The advantage of a trackball is that the device itself does not move around
on the desktop. It can be stationed in one place alongside the keyboard or —
as is sometimes the design for laptops — integrated into the keyboard or
clipped onto its side.
Another advantage for some users is an ergonomic one. Using a trackball
requires little or no movement of the wrist or shoulder, reducing for some the
incidence of repetitive stress injuries or other problems caused by lifting the
hands from the keyboard to move a mouse.
I’ll go on the record here: I lovetrackballs, and have changed over my desktop
machine to exclusively work with one. I also have a small clip-on trackball for
my laptop that I sometimes take with me on extended trips. I find the use of a
trackball much less demanding than the constant reach for a separate mouse.
That said, many other users find trackballs too sensitive and difficult to use.
The only solution here: Try one and see if you like it.
Pointing the stick................................................................................
Some laptop designers offer keyboards with a tiny pointing stick— often
topped with a nub like the eraser on a pencil — usually placed somewhere
near the middle of the keyboard, often above the B key; the pointing stick
functions like a miniature and highly sensitive joystick. Its central location
may appeal to lefties, as it does not discriminate against those with a sin-
ister hand.
The stick senses finger pressure as it is pushed in one direction or the other.
It is able to move quicker in response to more insistent signals and slower to
more subtle nudges. Most systems add a left and right button at the bottom
of the keyboard.
Pointing sticks are also an example of a technology that not every user finds
immediately easy to use; many users become quite adept at moving around
on the screen with the little stick, while others find themselves hopelessly
fumble-fingered. I suggest you spend some time at the computer store, or
borrow a friend’s machine, to make certain you are comfortable with this
design.
Pointing sticks rarely require any special maintenance other than ordinary
cleaning of the keyboard (which I describe in Chapter 10). If the eraser-like
nub wears out or falls off, you should be able to purchase replacement point-
ers from the original equipment manufacturer or from a computer parts
supplier.
Chapter 11: Putting Your Finger on Pointing Devices................................................
