The Apple Trackpad

I'm a long time ThinkPad guy; I'm even typing this on my aged T43. Alas, things are not well and the old girl is showing her age and I'm beginning to worry about the day when something inside fails that simply won't warrant an expensive repair. And, yes, I've been thinking of "switching" (love my iPhone)

If I had to pick ONE thing that I love about the ThinkPad line, it's the little red trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard (that's right, the eraser head, although there are three styles to pick from). The economy of motion and ability to put the cursor where you want on the screen almost instantly without moving your fingers from the keyboard makes other PC touchpads that I've used feel ridiculous and irksome in comparison.

...and then there's the Apple Trackpad.

I've never read more people gush over a touchpad based system like I have with the Apple Trackpad.

And I quote, from Gottabemobile, reviewing the MBA - "This trackpad allows users to easily navigate through Web pages, media libraries and large documents with ease. Few users will prefer a traditional mouse to this trackpad after getting used to it."

To me, this is one bold statement...

I've played with Macbooks in the store, but I realize spending a few minutes with a Mac won't substitute for long term experience (even the trackpoint takes getting used to)

So what's up? Is it true? Between a mouse and a Trackpad, which do you prefer? Are there any previous ThinkPad users out there that now prefer the Trackpad to the Trackpoint?

Let's hear it!

 

I like the trackpad but i'll always be faster with a mouse.

Gaming is mouse only.

 

I use a friend's MacBook Pro often. The Trackpad is really nice, I'd prefer it over a physical mouse for most activities. I still greatly prefer the Trackpoint though.

main complaints:
-You have to move your hands away from the keyboard
-There doesn't seem to be a way to middle click

Since you are okay with an external mouse, the first one shouldn't be much of a deal. There's probably a fix for the second one.

 

Over a mouse? For regular pointing and clicking, no. What makes it shine is how multitouch gestures optimize your workflow. I have, in addition to the 4-finger down swipe for expose, four fingers left and right swipes to switch spaces (via BetterTouchTool) and you can't believe what difference that makes. Zooming and 2-d scrolling are also better but they're not as huge an influence. Seriously, I can't use my old MBP (pre unibody) now without the Magic Trackpad.

 

The trackpad is better than your average pc track pad for most activities. Trackpads obviously don't cut it (no matter the type) for graphic design, or video games.

All in all, once you get used to things like two finger scroll or two finger click you find yourself wishing you had that on your windows machines.

 

I love the trackpad... I like using it for everything except gaming... mainly because gaming requires clicking multiple buttons and pointing around really fast. For that I don't even like a mouse though, I use thumb trackballs.

ANything takes time to get used to. Many people don't like trackpads, or even Apple trackpads simply because they don't give it more than a few minute try here or there then go back to their old favorite they are used to.

 

You can do a lot of fun things with trackpad but i d never work from it.

 

I have the trackpoint on two old laptops. Never really liked it.

I have the Bluetooth Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Keyboard for use with my MacBook Pro. I love the trackpad for most operations but for working in terminal windows where I need to cut and paste, the mouse wins. Also, any graphics work where precise control is needed is done with the mouse.

 

Once you discover BetterTouchTools, your life will be complete.

 

^^ What he said. Unless you do one of the few tasks that are better with a mouse - I admit there's some, but I've never needed or wanted a mouse ever since I discovered BTT.

 

Apple actually sells the trackpad as a separate accessory. It's not identical of course, but close enough in function that you'll be able to tell if you like it.

It's cheap too compared to the cost of a laptop. Since it will likely take some adjustment time for you to figure out if you like it or not, why not buy the accessory and use it for a couple of weeks to test it out?

You'll likely be testing it out on Windows, so it will have limited functionality. But that only means the real thing will be so much better if you do decide to get one.

At the end of the week, you can always sell the almost new trackpad on gazelle or eBay if you don't like it for a minimal loss. That way you save yourself from investing in a laptop you might not like.

 

Does the trackpad work at all on Windows? It didn't when I bought mine but fortunately I seldom use Windows on my Macs.

 

The trackpad isn't as full-featured in Windows as in OSX, but the basics are the same.

I found it easier to transition by enabling about all the features (check boxes) under OSX's trackpad preferences. So far I like it a lot, and didn't take too long to get used to lack of buttons. You can also enable a "click bottom corner for 2nd button", which has worked well so far.

 

Just a FYI to new users--that bottom corner click is just that--a "click". I sat there tapping like an idiot for a while before I realized you actually do have to depress the pad there.

Seriously, who still makes you actually click things in this day and age...

(In my defense I was using the external trackpad, and it's not quite so obvious there)

 

Thanks everyone for the very helpful feedback!

 

I actually like that about the trackpad. I was never a fan of tapping a trackpad even going back to the early days when it was implemented. I absolutely hated it as I always found myself tapping when I didn't mean to or accidentally hitting a trackpad while I was typing (which would cause the mouse to click instead of just go in that direction).

I really like having to click on the trackpad to actually make it select something. I believe it also accepts tapping but it was disabled by default on my MBP and I have left it that way. I also turned off the bottom right-click option and instead use the two finger click method for right-clicking on something.

Either way, I use the built-in trackpad about 60% of the time I use my MBP. I have the Magic Mouse simply so I can use my MBP, hooked up to my HDTV, while sitting in my recliner and standard mouse input is still much better than trackpads for AutoCAD. I never thought I was going to use an external mouse with my MBP but I had to for those two purposes. Still, if know I am not going to use AutoCAD or hook my MBP up to my HDTV, I won't bring the Magic Mouse.

 

On a side note, if you get a mouse, the magic mouse is PRETTY, but... has terrible ergonomics, doesn't fit well in the hand- causes strain, and is way too heavy for any task that requires accurate mouse movements.

IMO Pretty much any 3rd party bluetooth mouse would be a better choice. I like the mini logitech wireless mice myself.

 

I think Apple's trackpad is better than _any_ other laptop's trackpad, and it has great things the mouse can't do (smooth two finger scrolling, four finger swipe gestures, etc.), but I'd still use a mouse alongside for getting more serious work done (then I'd be using the mouse for pointing & trackpad for scrolling and gestures).

 

Three finger swipe to go back is the killer gesture for me. No more moving the pointer on top of the back button in browsers or file manager (finder). Faster than a mouse because both hands are on the keyboard ready to do hotkeys.

 

love the trackpad. With better touch tools I can use it to close windows, scroll spaces, expose and dashboard obviously as well. It's configure to work as home/end buttons also with three fingers up/down etc etc. All this without the keyboard. Since it recognizes so many multi-touches it is so versatile. Not to mention the responsiveness and the fact it knows when you have a finger on it to drag and another to do something else rather than going wonky and zooming or something without you wanting it to. Easily worth extra bucks if it were an option haha

 

This is the primary reason I can't go back to Windows on a notebook. Now, if they start making bigger trackpads on Win machines (and it looks like they are) and then get all the Mac gestures, I might go back. Until then... Steve gets my money.

 

is there anyway to enable drag and drop with just click on the pad and not have to click the button on the bottom of the pad?

I do agree, its hard to go back to PC trackpad after using apples. You really dont need a mouse with a MBP for casual stuff.

 

I am not sure what you are getting at. I can drag-and-drop just fine by clicking anywhere on the trackpad. Is there something I am missing?

 

button? the newer trackpads that don't have a button on the bottom are much better... but either way you should have a drag lock option in Touchpad preferences.

 

I believe I found an option for tap clicking in the System Preferences for dragging items but I have yet to find one when it comes to clicking the trackpad. Then again, you can click anywhere on the trackpad, continue to hold it down, and drag content to any location you want. The only time I have had trouble doing this was when I had the right-click option setup in the bottom right corner of the trackpad. I was dragging an item from the bottom right of my display to the upper left. I have since changed the right-click option to only occur if I click with two fingers.

Either way, I am not sure what is going on with Helpmyfriend as they have been overly noobish for someone that supposedly has a MBP.

 

its easier to click hold with one finger on the trackpad, then use a second finger to actually do the movement, instead of trying to keep it pressed down and move with the same finger.

 

i have a 2011 MBP and my trackpad (though you cant visibly see it only feel) has a button on the bottom.

 

the whole trackpad is a button, hinged at the top... so its easier to click near the bottom than the top.

 

It depends on how far the item has to be dragged. Most of the time I find it easy enough to just click and hold with one finger. However, if I am dragging an object/icon/whatever across the display, it is easier to use two fingers. I find myself doing about 60-40 (one finger vs two) when using my MBP's trackpad. I use the one finger method about 90% of the time on the magic trackpad simply because it is quite a bit larger.

Then you are either confused by thinking that the trackpad has a button (the whole thing is a clickable button) or you don't have a 2011 MacBook Pro (or even a 2010 model for that matter).

 

I believe the trackpad has two "buttons", one in each bottom corner.

Or perhaps that's just the stand alone clickpad?

 

It has one on each lower corner, but only one works at any given moment according to the settings. The entire trackpad also functions as a giant button.

 

I think the magic trackpad is a large version of the MBP built-in trackpad. That being said, each clickable back operates together. You can click the lower left or the lower right area and it doesn't matter as both will actually "click" (they are attached to each other). The aspect that changes the click options is finger location. That is why the trackpad is essentially one large button. There are two portions behind it that actually click but they are not independent buttons. Clicking one in will also click the other one as they are both attached to each other. So it doesn't matter if you click in the lower right corner, lower left corner, the middle of the damn thing, the upper left, or extreme right. The whole trackpad is going to be clicked.

Finger placement dictates everything with the Apple trackpad (wether it is the external or built-in option) along with the amount of fingers it is sensing.

 

once your used to it, going back to a PC trackpad is a real pain. it's really is the best trackpad on the market, I've owned a few laptops with trackpoints but really I've always preferred the touchpad, even over a thinkpads trackpoint (which are the best trackpoints you can get). if the apple trackpad slowed you down more than 1/10th of a second I'd be surprised.

I still like my actual mouse, but really it's not far off, I were to buy say an iMac I would consider a trackpad to go with it.

 

For browsing, doing lightwork
and basic tasks the trackpad is definitely on par with my logitech anywhere MX. It's the fact that its large size allows you to navigate the entire screen in a natural way that makes it great. The gestures are also quite useful and something that a USB mouse cannot provide.

The only time I really need a mouse is if I'm doing some excel documents or gaming .

 

Another advantage of the trackpad is that it lets you enter characters in foreign languages easily--just draw what you're trying to input.