121–130 of 170 posts
Now that all macs can take advantage of gestures, I wonder when Apple will include some of the iOS inertial scrolling to OS X. It's such a simple change that (for me) makes a big difference in functionality. I was happy to see inertial scrolling added to Google Maps not too long ago.
Is there any chance of this pairing with a non-Apple desktop? I'd dearly love to join in the multitouch trackpad fun, but my main workstations are Ubuntu.
It's a bit of effort because it requires new functionality throughout the software stack, from the low-level kernel drivers to higher-level X hooks, and ideally in the future, hooks in UI toolkits to do more application-level things with gestures.
next step is to make a one giant trackpad with keys printed on top of it. os if you touch it its a key press and if you drag it its a mouse movement. now only need to figure out how to mouse click ;)
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Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple m…
>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
Back in the days, I always preferred the Trackpoints the IBM ThinkPads used and I never quite liked the trackpads. I'm even going as far as to say that I'm quite the trackpad hater - they never felt precise to me and required way too frantic finger movement to be really comfortable for me. But when I moved to Apple hardware, I basically was stuck with the trackpads, but this time around, it was different. The bigger…
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My guess is that it has to do with the battery losing its ability to hold charge with time. It makes sense to engineer a massive new battery for the iPhone or Macbook, but these peripherals don't have the same volume or margin cushion to absorb the cost, hence off the shelf battery technology. Also, I think most people expect to change out a computer every couple years, but a mouse is supposed to last longer. If the…
Having used both, I am disappointed with the longer lifespan of disposable batteries. I hate throwing them away, but with my usage they can last almost twice as long. On the other hand, I might mind less if I had a better charging configuration.
Back in the days, I always preferred the Trackpoints the IBM ThinkPads used and I never quite liked the trackpads. I'm even going as far as to say that I'm quite the trackpad hater - they never felt precise to me and required way too frantic finger movement to be really comfortable for me. But when I moved to Apple hardware, I basically was stuck with the trackpads, but this time around, it was different. The bigger…
The problem with trackpads are that you have to move your hand - great for normal browsing I suppose, but it sucks when you are writing code or typing.
I can't get my head around how Apple manages to come out with products that are cool enough they could come from a startup with some very motivated founders working day and night. Almost all other companies with >100 employees are turning out mostly crappy products that no one gets excited about. When's the last time you talked about a Xerox printer or HP laptop? In my mind this is why a company like Nokia can't make…
Because people will buy their products on faith, where a startup would just be ignored. Belkin could release this exact same thing and it would be mocked.
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Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple m…
>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
If average PC track pads are as good as the average non-iPhone touch sensitive screens (yes, a fuzzy comparison, but probably the right ball park), then you'd expect the Apple ones to be better.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple m…
>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin. Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best. That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
Part of the problem is that Synaptics and Alps Electric together supply the vast majority of PC trackpads, and I've got no problem calling them out for poor quality. Why worry about performance when you've got a duopoly and your customers are OEMs who only care about price?