Checked Out The New MacBooks, The Multi-Touch Trackpad is Cool

I went by “geek heaven” today (the Apple store) and played around with the new MacBooks. I was most interested in experiencing the new buttonless multi-touch trackpad. It was a good move by Apple.

Apple made the whole trackpad a button and I honestly didn’t miss the old single button at all. I could press anywhere on the trackpad and click. Switching back to a regular button somehow felt limiting. It was a much better experience than just tapping on a regular trackpad – I like having the click feedback.

The four finger up/down left/right swipe was pretty cool and seemed quite natural. I did struggle a lot with the right click, though. It was hit and miss on whether the right-click context menu would remain displayed while I attempted to choose an option.   Even the Apple salesperson I was working with had the same problem. I think with some practice, I could nail it.

It’ll be a while before I get some longterm practice, though. Even if I had the money, I didn’t see a compelling reason to upgrade from my current MacBook. The multi-touch trackpad was cool, but I think I’ll wait for the next iteration.