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Are you using the "natural" scrolling?
- Thread starter andrew086
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Initially, I turned it off, but then decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. It took about an hour or so to get used to scrolling the other way instinctively.
Reversing it messes up some of the other swipes and scrolls and whatnot throughout the OS that really do seem natural.
I think the reason for the change isn't so much to "Be like an iPad" but to provide continuity between all of these devices. Both Lion and iOS 5 are very gesture oriented and in order for that to be comfortable it has to become instinctive.
It took a little adjustment, but the whole OS now feels a lot more fluid.
Reversing it messes up some of the other swipes and scrolls and whatnot throughout the OS that really do seem natural.
I think the reason for the change isn't so much to "Be like an iPad" but to provide continuity between all of these devices. Both Lion and iOS 5 are very gesture oriented and in order for that to be comfortable it has to become instinctive.
It took a little adjustment, but the whole OS now feels a lot more fluid.
I'm going with the Old School way of things...I just get frustrated by it if I try the other option, there's nothing 'Natural' about it.
I'm using the "unnatural" way. I'm sure I could get used to it eventually but I don't want to since I use Windows computers on a daily basis.
Tried it, but switched it back to the 'unnatural' way. I'm sure it's easier to get used to with a trackpad, but with scroll wheel mice it really feels odd.
I also interact with a lot of machines and it'd just be too annoying having to switch styles every time I use a different one.
Plus, I want to avoid that awkward moment when friends/family use my Mac and don't know wtf is going on with the scrolling.
I also interact with a lot of machines and it'd just be too annoying having to switch styles every time I use a different one.
Plus, I want to avoid that awkward moment when friends/family use my Mac and don't know wtf is going on with the scrolling.
Nope, because I use a mouse way more than the trackpad, and using the scroll wheel opposite like that is weird.
To me, it feels natural when I keep in mind that I'm manipulating the content on my screen through my mouse or trackpad.
When I think about it, it's a lot more logical this way than the old way. It's just that the old way is very much engrained in our muscle memory
Ah well, I'm getting the hang of it
When I think about it, it's a lot more logical this way than the old way. It's just that the old way is very much engrained in our muscle memory
Ah well, I'm getting the hang of it
It's funny, I play all my games on 360 and PC inverted which feels "natural" to me. But this new "natural" scrolling feels unnatural and just wrong. Plus I use both OSX and Windows daily, since Windows doesn't have an equivalent it's not like I can force myself to use it and get used to it over time.
If I could set the trackpad separately to the mouse wheel, I'd give natural scrolling a go. But since I can't, it's disabled.
Tried it. Hated it. Switched back. Thought, maybe it's worth a "proper" try. Turned it back on again, used it for 3-4 hours, got used to it, just about. And now after a night's sleep, this morning it feels natural. \
The brain just takes a bit of time to adjust to change.
I've no idea if it's actually "better" or not, but one observation I can make from 6 months ago when I gave my parents my old Macbook is that my mum always would scroll the "wrong" way (i.e. the "new correct natural" way) using the trackpad. Maybe lots of new technology users are like her -- in which case the "natural scrolling" will be great.
The brain just takes a bit of time to adjust to change.
I've no idea if it's actually "better" or not, but one observation I can make from 6 months ago when I gave my parents my old Macbook is that my mum always would scroll the "wrong" way (i.e. the "new correct natural" way) using the trackpad. Maybe lots of new technology users are like her -- in which case the "natural scrolling" will be great.
I tried it initially under Snow Leopard with a scroll reverser and found it nice on the trackpad, but as a lot of you say, horrible on my mouse's scroll wheel. I switched it off and used normal for ages. Then as the release rumours got going, I decided to try it again on Snow Leopard on my trackpad and mouse and although it felt really weird on the mouse at first, once you get used to it, it really does feel more natural.
You drag the page instead of a scroll bar with you finger(s). And as the scroll bars aren't there most of the time, it works better still, as you don't think about the scroll bars.
P.S. The scroll bars won't disappear by default when you plug in an external mouse with a scroll wheel. You can set them to show "when scrolling" in the "general" system preferences.
You drag the page instead of a scroll bar with you finger(s). And as the scroll bars aren't there most of the time, it works better still, as you don't think about the scroll bars.
P.S. The scroll bars won't disappear by default when you plug in an external mouse with a scroll wheel. You can set them to show "when scrolling" in the "general" system preferences.
I think it is a logical improvement. You are not pulling a scrollbar down, you are pushing a page up. It may feel awkward at first but once you get used to it (which took me ~3 mins) I like it better. I got the Magic Trackpad at work and use a trackpad at home so no more mice for me ;-)
This was explained for instance at the WWDC. Apple is not interested in touch screens for lap/desktops as your whole arm would become very tired while interacting with the screen; however, with a trackpad your hand is in a rested position. This way of scrolling is also relevant to trackpads.
I'm forcing myself to get used to it, as I think it makes more sense, especially that 3-finger gestures to move between spaces is completely natural to me, so why shouldn't 2-finger scroll be the same?
I don't find it very annoying, just slightly, but if after a week it's still annoying, I'm switching to normal scrolling.
I don't find it very annoying, just slightly, but if after a week it's still annoying, I'm switching to normal scrolling.
The morning after first getting used to it - which I was able to do in an hour or so - I'm finding that I'm occasionally scrolling the wrong way before remembering to adjust.
It's most likely to catch you out where you're scrolling a widget or popup or something - where you might not be expecting the behaviour to be reversed.
It's most likely to catch you out where you're scrolling a widget or popup or something - where you might not be expecting the behaviour to be reversed.
Natural is the way to go
There are some HCI metaphors that make very little sense if you actually think about them. I think natural scrolling makes more sense alongside the other new gestures. I immediately put it back to the old style, and then realised that none of the other scrolling made sense, so reinstated the 'natural' style. It is growing on me.
As for those who say that they have to switch between Win and Mac, I always hate going back to windows anyway, particularly laptops where there is no two finger context click.
I must admit that I hate the delay that has been introduced for the two finger context tap. I know it has to be there so that it can see if I'm going to two finger double tap to zoom, but it is getting on my nerves. Double tap to zoom isn't anywhere near as useful on a large screen as it is on iOS.
There are some HCI metaphors that make very little sense if you actually think about them. I think natural scrolling makes more sense alongside the other new gestures. I immediately put it back to the old style, and then realised that none of the other scrolling made sense, so reinstated the 'natural' style. It is growing on me.
As for those who say that they have to switch between Win and Mac, I always hate going back to windows anyway, particularly laptops where there is no two finger context click.
I must admit that I hate the delay that has been introduced for the two finger context tap. I know it has to be there so that it can see if I'm going to two finger double tap to zoom, but it is getting on my nerves. Double tap to zoom isn't anywhere near as useful on a large screen as it is on iOS.