Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

landgenoot•about 4 hours ago

Isn't the point that it's integrated in the keyboard, so that you don't have to move your hands away to use it?

pdrayton•about 3 hours ago

It fills the niche of "pointing device that uses a constant amount of deskspace" in the same way that a trackball does, but differently. Different strokes, different folks.

NGL I was always a fan of TrackPoints for how compact the pointing device was. Also liked the Logitech Trackman Marble for similar reasons. It's kind of cool, though unnecessary, to have a way to get a TrackPoint on a desktop now without being locked to one discontinued Lenovo keyboard.

tejohnso•about 3 hours ago

I'm typing this on a Thinkpad Trackpoint II keyboard and have no idea why I'd want an off keyboard pointing stick. If you want to use a pointing stick why not have it right next to your index finger while you're on the home row? If you want your mouse cursor control to be off of the keyboard, why not use a regular mouse?

mattas•about 3 hours ago

I'm on the lookout for a wireless ball mouse. I want to relive the glory days of cleaning out the little cylinders on the inside of the mouse without being constrained by wires.

toast0•about 1 hour ago

They do make wireless (optical) trackballs. I don't think they attract grunge anywhere near as fast as a real ball mouse though.

hakfoo•12 minutes ago

Tne trackball rides a couple of bearings and they do pick up scrunge. It doesn't affect tracking unless it gets to the sensor window, but you'll feel it getting progressively stiffer.

jbaiter•33 minutes ago

I've been using a Logitech trackball for two years now and they're incredibly easy to clean and don't accumulate much dirt on the surface (since they're very smooth), just a little bit on the ceramic balls that they rest on in the case. You just pop out the ball every few weeks, remove the dirt with a cloth and that's it, doesn't take more than a minute.

BrenBarn•about 2 hours ago

Missed a bet by not calling it something like "Detachable Nipple".

Rebelgecko•about 1 hour ago

They're doing just fine in the euphemism department

vasco•about 1 hour ago

In quite a few languages they are called clitoris in various slangs colloquially. I didn't know the real name for this device for many years.

ktallett•about 1 hour ago

I am not sure whether I will order one yet (who am I kidding I probably will) but the products I have ordered, the ploopy knob and the trackball have both been great quality and very usable. The knob in particular is very handy size to use alongside a small computer like a Pocket Reform. As others have said, the track point is less useful off the keyboard although it still requires less hand gestures to move like a trackball so I believe for comfort, there is still value. Track points coming back into vogue would be fantastic though, so anything to support that. There is currently someone trying to install a track point into a Pocket Reform. I am surprised no one has tried similar in a framework laptop

soupspaces•about 2 hours ago

Might be possible to embed one of these blackberry cellphone OEM trackpad inside a keycap https://www.ebay.com/itm/132886140650

kristianp•3 days ago

This gives me an idea, does anyone sell these?:

    HEU   N
    DIN    U
     ^      M
    <⌄>   0.,E

With all full-sized keys? i.e. Numpad, arrows and home-end-insert-delete-pgup-pgdn? i.e. all the keys that Apple's laptops fucked plus numpad.

arcanemachiner•about 4 hours ago

You can all kinds of keypads on AliExpress that are programmable. Some of them even use QMK.

jrgd•about 4 hours ago

I’m using the caps unlocked CU7 every day; that’s how i discovered it : same frustration as yours!

( then i jumped onto otholinear keeb and now I’m not even bothered by apple anymore and run omarchy on a second hand thinkpad. Same excitement as when i got my first powerbook in the early 2000s…)

tybstar•3 days ago

This is made for me.

Ploopy Bean: a trackpoint for every computer

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