this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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[–] [email protected] 107 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (7 children)

Guilty of this. I've never used a track pad that didn't feel like complete ass.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I've never used a PC one that I liked, but Macs have superb ones. They are so good I now get trackpads for every desktop I work on too (home + work).

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

They're great, now if apple could concede that right click is an important thing that's not going away and not relegate it to a corner barely larger than my finger then they'd be perfect.

EDIT: I forgot the default way to right click on Mac is two finger click, I changed it in the settings when I first got it to be click in the bottom right. If you've gotten used to two finger click good on you, but point still stands for us who like the "right" way.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

I’m not sure I understand your complaint – if you two-finger tap anywhere on an Apple trackpad made since around 2009, it’s interpreted as a right-click.

Reply to edit: “I forgot that I changed it to make it worse and I’m mad at Apple about it” is maybe the most Lemmy comment I’ve ever read

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Oh yeah, I changed it so long ago I forgot that's the default. Changed it to bottom right corner in the settings when I first got it since I am used to windows laptops, but the area for the bottom right corner that apple designates is very small.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Not an Apple user, and curious: If you double click a movie file it does not open it but gives you the menu? How do you open it? Triple click? Or one click? If one, how do you just mark it?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Clicking once with 2 fingers on the pad is what they meant

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Anything you do while touching the trackpad with one finger at a time is the same as though you were using a mouse. Tap once to select, tap and drag to move, double tap to open.

If you tap with two fingers on the pad at the same time, it reacts as if you’ve right-clicked. I usually use my index and middle finger.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Interesting, thank you!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Sorry, the great prophet Jobs (pbuh) has decreed that one button is all you need.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I am using a Mac touchpad on a laptop right now and no matter where I do the right-click action (extremes of upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower-right, center-of-quadrant again for all of those, true center, etc.) it always takes the click. One-finger clicking is equivalent to "left-click" on Windows while two-finger clicking is equivalent to "right-click", or alternatively hitting control while one-finger clicking will do the trick. I've done this for years and years and it's always worked for me before...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

The default is for two finger click, I forgot that's the default way since I changed it so long ago, but you can change it to a click in the bottom right is right click, like on a windows laptop, in the settings. it's just the area in the bottom right that qualifies as the corner is very small.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I did a search and there are not many ways to change that, unfortunately:-(. Macs often let you do customization settings, even if you have to copy/paste a command-line to do it, but not this time. There is supposedly an app, but I wouldn't recommend downloading strange apps from an unknown maker.

I did find out that there is an Accessibility -> Pointer Control option that will let you assign any hotkey you want rather than click, like F11 by default is left-click and F12 is right-click. I am not sure if you can do just the right but not the left. Though remember, already by default you can hold down the control key while left-clicking, and that is interpreted as a right-click action. I had used a Windows laptop in combination with a Mac OSX desktop at some point, so I hated the damn trackpad of the former, but I had already gotten used to the control-click functionality of the latter, and then when these force-trackpads came out it was a more natural move for me who was already into the zone there.

Plus as people are saying it's noice hardware - the smooth glass feeling and all:-).

The trackpad click-with-two-fingers is not so bad - at least for me, since I rarely use it and I just add one extra finger to the click (I even use the 3-finger expose swipes sometimes, though I never even recall what the 4-finger ones do, and yet the pinch-and-zoom is nice:-)

I am sorry that it isn't working well for you, but I hope you can find something more to your liking:-). At worst, perhaps you can put Linux onto your existing Mac hardware and therefore configure it more directly?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Seconding this. My company issued me a MacBook and I was really surprised by how well the touchpad worked, and how smoothly gestures work with it. For as much hate as Apple gets, a lot really Just Werks™. Windows and KDE (Wayland) (I haven't tested other DEs) are certainly improving, but they're still nowhere near as smooth as what MacOS has had for a pretty long time now.

The crazy thing is that I've hackintoshed a ThinkPad T430 and T480, both with full gesture support (but no force touch, though to be fair I don't use that anyway). In both cases, using their touchpads on MacOS was much better than on Windows or KDE. Though some touchpads aren't that great to begin with (like, the one on the T430 is pretty small), it's crazy how much of a difference good software can make to how they feel to use.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"Apple" the company gets hate, b/c they deserve it, but Mac OSX is fantastic - they really put a ton of effort into it, though iOS is a piece of crap - e.g. now they are trying to extort the users to pay money to send files b/t their desktop computer vs. phone, which is just not okay imho. Mac OSX was from an older era, when Steve Jobs was running the company, and people would have legit left Macs (or not switched to it) if it had not been "solid" like it was. Since then, the new era is not to provide "products" but rather "services".

Oddly enough, with the advent of Windows 7 (so many years ago now), it is fucking Microsoft that has been innovating their software - they are such a terrible company (as too is Apple, and Google, etc.), but they at least were pushing forward, more than Mac OSX, as the Apple corporation switched to put nearly all of their development efforts into iOS, and Music, and TV, and so on.

Apple ofc also has that hardware+software integration thing going on - monopolies really do have their advantages, as well as detractions too. You mentioned hackintoshing a Thinkpad, so I guess you are aware that often people will take a Mac and put Linux onto it as well, it's wonderful that people have put in the efforts so that we have such possibilities:-).

The issue you described with the touchpad on the hackintosh sounds more like a particular driver issue, which gets deeper than I have any knowledge of so I'll stop there:-). I will say tangentially that the Mac OSX has a shit-ton of cool features like font antialiasing, the Preview program is amazing, and I could go on and on but what usually gets lost on people is how Mac tended to have had things first, like everything has Bluetooth now, but Mac OSX had it long before Windoze did. I know nothing about Windows 10 or 11 though, except that they push to offer things as a service rather than product, and they show advertisements throughout:-( - those aspects alone turn me away from wanting to use it, even if the rest was somehow a better experience than Mac OSX (which I expect is NOT:-P).

Wow, a nightmare thought just struck me: if Apple enshittifies Mac OSX... the world will become a noticeably worse place, overall:-(. Fortunately someone will have it backed up and we can hack it (even if having to use older hardware), and there's always Linux that while significantly behind - especially in drivers & UI/UX concerns - is better than it has ever been.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

what usually gets lost on people is how Mac tended to have had things first, like everything has Bluetooth now, but Mac OSX had it long before Windoze did

That's just not true - in fact, Apple is well-known for repeatedly releasing 'new' products/features that already existed elsewhere, but acting like they invented it. That goes all the way back to the original Macintosh.

Or, to use your example, everything I can find says MacOS added Bluetooth support in 2004, while Windows XP was patched to support Bluetooth in 2002.

MacOS is good software, but let's not pretend Apple hasn't built their entire empire based on pinching other people's ideas and marketing them better.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

People hate on apple coming out with features later than other companies but then they usually blow the competition out of the water in terms of ux. It’s not marketing them better, it’s implementing better.

It’s like valve helping develop proton vs making another nvidia shield or windows handheld.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I probably misremembered some stuff but also stated it too broadly - it was a lot more "mainstream" in Macs than in Windows, in part b/c you could purchase a low-end Windows machine, whereas all Macs start off at a baseline minimum that is fairly high.

Also, Apple put BSD Unix into the very core of their Macs years before Microsoft started poking their noses around the subject.

The end result was a machine that "just worked", right out of the box, which was pretty nice.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

It's not just the software either. I really like the feel of the Apple trackpad. It's glass instead of plastic like a lot of others. And the haptic feedback feels exactly like what a click would feel like

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I've used a few trackpads on PC laptops that were almost as good as on a MacBook, but yeah, most of them kind of suck.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Yep exactly, a Magic Trackpad is my main input device. It’s great for design work where you often interact with canvases and might need to scroll in every direction. It’s also more comfortable to use for long time periods.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I also love the handy expose swipe features, offering more functionality that does not require still yet another button. The aesthetics are good but most important it's just so functionally beautiful. Those are probably tied to mainly be usable on a Mac OSX though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

It's great but I've had greater sensitivity in my finger tips after trying to get used to it. Then typing hurt so I had to switch to a trackball and just regular vertical mouse. I miss the gestures for virtual desktops.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Trackballs have ruined trackpad a for me.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Look at a Charybdis from bastardkb. Got a trackball built into the keyboard.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Lol the price of these fad keyboards are comical... 180€ with no switches and no keycaps?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

The hardware is open source, but yes, it is 3D printed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Its definitely not for everyone but it has saved my wrists at an office job. Can recommend split ergos with risers for people with wrist problems.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I printed and assembled one myself for about $90 for all parts, so I can somewhat understand some of the the prices... But whew that's expensive

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

This looks rad

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Standard galactic alphabet?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you have specific keys for SimCity disasters?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Yes, meteor is for meteor showers, storm cloud for thunder storms obv, and the flux one is for not needing roads.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That particular model makes my wrist hurt almost instantly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

It's all I know. It was my first one and I got a good deal. Now that I know I like it I'd consider getting a better model but so far I've had no pain with this one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Haha I have the same ball

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Seriously, they ALL fucking suck. I honestly kinda miss the old nub thingie that IBM (now Lenovo) had (has?). It took some getting used to but it was so much better than a touch pad.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago

The old clit mouse was my favorite!

1000007503

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

They still have them, along with some Dell and HP laptops too I think. Honestly I like both. My laptop has that and I find myself switching between them mindlessly. Touch pad is great because of gestures. But the nub is more comfortable imo.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

They still have them

The little red dot is in the ThinkPad logo, at that point they are acknowledging its central to their brand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

One of my old laptops had the little nub mouse, but it would rub my finger tips raw if I used it too much, from the grippy texture on it

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I'm sure they do make trackpads that don't have a hole in the middle.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I have. The Steam Controller (and Steam Deck) trackpads are very nice, mostly because there are two of them and they are thumb operated. The haptic feedback is really nice as well.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Aside from my linux macbook, the steam deck trackpad is one of the best trackpads I've ever used. The "taptic engine" (don't know the generic term) simulated clicks and feedback on the deck's trackpad feel so much more refined compared to the standard tactile button used in the original steam controller. Being able to adjust the click pressure level too is a nice bonus.

I just wish the Deck trackpad was better at ignoring finer movements closer to the click threshold, like a standard trackpad - likely something that could be added with a future update I guess?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The keyboards are garbage too. Can't stand typing on laptop keyboards and every one I've tried (mostly Dells at work) has been shit for the last 15 years. I bought a $10 bluetooth keyboard for my tablet that's a better experience and smaller than a laptop for fucks sake.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

They got a lot worse after 2010 when "thin" happened. I've got an NEC laptop from 1998 that has an excellent keyboard.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I use a Logitech keyboard + trackpad and it works great.

But yeah, laptop ones I’ve tried always sucked.