What is a touchpad: mouse, trackball, or trackpoint?

Touchpad precursors

Do you want to know what a touchpad is? This term appeared in 1988. Before that, there were devices called trackball and trackpoint. And before them the cursor was controlled with the mouse.

The basis for the design of the trackball is a ball, the same as in a mechanical mouse. Old mechanical mice moved on a special rug, the ball rolled inside and, touching the sensors, produced a signal that the cursor moved around the screen. But after working for several hours with a mouse, you will understand that this is not the most convenient option. Therefore, designers came up with the following device for cursor control - trackball (mouse versa). The trackball is mounted on the top or side, two buttons are located next to each other as in a conventional mouse. The palm restlessly rests on the table, and only the thumb that turns the ball of the trackball moves. The ball can be from 1 to 6 cm in diameter. There are constructions of trackballs, in which the ball is controlled by the index, middle or ring fingers. On most models (except the buttons and the ball), set the scroll wheel. The main advantage of the trackball is the immovability of the hand in the wrist. Rotating the ball with your finger gives a more accurate positioning of the cursor. But the trackball has a serious drawback - open from the top, it gets very dirty very quickly. In addition, mechanics is mechanics, and mechanical devices are less reliable than electronic analogs. Trackpoint appeared after the trackball. It represents two resistive sensors that change their resistance under the action of the force applied to them (strain gauges). The cursor is moved in accordance with the applied force. The trackpoint has two buttons, similar to the mouse buttons. Disadvantages of this device are the drift of the cursor, as well as the need to pressure the panel, which can lead to spasms of the muscles of the hand during prolonged work.

What is a touchpad?

Development of technical means of touch control led to the fact that it was possible to create a new generation device for controlling the computer cursor. Thus appeared Touchpad. Consider what a touchpad is (and How it works). The touchpad works like a normal touch switch: the operator touches the sensitive (touch) pad with a finger, the electrical circuit closes and the switch is triggered. Later, the finger began to lock up not the electric circuit, but when it was introduced into the zone of the sensor pad the capacity of the space changed (and the electronic switching circuit worked). So the touch pad became the base of the touchpad. Apple bought a license from the inventor of the touch pad, which reacts not only to pressing, but also to moving the finger. After the design and technological elaboration (in 1994) the touchpad appeared in portable computers. True, he was called TrackPad (as Apple calls it and still does).

The touchpad has a number of advantages:

- placed in the design of the laptop, does not require additional space for itself;

- does not require a flat surface (like a mouse);

- the reliability of the electronic, rather than mechanical, device is higher;

- the ability to simulate a click on any mouse button;

- easy movement with your finger moves the cursor around the screen;

- has good protection against dust and moisture.

The disadvantages are:

- low resolution and (difficulties in working with graphics programs);

- does not work when using a pencil or pen;

- does not react with a small touch zone;

- every few months requires cleaning the sensor pad.

Touchpad in laptops

The touchpad in notebooks is used very widely, because it was designed specifically for them. Touchpad in laptops in recent years provide not only a single and double click of the mouse, but also vertical and horizontal scrolling. Some even recognize the touch of several fingers, and even gestures: rotate the picture or scale the image (text) with two fingers. It is usually installed below the keyboard (in the middle) and has two physical mouse buttons. There are touchpads that are constructively independent of the laptop, connected as a mouse (wire through a connector or via a radio channel).

Now you know what a touchpad is.