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Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

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Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#41
post #39
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of dismissing the trackpoint because of how it looks, try using it exclusively for a week to understand why people really like them.

On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a track point.

I disagree. I have both a MBP and ThinkPad. I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer the trackpoint.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#42
post #35
post #27

That annoying ugly "button" in the middle of the keyboard is the main thing that makes me rule out lenovo laptops in general before I even look at them. I find it very hard to understand why anyone would want to add one!

I find it interesting that your criteria for selecting a laptop seem to be primarily aesthetic. I would guess that you are in a small minority here on HN, with most people selecting based on price, feature-set, and possibly brand loyalty/aversion (i.e. "Never buying an Acer again!"). Even if they don't use the nib personally, it's quick to disable and then it's just a visual feature on the keyboard.

To be fair, the main brand that uses them these days is Lenovo and they generally ship absolute trash now.

I had one and broke the hinges just past my warranty period...

I'm also confused as to why anyone would find it functionally better than a trackpad.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#43
post #39
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of dismissing the trackpoint because of how it looks, try using it exclusively for a week to understand why people really like them.

On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a track point.

I found the Mac trackpad worse than those on other laptops actually - seems to somehow get in my way more and it's push down thing seemed far more annoying than the tap gestures common on other devices. Fortunately that switch is possible on them I believe, just seems like you're giving up a "feature" to change it...

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#44
I spent 20 years with a Thinkpad as my primary keyboard, and got one of the USB Thinkpad keyboards when I moved to a new job at a desk; turns out if you shock the hell out of one with static a few times a day for several years they stop working...

I was already on a tiling window manager, so I borrowed a friend's Ergodox Ez, did a custom keyboard layout, and augment the keyboard navigation with a regular wireless mouse. I'm pretty happy with that setup. The benefits of the custom keymap outweigh the benefits of a Trackpoint.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#45
post #39
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of dismissing the trackpoint because of how it looks, try using it exclusively for a week to understand why people really like them.

On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a track point.

I doubt that.

Even though a Mac track pad might be the best trackpad out there, a trackpad has always been less than optimal substitute for a separate mouse, but being build in the device and always available made up for that gap in convenience.

For laptops, if the principle agrees with you, a trackpoint is a far superior device to even a separate mouse for almost all uses.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#46
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a track point.

I found the Mac trackpad worse than those on other laptops actually - seems to somehow get in my way more and it's push down thing seemed far more annoying than the tap gestures common on other devices. Fortunately that switch is possible on them I believe, just seems like you're giving up a "feature" to change it...

Both work simultaneously with default settings, at least on the latest OS.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#47
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a track point.

I doubt that. Even though a Mac track pad might be the best trackpad out there, a trackpad has always been less than optimal substitute for a separate mouse, but being build in the device and always available made up for that gap in convenience. For laptops, if the principle agrees with you, a trackpoint is a far superior device to even a separate mouse for almost all uses.

Yes, and it saves my joints to not have to stretch and move a mouse.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#48
post #31

The idea of a trackpoint on my desktop keyboard is what led me to pull the trigger on one of these: https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

As someone who debugs programs often, and renames files with f2, I like f-keys. It looks like a great keyboard, aside from the lack of f-keys.

I don't have a UHK but I have an Ergodox EZ which uses a layer system, similar to the UHK. I have mine setup to where I basically press a Fn key and the number row turns in to F-keys (with a few more to account for F10-F12). It's actually really nice once you get used to it.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#49
I am a long time trackpoint user. I'd been using the Lenovo Bluetooth keyboard for several years but wanted to upgrade to a nice split mechanical. I looked into several models of mechanical keyboards that had trackpoints, but none of them appealed. And looking into the various hacks to add one were a bit beyond what I wanted to try on an expensive new keyboard. I noticed that qmk firmware seemed to have a nice implementation of mouse keys. I figured it would be an ok stopgap until I figured out a better solution. After a few days and several remappings, it's now my preferred solution.

Re: Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard

#50
post #49

I am a long time trackpoint user. I'd been using the Lenovo Bluetooth keyboard for several years but wanted to upgrade to a nice split mechanical. I looked into several models of mechanical keyboards that had trackpoints, but none of them appealed. And looking into the various hacks to add one were a bit beyond what I wanted to try on an expensive new keyboard. I noticed that qmk firmware seemed to have a nice implem…

QMK has been the most joyful open source thing I've ever used. Typing on my second split keyboard with weird chording right now. I've seen a spike in rotary encoder support lately (on the Planck and an upcoming new version of Keebio's Iris-the old version of which I'm using now) so keep an eye out for that if you're into fun extra input methods on your keyboard. I'm looking forward to having etch-a-sketch style arrows, personally.
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