Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Apple's new "Magic Trackpad"

Update: some readers feel like I post too much about Apple products, that it feels just like advertising for Apple. I answered:

I'll consider this. Sorry if Apple-related posts feel like "ads".
But like you said you can skip them, and it's not like they are all I write about.

And I feel that they are justified. I write a lot about the iPad for example, (unlike my iMac if you notice), because I feel that the iPad is genuinely the first important product of a new platform which is going to become *exceedingly* important in the next ten years. If another company had done this, I would be writing about that product instead, it has nothing to do with Apple, except in the way that for some reason or other, in some periods of history Apple seem to be the one company which does come out with the most seminal products. That's just a fact, even if some people hate it.

I have written many posts about the Amazon Kindle too, because it is/was also a very seminal product.



Original post:

I'm sorry, I can't write "Magic Trackpad" without the quotes. Apple and their big words. Lucky their products are good. And the new trackpad does sound promising. I very much like my current over-sized Kensington trackball, it has the best combo of precision and speed I have tried. But Apple's trackpad has many useful gestures.
I've usually thought of trackpads as a necessary evil on laptops, but they've grown much better, and many people love them, so...


And not surprisingly, it's a supreme example of Apple's current super-minimalistic design style. Heck, it worked for Bang and Olufsen, and I actually think Apple does it a bit better. Of course they have much better production methods available than B&O had back in the day. (I'm mostly thinking of their very square hifi sets of the eighties.)

They also introduced the new 27-inch display.  I might be interested, except vertically I would be going a bit down in resolution, and I'm not crazy about that idea, I work with very large photos every day. Does anybody know if them being "LED" means a big difference? Hard to imagine.

And then there's the new Mac Pro. I'm sure all the specs are slightly better than mine (can't even recall how old it is... 1.5 years?). But the speed of computers have advanced so slowly the last five years that it hardly seems worth it. They just keep putting more and more cores in, and I can see (via special software MenuMeters) that my machine almost never use more than half of the 16 cores (or processors, whatever) it has. (System Profiler tells me it has two processors with four cores each. But MenuMeters show 16 little guages of usage, dunno why.)

26 comments:

Unknown said...

It looks like my dough scraper!

Anonymous said...

Eolake, when you get one of these new thigns, how do you keep from coming all over yourself?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Gimme a break, there are many, many bigger fanboys than me. I have never once stood in line to buy a new product.
And I've said more than once that I'm a little bored with their current super-minimalism design.

AnotherAnonymous said...

Bending over backwards to get your latest toy (in the UK) a little sooner than everyone else isn't standing in line, metaphorically?
Yeah, right! :-)
Ever seriously considered how static this blog would be if you were not constantly banging on about i-this or Apple that?
And do you notice how the eyes of your regulars seem to glaze over when confronted with a constant diet of Applisms, manifested by the way they all seem to stop commenting, or just stay away?

KC Aussie said...

What fascinates me is how people who do not share an interest in a topic (in this case an interest in Apple and its products) still feel the need to read and make sarcastic comments about the author's choices.

The title of this blog is "Opinions and notes on life, art, photography and technology by Danish writer/artist Eolake Stobblehouse."

Some people are into cars, some into food, some travel, some botany, some sports, etc, etc. Each to his own. Eolake is clear on what he enjoys which is why I follow his blog.

Life is so short. Allowing your emotional equilibrium to be disturbed by another's opinions and choices is a waste of energy.

Please lighten up and let others enjoy what they enjoy, even as you enjoy what you enjoy.

I'm with you Eolake.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

"Bending over backwards to get your latest toy (in the UK) a little sooner than everyone else isn't standing in line, metaphorically?"
No, actually (and to be precise) that's CUTTING into the line! :-p

But there's a point there: I remember when this blog mentioned nearly nothing with the name of the Forbidden Fruit in it, and most tech topics were about photography. (And there still WERE a great many posts, which I would all read.) Sometimes, Captain, I wonder whether you wouldn't prefer to split it in two distinct blogs: one for iApples, and one for "Life, the Universe and Everything Else". (Total = 41)

To be honest, I bet I'm not the only one to now simply skip the Apple posts as soon as I know that's what they are, because I'm not interested. Feels a bit like you have lengthy commercial breaks on your page, sometimes, know what I'm sayin'? Too much of a good thing, maybe?
I've learned all I needed to ever know about the iPad, but unless you actually HAVE one, it's strictly for afficionados now.

I mean, there are things I really love too: cats, videogames, chocolate, sex... and yet, in *my* blog's profile, I barely just *hint* at the latter at all.

I mean, sure, there's nothing wrong with this stuff. (Have I told you people how cool my new Nintendo DS is? Well, it really is. A new, uniquely original dimension in playing. There, I've told you.) But I'm beginning to feel "I spot with my little eye" some signs of Mac Addiction, you know. (Is it just me?)

This might even be symptomatic of/related to other things. How are your notorious depression problems these days? Been tempted to give your blog another holiday, lately?
Perhaps you ARE burning too much of your Chi energy in that new passion of yours. Might be a small step backwards in your quest for mastering emotions.

Just a "midnight snack" for thought. Either that, or a crappy McThought from you-know-where. (But it came with a complementary Avatar toy! :-)

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

P.S.: Once more, Blogger almost double-posted the previous comment after ONE click on the "Post" button. ):-(

I bet this wouldn't happen with an iBlog! ;-)

Monsieur Beep! said...

...giving his iPod touch another kiss (out of genuine affection), and biting the apple.

Your blog has a short-cut icon on the screen of both my big and small apple toys and there's hardly a session without me using it. Enuff said?

Monsieur Beep! said...

Oi - not biting the apple, just nibbling.

Hahaha!
);-))

Anonymous said...

No, actually (and to be precise) that's CUTTING into the line! :-p

The really hardcore people get their friends in the U.S. to send them one before they're on sale in the UK. That's way beyond standing in line! ;-)

The title of this blog is "Opinions and notes on life, art, photography and technology by Danish writer/artist Eolake Stobblehouse."

Really he could just stop at life, because that covers pretty much everything.

I have little interest in Apple products and most of the other technology he talks about. I don't care about photography. It would be incorrect to say that's all he ever posts about though.

Bruce said...

I am also very interested in this tablet or pad. I have used a Wacom tablet for years, partly due to RSI in my right hand and wrist.

It was a big help for a while, but just for fun I put a mouse on the other side (left side) of my keyboard. Over the years I gradually used it more and more. Today I rarely use my right hand on the Wacom at all.

It looks to me like Apple is asking, "How much can we add touch to our laptop and desktop computers?" Last year it was replacing the mouse ball with touch, now it's providing an alternative to the whole mouse with this new pad. I think these are smarter and more useful than a touch screen on a desktop or laptop Mac would be.

I wish, though, that Apple would make USB versions of the touch mouse and touch pad. I'd rather deal with wires than with batteries. I don't think Apple will do this, unfortunately.

Unknown said...

I certainly did not mean to disparage your post. I thought that it looked like my dough scraper, I made bread yesterday.
You have spured my intrest in the Ipad over the last few weeks, I appreciate that.

ganesha games said...

I'm actually VERY interested in the track-pad and I have a simple question: would it work on a win PC with a bluetooth receiver? I have some recurring tendinitis /RSI on my right hand and methinks it's cause by the mouse, especially hurting when I use the scroll-wheel (I have a very large monitor so I'm scrolling all the time).

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

OK, thanks to all.
So Pascal said basically what Josie said, only he said it without the basic intent to hurt my feelings, so I listen more closely.

I'll consider this. Sorry if Apple-related posts feel like "ads". But like you said you can skip them, it's not like they are all I write about.

And I feel that they are justified, because I write a lot about the iPad for example, (unlike my iMac if you notice), because I feel that the iPad is genuinely the first important product of a new platform which is going to become *exceedingly* important in the next ten years. If another company had done this, I would be writing about that product instead, it has nothing to do with Apple.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

(I have put an expanded version of my last comment as an update to the post, at the top.)

Philocalist said...

'So Pascal said basically what Josie said'

Josie? Who / what / where re Josie? ... or have I missed something?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I'm sorry, one of the regular anonymice, if you notice, tend to short posts of a critical nature. Once when pressed for a name, he/she gave "Josie".

Anonymous said...

So Pascal said basically what Josie said, only he said it without the basic intent to hurt my feelings, so I listen more closely.

No, that's not why. Be honest for once in your life.

Anonymous said...

only he said it without the basic intent to hurt my feelings, so I listen more closely.

You don't have any feelings. It's not in your DNA.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

"In your DNA"? Come on now, that's a rather racist-sounding statement, sweetheart!

John,
I recently saw an ad for a laptop (HP, perhaps?) where it gets mistaken for something else by a sweet granny. She uses it for cooking in her kitchen, cuts veggies on it, washes it under the tap, kneads dough on it, breaks almonds with a mallet, and finally puts it in the oven to bake a cake on it! Then she serves it to her grandson with a wide grin.
While he's eating, he sees the logo on the "platter"!
He opens it... and it's still working.
Slogan: "Grandma-proof". ROTFWL!
So, I can surely understand the friendly wink of your comment.

There was another ad, where a young woman comes home, and finds her sweet granny using her smooth vibrating dildo as an egg beater...
(I bet it was the first time that this "household appliance" was ever in contact with a pair of "eggs"! ;-)

Beep,
(sssss!) Jussssst nibbling the apple isssss not sssssufficient to inssssstill the sssssecret Knowledge inssssside you. Trussssst me and take a good, sssssucculent bite! (sssss!)
~~~~~~~~(:>~

"No, that's not why. Be honest for once in your life."
Yeah, return the loot and give yourself up to da coppers, NOW! :-P

It's called "constructive criticism", Josie baby. You might want to try it some time.
Then maybe you'll choose to BUY one! ;-)

Mary Poppins said...

"he said it without the basic intent to hurt my feelings, so I listen more closely."

A spoonful of sugar
Goes a long, long way
Come on, children, let's all sing together now!

Pop! said...

Mr Stobblehouse, your Mac Pro has Hyper-Threading, which is the ability of each processor core to do two things at once. Intel claims that its processors can perform up to 30% faster with Hyper-Threading than without. So, it’s not the same as having double the number of cores, but the software pretends that it has double the number anyway. That’s why you get all those extra gauges.

Ganesha Games, I expect the Magic Trackpad will progress similarly to the Magic Mouse. With the Magic Mouse, Apple produced Windows drivers for the benefit of people who run Windows with Boot Camp on their Macs. Enthusiasts extracted the drivers from Boot Camp so that other Windows users can unofficially use the Magic Mouse with Windows. If you do not install the drivers in Windows (or Linux which has no Apple drivers) then the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad will behave as one-button devices with no scrolling.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thanks, Pop, both are very helpful bits of information.

I actually noticed last week that Boot Camp on my iMac (pretty late I think) got support in an update, for Magic Mouse.
(That I actually can't get the machine to communicate with it still is another matter. It does see it's there, but won't play with it.)

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

That you "post too much about Apple products"? No, not what I meant.
Only a lot. :-)

ttl said...

If Eo had an Indian name, it would be Posts about Apple products.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

Were there even apples in the New World before the White Man came?...
Laughing Owl not sure. Maybe it is again joke from Talks To Lions.