4 ms·

Honestly, didn't really find the ergonomics of putting significant lateral force on my fingers. My fingers didn't feel like it was well constrained with lateral

Honestly, didn't really find the ergonomics of putting significant lateral force on my fingers. My fingers didn't feel like it was well constrained with lateral force applied to it.

saurik 4y ago
I used a TrackPoint for years and I absolutely believe that I damaged the big joint in my index finger from the required lateral force of that input method.
- naikrovek 4y ago
  you may be should have adjusted the sensitivity. only the slightest touch should get the cursor moving. and quick snaps across the screen are done in a fraction of a second, in my experience. trackpad people seem to love this process, which I have never understood: put finger down on trackpad. move finger. lift finger from trackpad. move finger. put finger down on trackpad. move finger more slowly to get some precision. lift finger from trackpad. tap trackpad once followed by tap and hold. move finger to edge of trackpad to very slowly continue to drag selection marker. etc. it's exhausting
  - horsawlarway 4y ago
    > trackpad people seem to love this process, which I have never understood I mean... Right back at you: you should have adjusted the sensitivity :P The trackpads on my laptops are set so that a single moderately quick swipe across the surface is more than enough to cover an entire 24inch 4k monitor's worth of movement. And no one on a modern trackpad (that I know of... I'm mid 30s) uses the "tap, tap again to hold" pattern. They click the button of the trackpad with a thumb (hold) and navigate using a finger while the button is held. It's mid 2020s, every trackpad shipped supports multipoint input. --- That said - a traditional mouse is still the hard winner in this category. No question. But I'd take mouse -> trackball -> trackpad -> trackpoint. My hands are large and the positioning of the nub is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable to use for any extended duration without moving my hands just like for a trackpad, and the nub doesn't allow real multipoint input or navigational gestures.
    - jojobas 4y ago
      As soon as you need to alternate between mousing and keying you're out of the water with a touchpad.
      - horsawlarway 4y ago
        > My hands are large and the positioning of the nub is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable to use for any extended duration without moving my hands just like for a trackpad, and the nub doesn't allow real multipoint input or navigational gestures.
        jojobas 4y ago
        If you hands are always on the keyboard you can lose the gesture choreography and use something a bit faster and plentiful - hotkeys.
  - hhjinks 4y ago
    I just tried putting the sensitivity on my trackpoint to max, and the cursor literally doesn't move if I swipe my finger across the trackpoint. I have to actively apply downward force for the trackpoint to register. When I use an Apple touchpad, I only ever have to lift my finger if I exhaust the pad's surface area, and the force required to click is lower than what is required to activate the trackpoint.
    - naikrovek 4y ago
      that is a garbage trackpoint, then. Absolute rubbish. if I turn sensitivity way up on my old IBM A31p and blow through a straw onto the side of the trackpoint, the cursor moves, albeit very slowly. Back in the day, I would return the entire laptop because of a rubbish trackpoint if it were an IBM built ThinkPad.
scrlk 4y ago
I find that trackpoints tend to have low default sensitivities, which require a lot of force to use. At least for me, maxing out the trackpoint sensitivity on my X1 Yoga results a noticeable decrease in the amount of force required & didn't have an impact on accuracy.

Honestly, didn't really find the ergonomics of putting significant lateral force on my fingers. My fingers didn't feel like it was well constrained with lateral force applied to it.

saurik 4y ago

I used a TrackPoint for years and I absolutely believe that I damaged the big joint in my index finger from the required lateral force of that input method.

naikrovek 4y ago
you may be should have adjusted the sensitivity. only the slightest touch should get the cursor moving. and quick snaps across the screen are done in a fraction of a second, in my experience. trackpad people seem to love this process, which I have never understood: put finger down on trackpad. move finger. lift finger from trackpad. move finger. put finger down on trackpad. move finger more slowly to get some precision. lift finger from trackpad. tap trackpad once followed by tap and hold. move finger to edge of trackpad to very slowly continue to drag selection marker. etc. it's exhausting
- horsawlarway 4y ago
  > trackpad people seem to love this process, which I have never understood I mean... Right back at you: you should have adjusted the sensitivity :P The trackpads on my laptops are set so that a single moderately quick swipe across the surface is more than enough to cover an entire 24inch 4k monitor's worth of movement. And no one on a modern trackpad (that I know of... I'm mid 30s) uses the "tap, tap again to hold" pattern. They click the button of the trackpad with a thumb (hold) and navigate using a finger while the button is held. It's mid 2020s, every trackpad shipped supports multipoint input. --- That said - a traditional mouse is still the hard winner in this category. No question. But I'd take mouse -> trackball -> trackpad -> trackpoint. My hands are large and the positioning of the nub is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable to use for any extended duration without moving my hands just like for a trackpad, and the nub doesn't allow real multipoint input or navigational gestures.
  - jojobas 4y ago
    As soon as you need to alternate between mousing and keying you're out of the water with a touchpad.
    - horsawlarway 4y ago
      > My hands are large and the positioning of the nub is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable to use for any extended duration without moving my hands just like for a trackpad, and the nub doesn't allow real multipoint input or navigational gestures.
      - jojobas 4y ago
        If you hands are always on the keyboard you can lose the gesture choreography and use something a bit faster and plentiful - hotkeys.
- hhjinks 4y ago
  I just tried putting the sensitivity on my trackpoint to max, and the cursor literally doesn't move if I swipe my finger across the trackpoint. I have to actively apply downward force for the trackpoint to register. When I use an Apple touchpad, I only ever have to lift my finger if I exhaust the pad's surface area, and the force required to click is lower than what is required to activate the trackpoint.
  - naikrovek 4y ago
    that is a garbage trackpoint, then. Absolute rubbish. if I turn sensitivity way up on my old IBM A31p and blow through a straw onto the side of the trackpoint, the cursor moves, albeit very slowly. Back in the day, I would return the entire laptop because of a rubbish trackpoint if it were an IBM built ThinkPad.

scrlk 4y ago

I find that trackpoints tend to have low default sensitivities, which require a lot of force to use. At least for me, maxing out the trackpoint sensitivity on my X1 Yoga results a noticeable decrease in the amount of force required & didn't have an impact on accuracy.