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Pointing Stick Keyboard Roundup
An anonymous reader writes "Blogger pettijohn went on the search for the best USB external keyboard with a pointing stick. He found exactly three products that fit the bill in the market, so he bought all three and wrote a proper roundup review."
I've been a ThinkPad user for over 10 years (I tried a Sony and a Panasonic-- both were lousy machines), and the best feature in my mind is the pointing stick. Touchpads give me terrible wrist/forearm pain, especially when I'm on an airplane or train, because the seating tends to force me into an uncomfortable position. But in these spaces, I can use the pointing stick without a problem.
Sadly, over time, my pointers start to drift to one side. At first, if I take my finger off of it, it will recenter itself. Over time, though, it eventually loses this ability. Is there some kind of calibration tool I need to run, or is this usual wear and tear? It's happened on every ThinkPad I've ever owned, including my first 365CD and my current X61.
So, it seems this place is the thread to ask -- I absolutely love the nub mouse/trackpoing/whatever, but I also absolutely love a big huge rounded ergonomic keyboard. Has anyone found an ergonomic shaped keyboard that has a trackpoint-style mouse nub?
Look, I know the chiropractic field is full of a lot of quacks, asshats, and "energy practitioners" who are either incompetent or make claims about their abilities that just ain't so. Finding a good practitioner is almost as hard as finding an honest politician. That doesn't mean that all of them are bad.
In my case, the problem was simple - I was shoveling gravel, moved wrong with a heavy shovel extended, and shifted a bone ever so slightly out of place. I thought I had pulled a muscle, but the pain got worse and worse over time, not better.
Simple problems do not require complex solutions, and my GP isn't prepared to handle this type of injury. I went to someone who did specialize in it, and he figured out the problem and fixed me up (for about $100 total over the course of two weeks - which is less than the referral visit to my GP), gave me a stern lecture about not being stupid, some good advice on exercises to keep my back strong, thanked me for my business, and that was that. No drugs, no crystals, no payment plan, no ongoing maintenance except a recommendation to keep up with the exercise sheets he gave me for free.
He make pain go away, he tell me how to avoid pain in future, I give him money.
When something is wrong with my teeth, I go to my dentist. When something is wrong with my eyes, I go to my optometrist. When something is wrong with my back, I go to a chiropractor. When I can't figure out what's wrong, I go to my GP and she fixes it or (more often) refers me to a specialist.
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