Work have just given me a new HP Elitebook with a trackpoint, so they're not completely unknown on other makes. Not saying that machine's any good, mind - I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
The trend is not going in the right direction despite the expired patents: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-kills-off-its-TrackPoint-...
Add to that the braindead half-size arrow key design of most models (often paired with a loss of Home/End/PgUp/PgDown keys, thanks a ton Apple) and already there's a comfortable gap between ThinkPads and most other laptops. HP seems to be an exception here, and you'll have to go larger than the 12"/13" range to even find any options there.
They used to be patented, not sure what the situation is currently.
Re:OpenBSD on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
by Al-Khwarizmi on Friday January 29, 2021 @07:07AM
(#25956432)
AFAIK it's expired, see: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6115030A/en?oq=6115030
I see, thanks.
IDK if you're married to using your laptop keyboard - Leno has USB/BT keyboards with identical trackpoint.
Re:OpenBSD on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
by Al-Khwarizmi on Friday January 29, 2021 @05:43AM
(#25955998)
At home that's a good solution, but when on the go, lugging a keyboard around does seem like too much discomfort too.
Right. These days I can't sit at just the laptop for an extended period without severe back pain anyway, so I just lost the habit of using it betwene that and adopting a more keyboard-centric workflow.
I have been keeping an eye out for options of operating the pinter device from a mech without having to ove from the home row.
There are rotary encoders, sensors you can put on the keyboard itself if you make it small and mobile enough, I think I saw something trackpoint-like at some point as well, but nothing fundamental so far.
To me, using a trackpad or having to carry a mouse around when trackpoints exist would be a massive downgrade in comfort and usability, comparable to e.g. not having a battery.
Thus, as trackpoint uptake from other brands is almost nonexistent, I'll swallow whatever crappy decision Lenovo comes up with in new laptops. They would have to do something exaggeratedly egregious (no battery? no USB ports? That kind of thing) for me to even consider the competition.
It's sad, but as bad as it is that Lenovo makes these changes, to me it's even worse that other brands don't even bother to offer a TrackPoint in at least some of their lineup, considering that it takes negligible space and the inconvenience for people who don't use it is near zero.