5 Replies to “Linux touchpad like a Macbook Pro, May 2020 update”

  1. Poll not found?

    Hi, the link to the Linux Touchpad Experience poll seems broken – at least it results (for me) in an error at gitclear.com saying “Couldn’t find that poll”. I’m keen to complete it!

    Cheers,

    Ian

  2. Hi, some thoughts on this project.

    First of all, most of the listed issues are very much hardware-specific. No matter how much you pay people, it’s a matter of having or not having the hardware or recordings. If something is janky on a certain hardware with libinput, it’s likely because nobody reported it.

    Second, you’re not going to achieve anything by forking libinput rather than contributing to it.

    Third, the poll results show overwhelming preference for multitouch gestures. They are in fact supported by libinput and just need to be supported in applications.

    In fact, I implemented a few in:
    * WebKitGTK (swipe to go back/forward, pinch zoom (the latter sucks atm)), so browsers like Epiphany and Ephemeral make use of that
    * libhandy (a carousel widget + swipe to go back/forward in leaflet + a stack-like widget with the same swipe to go back/forward (the latter isn’t released yet), and it’s up to the applications to make use of it. Some do already
    * GNOME Shell (swipe to switch pages in overview and app grid + made the workspace switch one more fluid to match the others)

    Of course, that’s Wayland-only (other than the back/forward swipes implemented via scroll events), but if you want gestures in X11, a driver isn’t going to help you.

    If you want my opinion on the missing pieces:
    * Apps need a way to either get deltas in absolute coordinates, or dimensions of the touchpad. Libinput _does_ provide both, but apps can’t access it. It would probably require a Wayland protocol.
    * libinput does a 100ms delay before confirming a gesture which causes a delay
    * As said above, need apps to actually implement it.

    For other things, report libinput issues.

    So here’s that.

  3. Hello, I am a software engineer who graduated last summer with a BS in CS. I have experience with C++, C (in school), Python (in and out of school), and C#. I took a FOSS class my last semester and loved it. I regularly use Ubuntu and have personally experienced the trackball issue (try playing Mahjong on a 2011 MacBook Pro running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS). I also have experience with Git and GitHub.

    What is a “a modern linux laptop?” I only have access to my 2011 core i5 Macbook Pro as far as laptops go. I could get access to a different one possibly (budget allowing) if I knew what you meant.

    (Note– I don’t want to be a contractor right now, I’m not “applying” for the paid gig. )

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