Hardware :: Apple Magic Trackpad With Keyboard Functionality?
Aug 16, 2010
I'm working on a software project to turn the bottom 1/3 of the magic trackpad into a keyboard. The idea is that you print the layout of the iPhone keyboard onto an overhead transparency sheet or an invisibleshield sticker and stick it to the trackpad, and then a software app renders the keyboard on screen and generates keystrokes for the correct buttons. I should add that you don't have to stick anything to the trackpad if you don't want to, but it makes it a lot easier to use.
I have this semi-working right now. Is this something that anyone here would be interested in trying in a few days or a week when it's working better?
Does anyone know of a tray that holds the Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad together? I've got a Mac Mini in the living room (Plex setup), and controlling everything from the couch is messy and inconvenient having the trackpad detached from the keyboard.
Does anyone have any idea / images of how the magic trackpad sits next to the Wired keyboard from Apple. It looks by the images that the wireless keyboard is slightly more angled than the wired version. Just wondered if anyone has any pictures of how the trackpad sits next to the wired keyboard?
I bought my Mackbook 8 months ago and I've been very careful with it, I don't use it much and It has never fallen but despite it all when I turned it on a few days ago the keyboard was completely unfunctional and today, when I was hoping it wasn't something permanent I found out that the trackpad isn't working either.
Does anyone know of any trays or mounts to hold the Wireless Keyboard and Magic TrackPad so I can use them from my sofa?I've seen this one [URL] but I'm looking for something a bit smaller and streamlined.
I've wanted a trackpad style device for desktop computing ever since I got my Macbook Pro earlier this summer. Apple has finally obliged.
I noticed they cleverly designed the trackpad to be the same "width" as the wireless keyboard. I think this could, and should give rise to an integrated keyboard, trackpad device. Here's two ideas for how to accomplish this:
1. Sell an integrated wireless keyboard/trackpad peripheral
2. Make the edges of all future wireless keyboards and magic trackpads magnetic, allowing them to "snap" together at one's will, while also allowing for right and left hand preferences.
Crappy optical mouse surfaces have long been a thorn in the side of many HTPC owners, I am sure, and the Magic Trackpad should begin to alleviate that problem. Imagine how slick an integrated keyboard/trackpad linked to a a new unibody Mac Mini under an HDTV would be! Hopefully Apple makes this or someone comes up with an easy DIY solution. Off to research magnetic tape lol
Since I have done a disk repair (only change I can think of that may have had an impact) my Apple Magic Trackpad now randomly acts as though there is a "left click" being passed through. Sometimes it gets "stuck" in this left click mode. I've tried turning off single tap for left click in System Preferences, but to no avail.
Info: iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 27", 3GHz, 8GB, 1TB
Apple's Magic Trackpad acts just like a bigger version of the multi-touch trackpads found on the company's notebook computers, though it does include one new, unique gesture for moving windows.The customizable device can have certain features enabled or disabled through software, including options such as tap-to-click. Like the trackpad on a current MacBook or MacBook Pro, the entire surface can be pushed for a physical click as well.According to Engadget, the hardware also comes with one exclusive new feature: a three-finger gesture that allows users to drag windows around quickly.
Much like can already be done on a Mac desktop via the Magic Mouse, the Magic Trackpad offers standard multi-touch gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pinch to zoom, rotate, and three-finger swiping. Users can also invoke Expose or switch between applications by using four fingers, all capabilities previously found on the company's notebook multi-touch trackpads.In the Magic Trackpad's software settings, users can enable or disable tap to click, dragging, drag lock, a localized secondary click (such as tapping in a specific corner of the trackpad). Other features include inertia-based scrolling, screen zoom, pinch to open and close, and the aforementioned new three-finger dragging."It's made with smooth, wear-resistant glass that feels great to the touch," Apple said. "And it?s nearly 80 percent larger than the built-in trackpad on the MacBook Pro, giving you plenty of room to perform gestures. Because the entire surface of Magic Trackpad is a button, you can click on objects just as you would using a traditional mouse. And Magic Trackpad sits at the same height and angle as the Apple Wireless Keyboard, so you can go from trackpad to keyboard in one seamless motion."
The $69 wireless device works with any Bluetooth-enabled Mac, and can be connected up to 33 feet away. The device also detects periods of inactivity to conserve battery life, and has a dedicated on-off switch. Apple has said that the device will operate for "months at a time" without the need to replace its AA batteries.
In addition to two AA batteries -- which are included, and which Apple now sells in a rechargeable form -- the new Magic Trackpad requires users to have a Bluetooth-enabled Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 and the latest software update.
I was thinking of purchasing an Apple Wireless Keyboard, and an Apple Magic Mouse. I'm absolutely sure it'll be a wise investment, and an awesome Christmas gift. My current Mighty Mouse is quite horrible, I don't even have the ability to scroll up. Of course I don't bother to waste my time cleaning it. Oh well, they don't have a scroll bar for nothing.
The only problem is that I'm not sure if my Mac has the proper capabilities to enable usage for the wireless perpherials I'm planning to buy. This is somewhat how my Mac looks, though I'm running on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (I purchased the disk). I believe my computer has Bluetooth, there's an Icon for it in System Preferences. In my System Profiler, it also has a Bluetooth tab (here's the information is shows, I just cropped out some info. at the top, and my name).
How do I know if my Mac is set for these two items?Looking forward to your responses.
buying one of these to replace my mouse.There's no store where i live so i can't go into the store and try both I'v never tried the apple trackpad on their laptops either.I used a lot of windows laptops before and what i can say.They were so bad that i always had a little mouse in my back I rly don't know what to expect for the apple track pad.Can it replace completely the mouse and is it comfortable to work with ? Or should i go with the mouse ?
I'm looking to get either a Magic Mouse or the Magic trackpad to use with my iMac. Do they both work with Windows? My wife uses Windows Vista on bootcamp for work. Also, I do play some games, nothing heavy duty.Any other thoughts or suggestions would be helpful, especially concerning the magic trackpad as my experience with it is approximately 10 minutes at my local Apple store.
For those who have purchased the new iMac or are thinking of purchasing, definitely go with a Magic Trackpad. The Magic Mouse is a little better for dragging and dropping, but the Trackpad is so much more enjoyable to use for everything elseApple should really figure out a way to make this a packaging option
So I'm reading an article and one of the new features it touts for Snow Leopard is. Trackpad gestures for all. Snow Leopard lets all Macs with gesture-capable trackpads use the entire set of gestures. Before, older MacBooks were limited to one- and two-finger gestures. So I got to thinking, are there any third party USB multi-touch 'gesture-capable' trackpads one can buy for the Mac Pro? I have a brand new MBP and LOVE the huge track pad (wouldn't mind it larger - on the left side of my Mac Pro keyboard!) and the gestures and miss it when I'm on my Mac Pro. I'm on my third Mighty Mouse (they get gunked up beyond repair - the ball goes bad - might be dust in India, not sure but tried all the rolling and upside down rubbing alcohol and everything) which is pretty slick and responsive, but still, I can't wait till the if/when Apple launches a multi-touch pad for their desktops. Is there any other option?
firstly, i have recently got a new apple keyboard and the function keys on it have got messed up. it has the logos for things like pause, volume and brightness, but when i click them, they dont do what they say on the key. secondly, i have also recently got a magic mouse and you are meant to be able to swipe to scroll and thing like that, but that doesnt work either.
I just purchased a Apple Wireless Keyboard for my MacBook Pro. And I was wondering if I should get a Magic Mouse or Magic trackpad. I love to use my computer from my tv while I sit on the couch and I like to use it from a distance from my tv. Please help by reply and tell me.
Does anyone know if Apple is working on improving Address Book? It seems that not much has changed in a long time with the Address Book. It is a nice app for keeping up with personal contacts. However, do you think that Apple will develop it further to be more like Outlook, in terms of features that can be applied for business use? Please let me know if this is being worked on or if there are rumors. Outlook 2003 is turning to dust in the wind, and I am not that satisfied with Office 2007. I am hoping to move away from those products, but Apple's offerings pale in comparison to Microsoft's.
I recently bought the 2010 mac mini with the apple remote and I am very happy. I am having a little bit of trouble using the apple remote. Every time I turn on the mac mini I need to go to preferences and change the options of Candelair for the apple remote to work properly with Plex. I mean. I turn on the mac mini and the apple remote wont work absolutely. I need to get the magic mouse and go to preferences and change some options. It seems that this is the only way to "activate" the Plex functionality.
What I want is just to turn on the mac mini and immediately open Plex with the apple remote without needing to use the magic mouse or going to preferences. Is this possible? There must be a way to control the mac mini and Plex just from the start of Mac OS X. It gets very annoying to use the magic mouse along the apple remote. I turn on the mac mini and if I press the middle button (the one to open Plex with Candelair) nothing happens. As I say, I need to go to preferences and adjust the settings of Candelair and then it works. Why doesn't it work from the beginning?
I'm using Jitouch 2 on my MacBook Pro for a couple of weeks now and it's just amazin.Since my new iMac arrived yesterday, i was wondering whether anyone has already tested the beta version of Jitouch 2 where support for the new Magic Trackpad was added.
"We're glad to announce that jitouch 2.3 beta now supports Magic Trackpad. But unfortunately, due to the new Apple's Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad Update 1.0, some of the gestures in jitouch no longer work properly and a few of them may be permanently removed from the next version of jitouch. We are currently working on updating our software and adding the next "cool" Magic Trackpad features."
I recently got myself a Magic Trackpad for my TV-computer(a Mac mini running 10.7.3). It seems to work fine, but there's an annoying problem. I can't use it to click on things on the login screen. When I've logged in I can click around on various items, but not on the login screen and since this computer have a couple of family accounts it's a bit annoying. I can move around the pointer so it's not entirely dead, but I can't click making it a bit hard to choose the account you want to login as.Is this how it's supposed to work or is there some setting I've missed?
I am currently using the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse at the same time and finding it to be a good setup.However there is one minor annoyance, they are both paired and recognised by the mac but I always have to go into bluetooth prefs and connect to the mouse whereas the pad connects automatically.Is there any way to make the mac auto connect to both devices at the same time to avoid this?
Now that both have been out for a few months has one shown to be better than the other? I like the looks of the MTP and fact the surface is larger. I like the fact the Bamboo is USB and has 4 hard buttons. Prime importance though is work flow. So which one wins out there -- or is it a tie?
I recently got a preowned iMac which came with the Apple Wired Keyboard (with numeric keypad) and a Logitech mouse. Ive always been a fan of the idea of the Mighty Mouse even although it is old, the Magic Mouse looks really classy and cool but I do do a lot of graphic design and I am on the Mac quite a lot and I have heard it can get rather uncomfortable. And the Magic Trackpad, I am honestly not too sure about at all, what do you guys think would be best for me? I am a new Mac user so I am unsure what would be best for different features, thanks
