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Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

bill.harding.blog

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Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#71
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly I've been using a 12" laptop as my daily driver with a crappy chair, desk and earbuds and no monitor for over two years and I've had no cardiovascular problems so far. Stressed people are quick to blame their environment (tools and whatnot) but fail to take a hard look at themselves.

Age? :->

Old enough to be mindful about the health consequences of worrying about the wrong things and not worrying about the right things.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was already refactored, into libinput. The issue with testability is not about the code being badly architected. The fact is if you have 100 config options and 1000 supported hardware devices, you must test all possible options and now your test matrix has something on the order of 2 ^ 100 * 1000 cases to go through. This combinatorial explosion is unsustainable. I personally disagree that device quirks should be…

> The end-user shouldn't even care about this They may want to care because not every device will be in the hw database at the outset. Or the existing description may be incomplete, and fail to account for something that libinput supports. Good hardware support starts from users "scratching their own itch" by experimenting with "advanced", less-strictly-supported options to reach the best combination for their hardwa…

It's not a red herring. Those advanced options still need to be tested and maintained. If no one tests and maintains those options, they will break and users will complain again and you're right back where you started. The idea is that it's better to just remove them instead of creating a false expectation that they're going to work. I personally would agree with that decision, at least in this case anyway.

In libinput, people who understand the problem and are willing to work with the developers and contribute upstream can edit the hardware quirks. The maintainer has also blogged about this: https://who-t.blogspot.com/2018/06/libinput-and-its-device-q...

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#74
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years ago when I had to switch from Linux to Mac for work, the different keyboard shortcuts for simple things like copy, paste, word left, move selection with cursor, etc. killed me. There are ways to change some of them, but Electron apps and various websites have hard coded emulations of the defaults. My coworkers simply refused to empathize with my frustration, but it's seriously like having a malfunctioning limb…

Now imagine coming from years of Mac use to Linux or Windows, and discovering to your horror that because the modifier key on those platforms isn't cmd but ctrl you cannot do many of the default shortcuts you're used to in the terminal.

Yep, Apple really nailed it with that choice. Not only can you use GUI key combos in the terminal, but also you can use terminal line editing key combos in the GUI. That's something that seems like it ought to be possible in Linux, but afaik it is not.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#75

I'm faintly curious, how does the MacOS "Touchpad Experience" referenced in question #1 differ from the Windows one? (Or any other OS?) (Background to my ignorance: While I do (very) occasionaly use MacOS, I usually default to the terminal as it's more familiar... and probably spend most (60-70%) of my time connected to linux or unix-like systems via cli/ssh... from a Windows system.) Are we talking touch gestures or…

You'd think "surely a touchpad is a touchpad", but the reality for most heavy users is that Apple really does have an experience substantially better than most in this area.

Large tracking surface. No dead zones, which can't be touched or tapped. Fantastic palm rejection. Gestures that work reliably, and never over or under-detect fingers.

Its not really to say that the Apple trackpads are better at their best than the other vendors, as much as it is that the other vendors often behave in unpredictable ways. I used to have a Thinkpad which worked every bit as well as my current Macbook trackpad when it worked right, but which would frequently fail to recognize a finger during a scrolling gesture, couldn't be clicked on the portion closest to the keyboard, and occasionally the palm rejection just wouldn't work. The minor annoyances over time add up to a much more frustrating experience.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#76
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me the problem is that the minimum of $5 per month is just too much. I would like to see this work done, but not for $60 a year (plus fees?). I fall into the category of being alright with the state of my trackpad, so $60 is just more than I will give. Edit: I'd gladly donate $2 or $3 per month.

Damn, for $60 you can get one bangin' mouse to carry with you and problem solved.

I can't use a mouse on my lap, though.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#77
post #68

Looks like the number of contributors have doubled since this post hit the frontpage. That's great, this is one of the few things left that held back Linux desktop, and it wasn't even that bad with some tweaking but it shouldn't need tweaking. Gnome has made drastic improvements in recent years as well. Now if only companies would fund proper open source graphics drivers then there would be no reason for developers t…

Re GPU: Running a desktop with a shiny new AMD 5700-xt, and it has been pretty excellent. Only nit to pick is that I had to add a small bit of configuration to enable FreeSync support with my monitor.

Performance in various Steam games (native as well as emulated via Proton) has not been a disappointment.

That said, previously had an NVidia card that worked okay with Ubuntu, but required enabling some proprietary drivers. It worked fine, but was an extra hoop to jump, and using proprietary drivers sticks in my craw.

If I did anything on my desktop that relied on CUDA, I suspect I’d be stuck with using the proprietary NVidia drivers.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#78

I can hardly tell the difference between my razer stealth linux touchpad and my workprovided macbook. Even based on the feedback, it seems that most people are okay with their touchpad experience and are more interested in advanced features like multitouch. Having this said, for myself this is a tough sell. I'm concerned that I would donate and I won't be able to tell the difference between this and some placebo driv…

I can hardly tell the difference between my razer stealth linux touchpad and my workprovided macbook. How much of the surface of the Linux touchpad is clickable? I.e. how much of it depresses when you press on it, vs. the MacBook? I’ve never seen a non-Apple touchpad that didn’t have a big dead zone in the back (closest to the display) 1/4 to 1/3 of the surface.

That's a physical limitation because the touchpad hinges from the back. No new touchpad driver is going to fix that.

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#79

I can hardly tell the difference between my razer stealth linux touchpad and my workprovided macbook. Even based on the feedback, it seems that most people are okay with their touchpad experience and are more interested in advanced features like multitouch. Having this said, for myself this is a tough sell. I'm concerned that I would donate and I won't be able to tell the difference between this and some placebo driv…

I'm in exactly the same spot with a (reasonably old 2017 model) Dell XPS. Wayland with libinput has been a JOY to use compared to basically anything I've used in linux before. I tried running an X based DE about 2 years ago on this machine and actually went back to running it in a VM in windows because the touchpad felt so shoddy. No problems at all with the current setup. Can barely tell the different between my wor…

What is the difference between wayland + libinput and X + libinput precisely?

Re: Linux touchpad: preliminary project funding, survey results

#80
post #4

Perhaps the only thing other than a certain leviathan that I loathe in Linux, is the touchpad. I have butchered laptops as a result of touchpad induced madness. I've tried synclient and other tweaks to no sufferable avail. My present laptop has the touchpad removed by pliers. I used the term "madness" sincerely. I think the present situation might be eligible for a place in the wiki for Unethical Human Experimentatio…

I've set easy keyboard shortcuts to enable/disable the touchpad, and that has been working for me. But I understand how you feel, the palm rejection is especially terrible, no matter how I try to tweak it.

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