Why isnt the TrackPoint on more brands ?

[parangles]

I have not found a touch pad that is not a pain
to use. I love the TrackPoint and every time I play with
my old 600's I enjoy using it. How come they didnt/wouldnt
liscense it to others ?

[craigmontHunter]

Others have it (dell, toshiba and HP busness models come to mind), but they probably wreck the smooth image of the consumer systems. It is not a licensing issue, since I had an old toshiba with the same setup. I think it is just that the general public does not like them, for whatever reason (or that is what the manufactuers think)

[sarbin]

my work-issued dell has a stick. only good thing about the machine.

[pianowizard]

I have not found a touch pad that is not a pain
to use.

Go to Mouse Properties, then "Pointer Options", and then slide the pointer speed all the way to the fastest setting. For me, the touchpad is painful unless its speed is maximized. And with its speed maximized, I prefer it over the trackpoint.

[parangles]

Major complaint I have with touch pads is that they are not as responsive
as the TrackPoint ie they seem to freeze frequently-even new ones ,
and no adjustment of sensitivity, speed etc has any effect.
Anyway- I am glad to hear TrackPoint is alive and well -
my wifes new Lenovo doesn't have it so I assumed it was some
patent issue and no longer being used anywhere.

[rossmosis]

I think people are afraid of them, if every laptop had one, I doubt many people (teenagers come to mind) would have the little patience it takes to get used to it. After using a Thinkpad for about a year now, it's bothersome using a PC that doesn't have a TrackPoint, I always find myself reaching towards a non-existent one. The best trackpad that I've used is on my Ibook, extremely responsive and the double finger scroll works flawlessly. My L512's touchpad sometimes doesn't respond to my callused-guitar-player fingertips and I've given up on using it for much.

[ThinkPad R]

I once tried to prove to my friend trackpoint was more efficient than trackpad.

So we tested by trying to do repeated tasks (clicking number of icons within certain time limit). Trackpad won. Again and again. Hard to believe.

The problem with using trackpoint is that, at least for me, I put all of my fingers on the keyboard keys with my index finger resting on the trackpoint, and this damaged my keyboard, causing the keys' response to weaken and become flimsy making shriveling noises when I typed.

My ThinkPad's keyboard didn't last long

[ThinkRob]

The problem with using trackpoint is that, at least for me, I put all of my fingers on the keyboard keys with my index finger resting on the trackpoint, and this damaged my keyboard, causing the keys' response to weaken and become flimsy making shriveling noises when I typed.

What a unique problem to have!

Do you wear lead gloves? Or perhaps you are a giant?

[craigmontHunter]

Or do you brace your other fingers sideways aginst the keycaps? I rest my fingers on the keyboard all the time and have never had that problem.

Thinkrob - that brings up another excellent point about the trackpoint - you can use it with gloves on

[pianowizard]

Major complaint I have with touch pads is that they are not as responsive
as the TrackPoint ie they seem to freeze frequently-even new ones ,
and no adjustment of sensitivity, speed etc has any effect.

Somehow I have never had this problem.

I think people are afraid of them, if every laptop had one, I doubt many people (teenagers come to mind) would have the little patience it takes to get used to it.

On the contrary, I have found that it takes much longer to *fully* master the touchpad.

So we tested by trying to do repeated tasks (clicking number of icons within certain time limit). Trackpad won. Again and again. Hard to believe.

Try the test Ray found: http://67.214.227.38/~thinkpad/forum/vi ... c4#p566015

[ThinkRob]

Thinkrob - that brings up another excellent point about the trackpoint - you can use it with gloves on

Haha I didn't mean to bring that point up, but I guess you're right -- you can indeed use the TrackPoint with gloves, etc. Trackpads? Not so much.