3 ms·

I still have a keyboard with a track point I don't understand why they are not popular at all and only a few manufacturers build them. It doesn't replace a mo

by andix 4mo ago

I still have a keyboard with a track point I don't understand why they are not popular at all and only a few manufacturers build them. It doesn't replace a mouse for me, but the track point is between the G H B keys and can be reached without moving the fingers away from the typing position. So it's great for some simple mouse commands.

glitchc 4mo ago
The trackpoint is the main reason I find it so hard to move away from Lenovo Thinkpads. The buttons under the spacebar alone are super convenient.
- andix 4mo ago
  There is at least a whole line up of models from Lenovo. But for keyboards there is currently only tex.com.tw that sells new keyboards with track point.
- nazgulsenpai 4mo ago
  This. When I use my work laptop, I find myself pressing the spacebar constantly. edit: instead of "clicking"
- wnolens 4mo ago
  As an old user of thinkpads for years, on a Macbook the trackpad is as much under your thumb as the trackpoint is under your index finger and I find the trackpad far more accurate and less strain to use. In fact, my work-at-home setup is macbook pro, open face so i can use the keyboard+trackpad but external monitor so my posture isn't terrible.
- Liskni_si 4mo ago
  Not just hard - impossible. To the point of making it harder to find a job, as very few jobs let you use a non-Windows ThinkPad. (I mean yeah, of course AuDHD makes it harder to find a job, no surprise there. But it's a shame that laptop manufacturers make it even harder.)
  - silon42 4mo ago
    Dell and HP had trackpoints once (I had a HP one), maybe they still do.
  - mncharity 4mo ago
    > To the point of making it harder to find a job Fwiw... (1) Lenovo sells compact keyboards with trackpoint. USB and bluetooth. There are mouse buttons below Space, but it cuts off there, with no pad. I once taped a kludgy bare usb pad to one, which was ok, but the extra couple of cm separation was annoying. I considered grinding out some of the case, but don't recall if that turned out plausible. (2) Lenovo has tablets with detachable keyboards, with both trackpoint and touchpad. People have DIYed such (from an old X1) into a USB kbd - the pogo pins did USB. Lenovo currently sells a replacement kbd for the X12, but I don't know if its similarly DIYable. (3) Assorted other manufacturers make, or have made, kbds with devices resembling touchpoint, more or less. (4) Some note ancient Lenovo IBM SK-8840 PS/2 Wired Keyboard With TrackPoint still show up on ebay, fwiw.
    - andix 4mo ago
      > (1) Lenovo sells compact keyboards with trackpoint Where can I get it? They stopped selling them around 2 years ago AFAIK. I have a few of them, but they are not very durable, so used ones are probably not a good option. Only alternative I know of is https://tex.com.tw https://tex.com.tw
      - sfRattan 4mo ago
        There are two split-keyboards made by Ultimate Hacking Keyboard [1], UHK 60 and UHK 80, that have an optional trackpoint or trackball module. They're not cheap, though. [1]: https://uhk.io/ https://uhk.io/
      - mncharity 4mo ago
        > They stopped selling them Ouch. Thanks for the catch. On ebay just now, there's someone claiming they have "more than 10 available".
    - 4mo ago
qweqwe14 4mo ago
> I don't understand why they are not popular at all and only a few manufacturers build them. Because they are ugly, just like ThinkPads that include them.
- andix 4mo ago
  I couldn't care less how ugly my keyboard is.
  - qweqwe14 4mo ago
    Sure, but normal people care about aesthetics, and unsurprisingly big corporations cater to that.
    - Hugsbox 4mo ago
      So Lenovo puts trackpoints on their ThinkPads, which is ugly. Also, big corporations cater to aesthetics. Which is it?
      - qweqwe14 4mo ago
        I didn't say corporations can't have an ugly laptop lineup. I'm saying that the trend of consumer/business laptop lineups is to make all of them look similar to a MacBook, because that's what most people want. Of course there will always be exceptions, like the ThinkPad.
      - andix 4mo ago
        I'm not even interested so much on laptop keyboards. I always work on my desktop setup with an external keyboard. It's really hard to get an external keyboard with a track point. For laptops there are a lot of models to chose from, both used and new.
- officeplant 4mo ago
  Beauty is in the eye of the chonky laptop holder.
tfvlrue 4mo ago
My college ThinkPad laptop had a trackpoint in the keyboard that I never used. The paradigm of "pushing" the cursor around by applying an acceleration vector just never clicked with me. I found the touchpad faster and more accurate/predictable, and learned to be quite proficient with it, so I never used the trackpoint. It also didn't help that (at least for the T-series of the era) the trackpoint nib had a reputation for causing a bright spot on the LCD within a year or two, from the contact pressure when the lid was closed. I removed the rubber cover to avoid the screen damage, which guaranteed I would never use it. I get that some people like it, but those are my two reasons for not :)

by andix 4mo ago

glitchc 4mo ago

The trackpoint is the main reason I find it so hard to move away from Lenovo Thinkpads. The buttons under the spacebar alone are super convenient.

andix 4mo ago
There is at least a whole line up of models from Lenovo. But for keyboards there is currently only tex.com.tw that sells new keyboards with track point.
nazgulsenpai 4mo ago
This. When I use my work laptop, I find myself pressing the spacebar constantly. edit: instead of "clicking"
wnolens 4mo ago
As an old user of thinkpads for years, on a Macbook the trackpad is as much under your thumb as the trackpoint is under your index finger and I find the trackpad far more accurate and less strain to use. In fact, my work-at-home setup is macbook pro, open face so i can use the keyboard+trackpad but external monitor so my posture isn't terrible.
Liskni_si 4mo ago
Not just hard - impossible. To the point of making it harder to find a job, as very few jobs let you use a non-Windows ThinkPad. (I mean yeah, of course AuDHD makes it harder to find a job, no surprise there. But it's a shame that laptop manufacturers make it even harder.)
- silon42 4mo ago
  Dell and HP had trackpoints once (I had a HP one), maybe they still do.
- mncharity 4mo ago
  > To the point of making it harder to find a job Fwiw... (1) Lenovo sells compact keyboards with trackpoint. USB and bluetooth. There are mouse buttons below Space, but it cuts off there, with no pad. I once taped a kludgy bare usb pad to one, which was ok, but the extra couple of cm separation was annoying. I considered grinding out some of the case, but don't recall if that turned out plausible. (2) Lenovo has tablets with detachable keyboards, with both trackpoint and touchpad. People have DIYed such (from an old X1) into a USB kbd - the pogo pins did USB. Lenovo currently sells a replacement kbd for the X12, but I don't know if its similarly DIYable. (3) Assorted other manufacturers make, or have made, kbds with devices resembling touchpoint, more or less. (4) Some note ancient Lenovo IBM SK-8840 PS/2 Wired Keyboard With TrackPoint still show up on ebay, fwiw.
  - andix 4mo ago
    > (1) Lenovo sells compact keyboards with trackpoint Where can I get it? They stopped selling them around 2 years ago AFAIK. I have a few of them, but they are not very durable, so used ones are probably not a good option. Only alternative I know of is https://tex.com.tw https://tex.com.tw
    - sfRattan 4mo ago
      There are two split-keyboards made by Ultimate Hacking Keyboard [1], UHK 60 and UHK 80, that have an optional trackpoint or trackball module. They're not cheap, though. [1]: https://uhk.io/ https://uhk.io/
    - mncharity 4mo ago
      > They stopped selling them Ouch. Thanks for the catch. On ebay just now, there's someone claiming they have "more than 10 available".
  - 4mo ago

qweqwe14 4mo ago

> I don't understand why they are not popular at all and only a few manufacturers build them. Because they are ugly, just like ThinkPads that include them.

andix 4mo ago
I couldn't care less how ugly my keyboard is.
- qweqwe14 4mo ago
  Sure, but normal people care about aesthetics, and unsurprisingly big corporations cater to that.
  - Hugsbox 4mo ago
    So Lenovo puts trackpoints on their ThinkPads, which is ugly. Also, big corporations cater to aesthetics. Which is it?
    - qweqwe14 4mo ago
      I didn't say corporations can't have an ugly laptop lineup. I'm saying that the trend of consumer/business laptop lineups is to make all of them look similar to a MacBook, because that's what most people want. Of course there will always be exceptions, like the ThinkPad.
    - andix 4mo ago
      I'm not even interested so much on laptop keyboards. I always work on my desktop setup with an external keyboard. It's really hard to get an external keyboard with a track point. For laptops there are a lot of models to chose from, both used and new.
officeplant 4mo ago
Beauty is in the eye of the chonky laptop holder.

tfvlrue 4mo ago

My college ThinkPad laptop had a trackpoint in the keyboard that I never used. The paradigm of "pushing" the cursor around by applying an acceleration vector just never clicked with me. I found the touchpad faster and more accurate/predictable, and learned to be quite proficient with it, so I never used the trackpoint. It also didn't help that (at least for the T-series of the era) the trackpoint nib had a reputation for causing a bright spot on the LCD within a year or two, from the contact pressure when the lid was closed. I removed the rubber cover to avoid the screen damage, which guaranteed I would never use it. I get that some people like it, but those are my two reasons for not :)