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Linux Touchpad Like MacBook Update: 2023 Progress on Smooth Scrolling

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

#181

Post by bschwindHN »

pmontra wrote: post #122
nerdjon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an interesting thing to think about, I have friends that use Windows that are shocked that I willingly chose to get an external trackpad when I use my Mac as desktop. Even more interesting is when I see my partner try to do something on my Mac using a trackpad, he seems... apprehensive? Like he is so afraid of doing the wrong thing and for me this trackpad has never done something I didn't want it to do. Like w…

If I'll ever use a desktop again I also want an external touchpad and I want to place it in front of the keyboard like on a laptop. But you wrote trackpad. It's it the one with the ball? Probably not because you also wrote about multitouch. So, which trackpad do you use?

I'm a 100% trackpad user as well, and I also got into mechanical keyboards so my setups always look like this now:

https://imgur.com/a/pmRO9r9

That one is an older magic trackpad, if it ever dies I'll upgrade to the newer one.

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

#182

Post by al_borland »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #166
al_borland wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the settings you can set how much force is needed, light, medium, or firm. Try changing it to light (if you haven't already). You can also enable tap-to-click there if you prefer the lightest touch. The settings area also shows all the various multitouch things that can be done, which is convenient place to learn them, or get a reminder. In the settings you can also flip the modifier keys around, like control and…

Yes, exactly - I did the ctrl cmd switch previously, but then there's 1. Magic Keyboard with no "fn" button. 2. Macbooks own keyboard with FN button. Which really messes with me, because my pinky expects the left most button to be the CTRL action button. All of it messes with my brain so hard - it makes those little actions hurt me almost every time. And as you said, different sets of terminals drive me just so crazy…

I get it. I'm generally in favor of not changing too much, so I can sit down at other systems and use them, or get a new one and not have to spend 2 weeks tweaking and tuning stuff. I figure I'll get used to it eventually. Some things take longer than others, and some things just require acceptance. Deciding that doing things the Apple-way will be easier than fighting against it. I gave in long ago and things got easier. When on Windows or Linux, I try to have the same mindset of doing it the way they intend. I went so far as to read documentation and watch videos to try and figured how the hell Gnome expects people to manage windows without a minimize option, as the add-ons for that seemed very hacky. I don't think I'll ever get used to throwing something in a new desktop instead of minimizing it, but I was working with someone from Red Hat who seemed to do it without even thinking about it, as if it was normal... which I guess it is on Gnome.

lol, yeah, the screenshot keyboard shortcut is crazy (3 fingers). It took me a while to get the muscle memory down, but once I did I liked the flexibility of it way more than Windows (at least at the time which just had print screen, while Apple could do the whole screen, a selection, or a window).

I suppose these days spotlight can open the screenshot utility, although I never think to do that since I've got it down. It's worth going in there at least once, as you can change some settings, like not showing that little thumbnail, automatically saving to the clipboard instead of a file... stuff like that, depending on your needs.

I had the benefit of using OS X since version 10.2, so each year when stuff came out I could just learn those things. If I was starting now it would take me forever to find all the random little stuff and where various settings are hidden away. I don't even know where I'd go to try and learn it all. I'd probably be frustrated as well.

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

#183

Post by cbsmith »

johnthuss wrote: post #91

> We now have smooth scrolling support in popular Java library called "awt." Many Java applications use this library underneath, including IDEs such as Eclipse, IDEA or Rider. Eclipse doesn't use AWT, but rather uses SWT, a completely separate toolkit/API. That said, it's still great to hear that this is being improved.

That whole section made me squarely. It feels like it is written by someone who doesn't know Java.

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

#184

Post by Vegenoid »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #140
TN1ck wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try accessibility settings and then 3 finger drag (switching spaces will become 4 fingers). It works really great and makes working in design tools feasible.

Doesn't putting 3 fingers on a track pad already feel so damn awkward? I have to position my wrist so oddly to do something like that.

Personally, I find 3-finger drag to be a dream. I have spent many hours happily using a MacBook this way, and can’t imagine how I’d want it to change.

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

#185

Post by hoistbypetard »

pmontra wrote: post #125
criddell wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why couldn't they? Why is a trackpad different than better speakers or camera or battery runtime or having quiet fans?

They should invent a measurement unit for trackpads/touchpads, whatever we call them. Then a grade 5 touchpad will be immediately perceived as better than a grade 4 one. Or Basic, Business, Elite. Marketing teams are good at that.

Microsoft tried "precision touchpad" and I think there was some uptake. But you never see it advertised anymore, so maybe it didn't drive many sales?

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

#186

Post by mb64 »

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 feel exactly the same as you do. I switched to MacBooks in 2007 primarily because of how much better the trackpad was than the Windows and Linux laptops I had. Still using a MacBook, haven't looked back.

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

#187

Post by mewpmewp2 »

al_borland wrote: post #182
mewpmewp2 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, exactly - I did the ctrl cmd switch previously, but then there's 1. Magic Keyboard with no "fn" button. 2. Macbooks own keyboard with FN button. Which really messes with me, because my pinky expects the left most button to be the CTRL action button. All of it messes with my brain so hard - it makes those little actions hurt me almost every time. And as you said, different sets of terminals drive me just so crazy…

I get it. I'm generally in favor of not changing too much, so I can sit down at other systems and use them, or get a new one and not have to spend 2 weeks tweaking and tuning stuff. I figure I'll get used to it eventually. Some things take longer than others, and some things just require acceptance. Deciding that doing things the Apple-way will be easier than fighting against it. I gave in long ago and things got eas…

Yeah - I just never feel like I truly have the time or I guess the motivation to keep up to date with those OS updates or releases. I only got Windows for my personal laptop just recently, and it still somehow feels completely natural to me. Despite the last one I seriously used frequently being Windows XP. I don't know if it's just because I spent most of my youth on Windows, and I was tuned to it or not, but MacOS feels like something I'm constantly fighting with.

The only terrible thing about Windows is development, but right now it feels like I'm almost satisfied with WSL2. In the past for my side projects I used to do dualboot.

But also I somehow like Windows design and animations so much better. Another thing about MacOS I can't get hang of is the menubar below and how the windows adjust to it. And it is especially confusing with multiple monitors setup.

I've been trying to "Wing It" to understand MacOS a lot, which I admit, and it hasn't really worked, but it feels like Windows works for me without putting in effort or having to watch any YouTube videos. And I don't think in my youth I watched any tutorials, it's just something that I learned naturally. Then is it my age, but I wasn't that old when I started with MacOS.

Something like even the "Finder" icon bothers me. What is this weird happy, artsy smile, and why can't it just be something that resembles folders? It's just so random, everything about MacOS feels so "random" for me.

Plenty of icons I can't understand, and sometimes the hover text appears on what they mean, sometimes it doesn't. Idk.

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

#188

Post by kristofferR »

rad_gruchalski wrote: post #124
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…

> 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? Patents?

Bud, you have been shadowbanned for some reason. Pinging dang @dang, this doesn't seem fair. :/

Bud's comment: "Over 20 years ago, actually. The glass trackpads Apple made in 2002 were essentially identical to today's, albeit quite a bit smaller."

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

#189

Post by kristofferR »

nerdjon wrote: post #59
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…

It is an interesting thing to think about, I have friends that use Windows that are shocked that I willingly chose to get an external trackpad when I use my Mac as desktop. Even more interesting is when I see my partner try to do something on my Mac using a trackpad, he seems... apprehensive? Like he is so afraid of doing the wrong thing and for me this trackpad has never done something I didn't want it to do. Like w…

> It has to be a combination of software and hardware. Likely shared software and hardware.

You need decent hardware to be sure, but Asashi Linux on Macbooks is a horrific experience, unless you plug in a mouse. It seems like it is mostly software.

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

#190

Post by fernmyth »

nerdjon wrote: post #109
TonyTrapp wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even more interesting is when I see my partner try to do something on my Mac using a trackpad, he seems... apprehensive? Like he is so afraid of doing the wrong thing and for me this trackpad has never done something I didn't want it to do. Like without even thinking about it while I was re-reading this comment, I had fingers just resting on my trackpad. I think I'll never "get" drag&drop on MacBook touchpads. Ever…

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…

This works on my system76 lemur pro 10 with pop!_os: - click and hold on the touchpad with thumb - swipe with another finger to drag around. Multiple, disjoint strokes work, so there's nothing special about switching fingers

It would be a bit uncomfortable to do for long periods, since my thumb has to hold down with clicking force.

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