Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:07:04 -0700 From: Gary Kline <kline@thought.org> To: FreeBSD Mailing List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: are there any notebooks with mouse-sticks? Message-ID: <20090910230704.GB27299@thought.org> In-Reply-To: <20090910165129.GA20641@kokopelli.hydra> References: <20090909210833.GA23467@thought.org> <20090910102925.1ea9ffd3.freebsd@edvax.de> <20090910165129.GA20641@kokopelli.hydra>
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On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 10:51:29AM -0600, Chad Perrin wrote: > On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 10:29:25AM +0200, Polytropon wrote: > > On Wed, 9 Sep 2009 14:08:36 -0700, Gary Kline <kline@thought.org> wrote: > > > > > > I'm looking for a small computer, 7-10" screen that has a ThinkPad-like stick > > > to act as the mouse. > > > > This "stick" is called a TrackPoint, as far as I remember. It has been > > common in portable computers built by IB and Toshiba. > > I assume that IB was meant to be IBM. Lenovo bought IBM's PC division a > few years ago, and now produces ThinkPads -- which come with trackpoints. > super! > > > > > > Pref'ly, no touch-pad. > > > > Sadly, you will find mostly that (crap) in "modern" devices... > > I just turn off the touchpad in my ThinkPad's BIOS/CMOS settings. That's > pretty much the *first* thing I do with a new ThinkPad, before I even > install a halfway decent operating system on it. I have a tendency to > accidentaly move the mouse around while typing, otherwise. > BIOS. That's what i couldn't remember. so you still *can* toggle the laptop pointer on/off. in my long-defunt 600E i could plug in an external mouse and off the t'point. good to know you can turn off the pad and still use the other pointing device. :-D > > > > > > The ASUS and just about every other > > > notebook-size device has this kind of scratch-n-sniff pad; [...] > > > > Nice name. Other names: Fingerprint sensor and coffee cup warmer. :-) > > Yeah . . . how warm the touchpad gets is a pretty good heuristic measure > of how hot the laptop is running, at least on my ThinkPad. > > > > > > > Any clues? > > > > Look for IBM / Lenovo, maybe they still employ this fantastic and > > easy to use pointing device. Allthough it would completely make sense > > to use a Trackpoint for netbook class computers (litte real estate > > consumption, minimal moving from "hand in typing position" to "hand > > in pointing position"), it seems that the worst solution always > > prevails. I haven't seen Trackpoints on "modern" stuff yet, and I'm > > quite about thinking that it doesn't exist anymore. > > Unfortunately, the OP was asking about netbook-sized computers, and last > I checked the only netbooks offered by Lenovo are IdeaPads -- which are > exactly like ThinkPads, except the construction is a little cheaper and > the pointing device is always a touchpad. hm. if i can go into the bios of this ideapad and disable the t'pad; then use a wireless mouse, that would work. my plans are to build a text-to-speech computer. kde has a bunch of tools that are very useable. vi has -- or used to have -- the ability to store abbrv that would expand as typed. you type "tht"; vi outputs "that" gary > > Otherwise, however, I second the motion: ThinkPads are generally held to > a higher standard of quality than the rest of the laptops in the PC > world, tend to be well-supported by open source operating systems, and > come with trackpoints. > > -- > Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ] > Quoth Philip Machanick: "caution: if you write code like this, > immediately after you are fired the person assigned to maintaining your > code after you leave will resign" -- Gary Kline kline@thought.org http://www.thought.org Public Service Unix http://jottings.thought.org http://transfinite.thought.org The 5.67a release of Jottings: http://jottings.thought.org/index.php
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