Comments on: An Extensive Look at the New MacBook Trackpad

By: Greywethr

Greywethr — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:48:42 +0000

One of my favorites is when watching a DVD. You can FF or REW with two fingers. Simply place them on the trackpad, move them a short distance (1″) in the direction you wish (R for FF/L for REW). Wait, keep your fingers down, because if you move an inch, stop, another inch & stop, another inch & stop, etc., it increases the FF/REW speed, just like hitting the button on a remote. Using three fingers will skip forward & back as scene selection. I hate using a mouse or remote now. Enjoy!

By: Trane

Trane — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:44:56 +0000

I’m a fairly competent user, but amidst all the other cool tricks on my new MBP (my first laptop Mac) I managed to miss the secondary click. Thanks for showing me!

By: Q

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:40:45 +0000

Thanks! i’ll try that out. Much appreciated.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:43:46 +0000

Download Multi-Clutch. It is a great free app that lets you set your trackpad to work in other programs (like Firefox) as well as setting global gestures (such as three finger swipe down minimizes the open window). I have it and trust me, it makes the trackpad 10x better.

By: Q

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:34:51 +0000

EDIT: if i could edit my post i would change the last paragraph to:

Great design for the track pad with room for extensive third party improvement. Extensive, this article is not.

Thanks!

By: Q

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:19:47 +0000

So, now that you’ve restated the tutorial in the preference panel, what about customization? Will there be a way for developers to create an app that will allow me to add more functionality to my trackpad with other types of clicks, or app specific assignments?

By the way, the forward and back 3 finger slides don’t work in Firefox. In Illustrator CS2 the scroll only seems to work up and down. i’ve only had my MBP for a few days now, so i haven’t yet discovered all of the nooks and crannies where there’s room for improvement…

Don’t get me wrong, i love the new track pad and i’m going around telling everyone how cool it is, but discovering that similar multi-touch functionality is in plenty of PC books, (they just don’t work as well), but customization is what will really set the MacBook trackpad apart if only we can really do some cool stuff. For example, why not an interface that “learns” a new multi touch pattern and then allows us to assign a behavior? Say i put all five of my fingers on the pad in a circle and that would allow me to, i don’t know bring up a new finder window in front of whatever i’m working on. Or WTF? Why can’t i switch spaces with it?

Coming from my Kensington Expert Mouse Pro (4+ button trackball) i am able to program six different click combos which can be application specific, plus it has six globally assignable buttons and a scrollwheel click which can be modified. I would also love to jettison the mouse in favor of the pad, but it isn’t quite there on the software end.

On that note, Apple needs to incorporate the new pad into the wireless keyboard, ideally detachable and swappable between left/right side attachability for both lefties and righties. i’d love to kick back in my chair with a keyboard on one knee and the pad on another instead of hunching over typing this over-long comment. And for that matter, as a power user, it’s awkward to add the keystroke modifiers on the built in keypad while i’m using the track pad. Also, what’s up with the sharp milled aluminum edges where my wrists rest while tying? You’ll be able to tell a MacBook user by by the impressions left in the skin on their arms!

All in all a great product with amazing potential for mind-blowing improvement, but this article is not.

By: fyi

fyi — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:29:40 +0000

This is a nice article, but if you’ve kept abreast with macbook news, this piece doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know.