Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

gitclear.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 284 posts

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#171

Post by ambichook »

al_borland wrote: post #164
ambichook wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm going to be honest, maybe i'm just not particularly sensitive to poor input devices, but there have only been 2 trackpads i've used that actually felt bad , the vast majority are just... not noticeable to me? like i just use them and everything just feels fine. the only exceptions were a crappy old chromebook i had back in about 2016 and my current HP probook, itself a few years old now. i have heard very good th…

If the price difference between the M1 and M2 air is negligible for you, it would probably be best to go for the M2. The M1 uses the old Intel chassis. The M2 gets the new design which means a better screen, keyboard, speakers, webcam, MagSafe charging. It's well worth a little extra, even if you don't care about the spec bump. Lots of quality of life stuff.

thanks for the advice! i think i'll have an easier time getting a good deal on an M1 but i'll keep an eye out for good M2s

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#172

Post by al_borland »

cycomanic wrote: post #33
al_borland wrote: post #6

Why does this seem like such a hard problem to solve for everyone that isn’t Apple, when Apple seemingly solved the Trackpad over a decade ago? Is this it? An unknown ROI? >the highly uncertain ROI for trying to align touchpad acceleration has prevented us from proposing a system change to the default Linux settings. I can only speak for myself, but I gave up using trackpads on anything that isn’t a MacBook many year…

I also priorise input devices and because of that I would never get a laptop without a track point. Track pads (no matter which ones) are just such a poor choice of pointing device on a laptop, requiring one to essentially move the hand away from the keyboard. Unfortunately I'm pretty much locked into thinkpads now because all other track pointers are pretty crap. The again I can't really complain thinkpads are quite…

My first laptop was a Thinkpad and I used the trackpoint exclusively, because the trackpad was so small and awful (this was around 2001). At the time I said something similar, that the trackpoint is the best. Years later, probably around 2007 I got my first MacBook Pro and the trackpad was great. Many years after that got I got work laptop with a trackpoint on it and had a really problem getting used to it again... the trackpad was also bad, so I just used a mouse all the time.

I think the trackpoint can be great, but more adaptation is required and most people aren't willing to go through it.

My dad also ended up with some sort of tendon injury that he attributed to the using the trackpoint on his laptop all day, every day, which I've never experienced, but it has always been in the back of my mind.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#173

Post by jwells89 »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #153
windowsrookie wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right click is just tap with two fingers. What issue are you having?

You are right it works, but I guess I somehow usually expect it to happen in a lighter way, without the actual click going through. And when I do it, it feels weird to me. It feels like I have to exert more force than I would find "pleasurable" or "intuitive" for a right click. Like I either expect there to be a button that I have to actually press, or if it's a touchpad it feels like it should work with a lighter ta…

For me the standard Command position is much more accessible than the standard Control position, no twisting needed — Control is the one that I find my hand having to contort to reach.

Control still gets used fairly often under macOS though, so it needs to be easy to reach, and my solution is to remap Caps Lock to Control which is pretty comfy. If this remap weren’t possible under Linux and Windows too I think I’d go insane using them.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#174

Post by mewpmewp2 »

jwells89 wrote: post #173
mewpmewp2 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are right it works, but I guess I somehow usually expect it to happen in a lighter way, without the actual click going through. And when I do it, it feels weird to me. It feels like I have to exert more force than I would find "pleasurable" or "intuitive" for a right click. Like I either expect there to be a button that I have to actually press, or if it's a touchpad it feels like it should work with a lighter ta…

For me the standard Command position is much more accessible than the standard Control position, no twisting needed — Control is the one that I find my hand having to contort to reach. Control still gets used fairly often under macOS though, so it needs to be easy to reach, and my solution is to remap Caps Lock to Control which is pretty comfy. If this remap weren’t possible under Linux and Windows too I think I’d go…

Which fingers are you using to CMD + C? Because this is one of the more common things I would do and it feels bad every time, I'm using my thumb to press command and it doesn't feel well, and index finger on C.

I have to use side of my thumb to press the CMD kind of.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#175

Post by al_borland »

p0w3n3d wrote: post #18
al_borland wrote: post #6

Why does this seem like such a hard problem to solve for everyone that isn’t Apple, when Apple seemingly solved the Trackpad over a decade ago? Is this it? An unknown ROI? >the highly uncertain ROI for trying to align touchpad acceleration has prevented us from proposing a system change to the default Linux settings. I can only speak for myself, but I gave up using trackpads on anything that isn’t a MacBook many year…

Look and feel of MacOS is great but above all I value freedom, serviceability and extendability. Therefore for some long time I had a 16GB Mac at work (because as Tolkien or someone else wrote, one does not simply put additional RAM in a MacBook) and 24 GB old Linux laptop at home and guess on which one did I run my VMs faster? On the other hand Linux is still very unstable and uncomfortable. My Linux Mint Cinnamon w…

Having more resources is required if you're going to dedicated a portion of those resources to VMs. More RAM, more CPU cores, more storage... if your VMs are constrained for resources because you don't have them, or the VMs leave the base OS constrained for resources, that's going to make things slow. If VMs are what you're doing 24 > 16, regardless of the OS running the hypervisor.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#176

Post by jwells89 »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #174
jwells89 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me the standard Command position is much more accessible than the standard Control position, no twisting needed — Control is the one that I find my hand having to contort to reach. Control still gets used fairly often under macOS though, so it needs to be easy to reach, and my solution is to remap Caps Lock to Control which is pretty comfy. If this remap weren’t possible under Linux and Windows too I think I’d go…

Which fingers are you using to CMD + C? Because this is one of the more common things I would do and it feels bad every time, I'm using my thumb to press command and it doesn't feel well, and index finger on C. I have to use side of my thumb to press the CMD kind of.

Not in front of my computer right now but I’m pretty sure it’s thumb and index finger. Feels completely natural.

Maybe it has to do with hand size, finger/joint length, etc?

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#177

Post by vmirnv »

macintux wrote: post #152
nerdjon wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since you mention the touchpad being too small, are you trying to drag and drop with one finger or multiple? What I always just do is click with my thumb and move around with my other fingers. As long as my thumb stays down it stays selected. Then just a few quick swipes with my finger gets whatever it is I am selecting where I want to go. Same works for windows and anything you click and drag. Admittedly there is a…

One configuration I always immediately make is enabling three-finger dragging, along with tap-to-click. Significantly reduces the friction (both literal and figurative).

I've found that many Mac users aren't aware of the three-finger drag and select feature, and it seems Apple has somewhat hidden this setting for some reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102341

With tap-to-click, my touchpad is completely silent.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#178

Post by c-hendricks »

vmirnv wrote: post #177
macintux wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One configuration I always immediately make is enabling three-finger dragging, along with tap-to-click. Significantly reduces the friction (both literal and figurative).

I've found that many Mac users aren't aware of the three-finger drag and select feature, and it seems Apple has somewhat hidden this setting for some reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102341 With tap-to-click, my touchpad is completely silent.

I've used it since before it was shunted to Accessibility settings.

Nowadays, sometimes Finder gets confused when you use 3-finger drag, and it doesn't work with sliders in the newer control center released years ago.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#179

Post by megous »

al_borland wrote: post #161
vladvasiliu wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the case of a trackpad, gestures such as pinch to zoom are arguably an essential (for me at least), as well as stepless scrolling, configurable pointer acceleration configuration, and a reasonable size. I'm typing this on my work windows laptop, which can tick all these boxes! But the experience is still terrible. While the acceleration and such are fine enough for my use, I still get the feeling there's some la…

>I still get the feeling there's some lag between my finger movement and the pointer on the screen. This is a big one. Something I found really impressive, even on the first iPhone in 2007, was that it felt like my finger was moving the display itself, rather than performing a gesture to elicit an action. I feel the same way about the macOS trackpad, it feels almost connected to what is on screen. Other systems usual…

Yeah, no. Just tried on rando iPhone SE 1st gen I have here for some tests, and it lags on scrolling just like any other phone from similar era. You just slide back and forth slowly and observe the content of the screen pretty clearly not following the changes in direction immediately, and you can observe about 1-2cm distance between your finger and text.

It's impossible to be in sync anyway, unless you avoid VSYNC, and then you'll have tearing ans at best halve the delay. There are limits to these things that not even "Apple" can violate.

And first iPhone sure was not faster than SE.

Maybe with some 120+Hz refresh rate, and some SW tricks, you can get close to what you're talking about. First iPhone did not have that.

Re: Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

#180

Post by mewpmewp2 »

jwells89 wrote: post #176
mewpmewp2 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which fingers are you using to CMD + C? Because this is one of the more common things I would do and it feels bad every time, I'm using my thumb to press command and it doesn't feel well, and index finger on C. I have to use side of my thumb to press the CMD kind of.

Not in front of my computer right now but I’m pretty sure it’s thumb and index finger. Feels completely natural. Maybe it has to do with hand size, finger/joint length, etc?

Okay. Otherwise do you in your natural state hold your left hand index on F and right hand index on J? Going to A on pinky on your left hand and the key after L on your right pinky?

Because I think I have pretty much average male hands, but if I have to do CMD and C, with this natural state position, I have to hit the CMD with pretty much the nail of my thumb sideways, unless I rotate my wrist a lot.

Post reply on HN