The ThinkPad TrackPoint tried to build a better mouse

I still use a TrackPoint from time to time (on the ThinkPad X220, not my primary computer), and personally think it's a way better experience than any TouchPad, no matter how large, could possibly offer.

It works particularly great wherever there is the need to be precise (such as when editing graphics) but in general I rarely find myself using the TouchPad when I have the choice.

The TrackPoint on the ThinkPad can also be used for scrolling when holding the middle button.

I buy Thinkpad branded keyboard/trackpoint combos for server environments where a full size HID setup would be in the way.

I like trackpoints a lot -- the lenovo quality is suffering though. I have a lot of problems lately with the trackpoints wandering by themselves without human contact. This used to be because of a center cap that was incorrectly installed on older ThinkPad notebooks, but these keyboards do it without the cap at all -- like a problem with calibrating 'true zero'.

Oh well. It's a pretty limited market, gotta take what I can get.

For mobile computing, there's no comparison IMO. With a touchpad, you have to shuffle your hands to the palmrest area to move the mouse. If your machine is on your lap, that might put your hands in a quite unergonomic position. And it of course interrupts keyboard input. And there's the subject of accidental inputs when typing.

The best is to associate a touchpad and a trackpoint:

- the touchpad is used for large movements

- the trackpoint is used for precise positioning

That was done on several laptops, but many reviews lamented the existance of 2 separate mechanism. I wonder if the same people now clamor for the removal of touchpads on devices with touchscreens?

Not sure I ever really _liked_ the TrackPoint, but the trackpad on the Thinkpads I had (this is early-mid 2000s) were so terrible that it was at least an improvement. Doubt I'd be going back after the Macbook Pro trackpad.

Whoa this takes me back to the days of the Dell Inspiron. The TrackPoint felt so much cleaner and easier to use compared to the barely-responsive trackpads of the early 2000s.