Re:The Framework Laptop
by BugsJustFindMe on Thursday February 25, 2021 @03:43PM
(#26268024)
I think you missed the goal of the multi-purpose requirement. Proselytizing custom input controls for every possible task on a portable device is...weird.
Some dials would be pretty cool on a laptop, though... it just makes the lid harder to close.
Some dials would be good everywhere, I've considered buying some expensive keyboards (https://www.daskeyboard.com/) purely for a volume control knob.
A common complaint around here is about how touch screens have taken away better tactile controls, but so have our keyboards.
I also liked the dedicated scroll wheel on MS Office-themed keyboards. They might have gone overboard with the clipboard control buttons, but the wheel felt reasonable.
Ergo the Mac Touchbar.
Re:The Framework Laptop
by jaegerpicker on Friday February 26, 2021 @12:29PM
(#26277336)
If you haven't looked at them before take a look at 3D mice. Commonly used in 3D modeling and CAD drafting they are the best at interacting with items in 3D space but I wouldn't actually like one for text/flat image interaction. Mapping 3D movements to a flat plane is less intuitive than it may seem if you haven't done it. Most the 3D professionals I know use a touchpad or regular mouse for 99% of the non-3D usage.
Re:The Framework Laptop
by breatheoften on Friday February 26, 2021 @10:17AM
(#26275577)
How about a little sphere or oriented volume that magnetically levitates out of its cubby when the device is powered on -- and maybe the field could be varied to simulate different amounts of resistance ...
I agree with you in general, but a trackpad is in fact really, truly horrible for these tasks. As humans we are designed to rotate objects precisely, and that design does not involve using two fingers to slide about arbitrary locations on a flat plane. It involves grasping and rotating with the hand. For rotating and/or zooming, a large knob attached to a high-resolution encoder would be a million times better.