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How boring - no alternatives to touch pads?

Why is the TrackPoint type of pointer no longer offered? Is it really that unpopular? I cannot stand touchpads due their "touchiness", vagueness, and encouragement to tap too hard which gives me hand and finger pains very much in keeping with Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) - I try to avoid that kind of tapping, but it seems reflexive.

Trackpoints also offer the advantage of allowing more room for the keyboard, which is why Sony chose that design for the P series Vaio. It is also quite obvious in comparing my Fujitsu Lifebook P1610 to most netbooks - same overall form factor, but much roomier keyboard (even a right Control key!).

Any hybrids I have seen with both, such as my work-provided Dell D630, are a bad compromise wherein the touchpad puts the trackpoint that much further away from the palm rest area (along wiht the keyboard in general), and which does not stick up at all to facilitate quick access or comfortable usage.

Also, with a trackpoint I can operate all the mousing type functions one-handed, whereas something like drag-and-drop with a touchpad is much more difficult without using both hands (unless I use a multitapping function to "lock" a selection for that function, but that is just that much more RSI for my hand).

Even with Trackpoint-equipped portables, my preference is for a mouse/trackball, but when traveling light, it works well enough versus the touchpad (for me at least).

Seeing nothing but touchpad portables just kills my interest right up front when looking at new ones - am I the only one?

Posted by: aroc   Posted on: 09/26/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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