No-Mathematician11
New member
TL;DR - I am desperate to find someone out there who can help advise (or could hire) for converting an early 2013 MacBook Pro into a standalone USB keyboard / trackpad. I suffer with chronic pain and am hoping against all odds I can find someone with the expertise to help me pull this off!
In case you're wondering why I'm doing this...
I have chronic myofascial pain in my upper extremities. These specific Macbook Pro models allowed me to go for long periods of time without pain. Having tried dozens of newer laptop models and ergonomic keyboards / trackpads for Mac, Windows, and Chromebook, I have yet to find one with a keyboard/trackpad that performed as well for my pain as the MBP a1398.
Other things I've tried:
- Remote control software like Synergy (they don't translate scrolling very well, even with add-ons like Mos and Linear Mouse)
- As mentioned, nearly every standalone USB trackpad/keyboard that has ever existed
- Newer Mac models
- Tried to hire someone to do this (which has yet to in yield anything to this point... hence why I'm here)
- Posted about this on other forums like EEVblog, r/diyelectronics, and many others
- I even recently tried consulting an LLM and it sent me down a wild goose chase of complicated soldering that ended up being a dead end
Based on my limited knowledge, I determined that using a Teensy might be an alternative route to success. However, if this is not the right place or recommended route, would really appreciate being pointed in the direction of someplace that can help.
Thank you!
In case you're wondering why I'm doing this...
I have chronic myofascial pain in my upper extremities. These specific Macbook Pro models allowed me to go for long periods of time without pain. Having tried dozens of newer laptop models and ergonomic keyboards / trackpads for Mac, Windows, and Chromebook, I have yet to find one with a keyboard/trackpad that performed as well for my pain as the MBP a1398.
Other things I've tried:
- Remote control software like Synergy (they don't translate scrolling very well, even with add-ons like Mos and Linear Mouse)
- As mentioned, nearly every standalone USB trackpad/keyboard that has ever existed
- Newer Mac models
- Tried to hire someone to do this (which has yet to in yield anything to this point... hence why I'm here)
- Posted about this on other forums like EEVblog, r/diyelectronics, and many others
- I even recently tried consulting an LLM and it sent me down a wild goose chase of complicated soldering that ended up being a dead end
Based on my limited knowledge, I determined that using a Teensy might be an alternative route to success. However, if this is not the right place or recommended route, would really appreciate being pointed in the direction of someplace that can help.
Thank you!