5 ms·

>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high qual

by sprout 16y ago

>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.

city41 16y ago
I honestly don't think it's placebo. MacBooks are the only laptop I've ever owned where I've never felt inclined to use a mouse instead of the trackpad. They really are that good.
- nevinera 16y ago
  >I honestly don't think it's placebo. Well if you did, it wouldn't work!
  - niels_olson 16y ago
    I've used a lot of pointers (keyboard, joystick, mouse, trackball, trackpad, multitouch, retinal motion, wacom) on a lot of operating systems (TI-94A, solid-state radar displays, Apple II, whatever was behind ACDS and CEC, Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac, FreeBSD, etc, etc) in a lot of different contexts (tracking targets, directing fire, games, fetal ultrasound, planning and reading MRI, CT, Da Vinci machines, surgical microscopes) etc, etc, etc. I don't think the Mac trackpad is anywhere close to a placebo. It's a parachute issue. (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459). For the platform (personal computing), the mac trackpad is a hands-down winner.
    - city41 16y ago
      Keep in mind though, it only really performs that well in OSX. In Windows there are gestures that clash with each other, in particular trying to right click a link in Chrome causes the window to scroll, very frustrating.
DougBTX 16y ago
This track pad probably runs on the same tech as the iPhone (multi touch capacitive glass interface), so this comparison is probably relevant: http://mobiler.co.za/smartphones/3308.html http://mobiler.co.za/smartphones/3308.html If average PC track pads are as good as the average non-iPhone touch sensitive screens (yes, a fuzzy comparison, but probably the right ball park), then you'd expect the Apple ones to be better.
- wtallis 16y ago
  A better version of the test, and straight from the source: http://labs.moto.com/robot_touchscreen_analysis/ http://labs.moto.com/robot_touchscreen_analysis/
  - DougBTX 16y ago
    Sorry, lazy googling.
gamble 16y ago
I'm hardly the only one who's mentioned it: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/15/please-wont-somebody-think-of-the-trackpads/ http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/15/please-wont-somebody-th... Part of the problem is that Synaptics and Alps Electric together supply the vast majority of PC trackpads, and I've got no problem calling them out for poor quality. Why worry about performance when you've got a duopoly and your customers are OEMs who only care about price?

by sprout 16y ago

city41 16y ago

I honestly don't think it's placebo. MacBooks are the only laptop I've ever owned where I've never felt inclined to use a mouse instead of the trackpad. They really are that good.

nevinera 16y ago
>I honestly don't think it's placebo. Well if you did, it wouldn't work!
- niels_olson 16y ago
  I've used a lot of pointers (keyboard, joystick, mouse, trackball, trackpad, multitouch, retinal motion, wacom) on a lot of operating systems (TI-94A, solid-state radar displays, Apple II, whatever was behind ACDS and CEC, Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac, FreeBSD, etc, etc) in a lot of different contexts (tracking targets, directing fire, games, fetal ultrasound, planning and reading MRI, CT, Da Vinci machines, surgical microscopes) etc, etc, etc. I don't think the Mac trackpad is anywhere close to a placebo. It's a parachute issue. (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/327/7429/1459). For the platform (personal computing), the mac trackpad is a hands-down winner.
  - city41 16y ago
    Keep in mind though, it only really performs that well in OSX. In Windows there are gestures that clash with each other, in particular trying to right click a link in Chrome causes the window to scroll, very frustrating.

DougBTX 16y ago

This track pad probably runs on the same tech as the iPhone (multi touch capacitive glass interface), so this comparison is probably relevant: http://mobiler.co.za/smartphones/3308.html http://mobiler.co.za/smartphones/3308.html If average PC track pads are as good as the average non-iPhone touch sensitive screens (yes, a fuzzy comparison, but probably the right ball park), then you'd expect the Apple ones to be better.

wtallis 16y ago
A better version of the test, and straight from the source: http://labs.moto.com/robot_touchscreen_analysis/ http://labs.moto.com/robot_touchscreen_analysis/
- DougBTX 16y ago
  Sorry, lazy googling.

gamble 16y ago

I'm hardly the only one who's mentioned it: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/15/please-wont-somebody-think-of-the-trackpads/ http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/15/please-wont-somebody-th... Part of the problem is that Synaptics and Alps Electric together supply the vast majority of PC trackpads, and I've got no problem calling them out for poor quality. Why worry about performance when you've got a duopoly and your customers are OEMs who only care about price?