A case for offering a touchpad with buttons

General Topics
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Yes, I know there are old threads asking about this, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I want to present a more coherent argument for why Framework should do this.

As for anyone who wants to come in here and say it isn’t necessary because everyone should use gestures: Shut up. You already have what you want, so this issue isn’t relevant to you. Stop being a self-important windbag in love with your own opinions and go do something more productive with your time. Play with your kids, volunteer, pick up trash along the roadside, the possibilities are endless.

Reasons people would want a touchpad with physical buttons:

  1. Some people are left handed.
    — Touchpads are generally calibrated for right handed people and there are no settings I can find that allow these calibrations to be adjusted.
    — For hinged click in particular, there is a single touch point at the center of the bottom of the touchpad, so this must be using angle of pressure to figure out what kind of click the person is doing. Since I’m left handed, this would explain why I can’t get a consistent right click to save my life.

  2. Some people have motor coordination issues, such as apraxia or nerve damage.
    — Gestures can be challanging if you can’t perform consistent specific motions. God forbid you’re also left handed.

  3. Some people write as a profession or hobby.
    — Palm detection has always sucked.
    — If you also have motor coordination issues, it can be difficult or impossible to keep your hand from touching the touchpad while you type and you may not be able to control palm pressure enough to avoid the hinged click.

  4. Other physical and lifestyle issues can make using a mouse difficult or even impossible.

  5. Personal preference is a valid reason.

While the set of people who would prefer a touchpad with buttons is certainly not the majority, I suspect it is still more people than are currently interested (or even aware of) Framework laptops. Since it is increasingly difficult to find laptops with touchpad buttons, offering one would be a significant draw for those who would prefer them.

4 Likes
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I would absolutely second this – it’s a pretty constant occurrence for me having the touchpad detect one type of click as a different type, or accidentally trigger a left-click because a stray dust mote came off my finger and contacted the main region of the touchpad.

I’m sort of getting used to how the Framework touchpad works, it’s not a crisis, but it’s the first touchpad I have ever used where I had to put constant attention into it or “get used to” it, whereas having physical buttons would make everything simple again.

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I know I definitely miss having buttons. I got a Bluetooth mouse.