(Or "pointing stick", "nipple") A small knob found in the middle of some keyboards that works like a very short joystick. Pressing it toward or away from you or from side to side moves the pointer on the screen. TrackPoint was introduced in 1992 on the IBM ThinkPad and later on some desktops.

It takes up virtually no extra room on the box or the work area and also requires minimal movement of the hands from the keyboard.

Many imitations of highly variable quality appeared. Pointing sticks have also been used in many other notebook brands, including TI, HP, Compac, Dell, but NOT Toshiba or AST.

"TrackPoint" and "Trackpoint" are IBM trademarks.

.

[INTERACT'90, North Holland Pub Co, pp. 700-706].