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Apple's 'Force Touch' Trackpad Fools Users Into Feeling Clicks Without Actually Moving

"Apple's 'Force Touch' Trackpad Fools Users Into..."

I don't like to be fooled.. Not buying it LOL!
Looks pretty cool. Still won't be buying it with the latest outside-US price 'upgrades'.
 
lk400 said:
If Apple were to ever get rid of the physical home button on the iPhone, I could see this tech playing a part in a soft home button. I imagine a touch id sensor built into the screen, the screen separately illuminating the home area, and force touch mimicking a physical press of the button.
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That would be brilliant! Hopefully they can somehow pull that off. (maybe iPhone 7 Plus?) A light press can take you back to the home menu, a double tap will bring up the manager and a force press can activate Siri.
 
jmgregory1 said:
Touch screen laptops (and desktops in their current configuration) are the wrong technology for the wrong application. They make no sense practically speaking as you have to move your fingers and hands from the flat, resting, plane in front of you to a unsupported vertical plane.
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To the contrary, it is a lot easier to move your finger forward 3 inches from your laptop keyboard and touch a screen element instead of moving it back 3 inches, moving the cursor using a trackpad to the element and then clicking.
 
Stress-friendly

This is gonna be great for those moments when one's extremely stressed or in a hurry and the program freezes.
That and using it while standing up.

100th post. yay me :D
 
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Sounds cool and innovative - but like others, I would want to try it out for myself to see if I'm truly "fooled."

I also wonder what this means in terms of reliability over time (physical hardware vs the electronic parts) and repairing costs/time.
 
inscrewtable said:
I never ever use the click on my rMBP preferring the feather light touch that can be set up. No matter what the gesture like a three finger tap to bring up the dictionary, a 'tap' is really not the right word because it really just takes the lightest of touches which I find to be an exceedingly satisfying experience. It seems to me that if more gestures were required that it would be nicer to set up more touch controls with better touch tool. Having said that the haptic feedback keyboard sounds like it would be fun, but not useful to me.
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I suspect (we'll know soon enough) - that tap to click will disable the force feedback. I use tap to click when I'm in a quiet situation. It would be nice to know that I can't inadvertently get that click sound from the diving board detente when that is enabled.
 
SoAnyway said:
Screw this..... I'll just wait until Apple releases a Mac where I don't need to use a keyboard and mouse where my only point on interaction is with my voice.

It will be just like on Star Trek where I say "Computer" and I hear a "beep beep" sound to prompt me for a command.
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Just what I want. Siri running my computer :D.

marc55 said:
My only question is: What is the life span of the electromagnet?
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Until your Apple Care expires :).
 
jennyp said:
How do you do this? Where is the "voice settings menu"? Do you mean System Preferences > Dictation & Speech > Dictation? How do you "create your own commands"?
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Yea that's where it should be I think.

I haven't got my Mac with me at the moment to check!

When you have the voice control enabled, there should be a folder called 'speakable items'.

From memory these a files which have the file name of the spoken command you say to the computer, and the file contents are the actions that will be performed.
I think (again from my hazy memory!) you can add your own files (commands) to this folder.

It's been a few years since I last tried it so my info may be a bit vague.

It worked ok for opening your email client of web browser and navigating around a page by saying 'up' or 'down' etc.

But the voice recognition is all done locally so it's no way near as clever as Siri.

You usually have to repeat yourself a few times or try saying commands in different tones of voice.

EDIT: Just found this...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2834532/ok-mac-using-automators-dictation-commands-new-in-yosemite.html

A tutorial showing how to use the new dictation commands in Yosemite! Looks quite customisable and hopefully recognises speech better.
Will give this a go when I get home lol!
 
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Sounds cool, I don't need a new laptop since my 2013 Air is doing great, but I'll be checking out these macbooks out in a few years. I use "tap to click" anyway, so I won't miss a physical click at all, it just feels really clumsy compared to a light tap like on a touchscreen.
 
Vegasman said:
To the contrary, it is a lot easier to move your finger forward 3 inches from your laptop keyboard and touch a screen element instead of moving it back 3 inches, moving the cursor using a trackpad to the element and then clicking.
Click to expand...

I connect my macbook pro to dual monitors at work....

I use a magic trackpad on the left, keyboard center, and mouse on the right.

It is SO much easier to use the magic trackpad instead of touching the screens. I use the mouse to move the cursor around, and the magic trackpad to swipe screens, scroll, change apps using mission control. It's just something I've totally gotten used to. Going to the screen to move the mouse or swipes would be so awkward.

Now, using solely a magic trackpad on a laptop? Maybe you'd want to touch the screen in that use-case. But I'm usually further back from my laptop where my hands reach their extension on the top row of keys. In my comfortable position, I can't reach the screen. I could probably adjust that if the screen allowed touches, but again, I'd rather not have my screen all smooshed up with fingerprints like my iPad.
 
Vegasman said:
To the contrary, it is a lot easier to move your finger forward 3 inches from your laptop keyboard and touch a screen element instead of moving it back 3 inches, moving the cursor using a trackpad to the element and then clicking.
Click to expand...

I don't agree. The whole act of changing the plane of your palm is the problem. I have tried using various keyboards with the iPad over the years. The problem is not with the keyboards themselves, typically. Most of the ones I've tried have been pretty good quality.

The problem is with having to adjust the orientation of my hand, and keep my bearings while being accurate.

Whereas using a screen based keyboard on a tablet, then moving your finger up to interact with the touch portion of the screen keeps the plane of your palm, and thus your orientation the same.

And in the case of a physical, horizontal keyboard with a vertical, or near vertical screen, and a horizontal trackpad keeps your palms on the same plane, thereby allowing you to stay in the proper orientation while moving between keystrokes and screen interaction.

There is absolutely no way I could be nearly as quick and accurate using a touchscreen with a physical keyboard as I can a trackpad.
 
NightFox said:
On some really cheap and nasty or 10 year-old laptop maybe, but I think that whole statement needs challenging. I'm not denying what Apple are providing here is cool, but this makes it sounds like they're rescuing us from years of angst, suffering and frustration with current trackpads (presumably including theirs)
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No they just said you can click anywhere, even near the top which is nicer than the previous model. This is not a ronco commercial lol.
 
I wonder how it will work for click-and-drag? I'm constantly manipulating little sliders for different parameters in photo and video editing software. Now, I click the trackpad - I get the tactile click - with my thumb and then I drag the slider with finger.
 
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