What is a Pointing Stick?
A pointing stick is a miniaturized isometric joystick embedded in the center of some laptop keyboards, used to move the on-screen cursor. The pointing stick can be used in lieu of a mouse, or in addition to it. Left and right mouse buttons are located directly beneath the spacebar on models equipped with a pointing stick. The stick itself resembles the nub of an eraser, and sits between the G and H keys of a QWERTY keyboard. Pointing sticks are included on small laptops that lack the space for a touchpad, but can also be found on larger models that include a touchpad, and on some desktop keyboards. One advantage of using a pointing stick over a touchpad is that the fingers can remain on the home row of the keyboard while using the stick. The home row is where touch-typists rest their fingers, and many typists prefer a pointing stick because of the time it saves. Research and deveoper Ted Selker invented the device in 1984 for this very reason, and in 1987 IBM®, marketed it as the Track
