Laptops with Trackballs? 21
txsable asks: "Is any manufacturer making a new-model laptop computer with a trackball? I can't stand touchpads, and the "accupoint" device used by IBM and other isn't much better. My favorite is a Dell Latitude XPi CD that belongs to my office, but (1) it's a Pentium 133 and (2) It's not mine!" I used to remember laptops that had those trackballs that attached to the side. They were alright, but their main drawback was that those things always broke, or at best, would fall off because the attachment didn't fit right. Are there any laptops out there that actually have the trackball integrated into the unit in a position that feels fairly natural, and also doesn't get in the way of typing?
Comment removed (Score:3)
Re:USB (Score:1)
I have one of those, it's ok, but moving the trackball while holding the right button is a major pain. It's nice for laid back web browsing, but for work, it's no better then the track pad.
not as practical for laptops... (Score:2)
I'm not an expert but I'm willing to bet that since only part of a trackball's surface is exposed at any given time, the rest of it would have to take up valuable real-estate inside of the laptop, probably more than a touchpad would. That's why you almost always see them attached to the side.
Re:not as practical for laptops... (Score:3, Informative)
Except if you have a trackball that works off of light instead of moving wheels (a'la Logitech Trackman). That *should* be as reliable as a trackpad (since the only thing that moves is the ball itself). Of course no one in the world makes one that's intergrated into a laptop (which is a shame.. I agree with the poster. I'd take the small trackball of my old Mac Duo over a trackpad anyday)
Trackballs==bad (Score:1)
On one side, they are purely mechanical, and they're far more likely to fail than a touchpad or a track point. Couple with that the fact that dirt gets into them (much like the mice) and you've got a component that is more trouble than it's worth. A track ball needs frequent cleaning. A trackpad can be just wiped off with a cloth. And how would you get a track point dirty? (If you do, wash your hands more often)
Second of all, have you seen how much more is packed into new laptops? There's hardly any room to spare, and that track ball right in the middle of the box certainly doesn't help. A touchpad is definitely smaller (at least in depth). And I can also see how a trackpoint would be smaller too.
j-mouse (Score:1)
Ah well. good luck with your trackball search... I use a usb marble on my home system, that might work too (tho it is kinda big)
Re:j-mouse (Score:2)
How did you get it to do up and down, how did you avoid acidentally activating it when typing a "j", and what does double left mean?
Re:j-mouse (Score:1)
also of interest the new Compaq IPAQ internet device uses this j mouse
http://athome.compaq.com/showroom/static/review
Re:j-mouse (Score:1)
bolt-on (Score:2)
If you can find one of the old sidecar style ones, or even a serial or USB trackball that is suitably sized to bolt onto the side of a notebook you could probably rig something up:
Most laptops have removable a floppy/cd drive bay, or PCMCIA slot or 2nd battery slot, usually one of these would be located on the "correct" side of the computer.
Whichever slot is free, find a plastic blank or construct one out of plastic/wood/whatever, then mount the trackball to that.
Not as elegant as having one purpose-built, but with a little craftsmanship and a bit of luck it would probably turn out looking just dandy.
Marble Mouse (Score:2)
That Latitude's trackball was sweet (Score:1)
I'd still be using it if I hadn't dropped it and broken the PCMCIA slots
I was sad to see trackballs disappear too.
old Apple PowerBook (Score:1)
(Just nostalgia now, I guess)
There is a reason trackballs died out on Laptops (Score:1)
Panasonic (Score:1)
http://www.pc.panasonic.co.jp/pc/index.html
I know they have also have some B5 sized notebooks as well as the A4s on the page.
Re:Panasonic (Score:1)
A schweet laptop... (Score:2)
Anyhow, I understand the reason they don't put in TBs anymore is because of dirt, which is a reasonable position for an all mechanical trackball. However, I don't see why they can't incorporate an optical trackball (kinda like that logitech device, that has the funky pattern on the trackball), and thus cleaning would be easy as popping the ball out, wiping it off, wiping off the sensor, and that's it! I bet I know why they don't do it, though...
I have no way of proving this, so it is my own speculation - but what are the chances that logitech's patent covers any kind of optical sensing trackball? Hmm...