Thinkpads Forum

Just a quick question here. I'm picking up an X201 from the Lenovo outlet when payday rolls in next Saturday. I was dedicated to getting one without the touchpad until recently, due to my hatred of spastic movement while I'm in the process of typing. However, I recently stumbled across some info about the touchpad gestures, and one in particular got my attention - the multi-touch zoom. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Can it be mapped to the Windows 7 Magnifier utility (normally accessed with a winkey and +/- key combo) or is it only useful for zooming images and the like. I may be willing to make peace with the touchpad if this functionality exists.

KnightZero -- "I was dedicated to getting one without the touchpad until recently, due to my hatred of spastic movement while I'm in the process of typing."

I don't use the trackpad, so I'm not familiar with how the various touch mechanisms work. But you can disable the trackpad in Control Panel/Mouse so it won't be affected by your random touch when typing. Then if you want to use the trackpad int the future, or even sell your machine to someone who wants both trackpoint and trackpad, you would have the trackpad option available.

I have disabled the trackpad on my X301. My husband doesn't like the trackpoint -- go figure So when he borrows my machine, he just enables the trackpad in the control panel.

as above I would (and did) go for both trackpoint and pad a. for when other people use it (most pople I know prefer it) and b. if I do ever sell i am sure it will help.

It is easily disabled in BIOS or Fn+F8 gives options for both or one on so easily switched.

As for the pinch and zoom, works fine, not sure on intregrating into magnifier, for me on webpages just increase the text size (same as going to view zoom/text size etc.) and pictures it just zooms in. Its a million miles from being as easy and smooth as say on a a iphone or similar but is still a useful feature (although one easily forgotten about in my opinion)

I'll be honest, at the risk of sounding like a zealot, I've never sold one of my Thinkpads. A few thinkpads have passed out of my hands to friends, but they were purchased specifically for them - I still have every unit back to my 560x. Resale value is not even a consideration here. If that were part of the equation, I'd buy a Macbook.

AndyR - thanks for confirming what I suspected. I may still pick it up with the trackpad if the best bargain in the outlet is still equipped with one on buy day, but I'm leaning toward one without. Although synaptic may offer support for the Windows magnifier in a later driver update, I'm still kinda partial to having the notebook free of the pad..

I guess I misunderstood -- I thought being a ThinkPad Zealot was a prerequisite for hanging out on this Forum

I have given away lots more ThinkPads than I have sold -- I like to play way to much, and sometimes I end up with way too many machines -- so my church, my kid's school, or a neighbor kid has been the beneficiary of some nice ThinkPads over the years --

My X200 does not have a trackpad, and I'm pretty sure that when I purchased I was more interested in bottom line than a trackpad -- However, when my husband tries to use one of my machines that only has the trackpoint, it flusters him -- guess that means he should use his own ThinkPad, which does have a trackpad

Be sure and tell us when you get your newest addition!

emtee3511 wrote:I guess I misunderstood -- I thought being a ThinkPad Zealot was a prerequisite for hanging out on this Forum

Ah, see, that made me feel right at home.