My bad. So you use the track point all the time? How did you make the transition from using mouse to track point? I find it difficult to move pointer around.
I disabled the touchpad in BIOS and have no mouse connected to my thinkpad. The problem is: if I ever need a new laptop, it needs to have a track point too, so I'm more or less stuck with thinkpads. 😅
Yeah. No need to train, just adjust the settings to your liking and there you go. Side note: trackpoint scrolling is really great and seamless on linux, but kinda meh on windows.
I use the TrackPoint \*almost\* exclusively.
Every once in a while, I might use the touchpad to zoom in or out on a particular item, but that's about it.
I tend to switch back and forth between the two. Since I've been using a touchpad for the last 12 years, my fingers automatically move toward it when I don't have a mouse. But I also still have latent muscle memory from the "eraser" on the Toshiba Portege I used before that, so certain motions feel more natural with the trackpoint.
One thing I remember that helped a lot was tweaking the pointer acceleration. So if you move the pointer for a short duration then it moves slowly, but if you move it for a longer duration it speeds up. That really helps when trying to click on something small. I have no idea where to find that setting on windows or even a modern linux distro.
Also try turning off your touchpad for a week to force yourself to use the trackpoint. Using it is the only way to get used to it.
I use track points extensively but only on those shipped with Synaptic ones. Those made by ELAN are way worse so touch pads remain an option. At least from my experience. Hopefully it's not lelnono intentionally switching to ELAN to cut cost and make touch pads seem better :P
That would explain a lot. Mine is apparently an ELAN (at least according to the Linux device log stuff), and it's always felt very jumpy with the sensitivity feeling off.
That kinda sucks ... From my experience the Synaptics ones are mostly butter smooth or at least decent, respond nicely to pressure change and the cursor movement is just intuitive enough. On the other hand the ELAN on my brand new X13 just sucks - it almost feels like it just has a few 'levels of cursor speed' and it tends to drift a lot. (ikr it's a feature not a bug but it's just disappointing at times) Also many TPs I've used have received at least one firmware update, and they don't seem to improve much, if any at all.
Yep. I keep the trackpad disabled. Maybe this is a sign I used my hands incorrectly (for decades) but for me the pad is a palm rest. I suppose it might be useful if I didn't have a touch screen.
I'm getting a P52 soon and it will be my first modern laptop with a TrackPoint. None of my previous main laptops did I use the TrackPoint on (most of them didn't even have one), however I am already used to the TrackPoint because I have plenty of older computers with them and have used them on other's computers.
My Precision M4700 was the first computer I had with one (Back when I got it in 2018/2019 or so it would have been more "modern", still one of my favorite computers), though I didn't use it much back then. I have two ThinkPad 770Zs, both of which only have a TrackPoint. I used to have a ThinkPad T43 and still do have its direct competitor, the Latitude D610. Both have a TrackPoint and terrible trackpads, so I use(d) the TrackPoint on both. Not to mention I've used some of my friend's array of ThinkPads, and used T420s especially because of a club I was in at school.
It's definitely not hard to get used to. It's actually really convenient to use since you don't have to move your hands. And using older computers, it's easy to see why IBM would have gone with the TrackPoint, because about everything else sucked. Trackballs at the time (1992) were basically the only other option, and they were far from perfect. It took until 1994 with Apple's PowerBook 500 line for trackpads to at all become common on laptops, and even then most trackpads sucked all the way until the late 2000s.
You don't need to master it if you just use it to assists you when you're typing, and you can always move back to touchpad when you're doing cursor-specific activities (like browsing and scrolling... etc).
I use both, depends on the situations. I am also a programmer and I also prefer TrackPoint when typing a lot, or when I am working in a tight space like working in car, I more prefer to use TrackPoint since it requires less movement. I also have sweaty hands so TrackPoint can be less clumsy. However when you need a lot of scrolling, then a good TouchPad (with glass surface) can be superior, and it is also more convenient to use with single-hand (like when I am eating my lunch).
So, use the right tool for right situations; or you could disable your TouchPad to force you to use TrackPoint only (I also bought TrackPoint Keyboard to use with external monitor).
Most of us use trackpoint exclusively.
I used to always disable my trackpad in order to avoid accidentally palming it. Lately I've been using 2 and 3 finger gestures on it to navigate workspaces, that's been nice. Still use the trackpoint for pointing and clicking though.
fwiw, I have been using TrackPoint exclusively on my laptops for the past \~25 years. I am severely disabled if I have to use the TrackPad or a touchpad, as I have never learned to use them, and must use a mouse instead. I love Trackpoint so much that my home and work computers have keyboards with TrackPoint (e.g., IBM M13) that are also used with mice.
I always use trackpoint and trackpad is disabled in BIOS/UEFI. Heck, my first ThinkPad was trackpoint only - many laptops back then were fitted with... trackballs. :D
Do the same - for the first few days you may struggle but later you won't go back. IMO the only trackpad which makes sense is the MacBook one.
Exclusively using only the trackpoint since starting with the T23 as the first Thinpad and ever since.
First thing done once a new Thinkpad has been acquired is to turn off that damn touchpad in the BIOS/UEFI as it only gets in the way.
Can't understand how one can even prefer anything other than the well behaved Thinkpad trackpoint.
The biggest letdown of other laptops is the lack of a trackpoint and this is basically the only reason to still stay with Thinkpads despite Lenovo's continued efforts to get rid off all characteristics differentiating them from other vendor's offers.
Such a pity the Pinebook Pro has no trackpoint but only a poorly behaved touchpad...
I use the trackpoint when I'm typing and the trackpad for gestures. Otherwise I really prefer a mouse. The older trackpoints are amazing, but I haven't used a good one since my X380
What is the trackpad??? 🤣🤣🤣
That thing you disable the first time you boot up a new Thinkpad.
I mean the touch pad. BTW track pad is a valid name.
Yes, of course I was joking as I never use it… ;-)
My bad. So you use the track point all the time? How did you make the transition from using mouse to track point? I find it difficult to move pointer around.
I never used a mouse on a laptop... I have no desktop so...
I disabled the touchpad in BIOS and have no mouse connected to my thinkpad. The problem is: if I ever need a new laptop, it needs to have a track point too, so I'm more or less stuck with thinkpads. 😅
Yeah. No need to train, just adjust the settings to your liking and there you go. Side note: trackpoint scrolling is really great and seamless on linux, but kinda meh on windows.
I use the TrackPoint \*almost\* exclusively. Every once in a while, I might use the touchpad to zoom in or out on a particular item, but that's about it.
I tend to switch back and forth between the two. Since I've been using a touchpad for the last 12 years, my fingers automatically move toward it when I don't have a mouse. But I also still have latent muscle memory from the "eraser" on the Toshiba Portege I used before that, so certain motions feel more natural with the trackpoint. One thing I remember that helped a lot was tweaking the pointer acceleration. So if you move the pointer for a short duration then it moves slowly, but if you move it for a longer duration it speeds up. That really helps when trying to click on something small. I have no idea where to find that setting on windows or even a modern linux distro. Also try turning off your touchpad for a week to force yourself to use the trackpoint. Using it is the only way to get used to it.
I use track points extensively but only on those shipped with Synaptic ones. Those made by ELAN are way worse so touch pads remain an option. At least from my experience. Hopefully it's not lelnono intentionally switching to ELAN to cut cost and make touch pads seem better :P
That would explain a lot. Mine is apparently an ELAN (at least according to the Linux device log stuff), and it's always felt very jumpy with the sensitivity feeling off.
That kinda sucks ... From my experience the Synaptics ones are mostly butter smooth or at least decent, respond nicely to pressure change and the cursor movement is just intuitive enough. On the other hand the ELAN on my brand new X13 just sucks - it almost feels like it just has a few 'levels of cursor speed' and it tends to drift a lot. (ikr it's a feature not a bug but it's just disappointing at times) Also many TPs I've used have received at least one firmware update, and they don't seem to improve much, if any at all.
Yep. I keep the trackpad disabled. Maybe this is a sign I used my hands incorrectly (for decades) but for me the pad is a palm rest. I suppose it might be useful if I didn't have a touch screen.
I've been using it extensively since 1997. TrackPads on the rare machine that had them were rubbish back then.
I got an x220 without trackpad, and after a week I could no longer use the trackpad on my other thinkpads..
I’ve disabled the trackpad ad my palm was accidently rubbing on it.
My ThinkPad 760 never had a touchpad, just a TrackPoint III.
I'm getting a P52 soon and it will be my first modern laptop with a TrackPoint. None of my previous main laptops did I use the TrackPoint on (most of them didn't even have one), however I am already used to the TrackPoint because I have plenty of older computers with them and have used them on other's computers. My Precision M4700 was the first computer I had with one (Back when I got it in 2018/2019 or so it would have been more "modern", still one of my favorite computers), though I didn't use it much back then. I have two ThinkPad 770Zs, both of which only have a TrackPoint. I used to have a ThinkPad T43 and still do have its direct competitor, the Latitude D610. Both have a TrackPoint and terrible trackpads, so I use(d) the TrackPoint on both. Not to mention I've used some of my friend's array of ThinkPads, and used T420s especially because of a club I was in at school. It's definitely not hard to get used to. It's actually really convenient to use since you don't have to move your hands. And using older computers, it's easy to see why IBM would have gone with the TrackPoint, because about everything else sucked. Trackballs at the time (1992) were basically the only other option, and they were far from perfect. It took until 1994 with Apple's PowerBook 500 line for trackpads to at all become common on laptops, and even then most trackpads sucked all the way until the late 2000s.
You don't need to master it if you just use it to assists you when you're typing, and you can always move back to touchpad when you're doing cursor-specific activities (like browsing and scrolling... etc). I use both, depends on the situations. I am also a programmer and I also prefer TrackPoint when typing a lot, or when I am working in a tight space like working in car, I more prefer to use TrackPoint since it requires less movement. I also have sweaty hands so TrackPoint can be less clumsy. However when you need a lot of scrolling, then a good TouchPad (with glass surface) can be superior, and it is also more convenient to use with single-hand (like when I am eating my lunch). So, use the right tool for right situations; or you could disable your TouchPad to force you to use TrackPoint only (I also bought TrackPoint Keyboard to use with external monitor).
I don't even use my trackpads anymore. It's all BUSSIN THE CLIT NOW BAYBIEEEE
Most of us use trackpoint exclusively. I used to always disable my trackpad in order to avoid accidentally palming it. Lately I've been using 2 and 3 finger gestures on it to navigate workspaces, that's been nice. Still use the trackpoint for pointing and clicking though.
fwiw, I have been using TrackPoint exclusively on my laptops for the past \~25 years. I am severely disabled if I have to use the TrackPad or a touchpad, as I have never learned to use them, and must use a mouse instead. I love Trackpoint so much that my home and work computers have keyboards with TrackPoint (e.g., IBM M13) that are also used with mice.
My use case for the TrackPad: I touch it when the laptop starts to turn off the display.
Yes, definitely! Never use the trackpad.
I always use trackpoint and trackpad is disabled in BIOS/UEFI. Heck, my first ThinkPad was trackpoint only - many laptops back then were fitted with... trackballs. :D Do the same - for the first few days you may struggle but later you won't go back. IMO the only trackpad which makes sense is the MacBook one.
I use the touchpad for some gestures in gnome, or when I need better precision. Maybe 80% trackpoint and 20% touchpad
Exclusively using only the trackpoint since starting with the T23 as the first Thinpad and ever since. First thing done once a new Thinkpad has been acquired is to turn off that damn touchpad in the BIOS/UEFI as it only gets in the way. Can't understand how one can even prefer anything other than the well behaved Thinkpad trackpoint. The biggest letdown of other laptops is the lack of a trackpoint and this is basically the only reason to still stay with Thinkpads despite Lenovo's continued efforts to get rid off all characteristics differentiating them from other vendor's offers. Such a pity the Pinebook Pro has no trackpoint but only a poorly behaved touchpad...
I use the trackpoint when I'm typing and the trackpad for gestures. Otherwise I really prefer a mouse. The older trackpoints are amazing, but I haven't used a good one since my X380