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Linux touchpad like a Macbook: goal worth pursuing?

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

#171

Post by vinay427 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #69

What I find the biggest advantage is the hardware (as another poster here does), but not only due to its superior capabilities in gesture recognition. I have yet to find a non-Macbook touchpad which is: - decently sized: all Windows/Linux laptops I have encountered have ridiculously small touchpads, some not even a quarter of a Macbook touchpad in size. I have huge hands, tiny touchpads are awful when two fingers are…

None of your points apply to various newer Windows laptops or even laptops from years ago, such as my T450s. However, the smoothness still isn't up to par with a modern MacBook. I use the TrackPoint anyway, but the trackpad seems decent.

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

#172

Post by androidgirl »

sabarasaba wrote: post #4

I used to care a lot about this kind of things about two years ago when I switched from mac to linux. But to be honest, you just kind of get used to it after a while and its not really that much of a deal breaker anymore. I spend most of my time in terminals, and I use i3wm so most of my workflow doesnt involve using the touchpad at all. The only use case i have for it is when using chrome, but even so theres vimium…

I relate to this comment. I've been using an old HP 8460p for the past few years, and almost always prefer to use the keyboard. Even without i3 there's things like tmux that make it much easier.

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

#173

Post by auscompgeek »

Tepix wrote: post #67
chi3 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft's Surface Book comes very close actually, so while the MBPs are still ahead, the gap is getting smaller!

The Dell XPS 13 touchpad hardware isn't too bad either. It should be bigger though.

If you're looking for a large touchpad, you don't have to look any further than the HP Spectre x360, which has a touchpad literally the size of a modestly-sized smartphone.

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

#174

Post by dorfsmay »

pizza234 wrote: post #57
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…

I had a Thinkpad x200s, and all in all, nothing came/comes close to it (tolerating the slightly thicker build, which is inevitable for highly serviceable machines). I've been an MBA user as well, for reference. I use the mousepad little to none though. Possibly (but I'm not sure, since I haven't tried) IBM had such capillary distribution to support the quite bizarre use case of selling and repurchasing a new machine…

> tolerating the slightly thicker build, which is inevitable for highly serviceable machines

I'm in the same boat, and I actually think the lack of serviceability is a feature. On the x220 you can change the disk, the memory and the keyboard just by unscrewing a few screws. On newer laptops, including the whole Thinkpad line, you'll eventually end up breaking little pieces of plastic involved in holding the bottom of the machines, regardless of how much care you take, using the right tools etc...

Especially considering that the gain is to be thin, which really doesn't add much to laptop. If you're restricted for space, then the width is the key factor (try to use anything bigger than a 13 inch on an airplane!). "Thin" seems to be a pissing contest between laptop manufacturers, which the marketing departments then took care of convincing buyers that it was an important feature.

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

#175

Post by pimeys »

davidandgoliath wrote: post #98
KozmoNau7 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

X220i here, and even though modern browsers and applications do tax its CPU (leading to shorter battery life), I still get at least 5 hours out of a new (and inexpensive) 9-cell battery. Build quality is simply second to none, the hinges are still perfectly tight with no slop, even after 7 years.

x1 (gen c5) is amazing as well. After almost a decade as a macbook user, i'm impressed by it & back to linux! :)

I have one of those from work and running NixOS in it, everything works perfectly and I love the machine.

Btw if thinking of a X1C for Linux use, I'd skip the latest for now due to them changing how the sleep works and it having issues even with Windows (losing battery while sleeping). The fifth model is great though, if you're not looking for the 8th gen CPU and HDR screen.

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

#177

Post by dorfsmay »

isostatic wrote: post #3

Am I the only one who prefers the nipples on thinkpads?

Same here, I'm much more productive with a track point and three buttons. I feel trapped buying Thinkpad (which have slowly become less and less robuste and well-designed) the same way some people in here say they feel trap buying Mac.

Having said that, this is the beauty of Linux, let people use what they like, being devices or window managers.

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

#178

Post by k_ »

shaan7 wrote: post #176

I've worked with a 2013 MBP 15" for 4 years and then switched to XPS 13 + Kubuntu. The touchpad is butter smooth - be it taps, clicks, or two finger scrolling (and three finger gestures thanks to comfortable-swipe). Any XPS 13 (9360) users around who feel the same?

Dell E7440 here with arch linux. I had never been a touchpad user before, but now it's been 10 months since I used a mouse. I even began to play mouse games with it and it's mostly fine too.

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

#180

Post by collyw »

IshKebab wrote: post #127
madeofpalk wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

What do they do that is different? I had a Mac from 2013 with Ubuntu installed. I didn't notice anything different other than a lack of way to emulate a third button.
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