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How’s the trackpad? How does it compare to a MacBook? I can’t find a non apple laptop that comes even close in terms of high sensitivity, yet amazing palm typin

How’s the trackpad? How does it compare to a MacBook? I can’t find a non apple laptop that comes even close in terms of high sensitivity, yet amazing palm typing reject, and multi finger gestures that work in almost every context.

fartcannon 5y ago
To me, Macbooks have the worst trackpad 'feel' so hopefully it's nothing like that.
- pxc 5y ago
  I imagine the part you don't like must be the acceleration curve, which is generally adjustable on Linux
  - least 5y ago
    The acceleration curve and default scroll speed are pretty horrendous in linux in my experience. The advantage of course is I can just add a command to my init file to adjust it but the scrolling speed isn't exposed in the settings apps of any of the major DEs as far as I know.
    - pxc 5y ago
      Yeah. NixOS has facilities for adjusting those acceleration curves and scroll speed in a universal/pre-DE way, as well. My preference is to disable acceleration in favor of very high sensitivity for physical mice, to disable small touchpads (like on old Windows laptops) and retain a substantial but smooth acceleration curve for large touchpads (like on a Mac). I think the DEs often let you adjust how many lines a single scroll increment scrolls by, but not the size of movement that triggers a scroll increment on the touchpad. I think depending on your touchpad driver (evdev is usually more flexible than, say, synaptics) and maybe your choice of display server (Wayland vs. Xorg), you can adjust the other aspect of touchpad scrolling.
- bschwindHN 5y ago
  You're definitely in the minority, macbook trackpads are widely accepted as the best ones currently out there. Some good discussion on this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19485178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19485178
  - fartcannon 5y ago
    Widely accepted by who? Mac users? It's nothing more than what you're used to.
    - least 5y ago
      I suppose one can certainly adapt to mostly any sort of input device given enough time, but that does not mean that they're done well. Most people that have used trackpads in windows/linux land prior to the last 8 years or so could easily tell you how horrendous they were (and some still are). A lot of this comes down to software, of course. Microsoft's precision touchpad drivers were a game changer for Windows devices and made them at least comparable to the mac. Mac's trackpads are well thought out with its sensitivity and acceleration curves and the more recent 2015+ trackpads have been large and very pleasant to use without need to adjust. In contrast, the acceleration curves and scroll speeds in linux and windows require quit a bit of tweaking. Again, subjective, but the reason why most people that try a mac trackpad (with MacOS) find it to be a better experience is because they really nailed the default settings to be comfortable for most.
      - fartcannon 5y ago
        You're speaking for an awful lot of people. Maybe HN skews towards Apple fans and therefore might just possibly have a few extra upvotes for Apples defaults?
        least 5y ago
        There's not been a study on it as far as I know (maybe there's some polls online, though?), if that's what you're hoping for. Obviously it's going to be largely anecdotal but it's not exactly just Apple bias. It's notable because the remarks about the trackpad often come from non-mac users who painfully concede that the trackpad experience on MacOS is better. One example I can think of is Linus from Linus Tech Tips always using a mac trackpad as the gold standard to compare against in his laptop reviews.
- joeberon 5y ago
  Wow! That's actually the first time I've ever heard this opinion
  - fartcannon 5y ago
    Yeah, not a lot of marketing money behind not liking Apple things, or anyone's things, for that matter.
    - joeberon 5y ago
      Just accept that others have a different opinion to you. No need to come up with some conspiracy about why we're not a homogenous blob.
      - fartcannon 5y ago
        I believe my point is precisely that we aren't homogeneous and that perhaps your perspective isn't quite as ubiquitous as you think.
        joeberon 5y ago
        Are you sure that's your point? It's a bit strange how you "believe" that it is your point. Surely you should know it for sure?
      - LMYahooTFY 5y ago
        How does pointing out how marketing works warrant being dismissive with 'conspiracy' labels? Marketing teams actively distort are public opinion. Your comment is remarkably dismissive IMO.
        joeberon 5y ago
        > Your comment is remarkably dismissive IMO. You'll survive

fartcannon 5y ago

To me, Macbooks have the worst trackpad 'feel' so hopefully it's nothing like that.

pxc 5y ago
I imagine the part you don't like must be the acceleration curve, which is generally adjustable on Linux
- least 5y ago
  The acceleration curve and default scroll speed are pretty horrendous in linux in my experience. The advantage of course is I can just add a command to my init file to adjust it but the scrolling speed isn't exposed in the settings apps of any of the major DEs as far as I know.
  - pxc 5y ago
    Yeah. NixOS has facilities for adjusting those acceleration curves and scroll speed in a universal/pre-DE way, as well. My preference is to disable acceleration in favor of very high sensitivity for physical mice, to disable small touchpads (like on old Windows laptops) and retain a substantial but smooth acceleration curve for large touchpads (like on a Mac). I think the DEs often let you adjust how many lines a single scroll increment scrolls by, but not the size of movement that triggers a scroll increment on the touchpad. I think depending on your touchpad driver (evdev is usually more flexible than, say, synaptics) and maybe your choice of display server (Wayland vs. Xorg), you can adjust the other aspect of touchpad scrolling.
bschwindHN 5y ago
You're definitely in the minority, macbook trackpads are widely accepted as the best ones currently out there. Some good discussion on this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19485178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19485178
- fartcannon 5y ago
  Widely accepted by who? Mac users? It's nothing more than what you're used to.
  - least 5y ago
    I suppose one can certainly adapt to mostly any sort of input device given enough time, but that does not mean that they're done well. Most people that have used trackpads in windows/linux land prior to the last 8 years or so could easily tell you how horrendous they were (and some still are). A lot of this comes down to software, of course. Microsoft's precision touchpad drivers were a game changer for Windows devices and made them at least comparable to the mac. Mac's trackpads are well thought out with its sensitivity and acceleration curves and the more recent 2015+ trackpads have been large and very pleasant to use without need to adjust. In contrast, the acceleration curves and scroll speeds in linux and windows require quit a bit of tweaking. Again, subjective, but the reason why most people that try a mac trackpad (with MacOS) find it to be a better experience is because they really nailed the default settings to be comfortable for most.
    - fartcannon 5y ago
      You're speaking for an awful lot of people. Maybe HN skews towards Apple fans and therefore might just possibly have a few extra upvotes for Apples defaults?
      - least 5y ago
        There's not been a study on it as far as I know (maybe there's some polls online, though?), if that's what you're hoping for. Obviously it's going to be largely anecdotal but it's not exactly just Apple bias. It's notable because the remarks about the trackpad often come from non-mac users who painfully concede that the trackpad experience on MacOS is better. One example I can think of is Linus from Linus Tech Tips always using a mac trackpad as the gold standard to compare against in his laptop reviews.
joeberon 5y ago
Wow! That's actually the first time I've ever heard this opinion
- fartcannon 5y ago
  Yeah, not a lot of marketing money behind not liking Apple things, or anyone's things, for that matter.
  - joeberon 5y ago
    Just accept that others have a different opinion to you. No need to come up with some conspiracy about why we're not a homogenous blob.
    - fartcannon 5y ago
      I believe my point is precisely that we aren't homogeneous and that perhaps your perspective isn't quite as ubiquitous as you think.
      - joeberon 5y ago
        Are you sure that's your point? It's a bit strange how you "believe" that it is your point. Surely you should know it for sure?
    - LMYahooTFY 5y ago
      How does pointing out how marketing works warrant being dismissive with 'conspiracy' labels? Marketing teams actively distort are public opinion. Your comment is remarkably dismissive IMO.
      - joeberon 5y ago
        > Your comment is remarkably dismissive IMO. You'll survive