as I thougt it would be, I subscribed primarily to support the guys, since I’ve been reading the site from day 1. And in my opinion, in the last few months the content is getting better and better.
Sometimes I miss the old days of nonsense content of the Whiskey media era, but I do think the site has grown and the articles and videos are much better now than they where before.
Having 3 macs in the house, it is good to know that I can repair keys, should they break, without having to give apple another $300.
Thanks, !
Don’t really like the idea of joining the pile-up, but a unified voice will probably get heard. I hope this will be taken in the spirit of constructive criticism that is my intention.
When Tested launched their subscriptions I was one of the first to sign up. Since I discovered the site it has been a conduit through which I found new interests and a force for good on the web, which is a rare beast. I was happy to support the hard work that I know goes into it.
Recently I cancelled my renewal. Why?
Largely for the same reasons many have outlined above. Paying for a value-added service should add value, not fluff. I recall stating a while ago that they were still figuring out what should go into Premium content, but I don’t see that anything has improved since then.
Over the past year Tested has become less about exploring, instructing and testing, and more the Look At The Cool Stuff Adam Savage Owns site. Please don’t think I have anything against Adam — there’s an autographed pic of him and James Randi that hangs in my office — but as much as I love seeing Adam’s collections, Tested needs to be more.
At the moment being a Premium subscriber feels like we’re paying for you guys to go to conventions and tech shows and make an occasional video. It feels like a vanity site. It didn’t used to.
I think the site has probably just lost it’s way a bit, as these sort of things are likely to do. I hope that someone is reading these sincere comments and taking them to heart. Losing Tested as a source of inspiration isn’t something anyone wants.
i think backlash is just from audio…. still love the site would be great to just get a jar time podcast or somethign for members discussing some inside base ball about the site and upcoming things.
I agree with a lot of the criticism but I feel like they’re kind of figuring out what they can do for premium videos and that may take some time but I’m ok with it. I just wish that norm would learn to use some kind of external microphone for his videos. managing a single wireless lav mic since norm is always alone isn’t that hard.
I completely agree with every single word you said. I love the site, and I’m happy to pay what I do to support them. Would I like them to make me feel special after giving me a special title? Totally, but they’re still great.
Exactly, some people care about the production value, I don’t. Even the raw footage of Adam would keep me entertained. They seem to post whatever video is not worth showing to the non paying viewers.
I dunno, I mean, I’d rather watch Norm fix a Mac than look at people looking at props from a TV show I don’t watch. It seems more in keeping with the “technology site” theme somehow. Don’t go by me, I guess. 🙂
I’ve lost keys on laptops before, it kinda presented a unique mental challenge in writing messasges that did not contain the letter k.
I just want more movie commentaries. The AI video was amazing and we are due for another
Great video! Keep up the good work!
While I respect your opinion, I completely disagree. Personally I think that the premium subscription is less about a value added service (even though every video they put out as premium content is by definition added value) and more of a way to allow those that wish to further support the site to do that in a way that allows them to get a little extra back for their support. Right now this little extra is videos that would not necessarily have a global appeal, but would interest some. I think that’s great. Do I hope they continue to add more and different videos in the future, of course. But that’s just because I hope they continue to try and improve the site in general, not simply the premium side.
I personally don’t see it as a “vanity site” and think the entire Tested crew is doing a fantastic job and I will continue to support them any way I can!
I guess we can agree to disagree.
Personally, I enjoy my premium subscription. The only real problem tends to be the audio site, I was looking forward to seeing this video, but often I simply couldn’t hear what Norm was saying due to the bad audio. I would love to see more behind the scenes content, and perhaps a new studio tour though. Hey, maybe even interviews with the crew. For instance, you could interview all the different writers about how they go about writing an article for the site, from beginning to end, or maybe even film different steps in the process.
What I am personally interested in getting from the subscription is what makes Tested tick, and I found the videos of you setting up the high-speed camera tests to be very interesting. Oh and also, another unouthorized commentary would be great, although I suppose there could be scheduling problems with doing it.
Anyhow, I’ve got a years subscription, and i’m happy to support you guys, I just hope I’ll want another year when the time comes around.
Thanks, and keep on testing!
i totally agree with everyone. i love the site and will still go to it but the “premium” thing was just a huge rip off. 5 bucks a month for 1 not very good video a week is just crazy. Just seems like a money grab. i know they dont have as many people but they really shoud have taken a note from the Giantbomb guys. they really make made you feel like you are getting your moneys worth.
I’ve never considered that my premium subscription was anything other than supporting the main site. I view these as premium videos as ‘extras’ and like many other sites I support as a way to get to know the crew a little better or get a little insight as to what’s going on or, like making of videos, office tours, or show details that are too long for the main site … Norm, maybe a pre-flight video for the Quad?
I feel the need to add my two cents to this conversation. Like flock3, I’m really happy to support Tested, the main content is always great, and I’m glad I can help in a small way 🙂
But it’s true that I don’t always feel thanked when I see the premium content.
This isn’t a rant against this video in particular, but against this type of video in general (unedited footage of 30+ minutes, uncommented time-lapses or 2 minutes vlog).
With all that said, I will shamelessly steal flock’s conclusion :
“Other than that, keep up the good work, I will continue to support Tested even if all I get for my premium membership is endless videos of Norm fixing things :)”
First video as a premium! Fancy! 🙂
First video as a premium! Fancy! 🙂