5 ms·

Unfortunately ThinkPad trackpads aren’t nearly as good as MacBook trackpads.

by city41 7y ago

ValentineC 7y ago
MacBook Pro 2013 user here, and the trackpad is a huge reason I'd continue to stay with Apple. I don't know why other manufacturers can't seem to get it right.
- city41 7y ago
  I switched from Apple to Lenovo and am quite satisfied... expect for the trackpad. It really is a competitive advantage Apple has.
- azinman2 7y ago
  Because it’s surprisingly hard to calibrate and requires a lot of algorithms that handle a ton of edge cases. You have to have serious R&D to get it right.
- jmchuster 7y ago
  I believe Apple actually holds patents on their trackpad algorithms, forcing everyone else to use worse driver implementations.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
pintxo 7y ago
REAL Thinkpad users will only ever use the little red stick and disable the trackpad (just joking). But it‘s worth a try, takes a couple days to get used to first.
- silon42 7y ago
  Not joking; I'd like to have a button/key to disable the touchpad that some gaming laptops have.
- pjmlp 7y ago
  Real Thinkpad user here, yep using that little red stick since 2006, when I got my first one. Really feels a bit weird on other laptops, although on those that have two finger gestures it is bearable, or I just end up plugging an external mouse.
- ptah 7y ago
  you mean the nipple?
  - stilley2 7y ago
    As always, there's a relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/243/ https://xkcd.com/243/
- jack_pp 7y ago
  Thinkpad user here, on Linux, with disabled trackpad. Vim and i3 make it almost useless
  - pintxo 7y ago
    Positive side-effect of a disabled trackpad, everyone trying to show you something on your Thinkpad by taking command will quickly stop it once they have no control over the mouse.
    - kenbolton 7y ago
      Ask for consent before touching! The first time gets a warning, the second gets a gentle slap of the hand and a final warning, while the third attempt, well, after that, I will find places to work that aren't around you.
    - robrtsql 7y ago
      They'd also probably stop when they saw you were running i3 and couldn't figure out how to pull up a web browser.
jakecopp 7y ago
I believe Bill Harding is working on improving Linux trackpad drivers (or trying to find people who can) https://bill.harding.blog/linux-touchpad-like-a-macbook-progress-and-a-call-for-help.html https://bill.harding.blog/linux-touchpad-like-a-macbook-prog...
philliphaydon 7y ago
I would have agreed with you many years ago, and even tho now there are still a lot of laptops that have bad trackpads... I honestly have 0 issues switching between a MacBook trackpad, and the one on my ThinkPad. Granted I'm still scared to run Linux on a laptop as I don't believe I will get the same battery life out of it as I do with Windows. So I've never tested the trackpad under Linux. On Windows it's great.
- rarecoil 7y ago
  > Granted I'm still scared to run Linux on a laptop as I don't believe I will get the same battery life out of it as I do with Windows. Using tlp, setting all settings in Powertop and undervolting with intel-undervolt will get you some seriously crazy battery life. Battery life on my X250 is better under Linux than it is in Windows with these changes.
  - o-__-o 7y ago
    I get 5 hours battery life on my dual Xeon laptop under Linux. I will say, I miss 2016-era power controls for Linux. Being able to set a max MHz allowed me to truly control my power and battery usage. Any idea why Linux changed that functionality in future power governers?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
pushpop 7y ago
The difference between ThinkPad’s (or any other respectable brand of laptop) touchpad and the MacBook touchpad is nearly equivalent. Whereas the difference between the MacBook keyboard and - honestly - most other respectable brand of laptop’s keyboard is quite significant. Given most people on here will spend a significant amount of more time typing than they do using the touchpad (whether that be writing reports / scrum tickets or just programming) it should be a no brainier that keyboard ergonomics are far more important than the quality of the touchpad. And that’s without taking into account my first point that MacBooks aren’t even that much better than the competition in terms of the touchpad. From a personal perspective, I’ve used a lot of engineering laptops over the years and honestly the latest generations of MacBook Pro’s are amongst the worst I’ve used. Which is a great shame because I do honestly like some of the value that OSX adds. However OSX isn’t enough to tip the balance when Linux is actually pretty damn good on the desktop these days.
b3b0p 7y ago
Thinkpad users don't use trackpads. The second biggest draw besides the keyboard might be the Trackpoint. It's glorious! It's nothing like the same little nipple you might have tried on HP or Dell laptops of past. The Thinkpad Trackpoint is far superior.

Unfortunately ThinkPad trackpads aren’t nearly as good as MacBook trackpads.

by city41 7y ago

Unfortunately ThinkPad trackpads aren’t nearly as good as MacBook trackpads.

MacBook Pro 2013 user here, and the trackpad is a huge reason I'd continue to stay with Apple. I don't know why other manufacturers can't seem to get it right.

city41 7y ago
I switched from Apple to Lenovo and am quite satisfied... expect for the trackpad. It really is a competitive advantage Apple has.
azinman2 7y ago
Because it’s surprisingly hard to calibrate and requires a lot of algorithms that handle a ton of edge cases. You have to have serious R&D to get it right.
jmchuster 7y ago
I believe Apple actually holds patents on their trackpad algorithms, forcing everyone else to use worse driver implementations.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

pintxo 7y ago

REAL Thinkpad users will only ever use the little red stick and disable the trackpad (just joking). But it‘s worth a try, takes a couple days to get used to first.

silon42 7y ago
Not joking; I'd like to have a button/key to disable the touchpad that some gaming laptops have.
pjmlp 7y ago
Real Thinkpad user here, yep using that little red stick since 2006, when I got my first one. Really feels a bit weird on other laptops, although on those that have two finger gestures it is bearable, or I just end up plugging an external mouse.
ptah 7y ago
you mean the nipple?
- stilley2 7y ago
  As always, there's a relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/243/ https://xkcd.com/243/
jack_pp 7y ago
Thinkpad user here, on Linux, with disabled trackpad. Vim and i3 make it almost useless
- pintxo 7y ago
  Positive side-effect of a disabled trackpad, everyone trying to show you something on your Thinkpad by taking command will quickly stop it once they have no control over the mouse.
  - kenbolton 7y ago
    Ask for consent before touching! The first time gets a warning, the second gets a gentle slap of the hand and a final warning, while the third attempt, well, after that, I will find places to work that aren't around you.
  - robrtsql 7y ago
    They'd also probably stop when they saw you were running i3 and couldn't figure out how to pull up a web browser.

jakecopp 7y ago

I believe Bill Harding is working on improving Linux trackpad drivers (or trying to find people who can) https://bill.harding.blog/linux-touchpad-like-a-macbook-progress-and-a-call-for-help.html https://bill.harding.blog/linux-touchpad-like-a-macbook-prog...

philliphaydon 7y ago

I would have agreed with you many years ago, and even tho now there are still a lot of laptops that have bad trackpads... I honestly have 0 issues switching between a MacBook trackpad, and the one on my ThinkPad. Granted I'm still scared to run Linux on a laptop as I don't believe I will get the same battery life out of it as I do with Windows. So I've never tested the trackpad under Linux. On Windows it's great.

rarecoil 7y ago
> Granted I'm still scared to run Linux on a laptop as I don't believe I will get the same battery life out of it as I do with Windows. Using tlp, setting all settings in Powertop and undervolting with intel-undervolt will get you some seriously crazy battery life. Battery life on my X250 is better under Linux than it is in Windows with these changes.
- o-__-o 7y ago
  I get 5 hours battery life on my dual Xeon laptop under Linux. I will say, I miss 2016-era power controls for Linux. Being able to set a max MHz allowed me to truly control my power and battery usage. Any idea why Linux changed that functionality in future power governers?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

pushpop 7y ago

The difference between ThinkPad’s (or any other respectable brand of laptop) touchpad and the MacBook touchpad is nearly equivalent. Whereas the difference between the MacBook keyboard and - honestly - most other respectable brand of laptop’s keyboard is quite significant. Given most people on here will spend a significant amount of more time typing than they do using the touchpad (whether that be writing reports / scrum tickets or just programming) it should be a no brainier that keyboard ergonomics are far more important than the quality of the touchpad. And that’s without taking into account my first point that MacBooks aren’t even that much better than the competition in terms of the touchpad. From a personal perspective, I’ve used a lot of engineering laptops over the years and honestly the latest generations of MacBook Pro’s are amongst the worst I’ve used. Which is a great shame because I do honestly like some of the value that OSX adds. However OSX isn’t enough to tip the balance when Linux is actually pretty damn good on the desktop these days.

b3b0p 7y ago

Thinkpad users don't use trackpads. The second biggest draw besides the keyboard might be the Trackpoint. It's glorious! It's nothing like the same little nipple you might have tried on HP or Dell laptops of past. The Thinkpad Trackpoint is far superior.