ThinkPad TrackPoints - how do they work?

ThinkPad TrackPoints - how do they work? A closer look at Classic Dome, Soft Dome and Soft Rim caps and their generations. How does the technology work?
Music: In_The_Hall_Of_The_Mountain_King_by_Grieg
Donation Patreon: / panoramachannel

[@sirecartier7881]

WOW didn't even know i could click with my trackpoint! Amazing ! Keep up the good work!

[@nathanjamesbaker]

TrackPoints are the #1 reason why I have exclusively purchased ThinkPads for more than 20 years.

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

Thanks for the videos. I wish Lenovo''s managers held the same appreciation for the trackpoint and realized that this is a huge advantage over competitors that they should enhance instead of sabotaging. I am stuck with ThinkPads mainly because of my addiction to the trackpoint. Lenovo's geniuses should try to promote its use and create dedicated customers instead of denying the amazing heritage of Thinkpads and trying to copy apple.

[@kirkdarling4120]

And for some reason, no other company can do a pointing stick anywhere near as well. Is as though the technology was secret.

[@zynifi]

I bought a refurbished thinkpad and when I found the little red button I had to know all about it haha, for real though, what about it is so amazing to you? I used it but it seems like such a weird little thing

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

@@zynifi it is a marvel of ergonomics. You will need a short learning period, and a careful adjustment of the settings. Unfortunately, some models have problematic trackpoint hardware and this makes it basically unusable. Unless, you are in this case it is definitely worth trying it. To be brief, the main advantage of the trackpoint is that you have a way of controlling the mouse pointer that does not require your palm to leave the typing position. This alone is huge, and increases productivity. The distance between something functional and non-functional is very small, so you need it to be properly set and then it becomes an extension of your tip. We are making some movements thousands time per day, you will never want to go back to moving your whole arm to move the mouse pointer as you do with the mouse or the touchpad. Second, you can apply constant force to get stable movement, while this is impossible with other means. When you reach the end of the available space (in the pad) you will have to reposition your whole arm again. With the trackpoint, you never have this issue. You also need to make sure you place a trackpoint cap that suits you. I use the soft rim one (google it). With this, you do not need to push sideways with your tip of the finger. You just place it in one position around the circular periphery and then push downwards. This puts no strain to the finger. Also lets say you want to move the pointer across a straight line - this is impossible with a mouse or touchpad or even a stylus. With this cap it is a piece of cake, you just place your tip and then push downwards - it will draw a straight line. Another feature is scrolling. This is genius, you can scroll at web pages etc simply by pressing the middle button and pushing the trackpoint up-down. Also you can zoom in and out with the same process by holding ctrl. They should invest more on the trackpoints, ro improve this scrolling in more cases, because it does not work everywhrere (e.g. sideways in some small windows). The control is instinctive and very efficient. I cannot go back now to any other company. I even have Lenovo keyboards with the trackpoint. The main advantage, i repeat, is that you keep your palm at the typing position all the time, the efficiency of that is huge. When you have limited space and keep the laptop on your knees the trackpoint is the best solution. All the people i know use an external mouse when they have the option instead of the touchpad. No one that uses the trackpoint ever resorts to an external mouse, this alone proves its efficiency. I never need to carry a mouse with me, I never use a mouse. Also, Thinkpads have touchpads, you still get all the functionality of multiple fingers gestures! why not keep the best of both worlds? I hope i helped a bit.

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

@@zynifi my first laptop was a thinkpad. I had this annoying red button sticking there for 6 months and i was a bit upset by it. Then i tried it for a bit and realized its potential.

[@block3732]

@@manosprotonotarios5187 hi. I want to use a trackpoint on my workflow. I phrased it the way I did because I'm deciding between a lot of options, ranging from buying a ThinkPad laptop to buying a lenovo trackpoint keyboard or building a custom keyboard with a trackpoint in it. You seem to be aware of which models have good or bad trackpoints. As of now I'm thinking of buying the Lenovo Trackpoint Keyboard I USB (of the chiclet/island keys layout, not those old 7 row something). It's the first version, from quite a few years ago, not the second version which is wireless, etc. Does that model have a good trackpoint? I don't need it to be the best implementation, but is it, y'know, usable? I'd be really grateful if you or anyone could answer that

[@starless9]

I love it! feels like a nature documentary about tiny rainforest critters...

[@MordecaiTheAwesomeBluejay]

IBM Earthquake Detector This needs to exist!

[@abdullahsameer8839]

I lost it rubber.so it awalable on shops.

[@MclarenF1rocket]

Sir, this is incredibly beautiful.

[@engineered.mechanized]

Thanks for creating this.

[@GregoryRCosta]

Wonderful job. That is some great cinematography in the name of the TrackPoint.

[@pranithmichael726]

I was wondering about this today. Thank you for uploading this video and for the time you took to make it. Much appreciated.

[@waledali434]

i owned a thinkpad for 4 years its the first time i knew you can double tab them for click ....

[@panoramacircle3281]

It has to be activated in the windows mouse settings first

[@troyizzle9983]

@@panoramacircle3281 Can u show or run me through how to set it up?

[@enesb.114]

Thank you so much

[@64system15]

Keep up the good work, love your videos and the fact they are made in 2018 and focused on thinkpads!

[@panoramacircle3281]

Thanks man, appreciate the feedback!

[@user-rt1et3zw1d]

Thank you!

[@user-rt1et3zw1d]

Good editing on point, just noticed that music :D

[@magux8]

Beautiful video.

[@dumpmuch]

My fingertip start hurting again when I see this

[@aditya.tanniru]

Awesome Video.

[@mikaelborhzka7627]

Good editing skills bro !

[@maxwellrickard9292]

OMG THIS IS AMAZINGGGGG

[@Go.el_Hadam]

Fantastic

[@godzillasuzuki2374]

The hairy one is cool

[@birumutiara2169]

now i really miss my trackpoint, how i don't have to move my hand and wrist and the one and only red/orange color in my whole black pit of my x230, sold it couple of months ago ;)

[@ramkillnani8293]

I've got a HP Elite Book with a black Track-point. Just wanted to put it out there that they removed the clicking capabilities on mine. It only lets you move around the mouse, so i still have to move my hand down slightly to click on the touch pad rendering the Track-point useless, sadly.

[@StaticVapour590]

I have Elitebook with that same nub on it and i like it. I think it's not quite good as IBM's ones but the technology is awesome

[@32BitLink]

what software do you use to edit and what are the specs of your editing pc

[@panoramacircle3281]

Any basic video editing program (around 50$) will do the job and I use my ThinkPad T430s 16GB most of the time.

[@_ABHISHEKKUMAR-ep4zj]

ok my track stick cover is missplaced plss reply from where i can purchase or get it?

[@ЭтоДрючинский]

Thanks for this revelation! But one note though - those seem to be variable capacitors

[@muhammadhabib3442]

Thanks for the very Informative video, Can you please all tell me that how they are detecting in which direction we are applying pressure? or they using FSR or something else??

[@panoramacircle3281]

Hello, the base has four pressure sensitive pads integrated that can "feel" how much you you press the knob into a direction.

[@panoramacircle3281]

The IBM Labs from the end of the video: www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/user/tp/tp.html

[@DeepSpaceNetwork]

very good vieo i must say

[@Katie-mn5kw]

I have a think pad laptop and I only like using the nib but now it’s only letting me use the mouse at the bottom and I don’t know how to change it back

[@panoramacircle3281]

System settings look for ultranav or mouse settings.

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

very nice video - can you explain why in newer models recalibration is so problematic with insanely frequent and extremely long lasting drifting?

[@panoramacircle3281]

That is a good question, I don't have a newer model than T430s, how often does it re-calibrate?

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

in some days it can be incredibly frequent maybe 4-5 times per hour, and this without some special bad touch (like resting the tip for a bit on the trackpoint, or applying constant sideways force). It also seems that the recalibration can happen even when the middle button is pressed during scrolling. This is a stupid decision if it is implemented like this; of course people can very often apply constant force while scrolling down many pages, but the fact that the middle key is pressed should disable the recalibration.

[@panoramacircle3281]

That is indeed quite strange. It does this recalibration only maybe once a week or month on my older systems. You should observe it it gets better over the coming months and if not I would demand an exchange of the ultranav unit because it appears to be defect.

[@manosprotonotarios5187]

yes it is. The first one had this issue and returned it. The second has the same exactly issue. I find it strange to be a general hardware failure, unless it is a very specific fail that is so extremely repetitive. Many people report similar issues and failed attempts to face it. I will use it more and see. Thank you.

[@panoramacircle3281]

There might be a defective batch out there like the old Xbox360 that all died because of breaking solder.

[@sushantasapkota9008]

What is the name of Background music?

[@panoramacircle3281]

Music: In_The_Hall_Of_The_Mountain_King_by_Grieg

[@qwertyazerty1439]

How do I click using trackpoint? Or is it only for older machines? My P53 doesn't click when I press the trackpoint :(

[@panoramacircle3281]

This has to be activated in trackpoint options under system settings, maybe you have to install some lenovo software to get that option.

[@qwertyazerty1439]

@@panoramacircle3281 It's not there. I've done some quick searching on the internet for this option, but sadly the first things I found where that modern Thinkpads don't support this feature :(

[@1Wj1]

Why my trackpoint on my "new " x200t refuses to go to the right? I have to apply a lot of force and nearly remove the rubber top just to move a few pixels to the right :-(

[@panoramacircle3281]

Sounds like the pressure sensitive plates are defect? You might to replace the whole keyboard or it might be possible to replace the trackpoint unit if it is screwed on the underside of the keyboard.

[@1Wj1]

@@panoramacircle3281 that's what I was afraid of, I'll try, thanks. Keep it up with this brilliant and weirdly satisfying videos!

[@jackdavidson5863]

What method did you use to connect the trackpoint over usb?

[@panoramacircle3281]

I did not connect that?

[@jackdavidson5863]

@@panoramacircle3281 I saw that you were using the trackpoint independently from the keyboard. Were you not? I just wanted to know how you connected it.

[@panoramacircle3281]

It is connected via the flat cable that was already installed. It is an internal PS/2 controller

[@Zeioth]

Wait you can even click with them? How cool is that?

[@ximonite]

No mention of the IBM Model M13. :(

[@panoramacircle3281]

I wish I had one here to film and record sound...

[@aretard7995]

@@panoramacircle3281 he said mention, so you could put that as a bonus

[@shixuenchin1396]

What is the song

[@panoramacircle3281]

In The Hall Of The Mountain King by Grieg

[@justin-hurd]

why wont mini PC builds like pda's use something like these though? like one on the left corner, and the left middle (for copy paste, scrolling etc.) and right click under the up down left and right. I'd prefer that over an analog stick any-day. looking at you, GPD win series...

[@Siberius-]

So you can indeed remove it so as it's entirely out of the way, I see (if one was to desire such a thing). That's good.

[@tormenmashi_]

never seen a trackpoint up close before, now im uncomfortable

[@derpyderp6719]

Trackpoint can become mainstream if it's just... Implemented to replace analog sticks on controllers. If it is inexpensive within of itself, it could resolve the problem of stick drift by being static with no moving parts to wear and tear nearly as quickly. Plus the nearly non-existant travel distance means strafes as quick, or quicker than on keyboard could be possible.

[@panoramacircle3281]

Interesting idea, so far no one has ever tried that?

[@derpyderp6719]

@@panoramacircle3281 Nintendo has been the only company willing to try. Go figure. It was done with the newer model of the Nintendo 3DS, and 2DS I believe?

[@32BitLink]

are the last two bonus ones jokes

[@panoramacircle3281]

Those were real prototypes from IBM: www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/user/tp/tpmouse.html

[@jessragan6714]

(bat flies past and steals your ThinkPad)

[@binhang7611]

that is a small loadcell

[@KerenWang]

Sooooo... I am looking for a trackpoint replacement for my compact wireless. Which one should I get? imgur.com/a/Q506FTC

[@panoramacircle3281]

Take the regular one in the middle of my video thumbnail? That is the default one. You can also buy all three and test them a bit.

[@KerenWang]

@@panoramacircle3281 aren't there different stems as well? I have seen some images of those tiny cut outs.

[@panoramacircle3281]

@@KerenWang Yes different models have different stems. You have to look up your specific model and the right part for it. What is a "compact wireless"?

[@barryallencoffee]

I now know what they do, but why

[@TheBryce98]

In combination with the alternate left and right click buttons designed to be pressed with your thumbs, you don't have to change hand positions to switch between using the keyboard and using the mouse. This really improves how fast you can work with just the laptop when you don't have an external mouse. But not everyone would agree, and it is down to personal preference.