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Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

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Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#201

Post by slantyyz »

djsumdog wrote: post #148

Dave 2D had a great video review on this product. What makes this totally different from the touch bar is with the touch bar, you have to wait for developers to add support in their products (or as a dev, write your own tooling). Apple has the muscle to simply make everyone support their crappy bar. The ZenBook screen is usable right away by anybody. You can just drag any window there. It can be your Steam chat while…

As someone who hates touchpads, a touchscreen in its place is a wonderful idea.

I have a retired smartphone on my desk showing a live feed to my doorbell cam, and I could see myself using that Zenbook's touchpad screen as a Zoneminder window.

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#202

Post by slantyyz »

hirsin wrote: post #188
chiefalchemist wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a way to "attach" a tablet to a W10 laptop as an extra monitor? It makes sense but don't think I've been able to find a viable solution.

A Windows 10 tablet (I can't name one, but some probably exist) has this out of the box with the wireless screen projection (win+K). I had to do this laptop to laptop to projector for a lightning talk once after the first laptop had a broken display port adapter - surprisingly fast to setup and 0 latency. I'd be surprised if something didn't exist for Android tablets. But if you have an old laptop laying around, mayb…

Not all Win 10 tablets support the wireless projection. I think you can do it with a higher end one like a Surface Pro, but you can't with less powerful ones like the Asus Vivotab 8. You'll get an error message having to do with not meeting the minimum requirements.

On the other hand, you can use something like Synergy, but that's not quite the same thing.

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#203

Post by slantyyz »

jethro_tell wrote: post #170
eckza wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what happens when things are built to sell, not built to use.

I would certainly use this. I will also buy it if it supports linux out of the box.

When I first saw the Dave2D video on Youtube a couple of days ago, I thought it would be a useless feature, but on further consideration, I'd totally use it.

I have an Zenbook ux501 that runs on wired power most of the time anyways so battery life isn't a concern for me personally, but I'd use that touchscreen as a security cam monitor, system resource monitor or some type of dashboard. I use a mouse most of the time anyways, so most laptop touchpads are useless to me.

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#205

Post by rutierut »

Fnoord wrote: post #144
rutierut wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty good point, Mac OS is already using the touch pad to input signatures (you use the touch pad as paper and your finger as a pencil) which works extremely well but currently has no visual feedback, there is probably space for much more useful applications when that becomes available. I just really has to be an OLED display though.

> which works extremely well but currently has no visual feedback Why isn't that plus haptic feedback good enough for the examples you mentioned?

No it's perfectly fine, I just meant I can imagine there are lots of other applications of the touch pad that are currently limited by this

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#206

Post by aswellian »

ajross wrote: post #158
djsumdog wrote: post #148

Dave 2D had a great video review on this product. What makes this totally different from the touch bar is with the touch bar, you have to wait for developers to add support in their products (or as a dev, write your own tooling). Apple has the muscle to simply make everyone support their crappy bar. The ZenBook screen is usable right away by anybody. You can just drag any window there. It can be your Steam chat while…

> I wonder if it will work on Linux. If it's on one of the built-in Intel graphics outputs, then it will likely work out of the box (though of course none of the desktops will understand where it's supposed to be and probably put it in the wrong place, etc...). If it's some crazy piece of hardware Asus found, then maybe never.

Exactly that, proprietary hardware will limit usefulness for anything beyond specially developed Windows functionality.

And, even if the hardware can be hacked for Linux the question becomes, how can it be made functional in a desktop environment independent way?

Been doing R&D for a similar concept for several years, a detached video enabled trackpad. The key functionality which all concepts to date lack, is being OS agnostic and allowing end-user customization of functionality.

It's a good effort, but is likely only the beginning...

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#207

Post by wildrhythms »

mrep wrote: post #172
mgiannopoulos wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been trying to find a cheaper MBP replacement after 10 years with 3 MBP. Everything else is ugly. Some decent choices end up at the or worse price point as Apple.

Which model are you currently on because my top of the line 2013 15 inch MBP is still running like a champ. If you are willing to try out windows, the surface pros are actually pretty sweat. I got one for my gf for grad school and will probably get one for myself if my MBP ever dies.

I still have a 2013 Macbook Air going strong and I will be extremely sad the day it finally kicks the bucket. It's not a powerhouse by any means, but it's lightweight and it runs any text editor I need with no gimmicks and better battery life than anything else its size despite its age.

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#208

Post by srrr »

hirsin wrote: post #188
chiefalchemist wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a way to "attach" a tablet to a W10 laptop as an extra monitor? It makes sense but don't think I've been able to find a viable solution.

A Windows 10 tablet (I can't name one, but some probably exist) has this out of the box with the wireless screen projection (win+K). I had to do this laptop to laptop to projector for a lightning talk once after the first laptop had a broken display port adapter - surprisingly fast to setup and 0 latency. I'd be surprised if something didn't exist for Android tablets. But if you have an old laptop laying around, mayb…

I think this is https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracast ?

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#209

Post by naikrovek »

Operyl wrote: post #21
naikrovek wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a trackpad. What do you think it will do if you touch it accidentally? It's gonna fuck your shit up so bad that you can't undo it, just like a real trackpad would.

Not true at all. macOS has some rather intelligent tracking if it’s a palm touching, or a finger for example. Alternatively, there’s also completely turning off tap to click. But that’s for taps, not for a full scale UI on my trackpad with dragging sliders etc.

Mac touchpads are better, but they still suck.

The entire notion of the trackpad is flawed. They are awful, and no one cares. People just use them so much that they get used to them and they don't notice how anymore.

Re: Asus replaced the touchpad on its new ZenBook Pro with a 5.5-inch touchscreen

#210

Post by cheaprentalyeti »

This reminds me, out of curiosity, does anyone know of any "Turn your phone into a bluetooth touchpad" apps that actually work and don't need you to be running special software on your laptop? I want to be able to use my phone or tablet as a touchpad.
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