Input Devices - Upgrading and Repairing PCs - page 961

whichdramaticallyslowstheirprogress.Inaddition,theoperationofthetouchpadcanbe
imprecise, depending on how pointy your finger or thumb is! On the other hand, if you're
notatouch typist, removing yourhands fromthe keyboard tooperate the touch padmight
be easier than using a TrackPoint. Even with their drawbacks, touch pad pointing devices
are vastly preferable to using a trackball or a cumbersome external mouse with portable
systems.
Unless you want to use a “real” mouse with a portable system, I recommend you sit down
with portable computers that have both touch pad and TrackPoint pointing devices. Try
them yourself for typing, file management, and simple graphics and see which type of
integrated pointing device you prefer. I know what I like, but you might have different
tastes.
Trackballs
The first trackball I ever saw outside of an arcade was the Wico trackball, a perfect match
for mid-1980s video games and computer games, such as Missile Command and others.
It emulated the eight-position Atari 2600 analog joystick but was capable of much more
flexibility.
Unlikethemid-80strackballs,today'strackballsareusedprimarilyforbusinessinsteadof
gaming.Mosttrackballsuseamouse-stylepositioningmechanism—the differencesbeing
that the trackball is on the top or side of the case and is much larger than a mouse ball.
Theusermovesthetrackball ratherthantheinputdevicecase,butrollersorwheelsinside
most models translate the trackball's motion and move a cursor onscreen the same way
that mouse rollers or wheels convert the mouse ball's motion into cursor movement.
Trackballscomeinavarietyofforms,includingergonomicmodelsshapedtofitthe(right)
hand, ambidextrous models suitable for both lefties and right-handers, optical models that
use the same optical sensors found in the latest mice in place of wheels and rollers, and
multibutton monsters that look as if they're the result of an encounter with a remote con-
trol.
Because they are larger than mice, trackballs lend themselves well to the extra electronics
andbatterypowerneededforwirelessuse.Logitechoffersseveralwirelesstrackballmod-
elsthatuseradio-frequencytransceivers;fordetailsofhowthistechnologyworks,seethe
section “ Wireless Input Devices ,” later in this chapter.
Trackballs use the same drivers and connectors as conventional mice. For basic opera-
tions, the OS-supplied drivers will work, but you should use the latest version of the
vendor-supplied drivers to achieve maximum performance with recent models.
Trackballtroubleshootingissimilartomousetroubleshooting.Forissuesotherthanclean-
ing the trackball, see the section “ Mouse Troubleshooting , ” earlier in this chapter.