Whadaya think?

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Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad for optimal use of gestures in OSX Lion?
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad for optimal use of gestures in OSX Lion?

You're only getting access to the gesture features if you have the Trackpad - so easy answer. :)
 

pigoo3

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Clearly the Magic Trackpad (IMHO)!:)

Can you even do a 4-fingered swipe on a Magic Mouse???

- Nick
 
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You're only getting access to the gesture features if you have the Trackpad - so easy answer. :)

The Magic Mouse is also gesture capable, but is it fully capable? That is the question.
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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The Magic Mouse is also gesture capable, but is it fully capable? That is the question.

Ok. I guess maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been in my initial attempt at an answer. To my knowledge - and I have both sitting right here next to me - your gestures with the MM are limited to scroll, swipe right and swipe left.

There are many other gestures available with the trackpad now - and more to come with Lion. So No. I guess I just assumed we weren't just talking about scrolling or forward/back gestures when you were referencing the gestures coming with Lion.
 

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The Magic Mouse is also gesture capable, but is it fully capable? That is the question.

Do you see these "gestures" (below)...these are what the Magic Mouse can do (2-fingered gestures at best):

gestures_list_20100707.png




Do you see these "gestures" (below)...these are what the Magic Trackpad can do:

mt_01_box1.jpg


I don't think that there's anyway you're going to be able to (or want to) do 3 & 4 finger gestures on a Magic Mouse.;)

- Nick
 
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Ok. I guess maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been in my initial attempt at an answer. To my knowledge - and I have both sitting right here next to me - your gestures with the MM are limited to scroll, swipe right and swipe left.

There are many other gestures available with the trackpad now - and more to come with Lion. So No. I guess I just assumed we weren't just talking about scrolling or forward/back gestures when you were referencing the gestures coming with Lion.

Thanks! I am leaning toward getting the trackpad when Lion is released to supplement my Razer multi-button mouse, unless Apple enables the full range of gestures available for the Magic Mouse in Lion.
 

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The demos during the keynote show the gentleman using a trackpad (here) but the initial demo shows him using a Magic Mouse (here). I think your fine either way - both do gestures and both are still currently supported by Apple. In fact, the OS X page notes that you can use either (here).

Can you even do a 4-fingered swipe on a Magic Mouse???
It's a bit tricky. ;)
 

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Thanks! I am leaning toward getting the trackpad when Lion is released to supplement my Razer multi-button mouse, unless Apple enables the full range of gestures available for the Magic Mouse in Lion.

While I wouldn't be surprised to see some other capabilities added to the MM - it's just not of sufficient size or shape to accommodate some of the gestures either currently enabled or forthcoming in Lion. I'm a firm believer in having both regardless - as depending on what you're doing - you can feel some repetitive stress fatigue with both devices - so it's nice to switch between the two - and use them in an optimized fashion.
 

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The MM is large enough for pinching, three finger and rotate gestures (for me at least). Given that the mouse can be fairly precarious though, it's probably not as easy to use as a MT. The only gesture (again, for me) that is a no go is four finger gestures. They're possible but really awkward.

Video demonstrating MM and gestures in Lion.
 

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The MM is large enough for pinching, three finger and rotate gestures (for me at least). Given that the mouse can be fairly precarious though, it's probably not as easy to use as a MT. The only gesture (again, for me) that is a no go is four finger gestures. They're possible but really awkward.

Video demonstrating MM and gestures in Lion.

It's only marginally big enough at best - and its click sensitivity makes it really not an ideal tool for most of the gestures. I rarely even use the swipe left/right gestures - as it's hard to do without clicking. You can do it - infrequently - but it quickly wears on you if you're doing a lot of those gestures. Currently the only gestures are enabled - are what Nick posted - and while I haven't watched the video you posted the ones I saw during the keynote - aren't terribly different from what's there now - just tied to Lion features. Does the video say that ALL trackpad gestures can be accessed via the MM?

To really take advantage of gestures and incorporate as part of your daily workflow - you need a trackpad. The ergonomics of the MM just are insufficient and unless Van tells me otherwise I still think there will be gestures that won't be available to the MM.
 

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The larger size of the trackpad is no doubt an asset. With regards to the space though, perhaps it's a hand size issue. I have no problem doing left/right swipes and can easily see myself doing pinching and rotating. Only time will tell with regards to how the MM works with Lion.

My only hope is that gestures are configurable. To be honest though, my gesture needs are pretty limited. In no way do I require pinching or rotating. That said, the greater use of gestures at the OS level might make me change my mind.
 
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Thanks for the info everyone. I now have an excellent excuse to go to the Apple store for some test driving. ;D
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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The larger size of the trackpad is no doubt an asset. With regards to the space though, perhaps it's a size issue. I have no problem doing left/right swipes and can easily see myself doing pinching and rotating.

I have no doubt that it's a size issue... :D
 

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When doing those 3 & 4 finger gestures with the Magic Mouse...I could see it being very unstable (sliding around everywhere)...since one of the purposes of a mouse is to move around smoothly. The Magic Trackpad on the other hand, has little "grippy" feet to keep it in one place, making it easier for "gesturing"...especially the more complex gesturing.

- Nick
 

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vansmith

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When doing those 3 & 4 finger gestures with the Magic Mouse...I could see it being very unstable (sliding around everywhere)...since one of the purposes of a mouse is to move around smoothly. The Magic Trackpad on the other hand, has little "grippy" feet to keep it in one place, making it easier for "gesturing"...especially the more complex gesturing.

- Nick
You got me trying these gestures with my MM now! ;)

The three and four finger work when I swipe to the left since I can use my thumb to keep it from moving. Swiping with more than two fingers to the right though is another story. I'm going to try and set up some three and four finger gestures with my MM using MagicPrefs to see how well that goes.
 

pigoo3

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You got me trying these gestures with my MM now! ;)

The three and four finger work when I swipe to the left since I can use my thumb to keep it from moving. Swiping with more than two fingers to the right though is another story. I'm going to try and set up some three and four finger gestures with my MM using MagicPrefs to see how well that goes.

You're one wild & crazy guy!;)

- Nick
 

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You're one wild & crazy guy!;)
Hahaha.

So, I just tried changing some settings around in MagicPrefs. You can't do three or four finger swipes but it does let you set three and four finger "taps" which I figured would be a good test of the sensitivity. Assuming MagicPrefs is working well and it's accurate, three and four finger gesture recognition is pretty touch and go with the MM. It could very well be that this is because I'm using a third party app to enable something the OS doesn't have built in though.
 

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