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Posted on October 17th, 2008 by Matthew Sparkes
The MacBook Pro’s clicky little problem
I’m a self-confessed Apple fan boy, but I still try to be objective when looking at their new kit. At the moment we have a new MacBook Pro in the labs, and, as normal, I scurried down there to check it out.
Unsurprisingly, I’m really impressed. The new chassis is wonderfully neat and tidy, sturdy and not as heavy as I was expecting. It’s certainly a good looking machine. I’ve only got one little criticism (if you exclude the hefty price) – the touchpad.
Getting rid of the button is an inspired decision. Under Mac OS X I rarely find myself using the physical button at all, opting instead for a light tap on the pad itself. This works perfectly well, all the time, as you don’t need two mouse buttons. The problem here is that Apple has chosen to make the whole pad a physical button, instead of just taking away the button below the pad. Press firmly and the whole thing depresses, and it’s distracting.
I found myself trying to press and stroke as lightly as possible, so as to not press the button. Sure, after a week or two I might get used to it, but my first impressions are not good. I seriously think that if I was to replace my current (and suddenly very old-fashioned) MacBook, I would have to attempt to open up that innovative new case and jam up the button with a thin piece of card.
Of course, I could always just opt for another manufacturer, but it seems unlikely. That case is very good looking…
Tags: button, click, MacBook, mouse, pro, touchpad, trackpad
Posted in: Hardware
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8 Responses to “ The MacBook Pro’s clicky little problem ”
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October 17th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I’m really surprised there isn’t an LCD under the touchpad. In a way, the technology is very similar to the new BlackBerry Storm. I think we’re going to see a lot more of these touchpads and touchscreens with a physical click.
I agree that they do take a while to get used to, but do you remember the first time you ever used a conventional touchpad, or mouse nipple? They both needed a fair bit of time before you were properly up to speed.
I always have to turn “tap to click” off on normal touchpads, and use the button. Otherwise I inadvertently click when I shouldn’t. So I’m hoping that the new macbook/storm style of controller will suit me.
October 17th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I find on a laptop that using the touchpad to drag windows and highlight specific things is incredibly difficult – it’s only then that I will use the button. Don’t know whether that would be similar on Apple products as I refuse to pay extra for something I can build myself at a fraction of the cost.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:13 am
“Of course, I could always just opt for another manufacturer, but it seems unlikely. That case is very good looking…”
Oh dear…..
November 5th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
It took me about an hour to get used to it and now… two weeks on I love it and rarely find myself using the physical button. I now even subconsciously try the tap-and-a-half to select ‘two finger right click’ thing on my iPhone…. but alas, it doesn’t work.
The only reason I can think that there is a difference between your machine and mine is manufacturing tolerances.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I’ve had my MB Pro since the day after they were released – I have yet to experience any problems with the trackpad. I love it, actually.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:00 am
I love the new touchpad and cant stand any other. The whole thing being a button isn’t a problem for me (though in mac I almost always use tap to click, windows drivers for it are too touchy so I use the physical button there) I tried to use someone elses macbook today (a blackbook) and was very frustrated that no matter how hard I pushed… it wouldnt click
To be honest, I handed my computer to a friend earlier and he was like “what the hell” with the whole button thing… described it as waaay too creepy.
March 31st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
what is the clicking button under the macbook pro. ..I mean what is the purpose of it.. I just go it and i really dont know much about it
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
The whole trackpad clicking thing is just fine although because the pad is so big I often am only able to use one side effectively as the whole thing is just too sensitive. The trackpad’s two finger feature for zooming in and out is a real problem when using Photoshop, when working with a picture it just zooms in and out of it’s own accord. I would dearly love to have the ability to turn this totally frustrating feature off.