3 ms·

> The XPS 13's trackpad does conform to the Microsoft... Any failings of the trackpad in Linux can't be blamed on the hardware. err, pardon? The hardware is de

> The XPS 13's trackpad does conform to the Microsoft... Any failings of the trackpad in Linux can't be blamed on the hardware. err, pardon? The hardware is designed for another operating system and its failure in Linux can't be blamed on that hardware?! I have a Dell Rugged Extreme 12, which is the XPS in wolves' clothing... it's fantastic. But in both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, either the trackpad and the touch sceen would randomly stopped working ... often under suspend. But the trackpad works and has always worked perfectly in Ubuntu Linux. Ironic.

curt15 11y ago
The main bottleneck for PC touchpads has always been the poor quality of the hardware (for example, using low-bandwidth PS2 connections). The Microsoft specification is a hardware specification (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn467317(v=vs.85).aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn...). All the hardware provides is a stream of raw input data. It's up to the OS to process that data intelligently.
- jamiesonbecker 11y ago
  "Hardware specification" sounds like it's designing the shape and size of an ATX motherboard. That set of documents appears to be largely focused on the HID protocol for data transfer between a Microsoft-certified touchpad and the driver, not a specification for the hardware design per se. With that said, open, freely licensed, and non-patent-encumbered protocols are vitally important and it's awesome that Microsoft has stepped up and shown leadership.. if that's what that is. Microsoft has been doing more and more impressive things to work with the open-source community since Ballmer, and that'd be great if that's what it is. Care to comment on if that's a: 1) freely licensed or open-source specification 2) patent-encumbered?

3 ms·

> The XPS 13's trackpad does conform to the Microsoft... Any failings of the trackpad in Linux can't be blamed on the hardware. err, pardon? The hardware is de

by jamiesonbecker 11y ago

curt15 11y ago
The main bottleneck for PC touchpads has always been the poor quality of the hardware (for example, using low-bandwidth PS2 connections). The Microsoft specification is a hardware specification (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn467317(v=vs.85).aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn...). All the hardware provides is a stream of raw input data. It's up to the OS to process that data intelligently.
- jamiesonbecker 11y ago
  "Hardware specification" sounds like it's designing the shape and size of an ATX motherboard. That set of documents appears to be largely focused on the HID protocol for data transfer between a Microsoft-certified touchpad and the driver, not a specification for the hardware design per se. With that said, open, freely licensed, and non-patent-encumbered protocols are vitally important and it's awesome that Microsoft has stepped up and shown leadership.. if that's what that is. Microsoft has been doing more and more impressive things to work with the open-source community since Ballmer, and that'd be great if that's what it is. Care to comment on if that's a: 1) freely licensed or open-source specification 2) patent-encumbered?