
A personal fight against the modern laptop - samet
http://hackaday.com/2017/01/26/a-personal-fight-against-the-modern-laptop/
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mark_l_watson
While I don't particularly love the new MacBook Pro, I just bought a regular
MacBook with a ultradef retina external monitor and I could not be happier.

Also, I didn't agree with the comment about no one being able to but a
keyboard on an iPad Pro like device. I don't own one, but I know people who
love their Surface 4s. That said, the Apple keyboard for the iPad Pro is sort
of OK.

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teh_klev
See also (from three days ago)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13469217](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13469217)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzmm87oVQ6c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzmm87oVQ6c)

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samet
Thanks for pointing that out. I watched the video as embedded in the post.

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spaceisballer
I really enjoy my X220, however the trackpad is killing me. I know it's
apparently sacrilege to use the trackpad on a Thinkpad but I do find myself
using it.

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rebootthesystem
Touch pads in general on laptops have got to be the worst UI ever tolerated in
the history of computing. They are horrible. Something as simple as click-and-
drag either turns into a cumbersome operations (with some kind of click-lock
procedure) or a painful experience when done in repetition.

Disagree? Just try to run Solidworks with a track pad on a laptop for a view
into just how bad this interface element really is.

Why are they still around? Because it is the easy an laziest approach to a no
maintenance (no moving parts) low cost device to put into laptops to move the
pointer around.

Nobody is interested in innovating because people tolerate the things and they
are cheap. Move on, focus on pitching more pixels or touch bars. Nothing to
see here.

Nearly 15 years ago I went through a period of intense work that led to an
extremely painful carpal tunnel condition. It didn't get to the point of
requiring surgery (I knew people who got there) but it was debilitating and it
made work nearly impossible.

My solution was to take the bull by the horns. I designed and fabricated my
own desk to address the ergonomic problems of standard desks. I also switched
to a thumb operated trackball. Within about three months the soreness was
gone, the inflammation receded and using the computer ceased to be a painful
experience. I have not had carpal tunnel issues for fifteen years. Notable,
when you consider I typically put in twelve hour days in front of the
computer.

The very first thing I do with a laptop is disable the touch-pad and install a
thumb operated trackball. Touch-pads are worthless as far as I am concerned.
They might even be dangerous in terms of repetitive motion injuries due to the
way they work.

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tthayer
RSI stuff aside, I've found that a trackpad is uniquely terrible when trying
to use ANY 3D modeling software. That isn't necessarily the trackpad's fault
though. The programs are written with a three-button scrollwheel mouse in mind
and the fact that you are able to kludge it with a trackpad in a pinch is a
side benefit, if anything.

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rebootthesystem
While this is true, I think this exposes the weaknesses of the interface in no
uncertain terms. For example, holding down the left button while moving the
pointer about (which can be used for 3D rotation or translation in SW) is
cumbersome and quickly becomes painful on a track-pad.

Similar issues appear when using other applications, such as 2D drafting or
electrical engineering design programs.

Getting away from that class of software, even using Excel is a pain. A mouse
or trackball have what I am going to call a "static" relationship with the
pointer. If I life my hand I can go back and touch the mouse or trackball and
organically move the pointer. When you do the same with a track-pad you lose
your reference point completely.

At home we have a Logitech keyboard with a track-pad to run the PC connected
to our home theater system. I can't describe how cumbersome this feels when
compared to connecting a trackball to the same rig. I've run the test with
multiple visitors. I give them a lap desk and the keyboard. It's
uncomfortable. I then connect a wireless thumb-operated trackball. Night and
day. Not one person wants to go back to the track-pad once they experience
this.

It's a bad interface. It also happens to be cheap and probably OK for people
who just want hang out on Facebook and do menial tasks on the computer.

My take is computer designers have gotten lazy. Nobody wants to innovate when
it comes to the hard stuff. Apple used to have physical trackballs on their
laptops. Innovating past the track-pad requires someone to have the balls to
say "Hey market, try this idea" and be willing to have it flop. That's why it
isn't happening, track-pad are crap, but they are safe from a consumer
acceptance perspective.

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danjoc
I assume this implies x86. Samsung Chromebook Plus looks like a winner to me.

