Lenovo ThinkPad TrackPoint

I've been using the Trackpoint for almost 20 years now and I never had any problems with it. Not exclusively though, for desktop applications I still use a mouse. But for couch surfing at home I haven't used a mouse in years.

I haven't used a mouse in ages, but I haven't used a trackpad - ever. I've never found one that matches the accuracy, speed, and overall joy of using TrackPoint to move the mouse cursor.

The hand repositioning was the rationale for the ThinkPad TrackPoint (which I still use daily). Right on the home row, and with 3 buttons for left/right/scroll+zoom purposes. Sadly it never caught on, possibly because the precision is not as good as a touchpad. It's even been removed from some of the latest ThinkPads.

> because what else can you really fit into a laptop? The nipple! I have no idea what IBM actually called it, but that's what it was. I would take it 10 times out of 10 over a touchpad (which I appreciate but cannot use properly)

To each their own, but it's not that there aren't cursor keys (well, sometimes), but that the move off of home row is too disruptive, mentally. Same thing with the Thinkpad track point. it's not the most accurate, but it's worth it need because it's even closer to home row than even a touchpad.

> fetish object A tool that I use productively every day is not something I would describe as a "fetish object". I've put years of use into mice, trackpads, and pointing sticks, and I've found pointing sticks to be the most comfortable and efficient tool for me. There are other people who feel differently for any number of reasons, but TrackPoint users are entitled to their preferences just as other people are entitled to theirs. Nobody needs to prove that their preference is "superior" before they buy the product they want. The only remaining laptop maker that puts a serious effort into implementing pointing sticks into their devices is Lenovo with their ThinkPad lines. Unfortunately, Lenovo has been making negative changes to ThinkPads over the years, such as soldering memory and reducing key travel. This opens up an opportunity for other laptop makers (such as System76) to claim the TrackPoint users who only are only buying ThinkPads because the TrackPoint makes up for the other disadvantages.

I second the love for the "nipple" that others professed. In fact, I keep the touchpad on my Thinkpad disabled entirely... But even if you don't use it personally, why does that make it "ouch"? Isn't it good to have the choice?

Dell and HP and Toshiba all had pointing sticks on their professional laptops even before the patents ran out. They were utter shit of course because it was negative inertia which made the TrackPoint usable and that was patented and by the time it expired everyone was high on trackpads which are , once again, obviously utter shit because they can not be as efficient as a TrackPoint which is where your fingers are compared to a trackpad where you need to move your hand to.