I read this and thought this was a joke.
Apple Magic Trackpad
111–120 of 170 posts
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
I fail to see the advantage (swipe, swipe, swipe, press) has over (move, press). Not to mention that trackpads are fairly sensitive to sweaty fingers. Do people really rely on multitouch gestures that much? Frankly, I don't get it. Trackpads are vastly inferior to mice. I bring a mouse with my macbook whenever I can.
Using two fingers to scroll has become so natural to me that if I use a non-Apple trackpad I'm momentarily bewildered why it doesn't work.
I was mindlessly scrolling with two fingers as I was reading your post :)
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#113I can't get my head around how Apple manages to come out with products that are cool enough they could come from a startup with some very motivated founders working day and night. Almost all other companies with >100 employees are turning out mostly crappy products that no one gets excited about. When's the last time you talked about a Xerox printer or HP laptop? In my mind this is why a company like Nokia can't make…
Benevolent dictatorship.
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#114I can't get my head around how Apple manages to come out with products that are cool enough they could come from a startup with some very motivated founders working day and night. Almost all other companies with >100 employees are turning out mostly crappy products that no one gets excited about. When's the last time you talked about a Xerox printer or HP laptop? In my mind this is why a company like Nokia can't make…
Because people will buy their products on faith, where a startup would just be ignored. Belkin could release this exact same thing and it would be mocked.
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#115I'm amazed that Apple seems so set on the AA battery format for desk peripherals that it is releasing a AA battery charger with the trackpad. I don't find AA objectionable, but Apple's marketing regarding removable batteries centers around "we can pack more battery in by eliminating the packaging."
Haven't Apple wireless peripherals always used AA batteries? I don't know where your quote comes from.
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#116I can't get my head around how Apple manages to come out with products that are cool enough they could come from a startup with some very motivated founders working day and night. Almost all other companies with >100 employees are turning out mostly crappy products that no one gets excited about. When's the last time you talked about a Xerox printer or HP laptop? In my mind this is why a company like Nokia can't make…
"We are the biggest startup on the planet." --Steve Jobs (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20006526-56.html)
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#117Looks like they're bringing out their version of the iGesture pad: http://www.amazon.com/Fingerworks-IGESTURENUMPAD-iGesture-Pa... . Apple acquired Fingerworks in 2005, which is how they got the multitouch technology used in iPhones, MacBooks, and now the Magic Trackpad. The thing I'm wondering: My iGesture pad still works, and still has way more gestures than the Trackpad. For example - twisting clockwise with four…
I've owned http://www.fingerworks.com/igesture_tech.html for around 5 years. SOLID product. I'm glad I got one before they were acquired. It's definitely saved my mousing hand. And has way more features than Apple's product. Still, the iGesture cost me around $400 here in Canada. So to get something even close for $70, isn't bad.
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, Apple trackpads are better in that they are more precise? Not being a Mac user, it's hard for me to understand what advantage a trackpad like this gives over any other third-party trackpad, other than the multitouch capability. Please help me understand why people are gushing over a $70 trackpad (even made by Apple), when most people mock similar input devices costing over $30.
Two reasons. First, external multitouch trackpads have been basically unobtainable until now. Apple bought the one company that used to make them and incorporated their technology into Apple products years ago. The only other model I've seen was an obscure Japanese import that only supported Windows. If you like trackpads, the Magic Trackpad is the first time in years you can buy one for your desktop. Second, Apple m…
>Apple makes the best trackpads in the industry by a huge margin.
Do you have any research to back that up? I don't doubt that Apple trackpads are of high quality, probably even the best.
That said, the placebo effect can be very powerful when attempting to gauge how easy it is to interact with a computer.
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#119I can't get my head around how Apple manages to come out with products that are cool enough they could come from a startup with some very motivated founders working day and night. Almost all other companies with >100 employees are turning out mostly crappy products that no one gets excited about. When's the last time you talked about a Xerox printer or HP laptop? In my mind this is why a company like Nokia can't make…
Because people will buy their products on faith, where a startup would just be ignored. Belkin could release this exact same thing and it would be mocked.
But Belkin couldn't release this exact same thing. They don't have the right people. There's a single person at the top of Apple that all products go through. If Steve doesn't love it, it doesn't get made, and Steve has good taste.
I'm not trying to idolize the guy, it's just how the company works (internally, and in the market).
Re: Apple Magic Trackpad
#120Does anyone know if this will have some sort of way to trigger a "middle click", like when one clicks on the scroll wheel? As far as I've seen with Apple mice, they've never had support for middle click.
Magicprefs will do this for you. It's free and works well most of the time. It actually has a bunch of settings you can change and tweak. One of those settings is a middle click and it allows you to change the hit zone so you can make the middle click really large or small depending on what you want.
Someone mentioned above jitouch which handles the mm trackpad and the magic pad. I haven't tried it but it looks interesting. Not free though.
Edit: I just tried out jitouch and it works with magicprefs as much as I use it for. I only use magicprefs for the middle click function and the tracking speed. I really like the tap to switch tabs. It's a well made application and only 6 bucks. I think I am going to permanently use it now.