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Comment by herval | Hacker News Reader

It's not a bad pointing device, that's the thing. I can use a Mac with a trackpad for pretty much anything, including image editing. It's precise, doesn't do ghost clicks/taps, and it's BIG

I never found a non-Mac with a trackpad I could use _at all_. I always need a mouse to use my windows laptop...

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These days, even mice annoy me. Trackball or bust.

Trackpads are better than touchscreen interfaces though.

I find touchscreens fine in the right form factor (handheld, mainly), but I’ll never get the appeal of a touchscreen on a device running a desktop OS. Reaching up to touch a laptop screen feels awkward and laptop screens are some of the worst when it comes to rejecting fingerprints.

Plus, even if the manufacturer gets on board with an OS that is truly touch-friendly on a laptop, getting all the software manufacturers to also update their UIs for touch will be a long, long haul, I'm afraid.

I've designed non-trivial mechanical components in Solidworks on an Intel Macbook using the trackpad. Arrow keys to spin the model. Having a mouse is better but the trackpad is much better than using a mouse on a poor surface while mobile.

The only time I reach for a mouse on my mac is for gaming. It just doesn't feel necessary or helpful otherwise, even when using at a desk with plenty of room.

Really? For example as a software dev using Linux as a daily driver (so no gaming), would I not need a mouse at all with a Mac? (considering buying one)

Why do you need a mouse to write software?

I didn't use a mouse since at least 2006. Before that I was mandated to use one by the company I was working for but I probably didn't. Why should I lose time to move my hand to grab the mouse when it's already close to the touchpad?

I connected a mouse a few times to play some casual game but I'm not playing games anymore on my laptop.

I'm a keyboard extremist myself, not wanting to touch even the trackpad. Still there are some things where I can't overcome the need to use a pointer device (some GUI apps etc.). It'd be nice to not worry about carrying one more thing (mouse) in my bag, if Mac trackpads are as good as they say, which they prob are.

This is going to be extremely off-topic, but I'm just too terribly curious: the company mandated the use of the mouse? Do you mean that figuratively, as in your tasks were a lot harder to do without a mouse or did they actually make you use one for something like RSI concerns?

It was regulations, same ones that mandate the use of a five wheels chair with armrests. I remember we had to connect the laptop to a monitor and a mouse. I don't remember if we had a docking station and a keyboard too.

No need for a mouse at all.

I'm a software dev using a Macbook, and day-to-day I use a mouse, but this week I'm housesitting and only brought the laptop, and I haven't noticed any decrease in productivity by using just the touchpad.

There's actually a few benefits, like touchpad gestures for app and workspace switching being much faster than the equivalent keyboard shortcuts.

Yeah try playing doom

Hopefully you don't mean original doom, because if you do, boy do I have a surprise for you ;-)

I'm curious what the surprise is? Is og doom actually playable with a trackpad?

Keyboard only.

False. The installer lets you choose between keyboard only, keyboard + mouse, and keyboard + joystick.

According to John Romero, keyboard + mouse was intended:

https://twitter.com/romero/status/473587688977596416

Wasn't that keyboard only?

Mouse was always the best way to play. Doom comes with demo files that are obviously recorded using mouse, and the manual clearly recommends using it. It also supports keyboard only play, but this is in no way the "intended" method.

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