4 ms·

"No tactile feedback". The button goes down and clicks. What more tactile feedback is there for a button?

timr 18y ago
Every source I've seen -- including the linked article -- describes it as a "glass multi-touch trackpad". This does not imply that it has tactile feedback, beyond the clicky noises (which aren't tactile). Where did you get your information?
- tsetse-fly 18y ago
  "...and we actually don't hate the all-clicking trackpad much at all. (If your thumb muscle memory makes you click at the bottom where the button used to be, it works and feels pretty much the same.)" It /feels/ the same as the old trackpad thus it has tactile feedback. The entire trackpad clicks. http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/apple-macbook-aluminum-and-glass-super-shiny-hands-on/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/apple-macbook-aluminum-an...
- timr 18y ago
  Hey...can we please stop with the moderation flogging? I asked a question in good faith. Why all the down-voting?
  - axod 18y ago
    "every source I've seen" you said, and you didn't even check the Apple website? What sources were you looking at???
    - timr 18y ago
      I did check the apple site, but hadn't seen the video. The linked article didn't really describe it, nor did any of the half-dozen other articles I've read. The copy on the apple site is ambiguous -- saying that the trackpad "is the button" could mean a lot of things, including that the trackpad acts as the button (which is how I read it). It isn't an unreasonable interpretation.
      - axod 18y ago
        Sure, but that would be seriously lame.... "The trackpad is the button" meaning 'you can still do tap to click like you have been doing'? I guess they could make it more obvious that the trackpad is actually physically a button...
  - gojomo 18y ago
    IMHO, original comment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332526) should be modded to slightly negative, because it's false, even if it's an honest mistake. (I think you could stop the bleeding by acknowledging the error with an after-edit.) Followup question about sources is fair, but still seems to advance an erroneous impression based on "every source I've seen". So slight downmodding (perhaps just to zero) doesn't seem clearly abusive to me. (I've only downmodded the original false comment, while upmodding those providing true information and details.)
    - timr 18y ago
      I changed the wording around. Thanks.
- jonknee 18y ago
  Yes, it's a glass trackpad. It's also a physical button. This was made clear in the presentation, in the description on Apple.com and in a video also on Apple.com. Here's the video, you can see the button go up and down: http://www.apple.com/macbook/#designvideo http://www.apple.com/macbook/#designvideo
  - timr 18y ago
    The description on the apple site is less than clear ("the trackpad is the button"), but thanks for the video link.
- m0digital 18y ago
  http://www.apple.com/macbook/ http://www.apple.com/macbook/ Watch the video. 3/4 of the way in, they introduce the trackpad. You can clearly see that the trackpad gets recessed when you click on it.
mattmaroon 18y ago
The most important tactile feedback of a button is not the spring of depression but rather the shape of the button itself. It allows you to constantly reset your bearings. When you're typing on a keypad, for example, you feel whether your finger is hitting the button square in the middle, or slightly to the left or right and adjust accordingly. You can look at the screen and type because of that. Hell, you can probably type whole paragraphs with your eyes shut without erring. Without the feel of physical buttons, you'll inevitably drift one direction or the other. That's why BlackBerry typing is really so much better than the iPhone. When you have both in broad daylight and are staring at the buttons as you type, the difference isn't as noticeable. But on a Berry, you can text one-handed while driving (though I don't recommend it) while on an iPhone you'd slip up pretty fast. Or, more importantly, you can look at the screen exclusively as you type, as you would on a computer. I'm not sure if this is relevant here though. Perhaps it will cause your fingers to drift upward when not looking? I really don't know.

timr 18y ago

Every source I've seen -- including the linked article -- describes it as a "glass multi-touch trackpad". This does not imply that it has tactile feedback, beyond the clicky noises (which aren't tactile). Where did you get your information?

tsetse-fly 18y ago
"...and we actually don't hate the all-clicking trackpad much at all. (If your thumb muscle memory makes you click at the bottom where the button used to be, it works and feels pretty much the same.)" It /feels/ the same as the old trackpad thus it has tactile feedback. The entire trackpad clicks. http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/apple-macbook-aluminum-and-glass-super-shiny-hands-on/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/apple-macbook-aluminum-an...
timr 18y ago
Hey...can we please stop with the moderation flogging? I asked a question in good faith. Why all the down-voting?
- axod 18y ago
  "every source I've seen" you said, and you didn't even check the Apple website? What sources were you looking at???
  - timr 18y ago
    I did check the apple site, but hadn't seen the video. The linked article didn't really describe it, nor did any of the half-dozen other articles I've read. The copy on the apple site is ambiguous -- saying that the trackpad "is the button" could mean a lot of things, including that the trackpad acts as the button (which is how I read it). It isn't an unreasonable interpretation.
    - axod 18y ago
      Sure, but that would be seriously lame.... "The trackpad is the button" meaning 'you can still do tap to click like you have been doing'? I guess they could make it more obvious that the trackpad is actually physically a button...
- gojomo 18y ago
  IMHO, original comment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=332526) should be modded to slightly negative, because it's false, even if it's an honest mistake. (I think you could stop the bleeding by acknowledging the error with an after-edit.) Followup question about sources is fair, but still seems to advance an erroneous impression based on "every source I've seen". So slight downmodding (perhaps just to zero) doesn't seem clearly abusive to me. (I've only downmodded the original false comment, while upmodding those providing true information and details.)
  - timr 18y ago
    I changed the wording around. Thanks.
jonknee 18y ago
Yes, it's a glass trackpad. It's also a physical button. This was made clear in the presentation, in the description on Apple.com and in a video also on Apple.com. Here's the video, you can see the button go up and down: http://www.apple.com/macbook/#designvideo http://www.apple.com/macbook/#designvideo
- timr 18y ago
  The description on the apple site is less than clear ("the trackpad is the button"), but thanks for the video link.
m0digital 18y ago
http://www.apple.com/macbook/ http://www.apple.com/macbook/ Watch the video. 3/4 of the way in, they introduce the trackpad. You can clearly see that the trackpad gets recessed when you click on it.

mattmaroon 18y ago

The most important tactile feedback of a button is not the spring of depression but rather the shape of the button itself. It allows you to constantly reset your bearings. When you're typing on a keypad, for example, you feel whether your finger is hitting the button square in the middle, or slightly to the left or right and adjust accordingly. You can look at the screen and type because of that. Hell, you can probably type whole paragraphs with your eyes shut without erring. Without the feel of physical buttons, you'll inevitably drift one direction or the other. That's why BlackBerry typing is really so much better than the iPhone. When you have both in broad daylight and are staring at the buttons as you type, the difference isn't as noticeable. But on a Berry, you can text one-handed while driving (though I don't recommend it) while on an iPhone you'd slip up pretty fast. Or, more importantly, you can look at the screen exclusively as you type, as you would on a computer. I'm not sure if this is relevant here though. Perhaps it will cause your fingers to drift upward when not looking? I really don't know.