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Would you use a good trackpad that connects via USB or bluetooth? Its a real question because I see a lot of comments about people not leaving the Macbook beca

by ProAm 6y ago

Would you use a good trackpad that connects via USB or bluetooth? Its a real question because I see a lot of comments about people not leaving the Macbook because of the trackpad even though they dislike the rest of the laptop? Seems like something that could be a product?

kccqzy 6y ago
No you wouldn't. It's not about the trackpad hardware (Apple sells a separate Bluetooth trackpad after all), but it's about the software.
- ProAm 6y ago
  What about the software makes it good? Ive never used a macbook so have zero experience with it.
  - daniel-thompson 6y ago
    For me, two things combine to make it feel super responsive: 1. The latency between you moving your finger(s) and seeing movement on the screen feels imperceptible. 2. There isn't any "lost" movement - if you scribble your finger around really quickly and come back to where you start, the cursor or window scroll position will be back to where it started too.
  - fsflover 6y ago
    See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24700537 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24700537
  - passwordreset 6y ago
    Spaces, the virtual desktop manager, makes it good. A few years ago, multiple desktops were accessible with a 3-finger swipe left or right. Now, when you make an app full-screen, it creates a new space to contain the app, so multiple full-screen apps are easily accessible. Linux has a virtual desktop manager, and Windows has some 3rd-party apps that provide multiple desktops. None of those apps seem as tightly integrated and useful as this Mac OS feature.
ucosty 6y ago
You can already buy an external Magic Trackpad from Apple (https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MJ2R2Z/A/magic-trackpad-2-silver https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MJ2R2Z/A/magic-trackpa...). Not terribly useful for a laptop unless you want to set up at a desk.
tapland 6y ago
That’s called a mouse. The trackpad is important because it’s the default interface when moving the portable computer. External devices kill that.
jeromenerf 6y ago
Nah, it’s just people whining and finding excuses.
hrktb 6y ago
The trackpad is just the saillant point. As we(I) go deeper the "let's try linux" route, thousands more papercuts come to the surface. It's fine for specific use cases (e.g. just focusing on backend dev), it becomes worse for wider use cases.

by ProAm 6y ago

kccqzy 6y ago

No you wouldn't. It's not about the trackpad hardware (Apple sells a separate Bluetooth trackpad after all), but it's about the software.

ProAm 6y ago
What about the software makes it good? Ive never used a macbook so have zero experience with it.
- daniel-thompson 6y ago
  For me, two things combine to make it feel super responsive: 1. The latency between you moving your finger(s) and seeing movement on the screen feels imperceptible. 2. There isn't any "lost" movement - if you scribble your finger around really quickly and come back to where you start, the cursor or window scroll position will be back to where it started too.
- fsflover 6y ago
  See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24700537 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24700537
- passwordreset 6y ago
  Spaces, the virtual desktop manager, makes it good. A few years ago, multiple desktops were accessible with a 3-finger swipe left or right. Now, when you make an app full-screen, it creates a new space to contain the app, so multiple full-screen apps are easily accessible. Linux has a virtual desktop manager, and Windows has some 3rd-party apps that provide multiple desktops. None of those apps seem as tightly integrated and useful as this Mac OS feature.

ucosty 6y ago

You can already buy an external Magic Trackpad from Apple (https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MJ2R2Z/A/magic-trackpad-2-silver https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MJ2R2Z/A/magic-trackpa...). Not terribly useful for a laptop unless you want to set up at a desk.

tapland 6y ago

That’s called a mouse. The trackpad is important because it’s the default interface when moving the portable computer. External devices kill that.

jeromenerf 6y ago

Nah, it’s just people whining and finding excuses.

hrktb 6y ago

The trackpad is just the saillant point. As we(I) go deeper the "let's try linux" route, thousands more papercuts come to the surface. It's fine for specific use cases (e.g. just focusing on backend dev), it becomes worse for wider use cases.