The new MBPs (and MacBooks?) have a two finger touchpad interface that I've found makes a huge difference in its usability - with one finger down already controlling the mouse a second finger essentially works as a mousewheel. I can use my MBP's touchpad fine but can't stand having to use my work dell laptops w/o that feature.

Almost anyone that is willing to spend a couple of days adjusting to the ThinkPad's TrackPoint is going to be in for a treat. In particular, in most applications, holding down the center Trackpoint button will make the trackpoint work like a mousewheel (or, you can configure it to work like that all the time using its driver software.)

Most of the PC laptop touchpads that I have used will scroll the focused control if you run your finger up and down along the rightmost edge (or bottommost for horizontal motion). If yours doesn't, check your control panel settings to see if it can be enabled.

It's not quite the same as a scroll wheel in that there are some programs where one scrolling technique (wheel or trackpad) will work while the other won't, but it's similar enough to handle most cases.

oh this I'm aware of. mine has this feature. I still think touchpads (all that I have encountered) suck.

and infact on linux you can modify the area of the touchpad that does this. I think you can even add horizontal scroll if your touchpad didn't previously support it (not 100% on this).

If you're going to buy the new MacBook Pro (or another Apple laptop with multi-touch trackpad functionality) you'll want to get the application MultiClutch. It basically lets you set up rules globally or per-application that assigns gestures to keyboard shortcuts.

In other words: if I'm in Safari, I can remap three-finger swipe to changing tabs, swipe down for new tab, rotate right/left to back and forward, etc. It's very useful.

I believe the word you are searching for is Clit Mouse. Only Lenovo (Think Pad) and Dell (D620?) have them.

I've a Dell D830 with the clit mouse. Lack of said clit is one reason I stay away from macbooks.

(The better screen rez on the D830 is another)

When I purchased my Thinkpad T60 (nearly 18 months ago now -- how time flies!), the Lenovo sales staff was unable to help me find a notebook with Linux preinstalled. Maybe this has changed recently, but you're better off just buying the base Windows version and putting your favorite Linux distro on top of it.

http://www.thinkwiki.org is the best resource I'm aware of for Linux + Thinkpad installation tips.

Didn't take too long to find the model with OpenSUSE installed on their site:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPo...

The OpenSUSE models are a fairly recent addition to the lineup, and are still quite limited in terms of hardware options.

I call it the nipple. I prefer the touchpad. It's quicker and more precise.

I refer to it as the pencil eraser. Once you get used to it, you realize it has the more control than the touchpad. Its main benefit, for me, is that you never have to move your hands out of typing position.

Agreed. I haven't had the awesomeness of a dual touch touchpad, but I've had both normal ones and "the nub", and the latter is vastly preferable.

Try using it with a sniper rifle. You'll change your tune.

the only thing that was quicker 'maybe' about the touchpad was speed of learning, and ease of use. The 'nipple' is much faster and more precise if you invest more time in it. much like linux ;).

The new MBPs (and MacBooks?) have a two finger touchpad interface that I've found makes a huge difference in its usability - with one finger down already controlling the mouse a second finger essentially works as a mousewheel. I can use my MBP's touchpad fine but can't stand having to use my work dell laptops w/o that feature.

Obviously it didn't improve usability enough to stop you posting this three times :)

My MacBook Pro is my second Apple laptop (the first was a G4 powerbook) and it is going to be the last unless things change rapidly before it goes u/s.

- The keyboard is ok, but the metal finish is slippery.

- The large track pad forces typing with wrists at odd angles.

- OS X is horrible (all my applications are Linux native so work oddly on OS X, plus no focus on mouse being my biggest two complaints - the rest are subjective/personal).

- No region crack for the DVD player, which is unacceptable for travel. Doesn't even work with VLC.

On the plus side the build quality is superb, the screen is good, and for it's size/weight the performance is outstanding. I certainly wouldn't trade it for anything other than a Thinkpad or maybe two or three Dells - one a year, for when they break ;)

> all my applications are Linux native

I've seen people get OS X and then do nothing but run XP under virtualization because they can't be bothered to figure out the OS X native apps. I wonder what, exactly, you mean by "all my applications?"

Inkscape, open office, some custom PM software I wrote myself, front ends to eJabberd/mySQL/Apache/Cyrus, emacs, LaTeX and Firefox.

Plus a few things that aren't so important, like xplanet and SuperKaramba.

Yeah, I'm in the same (weird) boat. I've been using Linux as my primary OS for so many years (about 10, now) that a Windows or Mac machine feels hopelessly short of applications to me. I know the reality is the opposite...it's just that when I think, "I need to draw a new icon", I don't think "open Illustrator", I think "open Inkscape", and almost every "I need to..." thought involves the command line (because I work faster there, mostly), and Mac OS X and Windows are hopelessly baroque when it comes to the command line.

Then again, these days, I use so few "Linux only" applications that it would probably be easier than ever to switch. My "regular usage" list is: vim, Firefox, Thunderbird, Perl, bash (and all of the GNU tools, like sed, grep, find, locate, awk, etc.), GIMP, Inkscape, VNC, KVM. But I'd still have to have Linux boxes or virtual machines around, because I need build environments for a dozen or so Linux distributions. And bash and the GNU tools are so vital to my workflow that I'd be suffering a lot of the time.

So, I've considered getting a Mac so that I'd be surrounded by great design (I'm becoming more of a designer and usability guy within my company every day, and my design sense is still woefully inadequate for the job, and I've read on numerous occasions and from numerous sources that one great technique for improving is to surround yourself with great design), but it'd certainly be painful.

Also, middle-mouse-button paste is vital to my happiness, and neither Mac OSX nor Windows has it.

I've got all those "Linux only" applications working on Windows and OSX.

You may have to learn new shortcuts or how to configure things in Windows or OSX but it is all doable. For windows you may have to install Cygwin or PowerShell to get a respectable prompt.

I use a windows box at work. I use Mac and Windows at home. I recently switched from Ubuntu to OSX and I ran into many of the same problems initially. I wanted things to work exactly the same as Ubuntu and that just wasn't happening. After about three months I learned many of the OSX shortcuts and finally configured and set up my linux programs for OSX. Now it's all good.

I didn't say anything in my list was "Linux only". I said, "I use so few "Linux only" applications that it would probably be easier than ever to switch". So, basically, I was saying, there aren't very many Linux only apps anymore that I use regularly, but that my style of working would be uncomfortable on Windows or Mac.

So, my statement agrees with yours, I think.

I have worked in Windows environments quite a bit when doing contract work, and I'm familiar with Cygwin, but it's not an acceptable command line environment--the way it chafes when doing anything outside of the Cygwin environment is too much friction.

Mac OS X is slightly better now that it has bash by default. But its system tools are weak compared to those found on Linux systems. I feel this same pain when using Solaris and FreeBSD. In all three cases, it's possible to install good versions of those tools, but I have to retrain my fingers to call gawk instead of awk, etc.

Again, it would be easier than ever, because vim has good versions on both Mac and Win, and Perl runs fine everywhere. Firefox and Thunderbird, too. But retraining myself to work in the Mac or Windows way would be uncomfortable. And I hate being uncomfortable.

It's not a boat, it's a rusty old battleship, but the guns work :)

The new MBPs (and MacBooks?) have a two finger touchpad interface that I've found makes a huge difference in its usability - with one finger down already controlling the mouse a second finger essentially works as a mousewheel. I can use my MBP's touchpad fine but can't stand having to use my work dell laptops w/o that feature.