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MacSafe

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2015
287
48
I'm looking for windows PC that will give me the closest experience to Mac.

smoothness trackpad etc..
 

keeper

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2008
515
303
The Dell XPS is good, the only think tripping we up is you can single tap for left click and two finger tap for right, and until you get used to just tapping rather than a full press of a trackpad you get get things happening that you didn’t expect.

For me it’s slowly becoming more natural you just have to be more precise with your fingers.
 
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russell_314

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2019
6,046
9,009
USA
I remember Walmart used to sell some Huawei laptops running Windows that looked like one for one copies of a MacBook pro. The ones on display seemed to work very nice but before I could buy one they stopped selling them.
 

keeper

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2008
515
303
The one thing you can't get on a Mac.
Touchscreen, reading the news and browsing the web is rather good using a Dell UHD touchscreen while the laptop sits on your thighs, no holding the thing like you would on an ipad.
 
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ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
I'm looking for windows PC that will give me the closest experience to Mac.

smoothness trackpad etc..
The Surface lineup is probably the closest thing you can get.
As for trackpad performance, part of the issue is with Windows itself and how it handles the driver, so you can only get close, but not equal to how trackpads are on the Mac.
 

dracobdn

macrumors member
Aug 8, 2014
34
37
The one thing you can't get on a Mac.
Touchscreen, reading the news and browsing the web is rather good using a Dell UHD touchscreen while the laptop sits on your thighs, no holding the thing like you would on an ipad.

I'm using a MacBook on my lap and I sometimes wish I could take it in my hand to do stuff like I would on an iPad.
Since not having one I tend to use my iPhone more and more since I find it to be more laid back and fitting for a sofa than a full blown laptop...
 

PeterJP

macrumors 65816
Feb 2, 2012
1,136
896
Leuven, Belgium
The one thing you can't get on a Mac.
Touchscreen, reading the news and browsing the web is rather good using a Dell UHD touchscreen while the laptop sits on your thighs, no holding the thing like you would on an ipad.
I'm surprised that, despite almost 30 years of trying to get some sort of gesturing into Windows, the killer app seems to be...scrolling a screen. Perhaps Apple is right on this one: I like how this works on a mac trackpad.
 

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,757
3,732
Silicon Valley
The one thing you can't get on a Mac.
Touchscreen, reading the news and browsing the web is rather good using a Dell UHD touchscreen while the laptop sits on your thighs, no holding the thing like you would on an ipad.

(This isn't directed at you.)

Please do not buy touchscreen PCs. They are absolutely awful for your body from an ergonomic perspective. My former career put me in position to be an ergonomics consultant for office workers and I have yet to see anyone use a touchscreen laptop in a way that doesn't make me want to rip off a lecture on safe use of computers, posture, and the orthopedic horrors they're setting themselves up for.

Touchscreen PCs encourage you to develop terrible habits that are going to lead to a higher risk of neck, back, and shoulder problems. If you already have a touchscreen PC, use the touchscreen sparingly and if you find yourself reaching to touch the screen when you can just as easily use the trackpad, stop yourself and reach for the trackpad instead.
 
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Mikael H

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2014
864
538
(This isn't directed at you.)

Please do not buy touchscreen PCs. They are absolutely awful for your body from an ergonomic perspective. My former career put me in position to be an ergonomics consultant for office workers and I have yet to see anyone use a touchscreen laptop in a way that doesn't make me want to rip off a lecture on safe use of computers, posture, and the orthopedic horrors they're setting themselves up for.
..And worst of all you get disgusting smudgy screens..
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,309
13,076
where hip is spoken
I'm surprised that, despite almost 30 years of trying to get some sort of gesturing into Windows, the killer app seems to be...scrolling a screen. Perhaps Apple is right on this one: I like how this works on a mac trackpad.
Scrolling on a trackpad on my Windows laptops works as well as on my Macbooks. The thing that I miss on my Macbooks is the double-tap and hold on the titlebar of a window to move the window. (though it is possible that action exists as a different gesture and I totally blanked out on it)
 

Mikael H

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2014
864
538
The thing that I miss on my Macbooks is the double-tap and hold on the titlebar of a window to move the window. (though it is possible that action exists as a different gesture and I totally blanked out on it)
Three-finger grab the title bar and move it.
 
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maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,572
43,556
The one thing you can't get on a Mac.
Touchscreen, reading the news and browsing the web is rather good using a Dell UHD touchscreen while the laptop sits on your thighs, no holding the thing like you would on an ipad.
Yeah, that's a nice benefit, I don't use it all the time, but it does come in handy.

Scrolling on a trackpad on my Windows laptops works as well as on my Macbooks
Depending on what laptop maker you're talking about, I think they've largely caught up. I'm rather underwhelmed by the Lenovo trackpad, its good, not great. The surface computer's trackpad, a lot better. I had liked the Razer's trackpad. I've yet to try a recent Dell, so I cannot comment on their trackpads.

One thing that I don't like about the MBP's trackpad, its ginormous size, while a larger trackpad is an added benefit, the 2016 and onward MBP took that too far and it was just too large for my liking.

Please do not buy touchscreen PCs. They are absolutely awful for your body from an ergonomic perspective.
I find it no worse then an iPhone or using an iPad.
 

RogerWilco6502

macrumors 68000
Jan 12, 2019
1,823
1,937
Tír na nÓg
Thinkpads from Lenovo are pretty good. They don't look like Macs, but they have a similarly high grade of build quality and are extremely reliable workhorse machines. The trackpad's immiation of Apple's trackpads leaves something to be desired, but overall it's still a very solid choice (and I personally prefer the trackpoint anyway).
 

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,757
3,732
Silicon Valley
I find it no worse then an iPhone or using an iPad.

There's two key differences. You would never use any other touch device at the angles and distance that a laptop screen is when you're also using a keyboard to type. You wouldn't ever hold your tablet or phone that way because it's just not very comfortable to use it in that position.

The other thing people will do when they use the touchscreen a lot is adopt weird postures to ease the stress on their neck and shoulders. It reduces the stress in one place, but just moves it elsewhere.

People often prefer to touch things and will develop habits to utilize touch more and more. Otherwise it'd be no big deal if you occasionally found it easier to move a window on screen. No, instead I see people doing more and more things they used to do with a keyboard or touchpad on the screen. It's just a chain reaction of bad.
 
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derekamoss

macrumors 65816
Jul 18, 2002
1,489
1,136
Houston, TX
There's two key differences. You would never use any other touch device at the angles and distance that a laptop screen is when you're also using a keyboard to type. You wouldn't ever hold your tablet or phone that way because it's just not very comfortable to use it in that position.

The other thing people will do when they use the touchscreen a lot is adopt weird postures to ease the stress on their neck and shoulders. It reduces the stress in one place, but just moves it elsewhere.

People often prefer to touch things and will develop habits to utilize touch more and more. Otherwise it'd be no big deal if you occasionally found it easier to move a window on screen. No, instead I see people doing more and more things they used to do with a keyboard or touchpad on the screen. It's just a chain reaction of bad.
I have had a normal non touchscreen laptop, a touch screen laptop, various iPads, various other tablets, multiple 2-in-1's and going back to a non touchscreen computer will never happen for me. I have a surface book 2 and when using it in the normal laptop position, having a touch screen to quickly zoom in or out of pics or text is a lot more comfortable and natural than using a trackpad to do the same or the amount of control of scrolling you get by using the touchscreen compared to a trackpad. People arent going to suddenly get major back problems because they start using the touch screen for 3% of input compared to 97% of normal usage.
 

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,757
3,732
Silicon Valley
People arent going to suddenly get major back problems because they start using the touch screen for 3% of input compared to 97% of normal usage.

You are 100% correct and I'm not trying to say that it's dangerous to use a dual keyboard-touchscreen device in any capacity. If you have the discipline to only use the touch screen only when it truly is the more efficient interface, you'll be fine.

The problem is that most people are not very disciplined or self aware. They'll get in the habit of using the touchscreen more and more. Some do it to the point that they don't even seem to be aware that the trackpad is still there. How you use a computer is habit forming. Once you develop muscle memory for a certain pattern of movements, breaking that habit can be incredibly hard.

None of this causes any problems over the short term. It might even take decades to amount to anything. Any additional stress on your body we're talking about is usually quite small, but small differences add up.

I used to do this professionally. This is the challenge of ergonomics. It doesn't matter until it does and until it does, nobody cares.
 
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derekamoss

macrumors 65816
Jul 18, 2002
1,489
1,136
Houston, TX
You are 100% correct and I'm not trying to say that it's dangerous to use a dual keyboard-touchscreen device in any capacity. If you have the discipline to only use the touch screen only when it truly is the more efficient interface, you'll be fine.

The problem is that most people are not very disciplined or self aware. They'll get in the habit of using the touchscreen more and more. Some do it to the point that they don't even seem to be aware that the trackpad is still there. How you use a computer is habit forming. Once you develop muscle memory for a certain pattern of movements, breaking that habit can be incredibly hard.

None of this causes any problems over the short term. It might even take decades to amount to anything. Any additional stress on your body we're talking about is usually quite small, but small differences add up.

I used to do this professionally. This is the challenge of ergonomics. It doesn't matter until it does and until it does, nobody cares.
Thank God Apple found the perfect solution with the Touch Bar! /s/:rolleyes:
 
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