Seems nice for tenkeyless/ergonomics.......

[Arc'xer]

http://www.guru3d.com/news/track-ball-mouse-numerical-keypad-hub-/

"Check it out, I'm still a big fan of Trackball mice. Well if you happen to be like me and in need of a number pad for your keyboard, then you’ll love this gadget.

The Track Ball Mouse Numerical Keypad Hub has got just about everything you’d want in a crazy hybrid gadget. You’ve got your mouse, number pad and even a pair of USB ports. Seriously, how many of you can say that your mouse is also a USB hub? That’s what I thought. For just under $60 you can blow the minds of each and every one of your coworkers."

http://www.geekstuff4u.com/track-ball-mouse-numeric-keypad-hub.html

[Rajagra]

Not as crazy as I was expecting.
Would make more sense if the numpad was on the right though. As it stands it is just recreating a conventiontal full-sized layout.

[rdjack21]

Looks like a Trackman wheel with an attached numpad. Now the question is what kind of switches are under those keys.

[rdjack21]

Oh just to make things easy here it is:

[joniho]

Would make more sense if the numpad was on the right though.

http://www.sanwa.co.jp/product/syohin.asp?code=NT-TB2U

[joniho]

According to this review, the build quality doesn't seem too good and the wheel is kind of "clatter-y".

Would make more sense if the numpad was on the right though.

http://www.sanwa.co.jp/product/syohin.asp?code=NT-TB2U

[ricercar]

If that's a mechanical keyswitch numpad, that's sweet.

[microsoft windows]

I've already got a trackball on my number pad.

[microsoft windows]

I've already got a trackball built into my number pad.

Too bad it doesn't light up. But I can stuff a marble in it and have it work OK.

[ricercar]

Microsoft Windows wins. That's nice. You could always put an LED under the marble if you're not averse to changing what's got to be a classic.

That is a trackball on a buckling spring, yes? Please tell the make/model!

[ch_123]

That's a Model M5-2. Unicomp sell them as the On-The-Ball.

I have heard some say that the tracking is rubbish, particularly on systems with high res monitors. Given how sluggish the trackpoint on the M4/M13s are, I wouldn't find that hard to believe.

EDIT: Here's one from our favorite vendor.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

That is an IBM Model M5-2.  Unicomp makes them new, but for $109.  I have a rubber dome version on the Unicomp, and the trackball actually helps save space, even if it is such a big keyboard.

And I disagree with CH_123, the tracking is perfectly decent, if it is too slow, just turn up the sensitivity.  And the IBM M4-1 has a perfectly good trackpoint.  I hate it when trackpoints move too fast, and the M4-1 has the perfect speed, not too fast, not too slow.

[ironcoder]

Ok MS Winbloze how are you liking your Unicomp w/trackball? Does it work?

[msiegel]

that's a terrible nickname

cool trackball though

[ch_123]

And I disagree with CH_123, the tracking is perfectly decent, if it is too slow, just turn up the sensitivity.  And the IBM M4-1 has a perfectly good trackpoint.  I hate it when trackpoints move too fast, and the M4-1 has the perfect speed, not too fast, not too slow.

Try using it on a monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024 or higher, then get back to me.

Sure you can crank up sensitivity but -

A) That's not an ideal solution if you need to use it with another mouse
B) Not possible when using it with a work/college/school PC that's been locked down.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Mine works flawlessly, I prefer it to any other normal mouse.  The only better trackball I have is my IBM L40.  Then again, I only have two trackballs.

[ch_123]

What resolution does the monitor on your computer run at?

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Try using it on a monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024 or higher, then get back to me.

The only monitor I have that can handle that resolution is a Dell LCD monitor that I just fixed today, it had 4 bad transistors that had to be replaced, and now that I have a working LCD, I will test this trackball on it and I will get back to you to tell you how much the screen resolution doesn't matter.

[ch_123]

If you have decided the result of the test before you carry it out, don't bother.

Kids these days ^o)

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I have used the Unicomp trackball on a 1152x800 something resolution monitor, and it worked fine.  That Dell LCD is a 1280x1024 max resolution.  I haven't gotten it home yet, I will be back at home tomorrow night and I will test it then.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

If you have decided the result of the test before you carry it out, don't bother.

Kids these days ^o)

Well, I am not your stereotypical "kid these days" type of person.  I am one of the most knowledgeable kids at my school, I know alot about computers, and I know what I am talking about at least 80% of the time.  I am not some want-a-be punk, I am a normal person.  Just don't put me into that stereotype.

[microsoft windows]

Ok MS Winbloze how are you liking your Unicomp w/trackball? Does it work?

That's not a Unicomp. It's one of the original blue label Lexmark M5-2's. I found it broken in a garbage can at work and took it home and fixed it since it had a trackball. According to the label, it's about the 1800th one made (Can't remember the exact number). As of now, it works but is still in kind-of-rough shape. It's missing two keycaps (Esc and I) and the trackball is the wrong color. But it works just like any other M5-2.

[ricercar]

The pic is a Microsoft trackball, retailed circa 1990. There's a clip that slides into the holders in the lower figure, IIRC you could attach the clip with a adhesive or with a clamping mechanism.

The cable was irritatingly long for some reason, and the four mouse buttons were so easily clicked that it was annoying. I couldn't cup my hand around the device without clicking unexpectedly. Many times that lightness of the clicker was responsible for the death of my characters in Eye of the Beholder (for DOS, CGA graphics).

I had one for a laptop without a pointing device in April-July 1990. This was in the Windows 2 era, when most computers didn't yet have a pointing device, so laptops still shipped with only key boards and LCDs for human interaction. IIRC Windows 3 didn't come out until later that year.

[Rajagra]

I will get back to you to tell you how much the screen resolution doesn't matter.

I'm using 2 * 1920x1200 screens, so 3840x1200 desktop. My G9 is currently setup so I can move across the whole diagonal with a movement of about 3 inches. Yet it can still move with single-pixel accuracy. (That's running at a modest 1340dpi by my math.)

I love my Logitech Trackman Marble FX, and would dearly love to use it. But it cannot match that combination of fine control and easy movement over large distances. It just doesn't have the required resolution (and also has to fight Windows' determination to use acceleration when I tell it not to, but that's another story.)

Screen resolution does matter. ANY pointing device has a limit of how many pixels it can cover quickly while maintaining single-pixel accuracy. Low res devices that limit you to short physical movements (trackballs) are worst affected.

The first one I used, 1985.

Had very laggy response, didn't it? Had to spin the ball like mad to change direction about a second before you wanted the marble to actually change direction. Drove me crazy.

[rdjack21]

CST Lasertrak - I've got it at 1600dpi and can roll it across a 1920 screen with a 60 degree rotation of the ball.

In other words, faster than Tiger Woods can run away from his wife.

Yea I'm thinking about getting one of those because you can set it to higher dpi than most every other track ball out there.