TrackPoint for the MacBook (Pro) ?

Mr. Jobs,

If I ran into you at a convention, I would tell you that the absence of a Trackpoint mouse, is the only thing holding me (and many others) back from buying a MacBook. How I would love to replace my aging Thinkpad with a brand new MacBook, but I'm stuck. Can you help? It would be nice to have eight hours of battery life, too, like that of an X Series Thinkpad equipped with an 8 cell battery.

Jaymes

I hate to tell you this, but you'll be waiting a long time...forever, to be exact. As a long time follower of Apple, I can say with confidence that Apple will never, ever, add a trackpoint pointing device to their laptops.

i really doubt they would do it, frankly for the things apples are know to be used for (design specifically) it is just not that realistic (at least IMHO), my dad used to have a think pad and then got a dell from his job and he only uses the track point and while i understand why he uses it (bumping the track pad)) the point takes so much longer to use and is so much harder for him to use.

i am curious to see what your reasons are that that one small feature would hold you back?
-matt

Also as a current Thinkpad user for work, I have found that since I moved to a MBP (also running XP in VM), my hand doesn't get as tired as it did when I was using the finger joystick. Now when I have to use my TP, I try to have a mouse handy. (TP trackpad on my system is too small)

I too was not a fan of laptops that did not have the joystick, but the pros of a MBP made the lack of a joystick a non-issue. And can I say I haven't missed it once.

+*I've been using this on various Thinkpads for about 10 years and am just not ready to give this up for a silly touchpad..*+

The "silly touchpad" has been pretty much an industry standard for a number of years now. Only a handful of manufacturers have held on to the TrackPoint nubby thingy. I tend to think that people get used to an input device and anything other than that is a change that can have a slight learning curve. You mentioned you have been using the TrackPoint for nearly 10 years... so that's a habit that's fairly ingrained at this point. I'm sure you would be able to get used to a trackpad within a fairly short period of time. If the TrackPoint is your most important consideration in getting a notebook, a Mac (and most PCs) may not be for you.

"I hate to tell you this, but you'll be waiting a long time...forever, to be exact."

I wish this were not true. Sadly, I will never own or use an Apple computer for this one small thing. You guys think it's a simple learning curve thing. Well, it's not. The touch pad just doesn't work as well. The screen area is larger than the pad area and turning up the mouse pointer speed just makes it less accurate. Most people that own laptops equipped with touch pads use an external mouse. I bet Steve Jobs himself carries around an extra mouse in his briefcase. I keep thinking though, if only I could meet somebody at Apple that had some influence there, maybe I could talk them into at least giving users the option of a Trackpoint mouse.

well that is the reason that the new track pads have acceleration in them, i can get across the screen in less than half of my track pad but with out changing a single setting i can move about 2 inches even though i drug my finger the way across the pad. with the MBP (which has this feature) i have never had to drag my finger more than 1 time to get any where.

go and try some of the new machines before you say the track pads do not do what you want because they have changed.

-matt

This idea that learning curve is what is keeping trackpoint users from switching is just not true. The reason the touch pad is the industry standard is because it has little or no learning curve. Any idiot can use one. It's the trackpoint that has a real learning curve to it. So why do I prefer a trackpoint? I like being able to keep my hands on the home row while I use it (no you can't do this using a touch pad unless you like to point with your thumb. I don't like to point with my thumb, do you?) I like being able to move the mouse pointer across the screen without reaching the edge of the touch pad. And most of all, I don't like the way the cursor gets so easily bumped when the touch pad is on. These aren't problems that can be solved by practice with your touch pad. Disabling the touch pad is one of the first things that many people do when they get a new computer. In fact, my mother only buys Compaq laptops because of the included physical switch that allows you to turn the touch pad off. My wife also prefers the trackpoint. While I would say that we trackpoint users are a minority, we're a strong minority, and Apple would be wise to at least provide an option for us. That being said, I don't think Apple will. They seem like more of a "here's our product, take it or leave it" kind of company that doesn't listen to its users as much as say, Dell who has user feedback forums and actually makes product changes based on that feedback. I'm not saying that Apple doesn't care about its users, just that they could do a little better in that area.

i hear you,apple just doesn't listen. i am dissappointed with apple on the design of the macbook,i have had my T20 for 5 years and have not had a single problem other than the hard drive failing,and that was because of me dropping it,other than that,my thinkpad has been perfect,while I have only had my macbook for a year and a half,and have gone through 2 cameras,they keep just showing green,2 keyboards because of yellowing,and 6 logic boards because of ram slot failure,which has happened again,but is now out out of apple care,and is apple says it will be $650 for a new logic board. I actually prefer my 700mhz thinkpad over my macbook. that is saying something about apple. something bad...

Apple serves a small niche of the overall computer market. As such, Apple is not in a position to add optional hardware features, such as a trackpoint cursor controller, that are preferred by only a small segment of computer buyers.

Apple simply would not be able to recover the costs of the additional engineering, testing and production effort necessary to implement a trackpoint device given the small market for such an option. That is why you will never see a trackpoint on a MacBook. It's a simple business decision.

Ok, Matt. You got me. I haven't used one of the newer ones yet. Next time I encounter a MacBook, I'll try it out. I might even like it or think it's cool after using it for ten minutes. Curb appeal is the reason that touch pads became popular. However, this won't last once I actually want to get something done. In order to that, I like to point with my pointing finger. I'm not saying that it impossible point with my thumb, but it doesn't work right for me. The shape of your thumb might be more ideal than mine for touchpad thumb use.

you know i dont think i actually use my thumb on my TP, moving my hand down to use my finger really doesnt seem to slow me down at all. maybe its not as fast as the track point could be but from my experience with the track points compared to these track pads you will save the time, at least i do

but what ever works for you works for you, i just think that once you try this you will grow accustomed to it (i will say thought that until i got an air board that puts my computer at a slight slant i didnt like using my pad because i would bump the button but now i have no issues bumping it)

-matt

I think Apple computers are for people have that more money lying around. Before it seemed like they were more expensive in exchange for quality. Now the prices are more comparable to the norm, but quality suffers (based on remarks from msnuser111) hence they have to replaced more often. At least I can get a nice Thinkpad that I know will still work for a while. I'm not exactly poor but I have a lot bills to pay. After I get rid of some of them, then I'll be able to afford buying new computers more often like Mac users probably do. At any rate, I think MacBooks look neat. Maybe when I get really well off, I can buy one just for my mantle. Of course I won't be using it because it lacks a trackpoint, but I digress. My favorite ones are the white ones. It's always interesting to go to a software convention and be sitting in a presentation room full of Dell and HP PC's and the occasional Thinkpad. Suddenly, someone walks in with a MacBook computer and boy does it turn heads. There is definitely some jealousy in the room in those situations. One time I walked up to the guy with the MacBook and asked him what company he works for, because our IT department makes us use Dells (ugh). He told me it's his own computer, and he works for a small startup. It figures. My company won't let me use my own computer for company stuff. I've always wanted to work for a firm that lets you choose the hardware you use. Yeah, this is definitely not how things are done at the company I work for. Maybe one day I'll be the lucky guy at the software convention. Maybe Apple will steal enough laptop market share to justify adding a trackpoint option to their machines. My fingers are crossed, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. I've had my eye on the Thinkpad x61s. Now there's a nice machine. Apples new slim laptop is a step in the right direction I suppose (although it's trackpoint'less), but I'm afraid it's too little, too late. The X series Thinkpads are hard to beat, and the battery life is amazing. It's not beautiful like Mac though. Life just has too many compromises.

i will agree with you that the think pads have a good rep of being tanks (my dad used to use one and it was his favorite lap top he ever used, but he never had the option of a mac even though he says he would prefer one). he never had any big hard ware issue with it where as his dell has had to be fixed every few months.

i really dont know if macs have to be fixed any more than pc's, i see a lot more issues with windows software that i have with mac and have seen a lot more pc's (specifically dells) need to be repaired more frequently. in the last couple years i have seen more and more apples need service but at the same time the amount of apples i have seen in the last years has probably gone up as much if not more than the % of more macs needing service.

-matt