Ok, I really am ready to leave Windows behind. I am currently vacillating between a Powerbook or a linux- Centrino notebook. (Linux doesn't scare me). I really want to try the Powerbook out except that I HATE the one button mouse. So... can you reprogram the trackpad to repond as left click by tapping the pad and program the button to act as a right click? I hope that wasn't confusing. THis would be an eminently agreeable solution if it is feasible. The only other beef I have with Apple notebooks is that their screens are not SVGA+. Can you jack the resolution with out loss of clarity? I realize that on LCD the native resolution is "best" on the Windows side. But is there a big difference on the Apple side. Or is this strictly a hardware issue.
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Want to buy powerbook??
- Thread starter asphalt-proof
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i don't know if you could do what you want with the trackpad, makybe with some software of something. but it's easy enough just to hold down an extra key for right click, gives you left hand something to do. 
as for the screens... i don't think you can put their resolution above what is supported, for example that would be 1280x854 on the 15" PowerBook. you should go to an Apple store and have a look at one, they've got awesome screens.
as for the screens... i don't think you can put their resolution above what is supported, for example that would be 1280x854 on the 15" PowerBook. you should go to an Apple store and have a look at one, they've got awesome screens.
-asphalt-proof
Ok, first concern first. Yes, a second button for the mouse might be nice, but there is already two solutions. 1) holding the ctrl button while clicking acts as a right-click. 2) get any garden variety USB two button - or two button + scroll, and plug 'er in - no drivers (I love pulling that on PC users who comment on my one button 12"PB, and I borrow their mouse)
Second concern. All LCD's are fixed pitch. Meaning that the size and distribution, and therefore total H x V pixel count are set in stone (polymer actually). Unlike a CRT which can draw different resolutions to their VRAM's content. Again, this is true with all LCD's not a diff between Mac and PC.
You can have the computer "fake" as resolution switch to project one other that the resolution the LCD was designed for, but that's always a little fuzzyer due to interpolation. Again, true with both platforms.
On an apple, you can jack the resolution higher than recommended by unchecking the "Recommended displays" box in the Displays Pref. All will list.
Ok, first concern first. Yes, a second button for the mouse might be nice, but there is already two solutions. 1) holding the ctrl button while clicking acts as a right-click. 2) get any garden variety USB two button - or two button + scroll, and plug 'er in - no drivers
(I love pulling that on PC users who comment on my one button 12"PB, and I borrow their mouse)Second concern. All LCD's are fixed pitch. Meaning that the size and distribution, and therefore total H x V pixel count are set in stone (polymer actually). Unlike a CRT which can draw different resolutions to their VRAM's content. Again, this is true with all LCD's not a diff between Mac and PC.
You can have the computer "fake" as resolution switch to project one other that the resolution the LCD was designed for, but that's always a little fuzzyer due to interpolation. Again, true with both platforms.
On an apple, you can jack the resolution higher than recommended by unchecking the "Recommended displays" box in the Displays Pref. All will list.
thanks for explaining that.
i was never really too sure about how that worked.he he.
and i'm not even the one that asked.With Apple laptops, I like that there's only one "mouse" button. On Windows laptops, I always hit the second button by mistake, but with Apple ones, you just hold control and click, which is more comfortable to me, actually.
And also, you can install Linux on a PowerBook if you'd like. I'm not sure if all PPC Linux distributions support PowerBooks, but there definately are some that do.
And also, you can install Linux on a PowerBook if you'd like. I'm not sure if all PPC Linux distributions support PowerBooks, but there definately are some that do.
Not on my ti-book. That option makes some lower resolutions available, but doesn't add anything to the top end.
Going beyond the native res. on an lcd seems like it would have only very limited usefulness, though, since many text characters are only one pixel wide in places - wouldn't they disappear?
I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to adjust the resolution as you proposed, but as for the mouse, I just picked up a Kensington Portable Wireless optical mouse. It was about $60, is light, and the USB adapter stores right inside it. I use it all the time.
I, too, started with the Apple Pro opticals at my desk at work and at my home desk. I hawked them on ebay for the base-model 2+wheel logitech optical. Plugged it right in and we're in the house.
Only reason I switched is that I hated coming back to the keyboard to page through crap when I was having a mouse moment.
Oh, on another note, the 1 button Apple mouse works flawlessly with Windows XP AND Windows 2000
To respond to asphalt, the ctrl key can be pressed, or in some cases in OS X you can hold down the button and the contextual (right click) menu will pop up. This is especially true for the dock.
I know someone who has Yellow Dog on his 15" TiBook, but Yellow Dog lacks the ability for smarter power management when the machine is on the battery (you know, shutting the drive off, dimming the screen, running at ``reduced'' processor
Only reason I switched is that I hated coming back to the keyboard to page through crap when I was having a mouse moment.
Oh, on another note, the 1 button Apple mouse works flawlessly with Windows XP AND Windows 2000
To respond to asphalt, the ctrl key can be pressed, or in some cases in OS X you can hold down the button and the contextual (right click) menu will pop up. This is especially true for the dock.
I know someone who has Yellow Dog on his 15" TiBook, but Yellow Dog lacks the ability for smarter power management when the machine is on the battery (you know, shutting the drive off, dimming the screen, running at ``reduced'' processor
On a side note, Debian and Mandrake also have PPC versions.
But you can run X11 on OS X so there is no real advantage in running Linux.
irmongoose
But you can run X11 on OS X so there is no real advantage in running Linux.
irmongoose
Ok, first concern first. Yes, a second button for the mouse might be nice, but there is already two solutions. 1) holding the ctrl button while clicking acts as a right-click. 2) get any garden variety USB two button - or two button + scroll, and plug 'er in - no drivers (I love pulling that on PC users who comment on my one button 12"PB, and I borrow their mouse)
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As picky as it sounds, having to use an external mouse is unacceptable to me on a laptop. Kind of defeats the whole notion of portability to me. This is a personal pet peeve... not a global indictment against Apple. The use of the keyboard option is palatable though.
I kind of figured that screen resolution was set by hardware constraints of the LCD. I just wondered the images were blurry on Macs like they are on PC's. I'm not that interested in Linux on the the Mac because OS X is already UNIX based. I wanted Linux on a X86 because it WASN'T Miscrosoft. Thanks all for the information.
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As picky as it sounds, having to use an external mouse is unacceptable to me on a laptop. Kind of defeats the whole notion of portability to me. This is a personal pet peeve... not a global indictment against Apple. The use of the keyboard option is palatable though.
I kind of figured that screen resolution was set by hardware constraints of the LCD. I just wondered the images were blurry on Macs like they are on PC's. I'm not that interested in Linux on the the Mac because OS X is already UNIX based. I wanted Linux on a X86 because it WASN'T Miscrosoft. Thanks all for the information.
try one button before you buy
One suggestion I have is try the one mouse button thing before you buy, if possible. I'm also currently evaluating buying a new laptop, both PC and Mac were in the running.
Because I figured single button might be an issue for me since I move back and forth between Mac and PC, I plugged the pro mouse back into my quicksilver for a week. I'd previously been running an intellimouse. After a week I pretty much decided that single button, ctrl key or not, drives me absolutely insane and I will not be able to tolerate it on a laptop where I can't just plug-in another mouse at will. For me that was the deal breaker, even if price and performance met my needs, single button didn't.
One suggestion I have is try the one mouse button thing before you buy, if possible. I'm also currently evaluating buying a new laptop, both PC and Mac were in the running.
Because I figured single button might be an issue for me since I move back and forth between Mac and PC, I plugged the pro mouse back into my quicksilver for a week. I'd previously been running an intellimouse. After a week I pretty much decided that single button, ctrl key or not, drives me absolutely insane and I will not be able to tolerate it on a laptop where I can't just plug-in another mouse at will. For me that was the deal breaker, even if price and performance met my needs, single button didn't.
After a week I pretty much decided that single button, ctrl key or not, drives me absolutely insane and I will not be able to tolerate it on a laptop where I can't just plug-in another mouse at will. For me that was the deal breaker, even if price and performance met my needs, single button didn't.
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Yes, this is what I am afraid of. I don't want to throw down $2-3K on a computer that will drive me insane. I have used the ibooks several times and the mouse drove me crazy. I was hoping that there was a mouse setting that would enable me toconfigure the button to acts as a right click. Anybody know of anyone who could hack this?
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Yes, this is what I am afraid of. I don't want to throw down $2-3K on a computer that will drive me insane. I have used the ibooks several times and the mouse drove me crazy. I was hoping that there was a mouse setting that would enable me toconfigure the button to acts as a right click. Anybody know of anyone who could hack this?
-asphalt-proof
Well, to each his own. I admit it took some adjustment between the one-button of a Mac, a two-button of a PC, and a three-button of a Sun box, but good 'ol mucle memory. I haven't though about the adjustment period for years.
If you find it a hang-up, well, I won't argue opinion, if it's a dealbreaker - oh well.
As for hacks, yes, I've heard of several that can do what you ask. One can even designate a "scroll zone" on the track pad.
But I'm not a good person to ask for that. Perhaps a new thread in the Software Help section?
In Linux, some software expects a THREE=button mouse (I guess because Sun's mice always had three buttons). So we ought to trash everyone's laptops because they don't come with three-button mice, right? Maybe you can find a used Tadpole SPARC laptop.
That's a totally valid concern. If it helps, I can tell you that right after I bought my PowerBook, I found the single button mouse very annoying. So I hooked up my Wacom tablet with the 2 button + scroll wheel mouse within a day or two.
As you pointed out, though, this was not a truly portable solution, and anyway I was planning to try out GIMP on my Linux machine, so I ended up taking off the Wacom and dealing. And y'know, I hardly even notice the difference anymore. The adjustment period was much shorter than I'd initially thought.
Of course, your experience and preferences might be different, but do consider giving the single button a chance. I wouldn't want to do, say, high-power CAD or graphics work with the single button, but it's quite adequate for most normal use, and ctrl-clicking isn't nearly as cumbersome as I was thinking it would be.
For hacks, you might think about looking on versiontracker.