Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer(ploopy.co) |
Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer(ploopy.co) |
See this comparison of the shortening and changing of the TrackPoint cap over time, and you can imagine how the current 3mm caps end up requiring more finger pressure than the 6mm soft rim cap, to get pressure to register:
https://saoto28.wixsite.com/trackpoint4life/comparison
I own a very nice ThinkPad P1, but my daily driver is currently a ThinkPad W520 battleship from 2012, entirely because its TrackPoint is more comfortable to use. (I acclimated to the P1's chiclet keyboard easily, but the slippery TrackPoint cap was definitely harder on my finger and hand.)
On the W520, I can type prolifically, all day and evening, 7 days a week, without discomfort. I don't want to break the TrackPoint soft rim magic that helps make that possible.
2. If someone in the US wants to try to make good soft rim 3mm caps that will fit modern ThinkPads, and save Lenovo from losing TrackPoint adherents, here is a starting point that Saoto kindly shared:
https://grabcad.com/library/softrim-trackpoint-cap-for-3-mm-...
If you can do soft rim with high-quality molding (not 3D printing, and determine the right materials and processes, and red top), some people are so desperate that they're paying $50+ for a single tiny 3D-printed cap to be mailed from Japan. If I was confident that high-quality caps gave a W520-like experience, I'd gladly pay $100 for 10 of them, just to start with.
Any variation of trackpoint where you have to move your hand away from the keyboard, is a failure IMHO
So, hold down the scroll lock button and the thumbstick becomes a scroller. That leaves three buttons for left, middle and right.
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.
Kanata has mouse emulation so you can drive a mouse using arrow keys: https://github.com/jtroo/kanata/blob/main/docs/config.adoc#m...
NGL I was always a fan of TrackPoints for how compact the pointing device was. Also liked the Logitech Trackman Marble for similar reasons. It's kind of cool, though unnecessary, to have a way to get a TrackPoint on a desktop now without being locked to one discontinued Lenovo keyboard.
i'd rather there be an option to just buy the board from you for a few bucks less and get some STLs for the needed prints if you're offering prints like that.
Checkout Tex Shinobi or Shura if you like Keyboards with Trackpoint.
Keychron and System76 are also on the QMK train with their recent keyboards too. (I'm not 100%, would love to know if each of these can be flashed by users.)
Framework is also on the QMK open-source firmware train, for their keyboard + trackpad combo. Also not a new trend for them: their newer laptops I believe all run Zephyr OS for the embedded controller (EC), & are themselves open source too. Before that, the open-source Chromebook EC. I believe it's possible to compile - flash your own. https://frame.work/blog/previewing-the-framework-wireless-to... https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/EmbeddedController/tree...
These companies are both loved, in ways very very few companies are. It's obvious why.
also integrate push-to-talk for voice inputs.
use case is to use it while standing up and moving about -- with a large display screen at a distance. Or my specific interest -- work for extended time on a treadmill.
I don't get benefit of having a trackpoint detached from the keyboard.
What's the advantage over having a mouse or a trackball?
I’ve never heard these terms before. What is a pointing stick on a computer?
Still waiting for Framework to introduce a keyboard with a trackpoint included, but apparently the room allocated for the keyboard is too thin for it to be possible.
HEU N
DIN U
^ M
<⌄> 0.,E
( then i jumped onto otholinear keeb and now I’m not even bothered by apple anymore and run omarchy on a second hand thinkpad. Same excitement as when i got my first powerbook in the early 2000s…)
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0B1CWJCS5
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009224555917.html
For just the navigation cluster, I found this but it's a kit: https://keyhive.xyz/shop/navi10
Not sure how long you're a startup...
As a sidenote, I love my UHK. Just a joy to use, and it's so easy to customize. I don't have any experience with competitors like the ZSA Voyager, but the UHK's configuration software and macro language do make it quite pleasant to bend to your will. For instance, I do some funky stuff with macros and lighting here: https://www.cgl.sh/blog/posts/wnl.html
But, just wanted to share that I was similarly surprised to land on mouse keys as a preference. I tried most of the UHK modules which were also pretty good and have since tried various other trackballs and pads, but since trying UHK mouse keys, they're what I keep coming back to most, even since switching to new keyboards.
One issue I have with mouse keys is fear of using them in front of others though: every so often, if I need to click something particularly small and don't have a keyboard shortcut memorised (vscode panel resizing is one) it can sometimes take me a fair few embarrassing seconds drawing small squares around my target before I resort to actual mouse hardware.
For the amount of time and thought and effort people have put into alternative mice, I feel mouse keys are massively overlooked and probably have a lot of room for software/firmware innovation without hardware costs.
It was however stuck in customs for quite a while, but I guess that's what I get for ordering custom electronics from Israel right after those pagers blew up.
I felt most of the extra functionality and polish that I guess makes up the massive costs of UHK and ZSA wasn't actually necessary. It was cool and fun and useful to try a bunch of different stuff, but then over time, I wanted things to be simple and small which UHK and ZSA Moonlander aren't (ZSA voyager wasn't at the time).
All I'm saying is if you've got comfortable with a cheap Corne, I think you might feel underwhelmed if you spend a lot on something a lot fancier.
"scroll button is also usually the middle button" -- these functions are completely separable in libinput.
Now I'm wondering if putting a bean on the knob would be taking it too far.
https://keychron.co.jp/pages/nape-pro
Anyone wanting one that could fit anywhere on any side of a keyboard could be interested.
Probably my lack of imagination, the article is about desk setup, and while you can move a trackball with basically anything that has friction, a trackpoint is a lot smaller and finicky. A joystick could be a better version if we're thinking adaptive input.