pointing stick

Pointing sticks typically have a replaceable rubber cap, called a nub, which can be a slightly rough "eraser head" material or another shape.{{cite web |title=Lenovo Support and Downloads: TrackPoint Caps and how to order for ThinkPad systems and TrackPoint Keyboards |url=http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/VLAR-443LTU.html |publisher=IBM.com |date=2007-07-17 |access-date=2009-04-06 |archive-date=2011-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524171140/http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/VLAR-443LTU.html |url-status=dead }}

The cap is red on ThinkPads, but is also found in other colors on other machines. It may be gray, pink, black or blue on some Dell models, blue on some HP/Compaq laptops, and green or gray on most Toshiba laptops produced before the 2000s.

Button configurations vary depending on vendor and laptop model. ThinkPads have a prominent middle mouse button, but some models have no physical buttons. Toshiba employs concentric arcs.

In the early 1990s, Zenith Data Systems shipped a number of laptop computers equipped with a device called J-Mouse,{{Cite web |title=J-Mouse - Trained In Tech |url=https://trainedintech.com/j-mouse/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505201003/https://trainedintech.com/j-mouse/ |archive-date=2023-05-05}} which essentially used a special keyswitch under the J key to allow the J keycap to be used as a pointing stick.

In addition to appearing between the G, H and B keys on a QWERTY keyboard, these devices or similar can also appear on gaming devices as an alternative to a D-pad or analog stick. On certain Toshiba Libretto mini laptops, the pointing stick was located next to the display. IBM sold a mouse with a pointing stick in the location where a scroll wheel is common now.

File:Pointing stick Toshiba.jpg

Optical pointing sticks are also used on some Ultrabook tablet hybrids, such as the Sony Duo 11, ThinkPad Tablet and Samsung Ativ Q.

On the Gateway 2000 Liberty laptop the pointing stick is above the enter key on the right side of the keyboard.

A pointing stick was featured in the New Nintendo 3DS as a secondary analog stick, known as the C-Stick.

The IBM TrackPoint III and the TrackPoint IV have a feature called Negative Inertia that causes the pointer's velocity to "overreact" when it is accelerated or decelerated. Negative Inertia is intended to avoid the feeling of inertia or sluggishness when starting or stopping movement.{{cite patent |country=US |number=5570111 |title=Graphical user interface cursor positioning device having a negative inertia ... |fdate=1994-10-03 |gdate=1996-10-29 |invent1=Robert C. Barrett |invent2=Robert S. Olyha, Jr. |invent3=Joseph D. Rutledge}} Usability tests at IBM have shown that it is easier for users to position the pointer with Negative Inertia, and performance is 7.8% better.{{cite journal |url=http://www.sigchi.org/chi95/proceedings/shortppr/rcb_bdy.htm |title=Negative Inertia: A Dynamic Pointing Function |publisher=SIGCHI |author1=R. C. Barrett |author2=E. J. Selker |author3=J. D. Rutledge* |author4=R. S. Olyha* |year=1995 |access-date=2012-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220093752/https://sigchi.org/chi95/proceedings/shortppr/rcb_bdy.htm |archive-date=2017-02-20 |url-status=dead}}

Another challenge with pointing stick design is identification of the zero position (the position where no motion is desired). Because the amount of motion is small, the sensitivity of the sensors must be high, and they are subject to noise interference.

A typical solution, which assumes that pointing sticks frequently go out of calibration, is to interpret a variation below a certain threshold (over a given interval, perhaps one or several seconds) as being a neutral stick. However, the recalibration can also allow brief periods of 'drifting' (movement of the pointer while the user is not moving the pointing stick).{{Cite web | url=https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/2hvpzj/track_point_drift/ | title=R/Thinkpad - Track point drift| date=30 September 2014}}

In practice, if the re-calibration interval is set too short and if the user applies moderately consistent pressure to the stick for such an interval, this method results in an incorrect zero point. Additional pressure again moves the pointer, but the calibration may occur again, requiring even more force. If the user releases pressure at this point, the change will be interpreted as an instruction to move the opposite direction. In time, the software will re-calibrate and stop the motion.

Additionally, if "press-to-select" is enabled, the software may generate unexpected click events by touching the pointing stick during typing.

In 1984, Ted Selker, a researcher at PARC, worked on a pointing stick based on a study{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} showing that it takes a typist 0.75 seconds to shift from the keyboard to the mouse, and comparable time to shift back. Selker built a model of a device that would minimize this time. It was only three years later, working at IBM, that Selker refined his design, resulting in the TrackPoint product{{cite web |url=http://www.petergolden.com/Articles/ThinkPad-1(EB-PAG).htm |title=The development of the IBM ThinkPad, Part I: big BLUE'S big ADVENTURE |last=Golden |first=Peter |access-date=2012-12-03 |archive-date=2013-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513125158/http://www.petergolden.com/Articles/ThinkPad-1(EB-PAG).htm |url-status=dead }} for which IBM received US patents in 1996{{cite patent |country=US |number=5521596 |title=Analog input device located in the primary typing area of a keyboard |fdate=1992-05-29 |gdate=1996-05-28 |invent1=Edwin J. Selker |invent2=Joseph D. Rutledge}}{{cite patent |country=US |number=5489900 |title=Force sensitive transducer for use in a computer keyboard |fdate=1994-06-03 |gdate=1996-02-06 |invent1=Matthew F. Cali |invent2=Jerome J. Cuomo |invent3=Donald J. Mikalsen |invent4=Joseph D. Rutledge, Edwin J. Selker}} and 2000.{{cite patent |country=US |number= US6115030 |title= Trackpoint device |fdate=1997-12-18 |gdate=2000-09-05 |invent1=Viktors Berstis |invent2=Thomas Guthrie Zimmerman}}

Pointing sticks were the dominant pointing device for laptops before the advent of the touchpad. During later years, they faced a decline in popularity as most laptop-producing brands switched to touchpads, although as of 2021, some manufacturers like Lenovo still produce laptops with pointing sticks.{{cite web |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/why-the-thinkpad-trackpoint-still-a-thing-according-to-lenovos-chief-designer |title=Why the ThinkPad TrackPoint is still a thing, according to Lenovo's chief designer |last=Osborne |first=Joe |date=2017-06-21 |work=TechRader |publisher=Future Publishing |access-date=2018-08-13}}

File:Ultranav assembly.JPG (bottom left)]]

File:Dell Latitude E4310 Pointing Stick and Touchpad.jpg (bottom). They were commonly featured together on Dell Latitude laptops, beginning in the late 1990s.]]

The pointing stick can be used in ultra-compact netbooks{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2009/01/07/vaio-p-hands-on |title=Sony VAIO P hands-on |last=Miller |first=Paul |publisher=Engadget |date=2009-01-07 |access-date=2012-12-03}} where there would be no place for a touchpad.

The pointing stick is positioned such that the hands do not need to be removed from the home row to manipulate the mouse pointer.{{cite web |url=http://www.jonlee.ca/trackpoint-vs-touchpad |title=Trackpoint vs Touchpad |date=2007-04-25 |last1=Lee |first1=Jon |website=jonlee.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429193922/http://www.jonlee.ca/trackpoint-vs-touchpad |archive-date=2007-04-29}}

Some people find them more appealing for mobile gaming than a touchpad, because the trackpoint allows infinite movement without repositioning. This is because a user's finger may run off the edge of a touchpad while positioning the pointer, requiring them to reposition their finger in order to continue.{{Cite web|url=http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/looking-for-nub-best-and-worst-notebook-pointing-sticks|title=Looking for Nub: Best and Worst Notebook Pointing Sticks|website=www.laptopmag.com|date=27 April 2011 |access-date=2016-04-25}}

Some users feel that pointing sticks cause less wrist strain because a user does not need to avoid resting wrists on a touchpad, which are usually located just below the keyboard. One criticism is that because the pointing stick depends on the user's applying pressure, it can cause hand cramps (although this can be partly solved by setting the sensitivity higher and lifting the finger when the pointer is not being moved).

Another criticism is that it stresses the index finger and may lead to repetitive strain injury.

A number of ergonomic studies to compare trackpoint and touchpad performance have been performed.{{cite journal |title=Pointing device performance for laptop computers |journal=Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting |publisher=Human Factors Society |author1=Batra, S. |author2=Dykstra, D. |author3=Hsu, P. |author4=Radle, K. |author5=Wiedenbeck, S. |year=1998 |pages=535–540 }}{{cite journal |title=Interacting with notebook input devices: An analysis of motor performance and users' expertise |publisher=Human Factors Society |author1=Sutter, C. |author2=Ziefle, M |journal=Human Factors |volume=47 |issue=1 |year=2005 |pages=169–187 |pmid=15960095 |doi=10.1518/0018720053653893 |s2cid=8573990 }} Most studies find that touchpad is slightly faster; one study found that "the touchpad was operated 15% faster than the trackpoint".{{cite journal |url=http://www.psych.rwth-aachen.de/ifp-zentral/upload/sutter/08_SuArmOeM.pdf |title=Office work places with laptop computers: User specific requirements for input devices and software design |publisher=USA Publishing |last1=Sutter |first1=Christine |last2=Armbrüster |first2=Claudia |last3=Oehl |first3=Michael |last4=Müsseler |first4=Jochen |year=2008 }} Another study found that average object selection time was faster with a touchpad, 1.7 seconds compared to 2.2 seconds with a trackpoint, and object manipulation took 6.2 seconds with a touchpad, on average, against 8.1 seconds with trackpoint.{{cite book |title=How to handle notebook input devices: an insight in button use strategy |journal=Contemporary Ergonomics 2003 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=9780415309943 |author1=Sutter, C. |author2=Ziefle, M. |year=2003 |pages=241–251 }}

Various informal names have been invented, including "nub",{{cite web|url=http://www.xkcd.com/243/|first=Randall |last=Munroe|publisher=xkcd|title=Appropriate Term |date=2007-04-02|access-date=2014-01-26}} "clit mouse", which is an intercommunity term, usually seen on ThinkPad forums, and "nipple mouse".{{cite web |title=nipple mouse |work=Jargon File |author=Eric S. Raymond, Guy L. Steele Jr.|url=http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/N/nipple-mouse.html |access-date=2011-07-08|display-authors=etal}} Based on {{cite book |title=The New Hacker's Dictionary |year=1996 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=9780262680929}}

While typically employed on a computer keyboard, IBM included one on its Trackpoint Mouse product; suggested uses included scrolling (as with a scroll wheel) or a dual-cursor system.{{cite web |url=http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/user/tp/tpmouse.html |title=TrackPoint Mouse |publisher=IBM |access-date=2012-12-03 |archive-date=2010-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206082531/http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/user/tp/tpmouse.html |url-status=dead }}

• Analog stick
• Optical trackpad

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.pettijohn.com/2010/05/pointing-stick-usb-keyboard-roundup.html |title=Pointing stick USB Keyboard Comparison |date=2010 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_configure_the_TrackPoint |title=How to configure the TrackPoint under Linux |date=2017 |publisher=ThinkWiki}}
• {{cite journal |vauthors=Armbrüster C, Sutter C, Ziefle M |title=Notebook input devices put to the age test: the usability of trackpoint and touchpad for middle-aged adults |journal=Ergonomics |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=426–445 |date=2007 |doi=10.1080/00140130601127885 |pmid=17536778|s2cid=24397810 }}
• an OEM supplier for nubs: http://sofpoint.com/
• ALPS (manufacturer)
• Synaptics (manufacturer)

{{Basic computer components}}

Category:American inventions

Category:Pointing devices