Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

ploopy.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 85 posts

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#61

Post by Fnoord »

zobzu wrote: post #54
pronik wrote: post #37

For such a niche area, it's astonishing how many of these projects miss some or indeed all of relevant features of the TrackPoint. In this particular case, it has already been mentioned that this doesn't make any sense outside of the keyboard. Additionally, it looks really awkward to use for someone used to the classic and there seems to be no button suitable for scrolling. It really looks like a "we heard geeks like…

it feels like someone promoted ai on what to build and kept going with that same process. the other products sre just as odd lol. fun site though!

I'm not sure they're odd? They're using a 3D printer. If the CAD design is open, you could even assemble your own repair parts.

I can highly recommend the Azeron Cyro [1] (cannot comment on their other products, but they look interesting). It is partly 3D printed, but also repairable and mod-able. It is the only vertical mouse I am aware of, with a modest amount of keys (15 + scroll wheel + analog thumbstick). I say keys since, well, in software they're recognized as such. You can also make it a Bluetooth mouse (I use USB2BT+), though obviously you suffer a bit from latency.

[1] https://azeron.com/collections/cyro

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#62

Post by makeitdouble »

willwade wrote: post #59
pronik wrote: post #37

For such a niche area, it's astonishing how many of these projects miss some or indeed all of relevant features of the TrackPoint. In this particular case, it has already been mentioned that this doesn't make any sense outside of the keyboard. Additionally, it looks really awkward to use for someone used to the classic and there seems to be no button suitable for scrolling. It really looks like a "we heard geeks like…

I’ll give you a use case. People with disabilities who can’t use the keyboard. Ploopy stuff has been absolutely amazing.

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#63

Post by neilv »

1. Plea to anyone doing TrackPoint projects: consider using a 6mm TrackPoint assembly that can accommodate an off-the-shelf 6mm Soft Rim cap.

See this comparison of the shortening and changing of the TrackPoint cap over time, and you can imagine how the current 3mm caps end up requiring more finger pressure than the 6mm soft rim cap, to get pressure to register:

https://saoto28.wixsite.com/trackpoint4life/comparison

I own a very nice ThinkPad P1, but my daily driver is currently a ThinkPad W520 battleship from 2012, entirely because its TrackPoint is more comfortable to use. (I acclimated to the P1's chiclet keyboard easily, but the slippery TrackPoint cap was definitely harder on my finger and hand.)

On the W520, I can type prolifically, all day and evening, 7 days a week, without discomfort. I don't want to break the TrackPoint soft rim magic that helps make that possible.

2. If someone in the US wants to try to make good soft rim 3mm caps that will fit modern ThinkPads, and save Lenovo from losing TrackPoint adherents, here is a starting point that Saoto kindly shared:

https://grabcad.com/library/softrim-trackpoint-cap-for-3-mm-...

If you can do soft rim with high-quality molding (not 3D printing, and determine the right materials and processes, and red top), some people are so desperate that they're paying $50+ for a single tiny 3D-printed cap to be mailed from Japan. If I was confident that high-quality caps gave a W520-like experience, I'd gladly pay $100 for 10 of them, just to start with.

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#64

Post by dsr_ »

pronik wrote: post #50
dsr_ wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In X11 (and probably in Wayland, since this is a libinput thing) you can define a button as a scroll lock. So, hold down the scroll lock button and the thumbstick becomes a scroller. That leaves three buttons for left, middle and right.

Sure, but which of those buttons would be suitable? Keep in mind, it will be your thumb that needs to land naturally on that button while your index finger rests on the trackpoint. And the scroll button is also usually the middle button even though there are cases where you need middle-mouse drag (looking at you, Blender) for which a fourth button might go quite nice.

I'm right handed, so I would pick the bottom left button as the scroll lock, with the top left button as 1, top right button as 2, and bottom right as 3.

"scroll button is also usually the middle button" -- these functions are completely separable in libinput.

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#65

Post by GeeCho »

serf wrote: post #17

the fdm prints in those demo photos have some real bad first layer extrusion multiplier/bed/meshing issues. i'd rather there be an option to just buy the board from you for a few bucks less and get some STLs for the needed prints if you're offering prints like that.

Came here for this. Never understood why someone would showcase a product printed in (sub)draft mode. Unless, of course, one is selling this 'rugged' look as a cover-up for cutting corners to speed up mass production times.

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#66

Post by 1attice »

makeitdouble wrote: post #62
willwade wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll give you a use case. People with disabilities who can’t use the keyboard. Ploopy stuff has been absolutely amazing.

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

Depends on the disability. Not a homogenous group. "Work better" for whom?

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#69

Post by willwade »

1attice wrote: post #66
makeitdouble wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

Depends on the disability. Not a homogenous group. "Work better" for whom?

I’ve provided a lot of different of the balls. Last one was for someone in bed and needed to control the whole pc with his chin. We adapted the base to fit on a mount. Other uses for people with ALS with reduced hand function - altered the ball shape to hold the hand.

Re: Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

#70

Post by willwade »

makeitdouble wrote: post #62
willwade wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll give you a use case. People with disabilities who can’t use the keyboard. Ploopy stuff has been absolutely amazing.

Does it work better than a trackball (thinking of the Kensington ones) in that respect ?

Use those a lot to (always try and focus off the shelf first). But for cases where we need to position differently we often need something custom
Post reply on HN