Hi all, please let me add my (very long) 2 Euro-Cents and forgive me the Outlook-induced top-posting. I never had a Mac until 2001, and now I've been through a lot of Macs, including very old ones, plus additional PCs, both desktops and laptops. IMHO, you should differ. At the beginning of the Nineties, I had one of the *very* first trackpads on a "Triumph-Adler" 386/SX notebook (a German-rebranded Olivetti machine). By then, I was envious of the crowd who used trackballs. I still like the borderless way of scrolling with a trackball. My trackpad was positioned between the keyboard and the screen, which made it awkward to use. But I used this machine for quite a while, and got somehow used to it. Never used a mouse. Then came a long period of desktop PCs, and I grew accustomed to a (two-button) mouse. My first Mac was a Powerbook 3400c, bought used in 2001 (when it finally became affordable for me), with OS 8.6, that reintroduced me to the Trackpad (this time in the position where it should have been in the first place). I really liked the 3400c (and I still prefer the OS 8/9 GUI to anything else, BTW), which I still own. I didn't have a problem with the trackpad. What was really missing was the second button. After a while, I bought a 6500 tower and for this I bought a 4-button Kensington trackball. It almost never got used, because of some problems with the 6500's hardware. At the same time, I still used a desktop PC which had another important addition (after the second button): the scroll wheel. After a short while, I couldn't be without it. So, when I bought a brand new iBook at the end of 2002, my very first peripheral to add was a two-button-plus-scroll wheel Logitech mouse. I found this rather unfortunate, because it *does* defeat the purpose of a laptop in some way. But why couldn't Apple finally add a second mouse button on their laptops (they show the same stubborness with their desktops, but it's no big issue to replace the desktop's pointing device)? I still refuse to understand this in any way, and the fact that the Windoze world has moved on to scroll wheels a standard equipment in the meantime hasn't made the situation better. Most (even cheap) PC laptops today come with two or three buttons plus a scrolling device. Hate to say that: Apple's offerings are ridiculous in this regard (G.S., are you listening?). Even worse, my iBook's trackpad is *way* oversized (like the new Powerbook's too). I keep touching it in the wrong way with one or two fingers that don't belong there. In addition, the very little feedback the (single) button gives is insufficient. As my computer collection grew, I also added a used IBM Thinkpad about a year ago. This machine came with three buttons and a pointing stick (in the middle of the keyboard) instead of a trackpad. This seems to become my favorite solution now. It's almost impossible to move it accidentally, it accelerates dynamically, and you don't have to move it several times to get from one screen edge to the other. Plus, you can even scroll with it when you hold a button and move the stick up- or downward (unfortunately, this doesn't work with Mozilla). You can even click with it. Message to Steve: Please add a second mouse button plus a genuine scrolling device to your Powerbooks, plus maybe something new insanely great! That's about what *should* come from Apple.
Alex > -----Original Message----- > From: PowerBooks [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of > Yersinia > Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 2:18 AM > To: PowerBooks > Subject: Re: Trackpad vs. Mouse (was Re: 5300c question) > > > Donna Hood Pointer writes, > > <Have you tried positioning the arrow using only one finger on the > trackpad and then leaving the arrow there and clicking? I use my right > thumb to click and hold and then my right index finger to drag, > sometimes using strokes.> > > You mean to click with the trackpad? No. I click with the clicker which > lives immediately below-in front of the track pad. No need to click with > a trackpad here. I don't know why THIS should be "the finger" I feel most > physically comfortable using ;-) but I came to discover early in my first > trackpad days that my right middle finger, yes, that one, on the trackpad > gives me the best I can get in terms of both speed and accuracy. > > <But for accurate positioning of the arrow point, simply moving the arrow > wherever you want it and then leaving it > there (it will not move) gives me great accuracy>. > > Getting the arrow where I want it is easier than the cursor, yes. But > since my Powerbook's primary duty is word processing, I also have to get > to very precise positions. Yes, by now I can do this well enough with my > trackpad and I don't ever pack a mouse in my Powerbook's carrybag when > getting ready to go out, but I do have to admit that when I'm doing the > same thing at home on my G3 with the mouse, I'm much more adept at it > with the mouse. > > <Have you ever tried to deal with a skittering Mocrosoft mouse in > Windows?> > > No. I don't do Windoze. ;-) > > <Any Mac trackpad has that beaten by a mile.> > > I'm sure!! :-) > > <On my older desktops I used to use a plug-in trackpad. and I have also > used trackballs.> > > One time, a LONG time ago (1991 or 92 I think), I was at someone else's > house and used his computer. He had a trackball. An awful experience for > me! I'd never outfit any computer of mine with one of those things (my > apologies to those of you who've replied to this thread and praised > trackballs!), and I wouldn't buy a laptop with a trackball as compared to > a trackpad either. Kind of like cars, almost. I drive cars with automatic > transmission. I don't care how old and what a beater of a car it is > otherwise, the only requirement for me is auto trans. Up until recently > even the idea of learning HOW to drive a car with a stick shift was "out, > out, out!" because the thought of it scared me to death. I'd be willing > to at least learn stick now, but I still don't think I'd ever buy a car > like that, at least not for so long as I live in one of the Heavy > Traffic/Jerks On The Road Capital States of the USA. Equate the auto > trans with the trackpad, the stick shift with the trackball. > > ~Yersinia. > > -- > PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | > -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com > -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
