Apple's touchpad update today

is worth loading up if your computer is recent.

Adds inertial scrolling,
and 3 finger swipes, for fwd/back navigation in all browsers.

I'm really curious to try out the new desktop bluetooth trackpad they released. I've been a big fan of the trackpads on Apple laptops for a while now, and every iteration they manage to add a bit more to them.

The update appears to have brought all the recent "no button" trackpads into sync. My new MacBook Pro came with the scrolling and 3 finger navigation support. It did add a toggle to change 3 fingers to move windows around, though sadly it seems you have to have the mouse cursor in the normal spot to move the window, instead of being able to do it anywhere.

The three-finger drag is completely asinine. It's a great way to completely f*ck yourself if you drag while your mouse pointer is over a file list.

It also takes one more finger to accomplish what I could already do with two before. Click and hold with my thumb while moving the window with my index finger.

The three finger navigation has always been there on my Unibody MBP (March 2009).

The inertia option is OK, but IMO, not terrible useful unless you have a really long list you want to surf through. Non-inertial scrolling already worked very well. I'm using inertia now though, at least for the week to see if I find it useful enough to keep turned on permanently.

Scrolling is what I do the most. I don't use pinch zooming as I find it imprecise and just a pain in the ass. I've had to instal mods for Mail and Safari to disable it in those apps actually. I also can't really stand the rotation. The only apps I use that support it are from Adobe, and their use of it really stinks. I may need to disable it in System Prefs.

The other things are useful, but I don't use them enough to commit them to muscle memory. I find it much quicker to Expose using the keyboard with my left hand while moving the mouse cursor at the same time with my right.

The one thing that's frustrating about Apple's peripherals lately is the lack of a USB wired option. I understand that wireless is nice to have but would it really kill them to offer USB as an option for the Magic Mouse / Magic Trackpad? Especially for the trackpad, where it's not like the wire is going to get in your way as it might with a mouse.

I know Apple loves to limit options and tell users what's good for them, but not only is this decision wasteful for the environment and inconvenient for people who don't want to deal with charging batteries / having extra alkalines on hand, but it also screws folks like myself who work in environments where wireless is prohibited.

They probably feel there wouldn't be a significant enough market share and therefore dollars to make it worth their while to develop separate USB wired versions.

What would have been nice it to include mini or micro USB ports on the devices and allow them to work optionally via USB. It would probably take additional hardware (usb controller), more software (logic to switch between USB & BT) and of course supplying the USB cable. That would make for quite a unique solution on otherwise already unique products.

IMO, Apple doesn't tell people what's good for them. They have a knack for predicting what people will want. With some products at least. With others they simply watch trends and capitalize on them. When's the last time you looked down the keyboard and mouse isle of a computer shop? At least as far as Mice go, wireless seems to be very dominant around here. And I've only ever seen one mouse where you can optionally wire it up - it's from MS and it's otherwise somewhat of a POS in design (I have one).

They're certainly dominant in supply, no doubt because they attract a premium price. But are they really dominant in demand? Personally, I quite fancy one of those Darkfield laser mice, but I can't see myself buying one until they come out with a wired version.

Peter

As I said, the case for "wireless mouse" is a lot stronger than the case for "wireless trackpad." There's no reason a goddamn trackpad needs to be wireless. It's gratuitous and wasteful.

Technology companies are not simply idle spectators who need to follow the whims of consumers -- they can create demand based on what products they offer. Apple isn't predicting what people want -- in many ways, they're deciding what people want by limiting options. People don't think they want something if that something isn't available.

Why is that, exactly?

If it's batteries, my Darkfield mouse lasts ungodly amounts of time on a pair of double-A batteries. Months.

Besides, this model is rechargeable. My wife has a similar mouse, and it works while it has its USB cable plugged in, so you can get all wonders of having an obnoxious corded mouse!

(I'm assuming it doesn't switch over to USB when plugged in or anything...)

When someone is using an iMac with a wireless keyboard, chances are they don't want to add a wire for their brand new track pad. It's clean.

If I were Apple there's no way I'd make a wired version. It wouldn't sell. Ok, maybe one sale. It would cost more money to stock two skus and just generally be a miserable idea. But, having one product support both configurations would allow more versatility. They'd still probably not recoup the extra costs involved in the more complicated design - within a fraction of a percentage, the number of units sold would be "the same."

Apple only releases a successful product when the market is sufficiently primed for it. They need to make sure the technology is there that they can offer a compelling product but at the same time the customers need to accept that product. Case in point is the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Failed case is the Apple TV. While I doubt they lost money on it, it was simply released too early - it wouldn't have done appreciably better even without its iTunes limitations and underpowered CPU.

Anyway, what about that monitor? Finally a decent resolution (2.5k wide) from Apple at a more manageable size. The 30" was really too large and the pixel density too low when compared to their new notebooks. I'm only wondering when their 4k beast is supposed to come out. Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? I'm surprised they've eliminated the 24" model though.

Dual mode USB/Bluetooth mouse from Razer.

I am definitly tempted by the newer Logitech mice with the microUSB charger. It's been a while since I've let a mouse charge die completely, but it's happened a few times. I'm currently using the Revolution MX with a sealed in rechargeable. At work, as long as I remember to plug it in over the weekend, I'm usually fine.

I assume you've seen the new Apple rechargeable batteries? Is it just me, or does this seem decidedly un-Apple, or at the very least, like something Apple might have done in 2004?

I don't see why Apple couldn't have at least done the Logitech thing, where you can charge it with a cable and use it wirelessly. I understand their desire for the clean look of wireless, and I agree that it makes for a nice-looking desktop, but does it really pain Steve so much that a user might, every few weeks or so**, have a nice, white, Apple-style charging cable going to the pad, even if for just an overnight session or a couple hours of use? That's where I really agree with you, Tony. IMO, swapping AA batteries, even if you have charged ones on hand, is much less slick than simply plugging in a single cable for a little while.

**I have no idea how much juice this pad takes. Like Tony F, my mouse will go for weeks without a charge, but this is probably different...

My preference is for a wired desktop. The lag waking up wireless desktop gadgets, especially mice, is just not to borne.

Wired keyboard and wireless mouse for me. The benefits of wireless mouse outweigh the disadvantages of having to charge it.

I would prefer a wired touchpad as well :P

Definitely wired. More energy efficient (the planet!) too.

That was one of my complaints about wireless mice, too, but my Logitech Darkfield mouse doesn't have any problems at all, it's awake instantly.

What is with having to charge these things so much ? I have been using an old Logitech keyboard / mouse combo with one of those proprietary receivers and the batteries (AAA's) last for years. I keep seeing the new wireless mice that have charging docks so they really suck the power so much that you need to stick it in there everyday ?

Agreed. I avoided wireless mice for ages, tried the Logitech MX Revolution and can't imagine going back. There is no indication that it isn't wired at all (apart from the lack of wire).

I do however wish it didn't have a sealed rechargeable battery

I usually have to charge my Logitech MX Revolution once or twice a month, it usually lasts more than two weeks.

And of course it gets very heavy use, at least 10 hours most days.

First: years? I'm sorry to doubt you...but I doubt you. First, I'm going to assume "years" means two or more years. You're saying you really got away without replacing a couple AAA batteries in a wireless mouse for "years?" Even if you used it once every three-four days, I can't imagine the batteries wouldn't discharge before then. If you were talking about your keyboard, then I could almost believe you. Keyboards use their batteries much more lightly. But I haven't had a wireless keyboard that lasted longer than around six-nine months on a pair of AA's.

Second: "everyday?" Like I said, I charge my Logitech MX1000 about once every one-two weeks, depending on usage, and it has to be at least four years old now (I'm amazed it still holds a charge). My wife forgets to plug her brand new Logitech in, so I end up doing that for her about once every couple months. Hell, she got it for Christmas, and I think it's only been charged about three times! Then again her desktop isn't used heavily...

If you open up the mouse, you'll find it is one of the other removable Lithium packs that Logitech uses so it is possible to swap it out.


Hmm. My 2nd revision MX Revolution dies after a couple of days with similar usage. Wonder whats wrong with it.

I bought a couple spares when Logitech announced that the MX Revolution was being discontinued as I don't like the Performance MX which replaced it. The Performance MX has the Darkfield technology and the ability to tether the mouse so you can charge it whilst using it though which are both nice features. It lacks the software controlled wheel however which I've found is really nice.

How do you open it ? There are no visible screws, are they hidden under the sliding pads ?

Wired keyboard with built-in USB hub. Wired mouse plugged into that hub.

That's so Apple circa 2000.

Or, Apple circa 2010 for those of us who are prohibited from using wireless in the office.

I don't even have to wear pants in my office.

I really hope you work from home!

Yeah. Under the big pad at the top and the two nearest the charging connectors. The battery in my mouse was the same as the one used in the Logitech G7 but I can't guarantee anything for your mouse as Logitech have made several revisions to the MX Revolution. Depends on how much you really like your mouse I guess about whether you want to yank off the slide pads.

I have a Microsoft wireless mouse (model 1008) in which I replaced the AAA batteries a couple of weeks ago for the first time in more than a year. It is used daily, probably on average three or four hours.

Oops, correction: it uses AA batteries, not AAA, quite a bit more capacity there. I know I'm destroying the planet, throwing out two AA batteries every 12-15 months, but I won't go back to a wired mouse.

tanstaafl.

Don't pull the pads off! Get an xacto knife and cut around the perimeter of each screw hole.

Well, it's definitely a large trackpad, thats for sure. I'll be taking it to work tomorrow and using it there to see how it goes. At home, I play too many games to keep it around here. Although, it might be interesting to try as a sniper in TF2...

Well, it's workable in shooters, and aiming is ok with it. Scrolling to select weapons failed badly though, the scroll input is just way too fast for Team Fortress to deal with well. Ultimately though, the thumb trackball will still remain my favorite sniper control. Used to be brutal with one, until my thumb started showing signs of RSI.

and how would I do that without knowing where the holes are ?

Chiming in late to this thread, I understand Apple's desire to go wireless, but I'm with the I-prefer-wires crowd. What I don't get, however, is why isn't making desktop keyboard with integrated trackpads. You could take the smaller keyboard and glue the trackpad onto the right of it and have an integrated solution that would work well in your lap. Even better (at least for touch-typists) would be to split the keyboard into left and right-hand sections, with the trackpad dead in the center (not unlike a Kinesis Contoured Keyboard, but flat rather than curved).

I got given a Magic Trackpad as a late Christmas present. Paired it with my first gen C2D Mac Mini and it seems to be working quite nicely. I'm not sure I'd say it was worth the £60 it costs to buy here as its even more expensive than the wireless keyboard but as a present I'm not going to complain

I normally use the Mac Mini with a wired USB Intellimouse but I'll give it a go with just the giant trackpad. I don't think there should be too many issues with switching as I don't play games on the Mac ever and I'm fine with the touchpads on laptops. I would have still prefered a wired version so I don't ever need to worry about batteries tho...

If I can be bothered to dig out a USB Bluetooth dongle then I might try it with my Windows desktop with the modified boot camp drivers.

I've used the Magic Trackpad for most of today and I like it. It even works decently as a Boxee remote (the app that is) but it'd be rough on anybody that doesn't know the gestures or how to use Boxee.

Use the point of the exacto to probe straight into the pad. The hole is most always in the widest part of the pad. (see pic) Holes are also sometimes put under labels. Pressing on the label with your thumb can leave a circular indentation, reviling the hole location.

Once the void is found cut sideways till you find the perimeter of the hole, and trace around.

If there is no hole at the probe location you will know when you meet the additional resistance of the under laying plastic. This will leave a small pin prick of no account.

I bought a couple of sets of new pads instead. They are sat here on the shelf until I need to replace the battery.

I'm also thinking about buying a spare Logitech MX Revolution from ebay, given that Logitech replaced it with a dumbed down version and no one else seems to make a comparable mouse.