this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2025
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[–] [email protected] 40 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

Those who don't use it are only mildly annoyed by it, but those who use it will raise holy hell now that it's gone.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 14 hours ago (9 children)

Is it actually usable? I never owned one

[–] [email protected] 25 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Used one for a few years and I loved it:

  • it's precise, you can really aim small UI elements
  • It is paired with actual buttons, index on the nub and thumb on the buttons, so no weird gestures to right click
  • It is very quick to switch from keyboard to mouse, your hands nearly don't move

But, there's no mouse wheel or scroll gesture and maintaining pressure on the nub is maybe more tiring than a trackpad.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago

You can scroll with nub by holding the middle button

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

It's also very chill to do things 1-handed with (no euphemism).

[–] [email protected] 14 points 13 hours ago

Some people prefer it over trackpad, or use both. Personally I like to disable trackpad because I tend to always hit it with palm or thumb by accident

[–] [email protected] 13 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I use a mechanical keyboard with one on my desktop, I actually use it quite a lot.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

That sounds awesome! Is it a Unicomp EnduraPro or is there some other option?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago

TEX out of Taiwan makes a few.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 14 hours ago

I think it works fantastically well. I personally like it much better than a touchpad. It lets me move the pointer without taking my hands away from typing home position.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

It’s fine. Takes some time to get used to. Some people really love it, but I don’t think it’s that great.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago

I can never get mine to go where I want first try, and sometimes the pointer drifts on its own after I take my finger off.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago

It's not just for decoration. You can use it as a legitimate pointing device. Nudging it will move the mouse cursor and tapping it with your fingernail is clicking.

It takes some getting used to but you can definitely use it for normal office tasks if you wanted to. That being said, I still personally prefer a mouse. But I have known some people who like using the nipple.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago

It feels a lot like using a game controller to control your mouse, if you've ever used Joy2Key or similar programs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago

Dunno. I have one on my semifake E580 and I just used it to check if it works. It's a bit awkward for me.

[–] southsamurai 1 points 12 hours ago

Oh yeah.

It isn't a dealbreaker for me, but it really is nice. It takes getting used to, but it cuts down on the need to move to the touchpad or mouse. If you're working in tight quarters, or have mobility issues, or hand issues, it can end up being a major improvement. It's a ymmv thing of course, but I end up using it more than I thought I would when writing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

i don’t care about the nub on mine, but i do care a lot about the left/right click buttons that take up so much of the trackpad area. just gimme a bigass trackpad.