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Comment by Enginerrrd | Hacker News Reader

This is actually usually pretty configurable. You have to use the actual config file though and not the GUI to get the really tunable numeric settings of palm-size and whatnot.

Also, understand that there's libinput or touchpad synaptics and you can use the other one if one isn't working for you. I have had better luck with libinput myself but it probably depends on the hardware.

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That is such a horrible user experience though, it's no different than having to hack apart your X11 config file to get the proper modeline support for your monitor, or to map your keyboard so your Super key works.

Thankfully we've moved past those problems for now, until you want to use multiple screens or use a touchpad.

Desktop Linux still has a long way to go if there is ever going to be any appreciable market share.

You can help improve the situation: The libinput project mentioned in the article is attempting to cut back on the amount of configuration and provide sane defaults for things like this, but there are a huge amount of touchpads out there to test. The idea is that once something is added to their database of "quirks", then it can be contributed upstream, and the device will be configured correctly for everyone. More info here: https://who-t.blogspot.com/2018/06/libinput-and-its-device-q...

If you figure out the right settings while using the legacy synaptics driver, please consider translating them a libinput quirks file and sending them back to the right place. I promise you are not the only one who doesn't want to fiddle around with legacy drivers anymore.

Every time I try to use Linux, I come to the conclusion that the user experience makes it not worth the effort it would take to be a daily driver. I always feel like I just don't have the knowledge to get things done in a reasonably efficient manner... And the OS needs more polish.

There's always some annoying little problems that take a mountain of effort to properly diagnose and solve. Things like dual monitor support not working properly when the monitors have different resolutions, or YouTube dropping out of fullscreen when you focus on a different window.

To be fair, these kinds of issues are probably no problem for someone with lots of experience... But I'm not one of those.

I also find that the gap between windows and Linux has narrowed dramatically over the last 10 years. Whenever I try a fresh install (every couple years), I'm surprised at how much better it feels.

Linux is great on the server. It will never be good on the human interface because hardware and UX trends evolve and fragment faster the tiny user community can afford to support.

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