Having just spent two days optimising the scrolling performance of my Mac app I understand the reasoning behind this. Fluid scrolling is hard. And while scrolling might be handled in part by the GPU, its still the CPU that renders the text that you're
scrolling. If you're aiming for 60FPS, you probably have less than 10ms to render a screen when the user is scrolling quickly.
Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
121–130 of 215 posts
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#122In no way am I trying to incite Mac vs. PC, but after years of Apple laptops I grew bored with their aluminum fascism and decided (last year) to buy a top-of-the-line Thinkpad. A couple of months later, taking a huge economic hit, I sold the Thinkpad and returned to Apple. I simply could not handle the trackpad (and I gave up on the weird Thinkpad nubbin back in the early 2000s). I quite literally felt like I had a d…
My father has a Thinkpad and the touchpad is horrible. Really seriously horrible. I dislike my Asus full-touch (no buttons) touchpad but I've learned to work with it -- I've learned to work with any touchpad, except a Thinkpad's.
So I get where you're coming from, but to write off all non-Apple laptops all at the same time?
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been a Linux user for as long as I remember, and most of that has been on a Thinkpad. However I've just joined CloudFlare and they asked the simple question of whether I wanted a Lenovo or something Apple. Having looked, I cannot think of a reason I should carry on with Thinkpads. They're just not what they used to be with trackpads which are unsatisfying, battery life that isn't as long as the Apples, non-Retin…
I'm curious... Why mention "CloudFlare" at all? Why not, "joined a new company" ? Unless the point was specifically to let all of us know that you now work for CloudFlare?
Most people on HN who know me also know I've been running my own startup and we've been a Linux shop. They'd rightly be quizzical that I was suddenly getting a new Mac. The story of how that ended didn't make a ripple on HN (probably bad timing on my part, it was an Apple launch day), https://medium.com/@buro9/the-journey-of-a-london-startup-wh... , and those same people might like a clue that a change has happened. I mostly mention the company in two-part to say "I'm OK, there's a light beyond startups" and also because I'm fairly proud to be moving on to something I believe in (security and a better internet).
I guess I forget the audience on HN is much larger than it used to be.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#124So, really, is there anything left to buy except MacBooks anymore? I'm not a big fan of Apple, and would have to go through all sorts of nuisances to install Linux on it anyway, but the longer I search for solid 13" laptop, the more horrified I become. It cannot be that nobody makes nice laptops, can it?
Unfortunately, now that Vaios are gone I haven't been able to find a laptop with good specs & a solid chassis other than MBPs.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#125In no way am I trying to incite Mac vs. PC, but after years of Apple laptops I grew bored with their aluminum fascism and decided (last year) to buy a top-of-the-line Thinkpad. A couple of months later, taking a huge economic hit, I sold the Thinkpad and returned to Apple. I simply could not handle the trackpad (and I gave up on the weird Thinkpad nubbin back in the early 2000s). I quite literally felt like I had a d…
I don't know that apple gets this right either. (I have a macbook). The actual tracking feels fantastic and precise, and it has a nice texture, but I /hate/ how they refuse to put real buttons below it. Things like "right mouse drag" which I use all the time become a nightmare, and the whole "no buttons" thing just seems like it's putting aesthetics over functionality.
I don't see how right-click and drag could possibly be natural or easy on anything but a mouse.
Apple introduced multi touch to solve problems just like that.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
>There's no Macbook that's good for gaming, because of the OS and the cooling. I'm not sure what you mean here regarding the OS. You can install Windows on any Mac since Apple transitioned to Intel processors around 2006-2007.
Of course, you can install Windows on it but then you lose many of the advantages of using a Mac -- for example, trackpad precision and overall energy efficiency. So if the laptop is going to be used for gaming, then it does not make sense to buy a Mac and install Windows on it. (I've got a rMBP, and I'm using Windows on it most of the time because I don't like OSX and I can't replace the laptop at the moment, but I…
All right, I get what you mean, but now we're talking about something else. Your original statement that I reacted to was: "There's no Macbook that's good for gaming, because of the OS and the cooling." Your reasoning that because of their OS MacBooks are not good for gaming is simply not true, considering that you can install Windows on them to eliminate the aforementioned graphical performance issues of OS X. If an ASUS ROG laptop was originally shipped with Linux, would you also say that it's not good for gaming because of its OS? See what I mean?
>So if the laptop is going to be used for gaming, then it does not make sense to buy a Mac and install Windows on it.
Are you sure? I think even if you cannot utilize the touchpad and energy efficiency to its fullest capabilities (which are not really relevant in gaming anyway), the build quality of the shell and the quality of the screen and keyboard makes it a strong contestant even among normal Windows laptops. Plus, you have OS X there (or Linux, for that matter) for non-gaming uses.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#127So, really, is there anything left to buy except MacBooks anymore? I'm not a big fan of Apple, and would have to go through all sorts of nuisances to install Linux on it anyway, but the longer I search for solid 13" laptop, the more horrified I become. It cannot be that nobody makes nice laptops, can it?
The answer is no and I seriously doubt there ever will be.
I am using a ThinkPad T420. I have a brand new ThinkPad T420 in the spare parts cupboard. I am done buying laptops for a very, very long time.
Also, please listen to a Cory Doctorow DRM talk before buying a Mac.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know that apple gets this right either. (I have a macbook). The actual tracking feels fantastic and precise, and it has a nice texture, but I /hate/ how they refuse to put real buttons below it. Things like "right mouse drag" which I use all the time become a nightmare, and the whole "no buttons" thing just seems like it's putting aesthetics over functionality.
I don't see how right-click and drag could possibly be natural or easy on anything but a mouse. Apple introduced multi touch to solve problems just like that.
It works perfectly fine if you have two mouse buttons below the trackpad (which every laptop I've ever had before my macbook has had).
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know that apple gets this right either. (I have a macbook). The actual tracking feels fantastic and precise, and it has a nice texture, but I /hate/ how they refuse to put real buttons below it. Things like "right mouse drag" which I use all the time become a nightmare, and the whole "no buttons" thing just seems like it's putting aesthetics over functionality.
I love the lack of buttons. It makes it much much easier to click on things since I don't have to precisely hit a button. I don't think I've ever used a right click drag for anything, but it seems easy enough to do on my macbook pro. Just click with two fingers and drag.
There's no reason you couldn't do both. I really hate the trackpad click thing though for a specific reason: the pressure required changes based on where you are on the trackpad. It takes much more force to click at the top than at the bottom, so I end up using my thumb to click on the bottom anyway, at which point... I'd rather just have a proper button.
Re: Why Asus trackpad driver sets the CPU speed at maximum during scroll
#130In no way am I trying to incite Mac vs. PC, but after years of Apple laptops I grew bored with their aluminum fascism and decided (last year) to buy a top-of-the-line Thinkpad. A couple of months later, taking a huge economic hit, I sold the Thinkpad and returned to Apple. I simply could not handle the trackpad (and I gave up on the weird Thinkpad nubbin back in the early 2000s). I quite literally felt like I had a d…
I don't know that apple gets this right either. (I have a macbook). The actual tracking feels fantastic and precise, and it has a nice texture, but I /hate/ how they refuse to put real buttons below it. Things like "right mouse drag" which I use all the time become a nightmare, and the whole "no buttons" thing just seems like it's putting aesthetics over functionality.
For right-click-and-drag (something I do a lot in Xcode), hold down the control key – that simulates a right-click.