Trackpad "acceleration"

Rami,

You could be correct. Is there any relative difference in the display resolutions between your Powerbook and the new Macbook Pro? If so, this would explain why the Macbook Pro's acceleration is more steeply curved: it has more "real estate" to cover wit the cursor.

In any case, it should be something that you will quickly become used to. Hand-eye coordination and muscle memory is extremely exact in most cases, so even a slight difference would be noticeable. However, new patterns can be learned quickly. Give it a while, and you'll master the new "feel."

Scott

Yes, the touchpad is sensitive to the speed you move your fingers. For a good example, place your finger at one side of the trackpad and the mouse at one side of the screen:
1) move your finger VERY slowly across the the trackpad & notice how far the mouse moves.
2)move your finger VERY quickly across the trackpad & notice how far the mouse moves.
When I tried this, my mouse moved about 2 inches in the first scenario and across the entire screen when my finger had only moved 3/4 of the way across the trackpad i the second scenario. This is my first Mac notebook, so I can't compare it to the PowerBook, but I have grown accustomed to it very quickly. It seems to me to be a linear acceleration.

Greetings!

I am having exactly the same problem in the same circumstances. From day 1 on my Powerbook 1.67 I could use the trackpad with exact accuracy, but I've been using my new Macbook Pro (2.6) for over 2 months now, and I still can't get it right. It is driving me crazy. I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice this.

I'm considering trying out SideTrack, just to try out different acceleration models to see if one feels more like the PowerBook.

If anyone else is finding the same issue or, even better, has a solution, please post it here!

Thanks.

i had a powerbook as well then got a MBP, it was weird at first but now i like it very much

after you get used to it youll start to see how much better this set up is (at least IMHO)
-matt

Actually I have another related problem too: The two-finger scrolling isn't as smooth.

I have Leopard on both my old PBG4-15 as well as the MBP2.6-15. In Safari, I can scroll a page precisely and it is smooth as silk on the PB. On the MBP, however, at moderate speeds the scrolling is jerky. It seems to also be an acceleration issue. The page will be scrolling along at a constant speed, then all of a sudden jerk ahead, then go back to a constant rate again.

Guys- you shouldn't have to "get used to it"

It has been very clearly documented that Apples mouse acceleration curve is flawed. Moving from Windows to Apple.. it is almost intolerable to use the mouse without some 3rd party software: SteerMouse or similar.

When is Apple going to listen to these complaints and give users the ability to adjust the curve?

Come on Apple!? Are you listening? I am a dedicated Mac user. I've had 3 desktops and a Macbook Pro. But issues like this are a joke.

personally i dont think it takes very long to get used to it and i think it is a better system that what is on a lot of other machines. i really do not see how the MBP's system is flawed, it allows you to go any where on the screen with out having to retrace either on your TP or with a mouse like you have to do with other systems. ill admit that there should be a way to turn it off but i personally think the system is better.
-matt

It is not a matter of "this system is better than the older one", *it is a matter of freedom for each single user to choose which system is better*. I really love my MacBook, I love everything in it and everything about it, but I think that a trackpad acceleration control would give each user the freedom to choose without creating confusion between users who don't know what "trackpad acceleration" is.

Cheers

I agree, my family hates my new mac because of this issue. I have had to replug in my old XP machine!

I read a ton of pdfs. Since I recently got a MacBook Pro, scrolling has been terribly jerky. I keep playing with it, and it's been driving me crazy.

Here's what is working for me now. What do you think?

System Preferences>Appearances: Use Smooth Scrolling is checked

System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse: Scrolling Speed is as high as it will go.

Oddly, I think I've tried this combo before and it didn't work, but now that I've reset it again it seems the acceleration/deceleration rates are improved. And oh geez, it is so perfect on my PowerBook, it is killing me not to have it so on my otherwise awesome new machine.

Here's to hoping this gets better. I do hope the acceleration at the beginning of scrolling were a little quicker, and a little slower toward the end. Does this make sense to you?

Message was edited by: nanotechmama

Today I discovered that two finger scrolling behaves how I prefer it, as long as the pointer is in the margin of a pdf. If the pointer is over the pdf image itself, then that produces the more jerky, unresponsive effect. I think it's supposed a "new feature", because on my old Powerbook it didn't matter where in the window the pointer was.