I'm desperate to find a mod or standalone device like a track ball or track point that can be comfortably mounted near the right half of my Ergodox Moonlander. So far I've seen people buy the Thinkpad keyboards to mangle and remove the red track point nub.
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2024
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Ditto on my Keyboardio Model 100. This thing is nearly perfect but the lack of mouse makes me wish I could cross this design with a Charybdis.
I wish someone would make a mounting case with clamps for sticking a mechanical keyboard and trackpad of the user's choice together, laptop-style.
Maybe also have mounting points for screws like a VESA-style mount does, so that trackpad and keyboard vendors that explicitly want to support it can have a less-ad-hoc mount.
The laptop form keyboard/trackpad form factor can be really convenient, but the handful of all-in-one devices out there are kind of limiting.
Ploopy mouse?
How does using a trackball feel? Ive been thinking about maybe getting one but I mostly like my mouse.
Does it feel more ergonomic or is it mostly just less distance to the mouse?
A large trackball like the Kensington Expert can both move quickly across multiple 4K monitors and precisely point to a specific location.
By holding down a button, the trackball can also double as a scrollwheel.
The ergonomics don’t matter to me a lot because I don’t use it a lot. But I love the fast and precise movement.
As the trackball gets smaller, you have to choose between fast OR precise. Some smaller trackballs deal with that by having a toggle button so you can switch between fast or precise movements on the fly.
The Kensington expert looks huge! I'm not sure I can justify getting one lol. Good to know this exists though if I decide to go down this route
I hear they are popular with audio engineers who like the speed, precision and minimal desk space requirements.
The post clarifies: It’s dial.
It clicks as you turn it left or right and it can also be pressed as button. Each click of turning it left or right or pressing it can all be bound any keyboard or mouse function.
Mime is set to scroll with page-up and page-down when turned
What is an encoder?
On this keyboard it's the nub in under the ball. Some keyboards with trackballs have a ring around the ball that can be used for scrolling, that would also be an encoder.