• Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac 10
• Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac Pro
• Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac Keyboard

A new build of Windows 10, version 14946, was released to insiders today. In common with the other builds we've seen since the release of the Anniversary Update, the new build doesn't offer a whole lot of new functionality—we're not expecting to see a ton of new features until Microsoft's Windows 10 event later this month—but it does make a few small changes. One of these is a new interface for configuring touchpad gestures, pictured above.

This comes after the previous build made updates to touchpad handling to improve the detection of two-finger gestures and clicking. The Windows 10 Anniversary Update also made changes in this area, adding new four-finger gestures.

Aug 28, 2017  ultimate how-to How to enable a Precision Touchpad for more gestures on your laptop Have a great laptop but don't like the trackpad? This easy guide can. Oct 05, 2017  Before making the switch from Mac to Windows. Not necessarily hardware-wise (although I can't remember if it's a 'precision' touchpad or not, which is apparently important), but rather the implementation throughout the OS. Why is there no Microsoft Surface trackpad? I don't think it's a Mac vs. I think it is a cheap laptop vs. Expensive laptop thing. I have a used Dell Adamo from 2009. When the guy I got it from bought it, it was thinner than the MacBook air and more powerful. Also more expensive. It's touchpad feels great. Aug 28, 2019  This project implements Windows Precision Touchpad Protocol for Apple MacBook family/Magic Trackpad 2 on Windows 10. Both USB (traditional and T2) and SPI trackpads are supported. If you like my work, please consider buying me a coffee. Thank you for your support! Go to the release tab in Github. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Dell Touchpad Assistant.

The All-in-One Media Keyboard is the perfect device for your living room or home office. With an integrated multi-touch trackpad, customizable media hotkeys that put the web and your favorite music, photos, and movies at your fingertips. The All-in-One Media Keyboard is all you need for comfortable typing and effortless navigation. This guy is making Windows Precision Touchpad drivers for MacBook Pro. Until very recently as Microsoft have been making a concerted effort to bring the “Mac trackpad experience” to windows. I’m just a huge huge fan of the trackpad and the gestures that come with it. After using Mac trackpad for 12 years, it’s hard to go back.

These changes are good to see. One of Apple's traditional strengths with its computers has been its touchpads. Not only does Apple have accurate algorithms with accurate detection of clicks and gestures, it also has rich and configurable gestures built in to, and updated with, the operating system. With Windows 10, Microsoft is able to match this capability.

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But as is to be expected from the PC, there's one big catch to note: most touchpad users won't receive the benefit of any of these updates. Why? Because they require the use of the Precision Touchpad spec.

Precision Touchpad made its debut with Windows 8. Co-developed between Microsoft and touchpad company Synaptics, the spec changed how Windows works with touchpads. Traditionally, touchpads masqueraded to Windows as essentially USB- or PS/2-connected mice—simple two-dimension, single-input devices. Features such as multitouch and gestures were handled by a combination of the touchpad firmware and proprietary drivers. This meant that Windows itself had no ability to add new gestures or refine the finger-detection algorithms; it was all an opaque feature of the third-party drivers.

With Precision Touchpad, the raw touchpad input is exposed to Windows itself, allowing the operating system to choose how it handles the complex multi-finger inputs. The gestures, the disambiguation of taps and swipes—these are all now performed by Windows, not a third-party driver.

In Windows 8, the impact of this was relatively low; it meant that Precision Touchpad systems had fairly consistent sensitivity and gesture handling but little beyond that. That has all changed with Windows 10. Microsoft is adding new capabilities and new configurability, providing a meaningful benefit to using the built-in capabilities.

Unfortunately, many PC OEMs haven't been equipping their laptops with Precision Touchpads. Microsoft's Surface Pros and Surface Books include them, as do a handful of others such as the Dell XPS 13 and HP's EliteBook Folio G1. But many others we've seen, such as the HP Spectre x360 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, use custom drivers, typically from Synaptics. As such, they can't take advantage of the new Windows capabilities.

As far as we can tell, it would normally be straightforward for an OEM to make the switch; touchpads from Synaptics, for example, can work as both Precision Touchpads and 'legacy' mouse-emulating touchpads that use the Synaptics driver. It's just up to the OEM to pick one option or the other. We've even seen a few systems, such as the HP EliteBook Folio G1, that make this end-user configurable; you can pick whether to work in Synapics mode or Precision Touchpad mode, and we preferred the latter. Using the third-party drivers does offer the OEMs some extra configurability (for example, specialized handling of extra-wide touchpads) and some brand consistency (so that new laptops continue to have similar touchpad behavior to their older, pre-Precision Touchpad counterparts). But we're not convinced that this represents any real end-user advantage, and the loss of Precision Touchpad capabilities is now becoming a meaningful disadvantage.

The Microsoft Surface Precision mouse went on sale earlier this fall for $99 at the Microsoft Store. Co-announced with the new Surface Book 2 series the Surface Precision mouse brings desktop and professional-level features to the growing Surface mouse line.

I've been using the Surface Precision for the last few weeks and don't have anything negative to say about it. The features are useful, the ergonomics are fantastic, and if you are looking for a high-end, non-gaming mouse for work the Surface Precision mouse should be on your shortlist.

Surface Precision features

The Surface Precision mouse brings many semi-unique features to the table including support for running on three PCs at the same time. Its focus, however, is on the build quality, ergonomics, and overall usage.

Eschewing 2.4GHz connection and requiring a dongle, the Surface Precision mouse uses Bluetooth Low Energy and is compatible with all modern Windows PC and even Apple Mac OS X (but wired).

For those who disapprove of wireless connectivity besides used to recharge the non-replaceable battery, the micro USB port also serves as a wired-connection overriding wireless. Surprisingly, not many mice offer a true USB mode, so it's great to see here as an option.

There are three buttons on the side – all of which are programmable – and a metal scroll wheel that offers detent or smooth scrolling options by clicking a button behind the wheel.

There is also a toggle switch on the bottom for three PCs. Users can switch between 1,2, or 3 on the bottom for each paired PC on the fly.

Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac 10

The mouse supports 400 to 3,200 dot-per-inch (DPI), which is user configurable in the accompanying Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center software.

Surface Precision design

Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac Pro

Made from plastic and machined aluminum and weighing 135 grams, the Surface Precision mouse has an ergonomic rounded back and thumb rest. That rest prevents your thumb from dragging on a mouse mat and makes a big difference for overall comfort.

The scroll wheel is grippy with little wiggle or rattle. The detent scrolling (a.k.a. 'clicky') feels nearly as perfect as using a Precision touchpad tuned by Microsoft. For those who prefer free scroll that option is here and can be manually enabled on the fly.

My only concern with the Surface Precision mouse is long term that gray Surface color may pick up – or at least show – dirt more easily than traditional dark or black mice. Of course, being mostly plastic/rubber (Thermoplastic Elastomer or TPE) it should be readily cleanable, but time will tell if it stains or not.

Surface Precision software

While users do not need to use the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center software Windows users are strongly encouraged (and even prompted) to install it.

Like all high-end mice with configurations, the Mouse and Keyboard Center lets users configure the buttons, set DPI, add macros, check battery life and more. It's excellent software that is also quite stable.

That software also lets you use the Smart Switch feature which allows users run the mouse on three PCs at the same time. The process is simple: pair the Surface Precision mouse to three different PCs. Each PC also needs to be running the Mouse and Keyboard Center software. On any PC, enable the Smart Switch feature.

Once running, when you bring the cursor to the edge of the screen it will pause for second and jump to the other PC seamlessly. Users can configure the ordering of the PCs too and change them at any time. If you don't want to include a PC, you can just toggle it off. There is also an optional notification that can pop up to let you know the mouse as jumped to another PC.

While not everyone will use Smart Switch for those power users who work on a desktop PC and a laptop, it's a killer feature. I had no problems using it.

Additional options like program-specific settings, assigning macros to those programmable keys, or even running keyboard shorts are all possible, but reserved for those who need particular functionality.

Finally, it should be noted that for those using the Surface Laptop and running Windows 10 S, they will not be able to install the Mouse and Keyboard Center software as it is still a Win32 app that needs to be downloaded. Hopefully, Microsoft will be able to port it to the Microsoft Store using its desktop bridge in the future to fix this oversight.

Surface Precision performance and conclusion

The Surface Precision mouse feels great to use. The ergonomic design is bang on, and the scrolling and clicking feel great. Indeed, the clicking is on the quiet side, which is a good thing for those who hate sharp, high-pitched clicks from constant usage in quiet environments. Microsoft office free download.

Relying on Bluetooth is not without its risks, however. Depending on your device, drivers, and any possible interference from nearby devices, you could experience the usual Bluetooth oddities. Many companies avoid this by using a dongle with a 2.4GHz channel for the radio. While more reliable, that technology does require a USB Type-A dongle, which not only takes up a valuable port but is quickly lost. Moreover, it does not help when using across three devices at the same time.

Microsoft Precision Touchpad Vs Mac Keyboard

Being able to plug in for USB wired-mode is a great feature, however. While you do need to plug in to recharge the battery should last around two to three months. I have seen some complain that Microsoft should have used a USB Type C plug, but that component is larger than the micro USB, costs more, and it's not clear what real advantage it would have for everyday usage.

I found the DPI settings OK as well even on a large 27-inch 4K display where high precision movement is needed.

Compared to the Logitech MX Master 2S, which I reviewed recently, there is not a whole lot of difference. Both run around $99, are ergonomic, run over Bluetooth, have similar DPI settings, and excellent software. The Logitech does have an optional 2.4GHz dongle, but it cannot run in USB wired mode. I also found the Logitech louder for clicking and not quite as comfortable compared to the Surface Precision, but those are personal preferences. The Logitech does have a favorite thumb scroll wheel, but in my usage, I never took advantage of it – your experience may vary.

Pros:

• Very good design and comfortable to use.
• Excellent buttons and scroll wheel behavior.
• Wireless (Bluetooth) or wired (USB) options.
• Long battery life.
• Robust software that lets you run on three PCs at once.

Cons:

• Reliance on Bluetooth can be problematic for some.
• Not overtly better than Logitech MX Master 2S.

Overall, I can recommend the Microsoft Surface Precision Mouse. It looks great, runs well, and it brings some advantageous features to the table for those who need advanced and customizable features. While not a travel mouse per se it is a bit flatter than the Logitech MX Master 2S making it not a bad choice for slipping in a bag. Of course, if travel is your priority Microsoft has the very portable Surface Arc Mouse, which is a better fit.

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