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Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

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Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#41

Post by petecox »

bunderbunder wrote: post #17
jclardy wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the biggest problem comes from supporting external displays. For me to fully swap to iOS as a development platform (ignoring missing software currently) I would need to be able to plug into a larger display at some point, and have a way of controlling apps on that display without using touch at all.

Once you get to that point, though, it seems like what you're really looking for is a computer and not a mobile device. Perhaps what's missing is not an iPad with mouse support, but a Mac with a more Surface-like form factor.

I'm posting using a wireless mouse and USB keyboard from my Android desktop, a 4K tv box.

Android does support mouse input; Apple can at any time release a typecover for iPad with a trackpad. They choose not to.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#42

Post by GeekyBear »

setr wrote: post #39
cptskippy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A mouse (unless Apple made it) has visible buttons. A touch screen has no indications that it can be force touched. You only discover force touch if you mistakenly use too much force at the right time and place, which isn't an everyday occurrence. Where as a right click function could be discovered by clicking randomly with the right button which was obviously put there with purpose.

I really doubt the discovery of force touch itself is an issue.. it was in all their ads and they made a big deal out of it; when force touch can be applied, and for what purpose, is the bigger issue. The same problem apple has with option key. Right click is somewhat sensible: it works mostly everywhere, and gives you a “little menu” that you can equivalently find from the apps main menu. and it returns some result,…

In Windows 95, right clicking did not always have an effect.

There was no way to know in advance if right clicking a particular thing would provide options or not.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#44

Post by Razengan »

rwc wrote: post #2

This direction gives me huge hope we'll soon see mouse support for iPad. It's the greatest handicap to doing productive work, particularly text editing.

Other than precision, why would you need mouse support on a touchscreen device with an OS that is built and optimized for touch?

And you can get better precision from the Apple Pencil or other styli.

Mouse-support would actually be a step backwards on an iPad; multitouch lets you do things that are impossible with the single pointer of a mouse, such as interacting with multiple UI elements (like sliders, knobs) at the same time with multiple fingers, even across different apps in split-view.

I'm honestly glad iPhones/iPads/Macs don't try to be touchscreen PCs, and I'm glad Apple explores the full breadth of each device's unique strengths, borrowing the best from each other without trying to be each other (except in some cases like wasting the larger screen space on iPads; displaying a single column of Lock Screen widgets or showing 4x4 icons in folders even on the 12.9" iPad.)

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#45

Post by aplummer »

Razengan wrote: post #44
rwc wrote: post #2

This direction gives me huge hope we'll soon see mouse support for iPad. It's the greatest handicap to doing productive work, particularly text editing.

Other than precision, why would you need mouse support on a touchscreen device with an OS that is built and optimized for touch? And you can get better precision from the Apple Pencil or other styli. Mouse-support would actually be a step backwards on an iPad; multitouch lets you do things that are impossible with the single pointer of a mouse, such as interacting with multiple UI elements (like sliders, knobs) at th…

Maybe controversial but I just find holding my arm in the air (assuming the keyboard is attached) to be tiring for big sessions. With a mouse I could relax.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#46

Post by isatty »

ksec wrote: post #14
rwc wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been present since iOS 10, and on iPhones with force touch you can force touch the keyboard anywhere and it'll turn into a trackpad.

Somehow on iOS 12 my iPhone 6s only works on Spacebar, not anywhere on the Keyboard.

iPhone XS - works anywhere on the keyboard but I think apple may change that because the XR doesn’t have force touch.

I hope not though.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#47

Post by rwc »

Razengan wrote: post #44
rwc wrote: post #2

This direction gives me huge hope we'll soon see mouse support for iPad. It's the greatest handicap to doing productive work, particularly text editing.

Other than precision, why would you need mouse support on a touchscreen device with an OS that is built and optimized for touch? And you can get better precision from the Apple Pencil or other styli. Mouse-support would actually be a step backwards on an iPad; multitouch lets you do things that are impossible with the single pointer of a mouse, such as interacting with multiple UI elements (like sliders, knobs) at th…

Precision. That’s exactly why I need mouse support. I do not find relying on touch alone an acceptable experience when using an iPad full time as a productivity device.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#48

Post by rsynnott »

Razengan wrote: post #44
rwc wrote: post #2

This direction gives me huge hope we'll soon see mouse support for iPad. It's the greatest handicap to doing productive work, particularly text editing.

Other than precision, why would you need mouse support on a touchscreen device with an OS that is built and optimized for touch? And you can get better precision from the Apple Pencil or other styli. Mouse-support would actually be a step backwards on an iPad; multitouch lets you do things that are impossible with the single pointer of a mouse, such as interacting with multiple UI elements (like sliders, knobs) at th…

Ergonomics, if you’re using it with a keyboard. Which a lot of people seem to these days. Keyboard-and-touchscreen is a bad combination.

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#49

Post by kkarakk »

jmisavage wrote: post #6
rwc wrote: post #2

This direction gives me huge hope we'll soon see mouse support for iPad. It's the greatest handicap to doing productive work, particularly text editing.

I think we're very close. You can already tap and hold on the spacebar in iOS 12 and it turns into a trackpad like control for moving the cursor in textfields.

this is there in Gboard on android devices too(that have full support for mice). how is this an indicator of possible support?

Re: Marzipan: Porting iOS Apps to the Mac

#50

Post by steipete »

marmaduke wrote: post #27
steipete wrote: post #22

Hello Hacker News, Author here. AMA. This was fun to build!

How usable are Mac VMs? I previously tried VBox and VMware but recalled issues making it unusable (eg graphics). It seems like with Hyperkit it should be simple to bring up a macOS VM with SIP diasabled for dev purposes in like 30 seconds.

They are not great to work with. You can get away with CI, but not as a work machine. No GPU acceleration.
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