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Moving from Magic Mouse to Magic Trackpad (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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For the past two years, I have been in love

with my Magic Mouse. It truly stands as an

innovative product that provides an interactive

experience with your PC like none other.


If there have been any issues whatsoever, it

would be the continuous loss of bluetooth

connection (a widespread problem if you search

the internet). I constantly have to lightly bang

the mouse on the pad to get it to reconnect.


Another problem is that is collects dirt on its

rubber tracks and across the eye, causing the

tracking to stutter. I constantly have to clean

the bottom of it and blow out the eye area.


...however, for the most part, I would still rather

use the magic mouse than a standard one.


Thing is, with the announcement of LION and

all its included gestures, the Magic Mouse has

suddenly become a bit obsolete as it is unable

to handle all the new swiping movements.


Today I plan to order the Magic Trackpad. Not

particularly fond of the fact that I am moving
from a mouse to a stationary pad that replicates

the laptop experience -- but I do think there are

a lot of positives to be had in the long run.


Of course, the gestures are the main reason
I am moving towards a trackpad. I can use
all of them that will be available on Lion.


Secondly, this trackpad has is large, with a

lot of real estate. I look forward to being able

to scroll across my large 27" display without

the mouse rolling off the small pad.

Ergonomically speaking, the trackpad is also

allegedly better on the wrist and hands than
using a mouse.

Anyone here using the Magic Trackpad and

care to comment on it?
 

Michael_K_Sr

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I'm with Sam. I've tried them out in the office and couldn't stand them. If I'm comfortable with my Magic Mouse and don't have access to every swipe gesture then so be it.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Well the "nays" rule thus far.


On the other hand, a lot of positive results
I read from doing a Google search on Magic

Mouse vs. Magic Track Pad.


I suppose it all depends on the individual

using it and what his/her needs are.


This purchase was a Discover Card
cashback bonus redemption so I look at

it as an experimental buy, that if I don't

end up liking it, I can return or just eat it.
 

DaveF

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I tried a MagicMouse at the store and did not care for it at all. It was awkward with sharp edges. I'm convinced Apple can't design mouses, and have prefer my Logitech Revolution to anything I've seen from Apple.


On the other hand, my wife just switched from a Logitech Trackball to a Magic Trackpad and she likes it. (Part of her reason was to switch up the motions to deal with some RSI-type issues.) I've spent a few minutes with it and it's exactly what you'd expect: a ginormous mouse pad, like on a laptop (but larger). If you like your MacBook Pro's trackpad, you'll get along fine with the MT.


I'm not sure about Lion yet, but I'll buy a Magic Trackpad before a MagicMouse.
 

Craig S

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I bought a Magic Trackpad last year to try with my 27" iMac. I LOVE it for general navigation & gestures. That said, for detail work like photo & audio editing the mouse still rules. I now keep both the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad on my desk and use whichever is appropriate for the task at hand.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Dave and Craig,


Your comments were exactly what I was hoping to hear.


I'll check back with my thoughts in a few days.
 

DaveF

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Originally Posted by Craig S

I bought a Magic Trackpad last year to try with my 27" iMac. I LOVE it for general navigation & gestures. That said, for detail work like photo & audio editing the mouse still rules. I now keep both the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad on my desk and use whichever is appropriate for the task at hand.

I agree with that: Apple makes the best trackpad, but they're still no mouse. But as I'm also now dealing with RSI type issues, and probably needing multi-touch on the desktop in the near future, I'd consider switching to the MT and trade the lack of feel of precision to a well-design product. (I really don't like Apple mice)
 

Craig S

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Dave, it seems to me that adding a MT to your setup and switching between it and your mouse as appropriate might actually help your RSI situation. Obviously something you'd want to discuss with your doctor but it sounds logical anyway.
 

DaveF

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In my case, I'm changing my work setup at the office and minimizing the computer stuff I do at home.
 

Steve Tannehill

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I just got back from the Apple Store where I picked up a Magic Trackpad. Setup was simple. You turn the unit on, go to the Trackpad preference pane, and it recognizes the bluetooth device automatically. Note that you have to be running Mac OS 10.6.5 or later for it to work.


The gestures that are advertised for Lion are largely already built into Snow Leopard. It is easy to use, and I can see it replacing the mouse for most of what I do.


The one downside is the price...$69 and tax is a little expensive.
 

Ronald Epstein

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I just got back from the Apple Store where I picked up a Magic Trackpad

Congrats, Steve!


How timely. I just ordered mine on Amazon. Saved about $5 and tax

charges as well.

The software Dave recommends is very good. Not sure if it is free or not.

There is also another which is equally as recommended for the trackpad.

I bookmarked it at home so I can't recall the name. I'll post it here tomorrow.


Edit: It's called MagicPrefs. Don't know if this is better than Better Touch Tool.

I need to research both and find out in the next day or so.


Let us know about your continued use. I am looking forward to it

because I think the trackpad is more in "tune" with Lion than the Magic

Mouse is.
 

Steve Tannehill

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I should have remembered to check Amazon, but I got the itch and decided to go to the Apple Store while I still have the time off work to do so. While I was there, I picked up an Apple Remote, since I am giving mine away to my Dad (along with an old Core Duo Mac mini).


One thing I like is that the Magic Trackpad can be configured to click by tap, or by hard click (there are two bumps on the bottom of the pad that click when pressed).


I wonder if MagicPrefs and BetterTouchTool will be compatible with Lion?


Just figured out that you can not only scroll up/down with two fingers, but go directly to the top/bottom with three fingers. Very handy.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Steve,


Here is my guess (I do a lot of that these days)...


The great thing about LION is that it is putting a lot of

software companies out of business that had to make

"enhancement" software for Snow Leopard.


For instance, Sparrow Mail has no use when Lion

Mail arrives. Windowshade is no longer a viable piece

of software. Dropbox is almost obsolete.

Lion is all about gestures. I would bet that all the

gestures that are currently in MagicPrefs or Better

Touch Tool are standard in Lion. You can see it from

the keynote video.


If not, I am certain both companies will make certain

compatability exists.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Seems like Better Touch Tool may have edged out

MagicPrefs according to the research I did.
 

Sam Posten

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I don't think Dropbox is obsolete in any way when Lion comes out. Lion's file sharing tech is going to be completely useless on anything other than OSX and iOS and there's a great big world that that doesn't cover. Does Lion make them a bit more marginalized? Yes, but I am not planning on giving up DB any time soon.


Edit: Also don't forget there are APIs for all this cloud stuff too. You thought the iPhone was cool right but nobody had any clue how big it would be when 3rd parties put their spin on it. Wait until Dropbox integrates the Lion native APIs into their tool, best of both worlds.
 

mattCR

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Lion's inbuilt method of data synchronization is a bit like Windows Mesh. It's a great concept, but it's single platform. Mesh is better then Dropbox.. but it's only Windows7 PCs. Lion's option is better then dropbox, but it's only Macs 10.7 and I assume iOS. Dropbox is universal. Windows. Linux. Mac. Different versions of the OS. So I don't see Dropbox in great jeopardy.
 

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