Getting in touch(pad) ........................................................................
Another way to control the cursor movement is to use a touchpad,which can
be integrated into the keyboard or placed alongside. The pad senses the
movement of your finger in any direction and converts that into a signal to
the system.A left and right button is usually alongside the pad, although some designs also
permit you to tap the pad to send an equivalent signal; for example, Gateway’s
Enhanced EX Pad design interprets a one-finger tap as a left button click, a two-
finger tap as a middle button click, and a three-button tap as a right-click. It
takes a bit of practice to become fully proficient.A centrally mounted touchpad is another device that is friendly to lefties. An
example of a modern touchpad is shown in Figure 11-1.Breaking in to tablets .........................................................................
Tabletsare close to a direct translation of writing on a paper-like surface to
the screen, and for that reason are particularly attractive to artists and
graphic technicians. They are essentially large touchpads, although some
designs an electronic radio frequency (RF) or infrared field to detect the
motion of a special stylus.Figure 11-1:
A touchpad
on a modern
laptop can
be adjusted
for more
sensitivity,
and special
tap codes
can select
icons or
other
onscreen
elements.176 Part III: Laying Hands on the Major Parts