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Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

williambharding.com

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Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#121

Post by Tecuane »

101km wrote: post #59
null0pointer wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How frequently are you traveling? And is it usually for extended periods of time? I'm curious for more details, if you can share. I'd also like to know more about your config restoration process. Is it literally just running your script? What other things does it do? My process is fairly streamlined as is, with most things except software installs done automatically. But I'm always on the lookout for improvements.

Continuously the last two years, 30+ countries. :) What kind of details are you looking for? I unbox at the Apple store and: - Temporarily turn off Spotlight & Time Machine (Permanently) because it helpfully tries to index everything and tinker with a handful of system preferences while a memorized curl|bash runs Mostly appearance related. This can also be automated but doesn't seem worth it as it only takes a minute…

>I do forget to remap the esc key each time I do this, or the name of the thingie that helps you do that

I don't suppose it's Karabiner[1], is it? This is the one I'm most familiar with, as it's been around under a few names for a very long time.

If so, this is in `brew cask`[2], which I am assuming is somewhere in your script's mix.

1. https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/

2. https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-cask/blob/master/Casks/...

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#122

Post by isostatic »

masklinn wrote: post #100
isostatic wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea how not to use it. Right index finger (I'm right handed) moves it round, right thumb presses the keys. I'm not a classic touch typist, but my fingers tend to be near the home row most of the time, having the pointing device one or two keys away, and the mouse buttons next to space, is a big benefit. Having to shift my left hand to the left, and right hand down 3", just to move the pointer, feels like a…

> I have no idea how not to use it. Right index finger (I'm right handed) moves it round, right thumb presses the keys. That's completely immaterial to the precision of it, which is why I'm unable to use it: I never managed to aim at something, I take ages to actually reach a button to click on it (either under- or over-shooting it unless I move the cursor extremely slowly) let alone select some characters in the mid…

I find it (on my 8 year old t410s) far more precise than any trackpad I've used, and more precise than the old ball-mouse and trackballs. I guess it's what you know.

I actually just used the touchpad on said laptop with my thumb, to move the arrow to the 'reply' button (I have an inbuilt distrust of tab on websites). And now I used the trackpoint to resize the text box to read my reply, again without thinking about it.

I suspect that when I'm in "doing" mode I use the trackpoint, when I'm in "consuming" mode I use the pad.

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#123

Post by megaman22 »

rahoulb wrote: post #120
mkirklions wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is on this website? I thought these were mostly programmers, but I cannot picture a programmer using a touchpad instead of a mouse.

Really? Why not? Why would you use a mouse if you're on a laptop? Especially a macbook, where the trackpad is fantastic to use and offers gestures which give you features you don't get with a mouse.

Gestures are awful... They're nonstandard between boxes, and often flaky as all hell. One of the first things I disable on a new OS install.

Why wouldn't you use a mouse, and get better precision, a standard form-factor, and universally solid drivers? Besides, you can take your mouse and plug it into any machine you need to work on.

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#124

Post by MrLeftHand »

mkirklions wrote: post #109
MrLeftHand wrote: post #81

One of the main reasons I stopped using Linux is the touchpad! It is horrible out of the box experience and the insult to injury is the lack of no good user interface to even set anything. You have to screw around with libinput or xinput with zero documentation on both parts and hope you will hit a sweet spot eventually and hope that any future updates won't break it. I am way past of the tinkerer phase where I would…

We are all talking about desktop? Ubuntu desktop is annoying IMO. Server is the only linux worth running. Windows has a superior desktop experience. Ive made serious attempts to use linux desktops since ubuntu 7 and the annoyance factor of getting things to 'work' and the hostile community is really offputting.

I feel your pain.

Ubuntu Desktop was my preferred go to distro not too long ago. Using 16.10 was nice and I managed to get the touchpad working in a reasonable way with xinput.

Then 18 came along and everything went to hell. All the properties changed and some even disappeared. And of course the ones missing were the ones I actually needed to make my touchpad work in a way that it was comfortable to use.

After that I just jumped ship. I didn't wanted to spend another week to figure out everything again.

I happily choose Linux when it comes to servers and other non-desktop related work, but I am very disappointed how it lacks user friendliness and ease of use. 10-20 years back I would have said, that laptops are a niche platform and that's why it has a hard time supporting hardware. But it's 2018 and laptops are becoming mainstream in everyday use. Not being able to support the primary pointing hardware on a platform so popular is a death sentence.

And don't get me started on discrete GPUs...

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#125

Post by chupasaurus »

mkirklions wrote: post #109
MrLeftHand wrote: post #81

One of the main reasons I stopped using Linux is the touchpad! It is horrible out of the box experience and the insult to injury is the lack of no good user interface to even set anything. You have to screw around with libinput or xinput with zero documentation on both parts and hope you will hit a sweet spot eventually and hope that any future updates won't break it. I am way past of the tinkerer phase where I would…

We are all talking about desktop? Ubuntu desktop is annoying IMO. Server is the only linux worth running. Windows has a superior desktop experience. Ive made serious attempts to use linux desktops since ubuntu 7 and the annoyance factor of getting things to 'work' and the hostile community is really offputting.

There are more than 2 desktop environments for Linux you've tried if my guess is right (since you've tried Ubuntu). Imo KDE is light years ahead than Windows but requires to set it up for your taste.

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#126

Post by bollockitis »

101km wrote: post #11

I have been using 12" MacBooks since they came out because I live out of a backpack and travel a lot. I cannot find anything comparable in terms of size/weight/battery and build quality. Especially the trackpad, nothing is remotely close. Otherwise I'd get that and put Arch on it. People complain Apple is expensive, not so sure. The TCO may actually be less because of the high resale value. It is also more convenient…

> There is no alternative. I feel trapped.

This is ironic, considering that you live out of a backpack! Honestly though, there are alternatives, but that's the problem with luxuries: once we have been spoiled, human pyschology makes it difficult to accept "less." We tend to describe things we want as things we "need." It seems that many Apple power users, myself included, tend to be perfectionists when it comes to computers. Unlike the rest of the population — the majority of whom don't live out of a backpack and can not justify the cost of Apple products (with the possible exception of an iPhone) — "good enough" just doesn't cut it.

Depending upon what you're using your computer for, you could have a "good enough" setup with just about anything, though it would probably be less comfortable to you than what you have now. For light use, a Chromebook can be instantly set up, and they can be found all over the world. For heavier use, any Windows 10 laptop can sync settings to the cloud and, coupled with Chocolatey and WSL, it's possible to emulate your current workflow. MacBooks are fantastic machines and I believe they offer immense value but, if you feel trapped, it's because the adventurous spirit that has carried you across the world has yet to extend itself to your computing environment!

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#127

Post by IshKebab »

madeofpalk wrote: post #91
maggit wrote: post #48

Yes, please do! I've spent some time researching this as well, and to me it seems like the author has missed one thing; the Mac touchpad hardware is so much better than other touchpad hardware. (As I understand it, the competition is barred from making similar touchpads due to patents) I have been running Linux on MacBook Pros for many years, and the touchpad is a constant source of disappointment. For the effort to…

> As I understand it, the competition is barred from making similar touchpads due to patents I'm unwilling to believe that Apple discovered the one and only way to make good Trackpad hardware.

Have you used an Apple trackpad though? Because they genuinely are light years ahead of the competition. Why wouldn't they patent everything around that?

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#128

Post by IshKebab »

megaman22 wrote: post #123
rahoulb wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Why not? Why would you use a mouse if you're on a laptop? Especially a macbook, where the trackpad is fantastic to use and offers gestures which give you features you don't get with a mouse.

Gestures are awful... They're nonstandard between boxes, and often flaky as all hell. One of the first things I disable on a new OS install. Why wouldn't you use a mouse, and get better precision, a standard form-factor, and universally solid drivers? Besides, you can take your mouse and plug it into any machine you need to work on.

Gestures on Macs are not flaky. That's kind of the whole point of this discussion.

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#129

Post by mattl »

megaman22 wrote: post #123
rahoulb wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Why not? Why would you use a mouse if you're on a laptop? Especially a macbook, where the trackpad is fantastic to use and offers gestures which give you features you don't get with a mouse.

Gestures are awful... They're nonstandard between boxes, and often flaky as all hell. One of the first things I disable on a new OS install. Why wouldn't you use a mouse, and get better precision, a standard form-factor, and universally solid drivers? Besides, you can take your mouse and plug it into any machine you need to work on.

A mouse is fine in an environment where you also have an external monitor and maybe an external keyboard too.

Re: Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

#130

Post by NeedMoreTea »

masklinn wrote: post #100
isostatic wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea how not to use it. Right index finger (I'm right handed) moves it round, right thumb presses the keys. I'm not a classic touch typist, but my fingers tend to be near the home row most of the time, having the pointing device one or two keys away, and the mouse buttons next to space, is a big benefit. Having to shift my left hand to the left, and right hand down 3", just to move the pointer, feels like a…

> I have no idea how not to use it. Right index finger (I'm right handed) moves it round, right thumb presses the keys. That's completely immaterial to the precision of it, which is why I'm unable to use it: I never managed to aim at something, I take ages to actually reach a button to click on it (either under- or over-shooting it unless I move the cursor extremely slowly) let alone select some characters in the mid…

Odd. I find the trackpoint more precise than any touchpad, Macs included. I've owned Macbooks for years yet am instantly happier, and faster, on the keyboard and trackpoint of the wife's T series.

I'd pay significantly more over already inflated Apple prices to have my MBP with a trackpoint and no touchpad.

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