Tague%pco@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA (01/10/84)
This is a suggestion posed by David Moore (Darth Mole). I don't know if it is an original idea, but it sounded very good to me. Instead of using a mouse to control cursor movement which requires scarce desk space and takes one's hand far away from the keyboard, why not build a track ball into the keyboard just below the space bar or just off to one side? One could move it with one's thumb or finger tips while the thumb of the other hand presses a button or other control device. A touch typist would hardly have to move his hands from the normal position. With a little engineering it could be made into a very effective positioning device.
glen@intelca.UUCP (Glen Shires) (01/14/84)
I have used a system with a track ball briefly, I believe it was a
Xerox system. I found it very easy to work with after a brief
"getting used to" period. It also has these advantages:
- A trackball requires less space.
I despise the fact that mice require
an open area on one side of the desk just to move the mouse.
I like to work with my papers on either side of the machine.
- One never has to pick up the trackball and start over.
The second thing I despise about mice is the fact that the
open area on one side of the desk is never big enough. This
means that when moving the mouse a great distance, one runs
into the machine or off the table and has to pick up the mouse
and move it back and set it down and move it some more. Not
a natural motion. Track balls of course can spin forever in
any direction.
- Track balls can be more reliable.
A mouse has a long, breakable cord, and often a ball that rolls
(and sometimes don't roll) only due to gravity and friction.
You'll never see a mouse survive in a video arcade. (A track ball
could be used instead of a mouse as a locating device for a public
terminal, such as the information terminals used in some airports).
^ ^
O O
>
\-/ ----mellow
Glen ShiresMackey.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (01/17/84)
From: Kevin <Mackey.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA> (Reply to Tague%pco@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA message in V4 #7) I've seen the same idea on April 2, '83 from David Chin <chin%UCBKIM@Berkeley> on this Digest (don't know the volume or number). I don't think it's a good idea. I've used trackballs on several video games, and think they would have problems in the arrangement you suggest. First, moving it with the thumb would be difficult. The thumb only moves freely in an arc, so it can only move the ball in 2 directions. You'd have to rotate your hand to get more directions, but this is awkward. Using both thumbs you'd have four, but that would require some interesting coordination! Using your palm might be best, but you'd have to position the ball in such a way that the typist doesn't accidentally hit it while typing. Second, if you've ever used a trackball, you know that it has to be stroked to spin enough, even with some kind of magnification/acceleration factor in the software. Stroking means moving your hand and/or arm back and forth rapidly several times, which can be very tiring. It also requires room around the ball (out of the way of keys) for the hand to move before and after a stroke. Finally, you can't spin the ball while holding down the button as easily as you can with the mouse (need 2 hands, not just one). Why is this so important? Well, it's used extensively on the Lisa, and is a nice way to gradually extend a selection. Other selection methods could be used, but this is a nice one. More than a little engineering would be required to make a trackball work as a good pointing device, and even then I don't think it would be effective, due to it's inherent limitations. ~Kevin