Or at least a bigger keyboard. The 17" just looks silly with that blank space.
Perhaps even on the 12" and 15", too: have it to the right of the trackpad, and have a little button that toggles it on and off, so it doesn't insert stuff while you're typing or using the trackpad, but inputs when you press the button.
I have to agree with there being 2 buttons. Even though you can make a utility for windows and mac (sidetrack) for a right click option (tapping a corner of the trackpad).
From Raging Menace:
"At present SideTrack does not support the January 2005 PowerBook G4 models with a USB trackpad (this is Apple's new scrolling trackpad)."
Quote:
Other than that I think updating the screens and closing the screen without it going to sleep are good ideas as well.
From Apple:
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
2. Connect an external display and keyboard.
3. Press a key on the external keyboard."
--B [/B]
Thanks! I'll carry around a keyboard and external display with me on the airplane so I can listen to music from my Powerbook. That will save me so much space and battery!
"At present SideTrack does not support the January 2005 PowerBook G4 models with a USB trackpad (this is Apple's new scrolling trackpad)."
From Apple:
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
2. Connect an external display and keyboard.
3. Press a key on the external keyboard."
--B [/B]
Well I'm extremely happy I didn't buy one of the new powerbooks now. Because not having a right click on the trackpad would have SERIOUSLY PISSED ME OFF. I have to have right click. I use it for everything... and having to use 2 hands to do it is retarded. Guess this 1.25ghz pb worked out for me.
Yah as far as having an external keyboard and getting it not to sleep. Problem is... the system sleeps when you close it... and any network connections you had going get cut off. To me that is the only reason to keep a computer awake... to keep the network connections alive. So sleepless is probably the way to go. Or that kernel extension.
Chiming in to say eraser nubs suck for controlling the pointer. I find them to be completely unsuitable for small movements. Try to move the pointer one pixel to the left -- it'll usually go halfway across the screen instead. They also have the added "benefit" of falling off periodically, which means you get to hunt down the extra ones you stuffed in a junk drawer or suck it up and buy new ones online.
I just tried it on a laptop.
the trackpad went one up and one over, the nubs went one over exactly.
Thank you for proving my point.
I just dont like having to move my finger over the entire surface left to right two or three times to get over to the other side of the screen. And if you calibrate it to go that far in one swipe then you the cursur moves almost a duzen pixles at a time.
How anyone can like the trackpad is beyond me. With proper training with the nub you can go across the screen in under a second or target a pixel in the same time as a trackpad without having to worry about your orreantation with the track pad.
Number one thing to change is processor. Of course.
I don't think of the 12" as a Powerbook at all. It's a high end iBook. It's not in the same league with the 15". There's no end to the deficiencies of the 12".
I don't know much about the technology, but OLED technology for the screen might give a brighter look and increase battery life - from what I have heard. Anyone else know more about this type of technology ??
In general, Apple can use this "in-between" (or pre-intel) time to push the limits on things other than processor speed. I don't really care if they bump the CPU speed at all if they wow us with other things - new screen technology, better battery technology, being able to play DVDs w/o booting up, bigger drives (120 is the most I have heard of recently), etc.
I don't know much about the technology, but OLED technology for the screen might give a brighter look and increase battery life - from what I have heard. Anyone else know more about this type of technology ??
Too slow, short lifetime. No go for at least next few years.
the trackpad went one up and one over, the nubs went one over exactly.
Thank you for proving my point.
I just dont like having to move my finger over the entire surface left to right two or three times to get over to the other side of the screen. And if you calibrate it to go that far in one swipe then you the cursur moves almost a duzen pixles at a time.
How anyone can like the trackpad is beyond me. With proper training with the nub you can go across the screen in under a second or target a pixel in the same time as a trackpad without having to worry about your orreantation with the track pad.
This is nonsense. I daresay that nubs are great once you get used to them (I never have) but there is certainly no subtlety of movement you mention that cannot be performed with a trackpad. You may have screwy settings on yours, but on mine (which uses the default settings) single pixel movement can be achieved by "rolling" your finger gently on the pad (i.e. moving your finger without sliding it) and I can certainly traverse the whole screen width with a single swift motion across the pad, (or alternatively with several slower motions).
Perhaps you are simply not aware that the Apple trackpad is speed sensitive. It seems likely to me that if you did not realise this immediately, you probably cranked up the speed and now have it set so high that you cannot make subtle movements. I find the default speed to be satisfactory for making both very large and very small gestures.
I dont have a Mac. Do I need to make a signature that says it?
I just hope that it isnt as sensitive or picky as PC ones, which it probebly is because most of the whitebooks I sell are Asus or Quanta and use the same basic trackpads (abit with different software). Apple may just pay more attention to its drivers and configuration then the company does (Mac OS and Win XP tracpad drivers from the manufacturer are suprisingly similar, just Apple spends time fine tuning them after they get the driver pack from Synaptic or whathaveyou).
I dont have a Mac. Do I need to make a signature that says it?
Well you are posting on an Apple forum and commenting about an Apple technology, so yes that might be an idea :-)
Quote:
I just hope that it isnt as sensitive or picky as PC ones, which it probebly is because most of the whitebooks I sell are Asus or Quanta and use the same basic trackpads (abit with different software). Apple may just pay more attention to its drivers and configuration then the company does (Mac OS and Win XP tracpad drivers from the manufacturer are suprisingly similar, just Apple spends time fine tuning them after they get the driver pack from Synaptic or whathaveyou).
I've used PC trackpads and generally they suck. The default settings for Windows mice always seem too fast for me and I have trouble making precise motions. I imagine that this is purely a driver issue, but I wouldn't be surprised if Apple use custom trackpad hardware anyway, since their pads are non-rectangular and colour-coordinated to their laptops.
I strongly suggest you go and try out a powerbook/ibook trackpad in a showroom and see if it changes your opinion on the subject (although if you don't own a Mac, I wonder why you care enough to comment).
What's the advantage of a tablet anyways? Its just going to make the screen last half the length... Can't a pda or pen and paper conquer the same desired effect?
Comments
Originally posted by miggs97
Dedicated number pad on the 17" model.
Or at least a bigger keyboard. The 17" just looks silly with that blank space.
Perhaps even on the 12" and 15", too: have it to the right of the trackpad, and have a little button that toggles it on and off, so it doesn't insert stuff while you're typing or using the trackpad, but inputs when you press the button.
Originally posted by emig647
I have to agree with there being 2 buttons. Even though you can make a utility for windows and mac (sidetrack) for a right click option (tapping a corner of the trackpad).
From Raging Menace:
"At present SideTrack does not support the January 2005 PowerBook G4 models with a USB trackpad (this is Apple's new scrolling trackpad)."
Other than that I think updating the screens and closing the screen without it going to sleep are good ideas as well.
From Apple:
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
2. Connect an external display and keyboard.
3. Press a key on the external keyboard."
--B
Originally posted by bergz
From Apple:
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
2. Connect an external display and keyboard.
3. Press a key on the external keyboard."
--B [/B]
Thanks! I'll carry around a keyboard and external display with me on the airplane so I can listen to music from my Powerbook. That will save me so much space and battery!
Originally posted by Placebo and the ability to close the lid without it going to sleep
Install Sleepless then.
Better cooling. The fan on this PowerBook is pathetic.
Originally posted by bergz
From Raging Menace:
"At present SideTrack does not support the January 2005 PowerBook G4 models with a USB trackpad (this is Apple's new scrolling trackpad)."
From Apple:
"1. Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the display.
2. Connect an external display and keyboard.
3. Press a key on the external keyboard."
--B [/B]
Well I'm extremely happy I didn't buy one of the new powerbooks now. Because not having a right click on the trackpad would have SERIOUSLY PISSED ME OFF. I have to have right click. I use it for everything... and having to use 2 hands to do it is retarded. Guess this 1.25ghz pb worked out for me.
Yah as far as having an external keyboard and getting it not to sleep. Problem is... the system sleeps when you close it... and any network connections you had going get cut off. To me that is the only reason to keep a computer awake... to keep the network connections alive. So sleepless is probably the way to go. Or that kernel extension.
Originally posted by elron
Chiming in to say eraser nubs suck for controlling the pointer. I find them to be completely unsuitable for small movements. Try to move the pointer one pixel to the left -- it'll usually go halfway across the screen instead. They also have the added "benefit" of falling off periodically, which means you get to hunt down the extra ones you stuffed in a junk drawer or suck it up and buy new ones online.
I just tried it on a laptop.
the trackpad went one up and one over, the nubs went one over exactly.
Thank you for proving my point.
I just dont like having to move my finger over the entire surface left to right two or three times to get over to the other side of the screen. And if you calibrate it to go that far in one swipe then you the cursur moves almost a duzen pixles at a time.
How anyone can like the trackpad is beyond me. With proper training with the nub you can go across the screen in under a second or target a pixel in the same time as a trackpad without having to worry about your orreantation with the track pad.
Originally posted by cwestpha
I just dont like having to move my finger over the entire surface left to right two or three times to get over to the other side of the screen.
what are you talking about? move you're finger fast from left to right, you go from screenside to screenside, move slower you go less far...
at least on a iBook or powerbook it is.
that's the reason why the shape of the trackpad on the pb12", 15" and 17" corresponds with the screenshape...
[edit spelling]
but perhaps in order of importance (and being realistic)...
Brighter, higher resolution displays with wide viewing angles
(much) faster FSB
Extended battery life
2. speed
3. HD screen & brighter
4. wimax
I don't think of the 12" as a Powerbook at all. It's a high end iBook. It's not in the same league with the 15". There's no end to the deficiencies of the 12".
In general, Apple can use this "in-between" (or pre-intel) time to push the limits on things other than processor speed. I don't really care if they bump the CPU speed at all if they wow us with other things - new screen technology, better battery technology, being able to play DVDs w/o booting up, bigger drives (120 is the most I have heard of recently), etc.
I don't know much about the technology, but OLED technology for the screen might give a brighter look and increase battery life - from what I have heard. Anyone else know more about this type of technology ??
Too slow, short lifetime. No go for at least next few years.
Originally posted by cwestpha
I just tried it on a laptop.
the trackpad went one up and one over, the nubs went one over exactly.
Thank you for proving my point.
I just dont like having to move my finger over the entire surface left to right two or three times to get over to the other side of the screen. And if you calibrate it to go that far in one swipe then you the cursur moves almost a duzen pixles at a time.
How anyone can like the trackpad is beyond me. With proper training with the nub you can go across the screen in under a second or target a pixel in the same time as a trackpad without having to worry about your orreantation with the track pad.
This is nonsense. I daresay that nubs are great once you get used to them (I never have) but there is certainly no subtlety of movement you mention that cannot be performed with a trackpad. You may have screwy settings on yours, but on mine (which uses the default settings) single pixel movement can be achieved by "rolling" your finger gently on the pad (i.e. moving your finger without sliding it) and I can certainly traverse the whole screen width with a single swift motion across the pad, (or alternatively with several slower motions).
Perhaps you are simply not aware that the Apple trackpad is speed sensitive. It seems likely to me that if you did not realise this immediately, you probably cranked up the speed and now have it set so high that you cannot make subtle movements. I find the default speed to be satisfactory for making both very large and very small gestures.
I just hope that it isnt as sensitive or picky as PC ones, which it probebly is because most of the whitebooks I sell are Asus or Quanta and use the same basic trackpads (abit with different software). Apple may just pay more attention to its drivers and configuration then the company does (Mac OS and Win XP tracpad drivers from the manufacturer are suprisingly similar, just Apple spends time fine tuning them after they get the driver pack from Synaptic or whathaveyou).
Originally posted by cwestpha
I dont have a Mac. Do I need to make a signature that says it?
Well you are posting on an Apple forum and commenting about an Apple technology, so yes that might be an idea :-)
I just hope that it isnt as sensitive or picky as PC ones, which it probebly is because most of the whitebooks I sell are Asus or Quanta and use the same basic trackpads (abit with different software). Apple may just pay more attention to its drivers and configuration then the company does (Mac OS and Win XP tracpad drivers from the manufacturer are suprisingly similar, just Apple spends time fine tuning them after they get the driver pack from Synaptic or whathaveyou).
I've used PC trackpads and generally they suck. The default settings for Windows mice always seem too fast for me and I have trouble making precise motions. I imagine that this is purely a driver issue, but I wouldn't be surprised if Apple use custom trackpad hardware anyway, since their pads are non-rectangular and colour-coordinated to their laptops.
I strongly suggest you go and try out a powerbook/ibook trackpad in a showroom and see if it changes your opinion on the subject (although if you don't own a Mac, I wonder why you care enough to comment).
1. oled screen, they are thine an use less power
2. the new ppc 970 mp @1.4 - 1.6 GHz 2 brain are better than one (eh eh eh) and support for a future 6 bit os
3. sata (or better sata II) HD and DVD (or BD)
4. FireGL and Quadro mobile with PCIe connection
Originally posted by jms698
Dare I say: Tablet!
...
TROLL!!!
What's the advantage of a tablet anyways? Its just going to make the screen last half the length... Can't a pda or pen and paper conquer the same desired effect?