# I need a touchscreen MacBook.



## 50730 (Jul 31, 2014)

I mean, imagine being able to use your MacBook like an iPad. 

Apple really should have put a touchscreen to their newly introduced MacBook, considering the cost of the machine. :greedy:

I don't really know how Apple didn't think of that. Other companies like Microsoft added touch screens to their devices long ago, and I think Apple should follow.

The MacBook could have been a way more successful product if they added a touchscreen to it. I hope one day to be able to use my MacBook Pro without a trackpad, it would be such a good feeling. 

What do you think about this? Do you want a touchscreen MacBook?


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## 50730 (Jul 31, 2014)

I would also love to see a touchscreen iMac. That would just be amazing


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Writer said:


> I would also love to see a touchscreen iMac. That would just be amazing


No it wouldn't. Try holding your arms in an elevate position for an extended length of time. A trackpad works just fine and was designed with these kinds of ergonomic decisions in mind.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

I know you _think_ you want it, *but*... 

I did a maternity fill-in at the office last summer. Three months working with Windows 8 and some HP or Dell or whatever desktop all-in-one.

Damn touchscreen was a pain in the ass. Showing other people documents, spreadsheets, etc., and indicating something on screen, invariably I'd touch the screen in error and launch Outlook, or nuclear missiles toward Russia or some other catastrophe. It did nothing but get in the way.

If you have a keyboard and mouse or trackpad, a touchscreen is really just for showing off...

If Apple releases an iMac with a touchscreen, I dearly hope the touchscreen input is toggle-able, so I can use it when necessary and banish it for normal usage. (and I'm not an old curmudgeon who resists change, FWIW)


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## 50730 (Jul 31, 2014)

fjnmusic said:


> No it wouldn't. Try holding your arms in an elevate position for an extended length of time. A trackpad works just fine and was designed with these kinds of ergonomic decisions in mind.


Good point, I did not think about that.


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## 50730 (Jul 31, 2014)

> If Apple releases an iMac with a touchscreen, I dearly hope the touchscreen input is toggle-able, so I can use it when necessary and banish it for normal usage.


That was what I was thinking about, having the ability to toggle touchscreen mode on and off.


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

Why toggle on and off? Win 8 touch screen you can use a mouse or simply touch, no need to turn it off. With that said, touch screen for OS X is nothing something I would want and do not think it makes sense. The reason behind Win 8 was because they were trying to make a unified OS for all their devices, from mobile and tablets to desktops. OS X is not designed for this, it is made for a mouse and keyboard. What do you feel you are missing by not having a touch screen?


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Overrated and mostly useless.


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## 50730 (Jul 31, 2014)

monokitty said:


> Overrated and mostly useless.





wonderings said:


> The reason behind Win 8 was because they were trying to make a unified OS for all their devices, from mobile and tablets to desktops. OS X is not designed for this, it is made for a mouse and keyboard. What do you feel you are missing by not having a touch screen?


Yeah, I think you're right. The only benefit of a touchscreen would be the iPad-y feeling, but I don't think it would work.


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## Kleles (Jul 21, 2009)

I have a MBP, iPad mini, and of course a smartphone (Android). The latter devices demonstrate what I don’t like about touchscreen — finger smudges on a visual device. Tolerance and frequent cleaning make them functional, even enjoyable, but I would not want to have the same experience for my computer screen.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

fjnmusic said:


> No it wouldn't. Try holding your arms in an elevate position for an extended length of time. A trackpad works just fine and was designed with these kinds of ergonomic decisions in mind.





monokitty said:


> Overrated and mostly useless.





Kleles said:


> I have a MBP, iPad mini, and of course a smartphone (Android). The latter devices demonstrate what I don’t like about touchscreen — finger smudges on a visual device. Tolerance and frequent cleaning make them functional, even enjoyable, but I would not want to have the same experience for my computer screen.


Pretty much covers it!


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

Writer said:


> I mean, imagine being able to use your MacBook like an iPad.
> 
> Apple really should have put a touchscreen to their newly introduced MacBook, considering the cost of the machine. :greedy:
> 
> What do you think about this? Do you want a touchscreen MacBook?



So you want a ModBook then? You can buy one here: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro


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## hexdiy (Dec 18, 2011)

If you like the moves on your iPad so much, and lack your Mac desktop capability notwithstanding, Writer, why not use to the utmost the file sharing capability between your Mac (OSX) and your iDevice (iOS)? 
Just use a Remote Desktop client. You might love some soft like Team Viewer iOS: https://www.teamviewer.com/hi/download/mobile.aspx


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## iamjenny (Jul 23, 2015)

Writer said:


> I would also love to see a touchscreen iMac. That would just be amazing


Me too.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

Atroz said:


> So you want a ModBook then? You can buy one here: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro


Ancient history! 404 page not found.....


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## heavyall (Nov 2, 2012)

rgray said:


> Ancient history! 404 page not found.....


Yeah, the company doesn't exist anymore, but even if it did THAT product was not ready for prime time. Low resolution screen, no touch capabilities, thick, heavy. And then there's the price. Modbook was buying retail MacBook Pros, then taking them apart and doing their conversion to them. That made them prohibitively expensive.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

Atroz said:


> So you want a ModBook then? You can buy one here: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro





rgray said:


> Ancient history! 404 page not found.....





heavyall said:


> Yeah, the company doesn't exist anymore, but even if it did THAT product was not ready for prime time. Low resolution screen, no touch capabilities, thick, heavy. And then there's the price. Modbook was buying retail MacBook Pros, then taking them apart and doing their conversion to them. That made them prohibitively expensive.



The original posted URL works for me and sure seems to exist:
Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro

It seems to me it could be used as a variation of an iPad with a more open OS.


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## Atroz (Aug 7, 2005)

heavyall said:


> Yeah, the company doesn't exist anymore, but even if it did THAT product was not ready for prime time. Low resolution screen, no touch capabilities, thick, heavy. And then there's the price. Modbook was buying retail MacBook Pros, then taking them apart and doing their conversion to them. That made them prohibitively expensive.


Are you sure? Site is still there. There's new content as of June. Copyrights are for 2015. 

They have a Kickstarter campaign for a new version that was updated a few days ago. https://www.kickstarter.com/project...etina-quad-core-mac-os-x-tablet/posts/1310915

Current one is based on a 2012 Macbook so a bit old and not a Retina display. Seems to be 1280x800 on a 13" screen. 

It is a pen based touch system. Reasonable at 1024 levels of sensitivity. 

Not something I'm looking for but it is up to the OP to decide if it is for them.


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## hexdiy (Dec 18, 2011)

Technical message: link is up and site is up: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro
What DNS service are you all using?


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I mostly use a MacBook Pro, mostly sitting at a desk, and sometimes I'll take it with me to a place to work. When I'm not doing anything too heavy and just want to do some writing, I really enjoy just taking my iPad Air 2 and a BT keyboard. It's not quite the same as a notebook, obviously, but from a writer's perspective I love it for its ease of portability, the vertical orientation, and the ability to really focus.


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## heavyall (Nov 2, 2012)

hexdiy said:


> Technical message: link is up and site is up: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro
> What DNS service are you all using?


Yeah, it's there now, it was definitely not there when I posted my message (and had not been for quite some time). Between the dead site and the Kickstarter being from over a year ago, I was assuming they went under. Maybe they did, but got new backers??

Either way, they still have the same problem of having to buy retail MBPs and then doing the conversion. That makes them a fun proof of concept to show Apple what they could be making, but prohibitively expensive for almost anyone who could really make use of one.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

Atroz said:


> So you want a ModBook then? You can buy one here: Mac Tablet - Portable Tablet for Creative Users | Modbook Pro





rgray said:


> Ancient history! 404 page not found.....


As of time and date of that post, the site was NOT there. There is no problem with my DNS.....


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

rgray said:


> As of time and date of that post, the site was NOT there. There is no problem with my DNS.....


Takes me right there.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

eMacMan said:


> Takes me right there.


Takes me there *NOW*, too.


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