6 votes

The iPad cursor is here, no wait required

8 comments

  1. [5]
    cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    Fucking finally! This is great news, since even though I love my iPad Pro and often use a keyboard (and my Apple pencil) with it, without mouse/trackpad support there is just no way I could ever...

    Fucking finally! This is great news, since even though I love my iPad Pro and often use a keyboard (and my Apple pencil) with it, without mouse/trackpad support there is just no way I could ever truly treat it as a laptop replacement like I want to. I think the rounded cursor shape is going to be super annoying due to how imprecise it will be though... so I really hope they eventually allow some customizing of its shape.

    p.s. That promotional video is so fucking dumb and hilarious, acting as if nobody has ever done a cursor before and so all the benefits of it need to be explained.

    6 votes
    1. [4]
      unknown user
      Link Parent
      I don't really think it qualifies as "so fucking dumb", it's just fairly typical Apple marketing speak, but it's clear there's underlying hints about why they chose so long to implement...

      I don't really think it qualifies as "so fucking dumb", it's just fairly typical Apple marketing speak, but it's clear there's underlying hints about why they chose so long to implement it—primarily because it's a different mechanism of interaction from a typical mouse pointer on a desktop.

      They surely want to keep macOS and iOS "the same, but different". But, interestingly, this now opens the door to larger iOS devices: bring on the 15" iPad Pro, and maybe an iPad display, or something like the Surface Studio 2. Interesting times.

      3 votes
      1. [3]
        cfabbro
        Link Parent
        LOL... come on dude, it's a pretty fucking dumb video. Admit it. ;) The cheesy music, his overly "enthusiastic" tone of voice despite how mundane the subject matter he is talking about is, the way...

        LOL... come on dude, it's a pretty fucking dumb video. Admit it. ;) The cheesy music, his overly "enthusiastic" tone of voice despite how mundane the subject matter he is talking about is, the way the dialogue feels like it's trying to describe something truly groundbreaking as if to idiots who have never heard of a cursor before. It's like something from a Tim & Eric sketch.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          unknown user
          Link Parent
          Shrug. I don't know, I just try and make constructive comments that aren't super dismissive like calling things "fucking dumb", I tried to pivot the discussion away from that to potential new...

          Shrug. I don't know, I just try and make constructive comments that aren't super dismissive like calling things "fucking dumb", I tried to pivot the discussion away from that to potential new products, but alas, like every discussion on Tildes about Apple—we reach this point anyway.

          3 votes
          1. cfabbro
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            Uh, what? It was you that decided to focus on the only part of my comment where I wasn't being "constructive" and was instead simply pointing out something that I found amusing.

            Uh, what? It was you that decided to focus on the only part of my comment where I wasn't being "constructive" and was instead simply pointing out something that I found amusing.

            3 votes
  2. [3]
    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    Wait... So forgive me for the seemingly stupid question as I'm not an Apple fan: The iPad couldn't use mice before this?

    Wait... So forgive me for the seemingly stupid question as I'm not an Apple fan:

    The iPad couldn't use mice before this?

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      unknown user
      Link Parent
      No problem. Up until iOS 13, no, the principle method of interaction before this was touch. It kind of made sense that it was like that too. For most of its history, the iPad was a media...

      No problem.

      Up until iOS 13, no, the principle method of interaction before this was touch. It kind of made sense that it was like that too. For most of its history, the iPad was a media consumption device—the apps nor processing power weren't there to support content creation until about the iPad Pro was introduced. The Apple Pencil was only introduced in 2015, and the first smart keyboard was introduced in 2017.

      Before that, there was really no need for a pointing device, because the paradigm was the iPad was usually laying flat or close to your chest. Only since the smart keyboards have been released has that been changing, because only when you start propping up an iPad on the table attached to a keyboard does touch become physically undesirable. But now, the software is there, the keyboards are there, and the processing power is there. All Apple wanted to do is get it right.

      5 votes
      1. AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        Thanks for the explanation! One follow up question: Is this just Apple's implementation of it, or could you not connect 3rd party keyboards and mice at all (direct connect or bluetooth)?

        Thanks for the explanation!

        One follow up question: Is this just Apple's implementation of it, or could you not connect 3rd party keyboards and mice at all (direct connect or bluetooth)?

        1 vote