5 ms·

Have you tried a MacBook with its trackpad right in front of the keyboard? I like keyboard-only too, but some jobs are faster when you can point at the screen

smoldesu 5y ago
"pointing at the screen" can be done a lot better, a number of different ways. My personal favorite is the Trackpoint, IBM's nifty little nipple that lets you use a joystick from the home row. You can actually type while using your mouse, and it's a a very jarring experience. Barring that, a touchscreen is also a great interface for quickly interacting with specific UI elements. I like Apple's trackpads, but the rest of their input peripherals are pretty terrible for ergonomics.
- imiric 5y ago
  I've been a huge fan of the Trackpoint for many years, but unfortunately it's always been plagued by annoying drift issues, where the cursor keeps moving in one direction and you have to fight with it to make it stop. This has been an issue on older IBM ThinkPads as well as modern Lenovo models. It's a disgrace the technology hasn't improved much (at all?) in the last 20 years that this is still a recurring problem.
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    There was also just shy of a dozen different Trackpoint designs, I don't doubt that one or two were seriously faulty, and I certainly have my preferences (the lower profile ones definitely don't track as well). In any case, the positioning and design of it is pretty ideal for people looking to reduce context switching at any cost.
  - dnr 5y ago
    The trick is: as soon as you notice it drifting, take your finger off it and let it come to a stop. If you keep pushing opposite the drift it'll never stop. Also, if you haven't in a while, replace your cap. I replace mine every year or so and it makes it perform much better. You don't have to push as hard, which also reduces the drift problem.
    - imiric 5y ago
      Yeah, I do this as well, but it's still annoying as it takes it a few seconds to stop. And then usually happens again soon after, so I often just force push it in the direction I want. I don't replace the cap often, but I do take it out and clean it, blow out the dust, etc. I'll give a fresh cap a try soon, thanks. It's just ridiculous this highly disruptive behavior is still a thing after all these years...
vladvasiliu 5y ago
I have, and it's much better than a mouse, especially since I've got used to working the trackpad with my thumb. But I still prefer keyboard shortcuts, they juste feel more natural while the hands are already in "typing mode". I feel like there's a question of "waiting around". Even though I've always found the mac trackpad to be very precise, even for quick movements, you still have to aim for an icon, move the cursor to it, click, etc. Now in the particular case of a macbook, where the windows will probably be maximized or not move around a lot, you may get some kind of muscle memory. But you still have to look around for the icon, etc. Whereas a shortcut is always the same, you press the keys and you're done, it doesn't matter where your cursor and / or window happen to be. I also prefer hidden icon toolbars, this allows me to gain some vertical space. But, as another commenter said, some actions are easier with the mouse and wouldn't throw mine away. In my case, that's web browsing.
- tokamak-teapot 5y ago
  I’ve tried the vi-like plug-ins for browsers that let you press a key then choose a link/button on the page by letter(s). I haven’t quite got ‘into’ them, however. File management is also something that I find a lot easier with a pointing device. Also drawing diagrams, unsurprisingly!
dmos62 5y ago
I've not used a MacBook, but I've used laptops with trackpads. Either way, I'm a vim user, so I really don't have a reason to use the mouse for editing.

smoldesu 5y ago

"pointing at the screen" can be done a lot better, a number of different ways. My personal favorite is the Trackpoint, IBM's nifty little nipple that lets you use a joystick from the home row. You can actually type while using your mouse, and it's a a very jarring experience. Barring that, a touchscreen is also a great interface for quickly interacting with specific UI elements. I like Apple's trackpads, but the rest of their input peripherals are pretty terrible for ergonomics.

imiric 5y ago
I've been a huge fan of the Trackpoint for many years, but unfortunately it's always been plagued by annoying drift issues, where the cursor keeps moving in one direction and you have to fight with it to make it stop. This has been an issue on older IBM ThinkPads as well as modern Lenovo models. It's a disgrace the technology hasn't improved much (at all?) in the last 20 years that this is still a recurring problem.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  There was also just shy of a dozen different Trackpoint designs, I don't doubt that one or two were seriously faulty, and I certainly have my preferences (the lower profile ones definitely don't track as well). In any case, the positioning and design of it is pretty ideal for people looking to reduce context switching at any cost.
- dnr 5y ago
  The trick is: as soon as you notice it drifting, take your finger off it and let it come to a stop. If you keep pushing opposite the drift it'll never stop. Also, if you haven't in a while, replace your cap. I replace mine every year or so and it makes it perform much better. You don't have to push as hard, which also reduces the drift problem.
  - imiric 5y ago
    Yeah, I do this as well, but it's still annoying as it takes it a few seconds to stop. And then usually happens again soon after, so I often just force push it in the direction I want. I don't replace the cap often, but I do take it out and clean it, blow out the dust, etc. I'll give a fresh cap a try soon, thanks. It's just ridiculous this highly disruptive behavior is still a thing after all these years...

vladvasiliu 5y ago

I have, and it's much better than a mouse, especially since I've got used to working the trackpad with my thumb. But I still prefer keyboard shortcuts, they juste feel more natural while the hands are already in "typing mode". I feel like there's a question of "waiting around". Even though I've always found the mac trackpad to be very precise, even for quick movements, you still have to aim for an icon, move the cursor to it, click, etc. Now in the particular case of a macbook, where the windows will probably be maximized or not move around a lot, you may get some kind of muscle memory. But you still have to look around for the icon, etc. Whereas a shortcut is always the same, you press the keys and you're done, it doesn't matter where your cursor and / or window happen to be. I also prefer hidden icon toolbars, this allows me to gain some vertical space. But, as another commenter said, some actions are easier with the mouse and wouldn't throw mine away. In my case, that's web browsing.

tokamak-teapot 5y ago
I’ve tried the vi-like plug-ins for browsers that let you press a key then choose a link/button on the page by letter(s). I haven’t quite got ‘into’ them, however. File management is also something that I find a lot easier with a pointing device. Also drawing diagrams, unsurprisingly!

dmos62 5y ago

I've not used a MacBook, but I've used laptops with trackpads. Either way, I'm a vim user, so I really don't have a reason to use the mouse for editing.