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0 pointspronik1d ago0 comments

For such a niche area, it's astonishing how many of these projects miss some or indeed all of relevant features of the TrackPoint. In this particular case, it has already been mentioned that this doesn't make any sense outside of the keyboard. Additionally, it looks really awkward to use for someone used to the classic and there seems to be no button suitable for scrolling. It really looks like a "we heard geeks like trackpoints, let's do one" kind of project.

0 comments

willwade21h ago

I’ll give you a use case. People with disabilities who can’t use the keyboard. Ploopy stuff has been absolutely amazing.

makeitdouble20h ago

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

willwade17h ago

Use those a lot to (always try and focus off the shelf first). But for cases where we need to position differently we often need something custom

1 more reply

1attice18h ago

Depends on the disability. Not a homogenous group. "Work better" for whom?

2 more replies

intothemild1d ago

Exactly. People love trackpoint because it's right there in the middle of the keyboard, and you don't have to move your hands.

Any variation of trackpoint where you have to move your hand away from the keyboard, is a failure IMHO

II2II17h ago

I have a tendency to tote around a trackball since I cannot stand using a trackpad for extended periods. I would imagine there are people who think similarly, but would want to use something more compact.

dsr_1d ago

In X11 (and probably in Wayland, since this is a libinput thing) you can define a button as a scroll lock.

So, hold down the scroll lock button and the thumbstick becomes a scroller. That leaves three buttons for left, middle and right.

pronikOP1d ago

Sure, but which of those buttons would be suitable? Keep in mind, it will be your thumb that needs to land naturally on that button while your index finger rests on the trackpoint. And the scroll button is also usually the middle button even though there are cases where you need middle-mouse drag (looking at you, Blender) for which a fourth button might go quite nice.

dsr_19h ago

I'm right handed, so I would pick the bottom left button as the scroll lock, with the top left button as 1, top right button as 2, and bottom right as 3.

"scroll button is also usually the middle button" -- these functions are completely separable in libinput.

1 more reply

zobzu23h ago

it feels like someone promoted ai on what to build and kept going with that same process. the other products sre just as odd lol. fun site though!

Fnoord20h ago

I'm not sure they're odd? They're using a 3D printer. If the CAD design is open, you could even assemble your own repair parts.

I can highly recommend the Azeron Cyro [1] (cannot comment on their other products, but they look interesting). It is partly 3D printed, but also repairable and mod-able. It is the only vertical mouse I am aware of, with a modest amount of keys (15 + scroll wheel + analog thumbstick). I say keys since, well, in software they're recognized as such. You can also make it a Bluetooth mouse (I use USB2BT+), though obviously you suffer a bit from latency.

[1] https://azeron.com/collections/cyro

willwade17h ago

I can promise you it isn’t. This totally predates llms. Been using them for a long time

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

willwade21h ago

I’ll give you a use case. People with disabilities who can’t use the keyboard. Ploopy stuff has been absolutely amazing.

makeitdouble20h ago

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

willwade17h ago

Use those a lot to (always try and focus off the shelf first). But for cases where we need to position differently we often need something custom

1 more reply

1attice18h ago

Depends on the disability. Not a homogenous group. "Work better" for whom?

2 more replies

intothemild1d ago

Exactly. People love trackpoint because it's right there in the middle of the keyboard, and you don't have to move your hands.

Any variation of trackpoint where you have to move your hand away from the keyboard, is a failure IMHO

II2II17h ago

dsr_1d ago

In X11 (and probably in Wayland, since this is a libinput thing) you can define a button as a scroll lock.

So, hold down the scroll lock button and the thumbstick becomes a scroller. That leaves three buttons for left, middle and right.

pronikOP1d ago

dsr_19h ago

I'm right handed, so I would pick the bottom left button as the scroll lock, with the top left button as 1, top right button as 2, and bottom right as 3.

"scroll button is also usually the middle button" -- these functions are completely separable in libinput.

1 more reply

zobzu23h ago

it feels like someone promoted ai on what to build and kept going with that same process. the other products sre just as odd lol. fun site though!

Fnoord20h ago

I'm not sure they're odd? They're using a 3D printer. If the CAD design is open, you could even assemble your own repair parts.

[1] https://azeron.com/collections/cyro

willwade17h ago

I can promise you it isn’t. This totally predates llms. Been using them for a long time

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse