(no subject)

[prog]

Twiddling thumbs in this training thing. Still learning stuff but the exercises are ranging between tedious and incomprehensible today. I know, I'll just complain on LiveJournal instead.

Actually I wanted to complain about these IBM ThinkPads. They have the same hardware interface problem as the cellphone I fed to the ducks earlier. To wit: it has two cursor-control thingies, and five clickers. Compare to my Mac latop, which has one and one, respectively. All these controls are arranged in a vertical column that starts with the nipple-thing lodged mid-keyboard, followed under the spacebar by three cickers, a trackpad, and then two more clickers. I find the trackpad too fidgety to use, and when using the nipple my hand and thumbs keep accidentally brushing the trackpad or its clickers, making stupid things happen.

I'm sure there's both a way to deactivate some of these controls, but I assert that I shouldn't have to. If the computer gave me one or the other, I'd use it without complaint. Giving me a both makes either harder to use, even while I think it's an interesting reflection of... that whole design mindset (flaps hands to one side).

Comments

[jadelennox]

I don't like thinkpads anymore (visceral reaction because it was thinkpads and latitudes that crippled me; just happenstance, but nonetheless...), but I prefer choice. It's always aggravated me that your favorite laptop company can be ruled out by your dislike of clit-mouse/touchpad/trackball, because the model only comes with one.

Perhaps the companies should start selling the same laptop, identical but for pointing mechanism?

Also, One Mouse Button? Aieee?

[cortezopossum.livejournal.com]

I never cared for the nipple-nub controller thing on Think Pads (or any other laptop that used them) ... never cared for the keyboards either. Come to think of it -- I don't know any laptop with a keyboard I actually like. I like keys that feel like they're doing somehting when you press them instead of just go *mush*. My favorite keyboards were way way back on those old terminals I used to use to connect to my old university VMS account. Maybe they were Tekronix 4000 series terminals .. not sure. I know they made a definite 'clack' when each key was pressed.