Developers (seemingly a lot of them?) use a touchpad as their primary input device on a regular basis?
I guess this is an example of being in my own bubble, but I can't stand touchpads. I've used the touchpad on MacBook, like, twice in 2 years.
I guess this is an example of being in my own bubble, but I can't stand touchpads. I've used the touchpad on MacBook, like, twice in 2 years.
One demographic I would expect traditional mouse usage from would be gamers. When I play a first person game I always use my trusty old intellimouse. Otherwise, I use the trackpad unless I'm simultaneously using my mechanical keyboard, but if my keyboard had an attached trackpad I'd probably be using that. But mousing in general just isn't a very important to my workflows and trackpads work just as well as mice for nearly all tasks. Arguably they work better for some since you don't have to move your hand far from the laptop's keyboard to use the trackpad, while using a dedicated mouse means taking your hand completely off the keyboard.
I imagine that developers would prefer mice if people who use computers intensively and knowledgeably prefer mice, and I suspect people who use computers intensively and knowledgeably do prefer mice, the same way that I believe we prefer good keyboards and good monitors.
I still use a mouse for gaming, but I have to replace it every ~3 years because the buttons start to wear out. That has yet to happen to one of my Apple touchpads.
Neither can I, actually. I work with my MacBook plugged into a large monitor with an external keyboard and mouse 99% of the time, and just assumed everyone else did as well without really thinking about it.
Why would you expect that? What concrete advantage does a mouse have over a trackpad for gaming that doesn't translate to regular use?
Rarely you want to hold both mouse buttons or hold RMB while also move the cursor.
Source: I can play first person perspective games quite decently on my macbook using the trackpad, but holding the mouse buttons while aiming is the hardest.
Why would I subject myself to such misery? Playing games in train.
Better accuracy and muscle memory. Faster. It's not just for "gamers".
It didn't even occur to me that someone who uses a computer all day long would use a touchpad, even though millions of people own one, Apple continues making them bigger, and the only thing "wrong" with them is that _I_ can't figure out how to click things on the first (or 5th) try.
Apple’s touch pads (at least the recent ones) have none of these problems and are as smooth, responsive and reliable as good smartphones. They are actually useable as a main input device, not only in a pinch.
Remind yourself that it works exactly like the screen of an iPhone or iPad, that’s when it clicked for me.
I could probably get used to them if I had any reason to, but I have no idea where I would even put my laptop to use it comfortably with an external monitor. I like my mouse and I have no problems with it, so no sense in buying an external touchpad.
If I did a lot of work like scrubbing through audio/video or something that benefited from multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom, then maybe I'd consider it.
Like your comment's parent, I used the trackpad because I prefer doing everything from the keyboard and so prefer the trackpaid for things that require a mouse-like interface.
Just a tap, like on a phone, and I've clicked. I do keep the click sound on though, for feedback.