USB-C DP alt mode coming! [LWN.net]

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 19, 2026 21:27 UTC (Thu) by zdzichu (subscriber, #17118)
In reply to: USB-C DP alt mode coming! by Cyberax
Parent article: An Asahi Linux progress report

I can't stop wondering why people find MacBook touchpads so great. I have a work Mac and Macos X is unusable beyond simple clicking.
Specifically, when I have multiple files selected in Finder and try to move them, following will happen randomly:
- all but one file get deselected
- all files will be opened
- the selection will be expanded to other files
- rename action will trigger.
Completely random & unusable. I'm carrying my mouse if I need to do anything more than using keyboard only.
On my private Thinkpad with Fedora touchpad works perfectly.

to post comments

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 21, 2026 5:42 UTC (Sat) by raven667 (subscriber, #5198) [Link] (3 responses)

> I can't stop wondering why people find MacBook touchpads so great.

I think they used to be a lot better than the other hardware you could buy, Apple was always putting in top-end Synaptics touchpads when other laptop makers were still using PS/2 emulation and skimping out (cheap keyboards, no backlight, poor screen, missing ports, bad microphones/speakers/webcams, etc.) but now most vendors use the same higher-end parts and there are good drivers for them and the quality of Apple hasn't been increasing, it's been slipping IMHO.

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 21, 2026 12:03 UTC (Sat) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

Yup. Back in the day, there were two schools of thought - (1) Apple are horribly expensive, and (2) Apple are value for money - you get what you pay for.

I don't remember people complaining at all that they were overpriced.

Cheers,
Wol

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 21, 2026 13:52 UTC (Sat) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582) [Link] (1 responses)

Apple's main advantage now is the M-series chips. If they had stuck with Intel they would have been clearly inferior, in terms of hardware, to Windows laptops.

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 21, 2026 16:24 UTC (Sat) by pizza (subscriber, #46) [Link]

> Apple's main advantage now is the M-series chips

...along with their tight vertical integration of the OS and platform tools.

Take away MacOS and (as TFA indicates) even the first-gen M-series Macs are objectively inferior to their Intel/AMD competition.

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 22, 2026 6:46 UTC (Sun) by comex (subscriber, #71521) [Link] (2 responses)

I'm guessing you're pressing down and dragging with the same finger. The OS also lets you press down with one finger and swipe with another finger, which I find a lot less awkward especially when dragging long distances.

That said, getting rename means you're pressing too hard and getting a force click, which is something you can get used to.

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 23, 2026 5:45 UTC (Mon) by raven667 (subscriber, #5198) [Link]

Honestly I think we can run into the case where there are too many operations overloaded in too few controls such that it's very possible to never learn all the different gestures, and only trigger them by accident, then the touchpad becomes a poor tool tool; spooky, frustrating and imprecise.

USB-C DP alt mode coming!

Posted Feb 23, 2026 6:51 UTC (Mon) by zdzichu (subscriber, #17118) [Link]

I'm not really sure how can I "press too hard". I'm aware that macbook touchpad has no physical click, it's generated by little vibration motors.