5 ms·

Learn to use the trackpoint instead and disable the touchpad.

vegardx 10y ago
That's what everyone seems to be saying, but that is more of a workaround than solution, if you ask me.
ynniv 10y ago
The method of interaction is so different it would be nicer to advise people to not use a pointing device at all. I've always wanted to like them, but the track point is a poor man's trackball, and where do you see a trackball these days?
- cturner 10y ago
  One of the attractions of the trackpoint is that you don't have to move your fingers from the keyboard. Hence, people who are keyboard-centric get pointer access without the usual tradeoff. A dev running a tiling window manager can still have full use of their web browser. Expect it would be messy to work with for photoshop. For example, it recalibrates if you hold it down too long, and then creeps away when you release it. Idea for precision work: small trackball and scrollers built into the side of the laptop (like a port).
  - afarrell 10y ago
    I got an external Lenovo keyboard because I really like the trackpoint. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-0B47221-keyboards-Universal-English/dp/B00S9QMCRQ/ref=pd_sim_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HPSSKXMRM8SRS100WDMB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-0B47221-keyboards-Universal-...
- dorfsmay 10y ago
  Trackpoint is superior to trackball and touchpad because you don't need to raise your fiber from it when going long distance (say one corner of your screen to another corner), and of course the fact that you don't need to take you hands off the keyboard like others mentioned.
  - criddell 10y ago
    Trackpoint only lets you move the cursor or scroll. The touchpad can do a lot more things with multitouch.
dec0dedab0de 10y ago
i switched to a mac for work 2 years ago, and i still miss the track point.
peatmoss 10y ago
More than a decade ago I worked in a shop that was all Thinkpads, and I thought I'd never understand the trackpoint users. Then my wife got an x140e for some light-duty work a couple years ago, and somehow the trackpoint (maybe due to my xmonad use) just clicked. Now I love it. As an aside the x140e is about the cheapest Linux laptop money can buy. It's built like a tank for school kids, and has nothing exotic inside. You can replace the HDD with an SSD, and upgrade the RAM (shared video / system RAM) up to 32GB I hear. It's not a particularly speedy machine, but it runs well enough, and the price is right.

That's what everyone seems to be saying, but that is more of a workaround than solution, if you ask me.

ynniv 10y ago

The method of interaction is so different it would be nicer to advise people to not use a pointing device at all. I've always wanted to like them, but the track point is a poor man's trackball, and where do you see a trackball these days?

cturner 10y ago
One of the attractions of the trackpoint is that you don't have to move your fingers from the keyboard. Hence, people who are keyboard-centric get pointer access without the usual tradeoff. A dev running a tiling window manager can still have full use of their web browser. Expect it would be messy to work with for photoshop. For example, it recalibrates if you hold it down too long, and then creeps away when you release it. Idea for precision work: small trackball and scrollers built into the side of the laptop (like a port).
- afarrell 10y ago
  I got an external Lenovo keyboard because I really like the trackpoint. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-0B47221-keyboards-Universal-English/dp/B00S9QMCRQ/ref=pd_sim_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HPSSKXMRM8SRS100WDMB https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-0B47221-keyboards-Universal-...
dorfsmay 10y ago
Trackpoint is superior to trackball and touchpad because you don't need to raise your fiber from it when going long distance (say one corner of your screen to another corner), and of course the fact that you don't need to take you hands off the keyboard like others mentioned.
- criddell 10y ago
  Trackpoint only lets you move the cursor or scroll. The touchpad can do a lot more things with multitouch.

dec0dedab0de 10y ago

i switched to a mac for work 2 years ago, and i still miss the track point.

peatmoss 10y ago

More than a decade ago I worked in a shop that was all Thinkpads, and I thought I'd never understand the trackpoint users. Then my wife got an x140e for some light-duty work a couple years ago, and somehow the trackpoint (maybe due to my xmonad use) just clicked. Now I love it. As an aside the x140e is about the cheapest Linux laptop money can buy. It's built like a tank for school kids, and has nothing exotic inside. You can replace the HDD with an SSD, and upgrade the RAM (shared video / system RAM) up to 32GB I hear. It's not a particularly speedy machine, but it runs well enough, and the price is right.