Mac Air 2011 trackpad vs. trackpoint

[dfumento]

I'm curious if people have compared using the Mac Air 2011 Trackpad compared with using a Trackpoint. I have an X201s and may go to a Mac Air 2011 with dual boot for Windows (the new Air comes with up to 256 GB SSD). I can't for the life of me understand why Lenovo did not produce a similar machine, say an X220s or something like it or an update of the X301. The new Mac Air 2011 13" uses as an option a 17 W TDP 1.8 GHz processor/GPU that turbos very high and the unit weighs 3 lbs. The 13" Mac Air has the same resolution as my X201s, 1440 x 900 which is what I want (minimally).

The only problem with the Mac Air 2011 is that it comes max with 4 GB RAM which is lousing if you're using virtual machines in development environment.

One of my concerns besides the 4 GB RAM limitation is that the Mac Air 2011 trackpad won't be nearly as efficient as the trackpoint.

TIA.

[sanjuro]

I'm curious if people have compared using the Mac Air 2011 Trackpad compared with using a Trackpoint. I have an X201s and may go to a Mac Air 2011 with dual boot for Windows (the new Air comes with up to 256 GB SSD).

Trackpad allows for multitouch gestures, which was enhanced further in Mac Os 10.7. For a trackpoint aficionado it will be a big adjustment. For others it's a wash or a slight improvement after a period of adjustment. Some multitough gestures are easy and makes sense. Others may have uses too but not really essential. There are other ways of getting around in Mac Os X - clicking and scrolling and even a mouse.

I can't for the life of me understand why Lenovo did not produce a similar machine, say an X220s or something like it or an update of the X301.

No one understands what Lenovo is doing. Lenovo's answer to MBA and X301 replacement was X1, which seems like a clear bust from day 1.

The new Mac Air 2011 13" uses as an option a 17 W TDP 1.8 GHz processor/GPU that turbos very high and the unit weighs 3 lbs. The 13" Mac Air has the same resolution as my X201s, 1440 x 900 which is what I want (minimally).

This sound like a spec for an upgraded X310 or X320. Same spec as MBA - low TDP and high turbo and 1440x900 LCD. A very nice machin which will be never built.

The only problem with the Mac Air 2011 is that it comes max with 4 GB RAM which is lousing if you're using virtual machines in development environment.

One of my concerns besides the 4 GB RAM limitation is that the Mac Air 2011 trackpad won't be nearly as efficient as the trackpoint.

TIA.

It was a disappointment to many power users and developers that no 8 GB RAM is available. Apple probably figured that those that want 8 GB RAM or 512 GB SSD will be a small minority of macbook air purchasers. It is likely that 8 GB RAM and larger SSD will appear in the future redesign of Macbook pro along the MBA template, which should achieve serious weight saving by elimination of DVD and HDD space.

[ssd_thinkpad]

The x220 is the successor of the x201, not of the x201s. Only now there are the intel cpus available for a -s model. It is possible that lenovo now show us some x220s models.

As Matt Kohut wrote in his official lenovo blog, the trackpad is a good alternative for the trackpoint. I do not like the trackpoint. When typing, I prefer key strokes as much as possible, and then I use the mouse. A mouse is much more efficient than the trackpoint.

[unix_joe]

I have had the Air since December. The glass trackpad is nice, certain features can be done like rotating a scanned PDF or an image with two-finger multitouch. But I still prefer the trackpoint to any type of touchpad.

[ZaZ]

It was a mixed bag for me. I liked the two finger scroll, but I thought the clicking was kind of clunky. I still prefer the stick.

[Colonel O'Neill]

I prefer the TrackPoint's paradigm over the touchpad, although the touchpad has it's occasional uses.

As for a Sandy Bridge in the MacBook Air... Good luck with that; I recall the old 1.2GHz ULV chips not being able to hold their max frequency for more than a little while.

[unix_joe]

One thing I forgot to mention, is that it really depends on the OS for which is better. Mac OS interface was designed with Fitts' Law in mind, and originally (although this has changed in recent years) tried to accomplish everything GUI-related without the need to right-click. Thus the MBA trackpad is a single button that favors broad sweeping motions (throwing the cursor to an infinitely large screen edge), and right-click, while supported, is cumbersome. Because one is required to throw the cursor to different screen edges in OSX, I don't think the IBM Trackpoint is ideal for that environment.

OTOH, I have noticed the MBA trackpad is clumsy in virtualized Windows where right-clicking and clicking small icons is necessary to do many tasks. It is also inefficient for drag and drop or selecting multiple items (rubber band effect). This is an area where the Trackpoint is superior to almost anything I've tried. The IBM Trackpoint is also superior in many X Window environments, where the third button is often necessary to access say, a window list (CDE/Xfce/*Box) or copy/paste.

Finally, one thing I noticed this morning on my T400 (for sale in a few weeks when I get back from military duty) is how annoying it is to accidentally brush the trackpad while typing. It moves the cursor across the screen, and that was the main reason I've always bought Thinkpads without the trackpad. This is something I have never experienced on the MacBook Air. Apple has done an awesome job determining if a motion is deliberate or not. That, plus the multitouch, makes the MBA trackpad better than any other trackpad I've used.

[underclocker]

The current, modern Apple trackpads are fantastic devices. They work very well and after you get used to them, it's strange not to have the same usefulness on a ThinkPad.

The MacBook Air models, in general, are very limited, hardware-wise. Until two days ago, the 2GB models that were sold could not be upgraded any further (RAM-wise). Although the Air weight is great, I'd lean toward a MacBook Pro 13, they are more ThinkPad like in the sense that they can be upgraded by mortals.

VMWare Fusion with OSX works incredibly well for running XP, Win7, etc. Once you get to know and configure the trackpad, it works well on the Windows side.

All that being said, using an aluminum bodied computer is like walking on glass, if you care about cosmetics, be very careful. They dent and scratch with the slightest of bumps. A full hard body case and palmrest skin is recommended.

[GomJabbar]

Finally, one thing I noticed this morning on my T400 (for sale in a few weeks when I get back from military duty) is how annoying it is to accidentally brush the trackpad while typing. It moves the cursor across the screen, and that was the main reason I've always bought Thinkpads without the trackpad. This is something I have never experienced on the MacBook Air. Apple has done an awesome job determining if a motion is deliberate or not. That, plus the multitouch, makes the MBA trackpad better than any other trackpad I've used.

You can disable the TouchPad from the UltraNav tab in Mouse settings or in the BIOS. I also found a way to disable it in Linux...

Create the file /etc/acpi/actions/ultranav.sh to toggle the TouchPad on/off. You need xinput installed for this to work (called by various names such as xorg-x11-apps - depending upon the distro). You can run this script with a hotkey sequence if you like.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

touchPadId=$(xinput list | grep -i synaptics | cut -d "=" -f 2 | cut -b 1-2)
if [ "$touchPadId" == "" ]; then
	echo "Unable to identify device id..."
else
enabledId=$(xinput list-props $touchPadId | grep -i enabled | cut -d ":" -f 1 | cut -b 18-20)
state=$(xinput list-props 11 | grep -i enabled | cut -d ":" -f 2 | cut -b 2)
	if [ "$state" == "1" ]; then
	xinput set-prop $touchPadId $enabledId 0
	notify-send -t 400 "Touchpad disabled"
	else
	xinput set-prop $touchPadId $enabledId 1
	notify-send -t 400 "Touchpad enabled"
	fi
fi

[ajkula66]

You should also be able to disable the touchpad (or trackpoint) in BIOS...

Out of all the touchpads I've tried, I like the circular (*not* the square) one used on "light" Panasonics the best by far...but that's me...

While I do find Macs interesting I don't foresee myself owning one anytime soon...I got an Air for my daughter and it was *very* short lived, but I guess that was just bad luck...

[unix_joe]

Yeah, I remember the touchpad can be disabled on the Thinkpad. It's been so long since I owned a Thinkpad with the touchpad that I forgot to do it before using it on the T400 though . I guess my point is that systems that don't have the trackpoint (and therefore no other option but the trackpad) should be better able to distinguish accidental touching from deliberate use, at which the MBA excels.

[asiafish]

I have owned and used a MacBook Air since the second edition model of late 2008 (original body style with one USB port, but faster nVidia graphics) and currently use the 11.6" Sandy Bridge model as my primary computer. I have used Apple laptops since the PowerBook 145b of 1993.

I also owned and used ThinkPads from the late 1980s (a 380, I think) until I sold my T400 in 2008, and just ordered an X220i today, my first in over three years.

I still have a strong preference for the TrackPoint as the best laptop pointing device ever made, however Apple's touchpad is about as good as a touchpad can be, and since the 2010 models that added inertial scrolling, are so close that I really don't miss the trackpoint that much anymore. FWIW, I always disabled the touchpads on my ThinkPads that had one.