4 ms·

Do thinkpads still have those terrible trackpointy things in the middle of the keyboard? That's not timeless design. That's a timeless pice of crap! Now the M

Do thinkpads still have those terrible trackpointy things in the middle of the keyboard? That's not timeless design. That's a timeless pice of crap! Now the MacBook Pro trackpad... Fingers fly on that glass.

justincormack 14y ago
Most have a nipple and a pad.
hammersend 14y ago
That "terrible track pointy thing" keeps your fingers on the home row. It might not be for you but I for one like not having to constantly move from keyboard to trackpad while using my computer.
- mmariani 14y ago
  Well, that's not for me. I have RSI and track points give me terrible cramps. On the other hand, with a properly configured (tap to click) glass trackpad that problem goes away.
Of_Prometheus 14y ago
"Terrible"? I understand that you're meaning to be hyperbolic, but "timeless pice (sic) of crap" is rather silly. For me, it is like switching to a mechanical keyboard. A Filco is heavy, ugly, and loud - until you actually start using one. As much as one's fingers "fly on that glass", it doesn't eliminate the problem of removing your fingers from the keyboard. For many people, the ability to keep their fingers where they want them and still navigate a page smoothly makes the best trackpad in the world a wasted rectangle that clutters the bottom of their laptop.
ciupicri 14y ago
If both a trackpad and a trackpoint are available, I always use the trackpoint. I feel like I have better control with it while the trakpad makes me sloppy.
- DeepDuh 14y ago
  Know why that is? Because their pads are goddamn terrible. Every time I see a mac vs. pc argument it gets down to the mac user saying 'it's because of the trackpad' and the pc user saying 'I don't need no trackpad'. well.. there might be a reason for that you know.
w1ntermute 14y ago
I love the TrackPoint. The first thing I do on any ThinkPad I get is disable the trackpad in the BIOS, because it's completely unnecessary when you have a TrackPoint. It's better than every other pointing instrument I've tried, including stand-alone mice (except for gaming) and trackpads (the MacBook trackpads included). Once you get used to the TrackPoint, you'll realize what a piece of crap the MacBook trackpad is.
- encoderer 14y ago
  This is of course an ultimate bike-shedding topic, but I'll add my .02 anyway: With a multi-touch extension like jiTouch that lets you configure your own per-app multi-touch gestures, the large trackpad (especially external trackpads) are no-debate the most versatile "mouse" alternative. I have many keyboard shortcuts mapped to gestures for PyCharm, Sublime and Xcode that let me do very cool things during specific workflows (think: debugging, deployment, etc). I've only been using it (and Macs in general) since November but it's the first time i don't totally loathe having to move my hand from the keyboard.
- enko 14y ago
  》Once you get used to the TrackPoint, you'll realize what a piece of crap the MacBook trackpad is Ooooooh no you won't. Sorry Wintermute, but you're speaking from a very, very small niche market. In my experience a huge majority of people overwhelmingly prefer the mac trackpad for all conceivable uses. Two-finger scroll is a killer app.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    > In my experience a huge majority of people overwhelmingly prefer the mac trackpad for all conceivable uses. In my experience, a huge majority of people don't even know what a TrackPoint is, let alone give it a shot. I won't deny that this is because Lenovo's advertising is nonexistent. Apple has done an excellent job over the last 5 years of convincing the general public that they have the best hardware on the market. And although I personally relish the unchanging ThinkPad design, I can see how many people would find it to be anachronistic in the 21st century. > Two-finger scroll is a killer app. I've had 2 finger scroll with the TrackPoint for years, and it's a lot better than the trackpad way - my right index finger moving the TrackPoint and my right thumb holding down the middle mouse button. My fingers stay on the home row, and I use my left thumb for the space bar and my right thumb stays on the mouse buttons at most times. I've tried the MacBook "two-finger scroll" method, and it just breaks my train of thought to have to move my hand back and forth from the trackpad to the keyboard. In fact, I like the ThinkPad keyboard so much that I have the USB model for use with my desktop.

justincormack 14y ago

Most have a nipple and a pad.

hammersend 14y ago

That "terrible track pointy thing" keeps your fingers on the home row. It might not be for you but I for one like not having to constantly move from keyboard to trackpad while using my computer.

mmariani 14y ago
Well, that's not for me. I have RSI and track points give me terrible cramps. On the other hand, with a properly configured (tap to click) glass trackpad that problem goes away.

Of_Prometheus 14y ago

"Terrible"? I understand that you're meaning to be hyperbolic, but "timeless pice (sic) of crap" is rather silly. For me, it is like switching to a mechanical keyboard. A Filco is heavy, ugly, and loud - until you actually start using one. As much as one's fingers "fly on that glass", it doesn't eliminate the problem of removing your fingers from the keyboard. For many people, the ability to keep their fingers where they want them and still navigate a page smoothly makes the best trackpad in the world a wasted rectangle that clutters the bottom of their laptop.

ciupicri 14y ago

If both a trackpad and a trackpoint are available, I always use the trackpoint. I feel like I have better control with it while the trakpad makes me sloppy.

DeepDuh 14y ago
Know why that is? Because their pads are goddamn terrible. Every time I see a mac vs. pc argument it gets down to the mac user saying 'it's because of the trackpad' and the pc user saying 'I don't need no trackpad'. well.. there might be a reason for that you know.

w1ntermute 14y ago

I love the TrackPoint. The first thing I do on any ThinkPad I get is disable the trackpad in the BIOS, because it's completely unnecessary when you have a TrackPoint. It's better than every other pointing instrument I've tried, including stand-alone mice (except for gaming) and trackpads (the MacBook trackpads included). Once you get used to the TrackPoint, you'll realize what a piece of crap the MacBook trackpad is.

encoderer 14y ago
This is of course an ultimate bike-shedding topic, but I'll add my .02 anyway: With a multi-touch extension like jiTouch that lets you configure your own per-app multi-touch gestures, the large trackpad (especially external trackpads) are no-debate the most versatile "mouse" alternative. I have many keyboard shortcuts mapped to gestures for PyCharm, Sublime and Xcode that let me do very cool things during specific workflows (think: debugging, deployment, etc). I've only been using it (and Macs in general) since November but it's the first time i don't totally loathe having to move my hand from the keyboard.
enko 14y ago
》Once you get used to the TrackPoint, you'll realize what a piece of crap the MacBook trackpad is Ooooooh no you won't. Sorry Wintermute, but you're speaking from a very, very small niche market. In my experience a huge majority of people overwhelmingly prefer the mac trackpad for all conceivable uses. Two-finger scroll is a killer app.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  > In my experience a huge majority of people overwhelmingly prefer the mac trackpad for all conceivable uses. In my experience, a huge majority of people don't even know what a TrackPoint is, let alone give it a shot. I won't deny that this is because Lenovo's advertising is nonexistent. Apple has done an excellent job over the last 5 years of convincing the general public that they have the best hardware on the market. And although I personally relish the unchanging ThinkPad design, I can see how many people would find it to be anachronistic in the 21st century. > Two-finger scroll is a killer app. I've had 2 finger scroll with the TrackPoint for years, and it's a lot better than the trackpad way - my right index finger moving the TrackPoint and my right thumb holding down the middle mouse button. My fingers stay on the home row, and I use my left thumb for the space bar and my right thumb stays on the mouse buttons at most times. I've tried the MacBook "two-finger scroll" method, and it just breaks my train of thought to have to move my hand back and forth from the trackpad to the keyboard. In fact, I like the ThinkPad keyboard so much that I have the USB model for use with my desktop.