So much for 'everyone will love it or hate it'. I have logged your 'meh' :-)
I used to use EmulateWheel, which is reasonably comfy on laptops where the buttons are at the same level as the trackpoint nub. On desktop keyboards like the M and SSII, the buttons are on the frame, the better part of an inch lower. Manipulating the nub with forefinger while holding the middle button down with the thumb is somewhat less comfy there.
My mockups indicate a few things about a wheel, at least the way I'd want to use it... On a laptop keyboard, the nub needs to be set at about the same level as the trackpoint, not higher. On desktop, it needs to be above the button ridges, but lower than the spacebar. It needs to be set far enough forward from L/R that the thumbs can press or slide between the lower ridge of both buttons without hitting the wheel. Not as far as landing exactly between the normal buttons and spacebar, but the top should be at about the same point or not quite as far as the upper ridge of the current middle button. I may want a wider 'wheel' but only a raised blue tactile area in the center (eg, the blue O ring) turns. The rest is pure button. I'll mock that one up next I guess... It can feel ~ no different than the slight differences between trackpoint buttons that already exist. Placement is the highest importance. I found it less jarring than, eg, the transition from T20 where middle button was in a completely different place.
Which is not to say I think EmulateWheel should be replaced, but that I would rather have the wheel. If it can be added without getting in the way of people who don't want to use it, it should be added....
no subject
Date: 2015-09-03 05:06 pm (UTC)I used to use EmulateWheel, which is reasonably comfy on laptops where the buttons are at the same level as the trackpoint nub. On desktop keyboards like the M and SSII, the buttons are on the frame, the better part of an inch lower. Manipulating the nub with forefinger while holding the middle button down with the thumb is somewhat less comfy there.
My mockups indicate a few things about a wheel, at least the way I'd want to use it...
On a laptop keyboard, the nub needs to be set at about the same level as the trackpoint, not higher. On desktop, it needs to be above the button ridges, but lower than the spacebar.
It needs to be set far enough forward from L/R that the thumbs can press or slide between the lower ridge of both buttons without hitting the wheel. Not as far as landing exactly between the normal buttons and spacebar, but the top should be at about the same point or not quite as far as the upper ridge of the current middle button.
I may want a wider 'wheel' but only a raised blue tactile area in the center (eg, the blue O ring) turns. The rest is pure button. I'll mock that one up next I guess...
It can feel ~ no different than the slight differences between trackpoint buttons that already exist. Placement is the highest importance. I found it less jarring than, eg, the transition from T20 where middle button was in a completely different place.
Which is not to say I think EmulateWheel should be replaced, but that I would rather have the wheel. If it can be added without getting in the way of people who don't want to use it, it should be added....