OSX has an unbeatable ability to zoom the full screen without losing mouse focus. No other OS I've tried supports this. Windows Magnifier comes close but it doesn't let me set focus to follow the mouse and it's awkward.
I use the full screen zoom and run Windows apps in virtualization. That's how important it is to me.
Ubuntu tried to make this work with Compiz a few years ago, and it was terrible as well. Slow and jerky.
But this is an absolute necessity for a low vision user like me. Got a Mac for my dad and he also can't live without it now.
Hopefully with Wayland coming around, this will all be simpler. The reference Wayland compositor (Weston) has a built in fullscreen zoom feature which is basically identical to OS X's (hold down key, scroll).
In fact, the default implementation in Weston is, better in my opinion, and also enabled by default. Instead of having to go to the edge of the screen to move the region, it moves the region with the cursor in the same position relative to the screen as the region. Of course, for those with dyslexia or some other psychovisual disability; it may be worthwhile to have an option to go the OS X route.
Thanks for the input, I'll maybe put it on the GNOME bugzilla if it isn't already there. :-)
The OSX zoom has the option to follow the mouse and is what I use (and require) so I can track what I'm reading. It's not default, but it exists and works incredibly well even under heavy graphics use. Seeing something like that work well on something other than OSX would be great. But every other attempt has bee spotty at best.
I look forward to seeing this work, but I worry about the hardware requirements that will be imposed.
I have a 2007 white macbook that zooms flawlessly. If I need a high-end video card to zoom as smoothly it will be a problem.
For some information, it is unfailingly buttery smooth even on integrated graphics hardware from one generation before Intel HD graphics. I.e. a lenovo Core Duo machine from 2006 I dug out of my closet the other month. This is all probably thanks to Wayland being properly composited to begin with; they just need to scan out part of the final framebuffer texture.
KDE 4 and 5 have a magnifier that follows the mouse and has worked just fine in any situation I've thrown at it. It's enabled by default, but you do have to assign keyboard shortcuts to "Kwin zoom in/out/restore-to-actual-size".
I use full-screen zoom in Ubuntu (14.04) and Macintosh everyday. In Ubuntu I can alt-tab between apps and the zoomed window will follow me to the top-most application, not so on the Mac which will switch apps but leave me viewing the wrong portion of the screen. Both will follow the mouse equally well. On the other hand I prefer the Mac's ctrl-scroll-up/down to zoom-in/out. On Ubuntu I use a couple of key-combinations as I haven't figured out how to do it with the mouse. I guess I'm suggesting to give Ubuntu another chance.
