Breathing, eating and drinking 
But a mouse over a track pad any day.
2 Likes
Yeah, Iām happy to pay thousands for HiFi equipment, but I donāt see how that translates to software. Itās apple and oranges. I hate paying for softwareā¦thatās fewer records I can buy. 
Some software I pay for because I have little choice, but I use open source sofware where I can.
I had the old Office (2011?) for Mac, but when I got my M1 MacBook pro it no longer worked, so I removed it. By that time I almost never used it anyway, and am happy to use the Numbers and Pages apps that comes at no extra charge with my Mac. I really only use Numbers anyway.
I donāt know how good the open source alternatives to Office are, but if I had to use the suite I would investigate those first. My company uses Google
I much prefer a trackpad. I got used to it with using MacBooks for so long but we bought an iMac for my wife to work from home and she wasnāt sure so we got both. She only uses the trackpad now too. I prefer the feel of the pad and ease of use of gestures - when I try gestures on the mouse, I end up pushing the mouse around.
2 Likes
I think he was after something differently.
Anyhow, Iāve usually a young cat on my trackpad.
I use the external pad since years, first the gen1 now the current one.
Itās so smooth to point, click, drag, scroll, ā¦
ā¦ itās as good as the internal one, and even better, you can place it, where you like.
Thereās some use cases, where a mouse is a must or preferred - some games, some graphics software on when you need very precise control.
But no problem to have both.
Thatās on my private Mac, for my work laptop the inbuilt touchpad feels like a pale related; and my employer gives us mice, and Iām fine using that as well.
1 Like
I received the MacBook Air M1 yesterday. I like it , more friendly than a pc for my tastes.
However, for now, I donāt find the internal trackpad easy to use, specially for dragging or putting things in the trash. So I will try now the mouth . But wonder if the external trackpad is easier to use vs the one on the keyboard.
1 Like
Yes, check those options and optimize for you!
I very rarely āclickā, just ātapā.
It also needs a bit getting used to; and I still reverse the up-down direction on all OSs out of old habits.
1 Like
The external one is pretty much the same, just a bit bigger and you can of course place it to the side of a keyboard instead of in front of it.
But since they are (really) not cheap, try with a mouse the the internal one first to get a feel.
1 Like
Just be aware that there are humans producing the software (just like music); so itās worth a lot, even though the replication/distribution is indeed very, very cheap.
I also prefer open source where applicable (various reasons: political, independence / options to choose, less lock-in, ā¦) but software still needs to be coded, tested, and managed, and unless you find real enthusiasts in small projects, projects may fail long term due to lack resources etc.
(I applaud current German government to have started to donate to open source projects, which are āessentialā to many services and products, but are working hard without much own income, which is a risk, if software becomes critical for others.)
2 Likes
I tried the mouth , itās much better. A Bluetooth one. Donāt think I will go back 
But thanks for your advise. I will try it later.
3 Likes
Mouse - souris
Mouth - bouche
3 Likes
I tried with my mouth also, directly on the trackpad, but it doesnāt worked.
Thanks for correcting me Neil. 
3 Likes
As I basically said, āeach to their ownā.
I am sure that the free alternatives to Office 365 are fine for domestic users. I use Office simply because I used it at work for many years, got used to it & noted how it was extremely reliable (on a near 5,ooo user system) & would do almost anything I wanted it to do.
When I retired I didnāt really want learn a new system & did still want the stability & reliability that Office had given me for many years. The low, upfront, annual subscription suited my pocket & the ability to have four other installations on the same subscription fitted mine & my wifesā needs well, with our laptops as well as my main PC.
None of us like paying for a lot of things but, as I said earlier, I do find it very strange that quite a few will say āIāve just bought a brand new Ferrari, will it be okay to put the cheapest fuel I can find in it as I donāt want to pay for the full price stuff?ā.
Again, not saying I am right, just expressing a point of view.
I lick it!
(Sorry to those who donāt like Allo Allo humour).
I am among those who donāt want to pay 60 euros per year to have Word. I have a pc already at work, with word/ excel installed. I donāt need Word/ Excel at home.
The MacBook will be my secondary computer at work, and I will use it at home to.
Why should I pay for something only for work? I bought a coffee machine for my office and a nice painting, a plant too. Itās too feel better in my office. But for working, itās not the same. I prefer go to a good restaurant for that money.
2 Likes
To be honest I donāt need that lesson. I get it, but itās not like Iām stealing commercial software. I just chose not to use it. Your analogy to music is flawed. Itās apples and oranges. Iām not cheating people out of income by using OSS. If they have a product worth buying then other people will buy it and hep their endeavor thrive.
Iām a software engineer working on a microservices framework (micronaut.io). Itās free to all who want it. You can download and use it free, you can download the source and modify it freely, and if you make modifications you can contribute that back. My company makes money by supporting it through training, and with consulting/contracting helping other companies use the framework. Other companies help support the cost of development through sponserships and partnerships.
Personally, I think the open source model is the better one.
I have a M1 Max 14" MacBook Pro. I use it in clamshell mode with an external keyboard and mouse. I have the original Magic Trackpad and it sits in its box unused. I could just never get along with it as a replacement for a mouse. Some people love it though, and prefer using it to a mouse.
1 Like
I would say that on a modern M1 Mac, Libre Office has a number of limitations because it is not processor native (runs through Rosetta 2).
The point I wanted to make was that the Apple apps (Pages etc) are plenty good enough for most use and are on the device already. Try them before investing in anything else.
Iāve had 30+ years experience in implementing and dealing with āopenā source software, and it is not all plain sailing.
Microsoft Office is well developed, supported and implemented set of applications. Theyāre not perfect, but they do do the essentials very well.
HTH
5 Likes