[veebis]

I'm a longtime Mac user (animator/designer), now writing almost full time (screenplays). I've been using a ThinkPad, and love the TrackPoint, find it the best way to navigate. Hate trackpads.

Here's my question: Any chance in hell of getting a trackpoint to work with Mac guts?

I mean, horsepower isn't essential, here (for writing), so an older PowerBook would do... Older ThinkPads are cheap, too. I can imagine buying both, gutting, tinkering, and ending up with a ThinkPad running OSX.

Could it ever work? On a purely hardware-driver-etc. level??

Thanks for any feedback...

-Vb

[rag on a muffin]

this topic has been covered here


i think that the chance of a trackpoint on a powerbook is slim. most hate them.

[rglenn]

Actually, this topic hasn't been covered at all. Previous discussions were about if it *should* be done - this is about *how to do it*

[ibook_steve]

A trackpoint is a completely different, and, in my opinion, uglier beast than a trackpad. New drivers would, of course, be necessary. Don't hold your breath for ever controlling OS X with a nipple.

Steve

[driven]

If you manage to get this to work drop me a line. I *LOVE* the TrackPoint. Dell just dropped it drop the one notebook I was considering replacing my I8200 with, as a result I'm sticking with my I8200 for a while. :-(

As for the "mini-hockey rink" as a pointing device I'd rather have nothing than those things. I've tried to get used to them but just can't. I usually end up hooking up a mouse and then go crazy trying to find a way to disable it so my thumb doesn't start moving the focus all over the place. The lack of a Trackpoint makes a notebook all-but useless to me on an airplane unless I have room to run a mouse as well.

[veebis]

Originally posted by rglenn:
Actually, this topic hasn't been covered at all. Previous discussions were about if it *should* be done - this is about *how to do it*

THANK YOU!

Christ, I waded through some of the mindless twaddle at the other thread already.

If you're a writer, and a *fast* typist (like me), it's idiotic to be forced away from the keyboard every time you need to move the cursor or scroll. Like I said, I'm a lifetime Mac head, to begin with, but love the trackpoint for writing.

Graphics/animation are not TrackPoint-friendly; writing IS.

That said, I will certainly post any solutions that work! I already have LINUX (Mandrake 10) on a partition of the ThinkPad, and love it... (very OSX!) Just can't run the one piece of software I use the most... YET! (Final Draft, available for Win & OSX)

Thanks,
-Vb

[driven]

Originally posted by veebis:
THANK YOU!

Christ, I waded through some of the mindless twaddle at the other thread already.

If you're a writer, and a *fast* typist (like me), it's idiotic to be forced away from the keyboard every time you need to move the cursor or scroll. Like I said, I'm a lifetime Mac head, to begin with, but love the trackpoint for writing.

Graphics/animation are not TrackPoint-friendly; writing IS.

That said, I will certainly post any solutions that work! I already have LINUX (Mandrake 10) on a partition of the ThinkPad, and love it... (very OSX!) Just can't run the one piece of software I use the most... YET! (Final Draft, available for Win & OSX)

Thanks,
-Vb

Maybe that's why I like the trackpoint ... I'm a developer & teacher ... I do a lot of writing and very little in the way of graphics / art. Yes: I do hate removing my fingers from the keyboard.

[rglenn]

Originally posted by veebis:
THANK YOU!

Christ, I waded through some of the mindless twaddle at the other thread already.

If you're a writer, and a *fast* typist (like me), it's idiotic to be forced away from the keyboard every time you need to move the cursor or scroll. Like I said, I'm a lifetime Mac head, to begin with, but love the trackpoint for writing.

Graphics/animation are not TrackPoint-friendly; writing IS.

That said, I will certainly post any solutions that work! I already have LINUX (Mandrake 10) on a partition of the ThinkPad, and love it... (very OSX!) Just can't run the one piece of software I use the most... YET! (Final Draft, available for Win & OSX)

Thanks,
-Vb

Not a problem. I, myself, am a Trackpoint junkie - the dot is right at my fingertips, and the buttons are right at my thumbs. Newer models have a Big Blue(-striped) scroll button, which would work better with more software support.

I love not having the insertion point jump when I'm typing and brush the palmrest. I asked a (PC-using) friend of mine how he could cope with that - he, in typical PC-weenie fashion, showed me some key combination that *disabled* his pointing device, so it didn't happen while he typed.

Needless to say, this offended my sensibilities deeply. If the pointing device can cause problems like that, then that's where the solution lies, not in turning it off.

But back to the topic at hand: interfacing an IBM notebook keyboard to a Mac will lie somewhere in the range of difficult to impossible. You'd need to find one of similar size, and then find a way to translate the signals (standard matrix ribbon cable arrangement for the keyboard, probably PS/2 for the mouse) to USB or something like that. Which probably means having to design your own converters with surface-mount parts, as I'm fairly sure that there's nothing commercially available to do the job.

When the AppleCare expires on the PowerBook I'm about to buy, I'll probably take a stab at it myself - sounds like a good project for a Computer Engineering student

[driven]

If I remember right, IBM made a full-size desktop keyboard that had the Trackpoint smack dabbed into the middle of it. I wonder if this comes in a USB variety?

If so, I wonder if the mouse would work without an extra driver?

Inquiring minds want to know ....

[AlbertWu]

helldot.

'nuff sed.

[Ryan1524]

^ditto.

[driven]

Love nipple.
(Hugs Thinkpad)

[mo0805]

i can't believe that you guys are complaining about moving one of your hands away from the keyboard a mere inch or two, during the rare occurance that you need to do something besides type on your "writing machine."

[driven]

Originally posted by mo0805:
i can't believe that you guys are complaining about moving one of your hands away from the keyboard a mere inch or two, during the rare occurance that you need to do something besides type on your "writing machine."

Actually it's more the annoyance of a touchpad that tends to change the window focus with a stray hit by the thumb.

But riddle me this: Why is it not crazy to complain about a Mhz increase which might save 1 or 2 seconds on a long process but it is crazy to want to save a second or two at the keyboard?

[tooki]

Originally posted by driven:
Actually it's more the annoyance of a touchpad that tends to change the window focus with a stray hit by the thumb.

Have you looked at the Trackpad preferences lately? You can disable clicking via the trackpad, and you can also set it to ignore the trackpad altogether while typing.

Originally posted by driven:
If I remember right, IBM made a full-size desktop keyboard that had the Trackpoint smack dabbed into the middle of it. I wonder if this comes in a USB variety?

Adesso made one. I don't know if it's still available.

tooki

[Lancer409]

i used to think trackpoints suck .. they were ugly and looked old n outdated .. they are easier to use for click and drag (even with sidetrack) .. so i can see why some people still prefer them .. i dunno if they can be done though .. sorry =/

[driven]

Originally posted by tooki:
Have you looked at the Trackpad preferences lately? You can disable clicking via the trackpad, and you can also set it to ignore the trackpad altogether while typing.


Adesso made one. I don't know if it's still available.

tooki

Tooki,
thanks. Oddly when I load the drivers that include those preferences that you mention it crashes the PS/2 mouse when the laptop is in it's docking station.

So .... I can't use those preferences.
Grrr ....

[tooki]

If it were a PowerBook the preference setting would work.

tooki

[rag on a muffin]

i suppose it would not be hard to put in, if you knew where to get something compatible with the mac, just melt a little hole in between some of the keys this would make a spot for it.

i personally cannot use one if there was a dialog box that said "nuking the world in 10 seconds" and a cancel button.

[driven]

Originally posted by tooki:
If it were a PowerBook the preference setting would work.

tooki

Touche!

[Gig103]

I'm also a trackpoint fan, and I'm having a hard time getting used to the touchpad. I have to say though, the touchpad is more accurate and requires less pressure on the PB than the Dell, but I have never been a big mouse person; I use the terminal, vi, and know almost all the keyboard shortcuts for windows applications. So when I do need the mouse, the trackpad is more efficient.

Different strokes for different folks (pun intended)

[driven]

Originally posted by Gig103:


Different strokes for different folks (pun intended)

That was bad
<groan>