Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
TrackPoint
On October 5, 1992, IBM introduced a revolutionary new pointing device called
TrackPoint
as an
integrated feature of its new ThinkPad 700 and 700C computers. Often referred to as a
pointing stick
,
the TrackPoint appears as a small rubber cap on the keyboard just above the B key and between the G
and H keys. This was in my opinion the most significant new pointing device since the mouse was
invented nearly 30 years earlier!
The TrackPoint device occupies no space on a desk, does not have to be adjusted for left-handed or
right-handed use, has no moving parts to fail, and (most importantly) does not require you to move
your hands from the home row to use it. This is an absolute boon for touch typists.
I was fortunate enough to meet the actual creator of this device in early 1992 at the spring
Comdex/Windows World show in Chicago. While attending the show I had stumbled upon a
gentleman wearing suspenders and sporting a ponytail in a small corner of the IBM booth. His
appearance piqued my interest because he was clearly not a “suit,” but instead looked to be some sort
of scientist or engineer. I was right, and he was there showing off custom-made prototype keyboards
with a small stick in the middle. The stick was covered with a soft cream-colored silicone rubber
coating that allowed you to press on the stick without your finger slipping off. In fact, he told me that
these were hand-built prototypes he had installed in standard desktop keyboards, and that he was
there trying to get public reaction and feedback on the invention.
I was invited to play with one of the keyboards, which was connected to a demonstration system. I
found that by pressing on the stick with my index finger, I could easily move the mouse pointer around
on the screen. The stick itself did not move. (It was not a joystick.) Instead, it was connected to
pressure transducers that measured the amount and direction of the force applied by my finger and
moved the mouse pointer accordingly. The harder I pressed, the faster the pointer moved. After
playing around for just a few minutes, the pointer movements became automatic—almost as though I
could just “think” about where I wanted the pointer to go, and it would go there.
The gentleman at the booth turned out to be Dr. Ted Selker, the primary inventor of the device. He and
Joseph Rutledge created this integrated pointing device at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.
When I asked him when such keyboards would become available, he could not answer—at the time
there were apparently no plans for production. He was only trying to test user reaction to the device. I
filled out one of the survey forms, indicating that I was extremely interested in the revolutionary
device and would gladly purchase one if they became available in the future.
Well, the feedback must have helped, because just over six months later, IBM had announced the
ThinkPad 700, which included this device—then known as the TrackPoint II. Since the original
version came out, enhanced versions with even greater control and sensitivity have become available.
Note
The reason the device was initially called TrackPoint II is that IBM had previously been
selling a convertible mouse/trackball device called the TrackPoint. No relationship exists
between the original TrackPoint mouse/trackball, which has since been discontinued, and the
TrackPoint II and later integrated devices. Since the original TrackPoint II came out, improved
versions known as TrackPoint III and TrackPoint IV have become available. In the interest of
simplicity, I refer to all the TrackPoint II, III, and successive devices as just
TrackPoint
.
