{"id":34085,"date":"2021-11-02T16:22:59","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T20:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=34085"},"modified":"2023-11-22T12:17:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T17:17:35","slug":"please-shrink-the-trackpad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/02\/please-shrink-the-trackpad\/","title":{"rendered":"Please Shrink the Trackpad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lukas Mathis<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

After years of struggling with ghost clicks, randomly dragged icons, poor palm rejection, and generally ever worsening MacBook trackpads, I didn’t want to deal with software features trying to compensate for a trackpad’s lack of physical features.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The reason this [Lenovo] trackpad just works<\/em> is that its form follows its function. It’s built to move the cursor without getting into your way when you do anything other than moving the cursor, and it’s built to click when you actually want to click, not when you accidentally touch the trackpad wrong.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Or perhaps the «large trackpad» trend is similar to the «glossy screen» effect. Just like those nice, shiny screens, big trackpads look enticing. The fact that they mostly get in the way is not apparent at the time of purchase.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Apple used to have the best trackpads, but now I constantly get accidental and misclassified clicks on my 16-inch MacBook Pro. Its keyboard is the same width, but its trackpad is much wider, so there’s less safe area to rest my palms. For my next notebook, I’m seriously considering getting a smaller display than I’d like. That’s the only way to get a smaller trackpad, and even the one on the MacBook Air is wider than I’d prefer. I never had problems running out of space using the older trackpads going back to the Wallstreet PowerBook, whose trackpad was considerably narrower than the Spacebar. It even had a real button to click.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n