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| PC World - 22 Jan (PC World)Lenovo’s iconic crimson red TrackPoint nub, which has been going strong for three decades, is a staple of ThinkPad laptops. However, this year at CES, Lenovo announced that it’s ditching the nub on the ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition laptops.
It’s a surprising move and although Lenovo’s not removing the nub on every single laptop at this time, who knows what the future holds. It’s entirely possible Lenovo may completely phase out the TrackPoint nub in the next couple of years. So, as a way to celebrate the nub, let’s dive into its long and sometimes complicated history.
Further reading: Lenovo’s newest ThinkBook laptop ‘unrolls’ for extra screen space
The TrackPoint served as an alternative to the traditional mouse
The TrackPoint burst onto the scene in 1992 with the release of the IBM ThinkPad 700C laptop, which was originally designed as a data entry tablet for hospitals and health care workers. The nub, which sits in the middle of the G, H, and B keys, allows you to move the cursor on your screen without ever having to lift your hands off of the keyboard. Essentially, it’s a joystick that sits in the middle of the keyboard. It works by applying direct pressure with a fingertip — the more pressure you apply, the faster the cursor moves.
Computer scientist Ted Selker originally developed the pointing-stick technology for IBM, which later became known as the TrackPoint. This was innovative at the time because trackpads weren’t invented yet, so computer users were still relying on traditional mice to navigate the content on their screens. Not only did the pointing stick reduce wrist strain, but it also saves the user “0.75 seconds” (according to a study from Selker), which is the time it takes to shift from the keyboard to the mouse.
Nowadays, trackpads are the norm on laptops. While TrackPoint technology still exists, there’s a steep learning curve. Personally, I find that I have better control over the cursor with the trackpad than with the TrackPoint nub. That said, there’s a whole Reddit community of true TrackPoint fanatics if you’re looking to find your people.
IBM adds negative inertia to the TrackPoint
The TrackPoint underwent a couple of different revisions under IBM. However, the most notable revisions arrived in the third and fourth iteration of the nub. IBM added negative inertia to the TrackPoint III, which increases accuracy by counteracting the positive inertia with applied force, making it feel less sluggish. The fourth iteration, dubbed the TrackPoint IV, had a press-to-select feature that allowed you to select items on the screen by pressing down on the pointing stick.
These days you can disable the TrackPoint altogether if you prefer to use the trackpad. The TrackPoint is also compatible with other operating systems (including Windows and Linux), and you can adjust the cursor speed and acceleration.
The nub and its various designs
The TrackPoint’s crimson cap went through a series of changes, too. In the above interview with Laptop Retrospective, former IBM designer David Hill explains the evolution of the iconic red cap. The original TrackPoint had a smooth rubber red cap that was dome-like, but it was prone to wear and tear and it had poor traction. The “Cat Tongue” nub, on the other hand, exhibited excellent traction but it was a dirt magnet. It also felt a bit like sandpaper and was uncomfortable to use.
Hill even experimented with a design that resembled a bicycle seat in shape. The idea behind this design was to increase the diameter of the nub, but there were concerns that it would hinder the user’s typing experience. Though the design never came to fruition, it’s still an interesting little tidbit of information. Speaking of interesting tidbits of information, the blood red red cap that we know and love almost didn’t happen!
IBM’s product safety division had a lot of power at the time. In fact, they said the color red was reserved for the emergency button on their mainframe computers, so it couldn’t be used for the TrackPoint. You want to know how ThinkPad designer Richard Sapper got around this? The nub’s red color was altered slightly and called magenta. However, when the first batch of ThinkPad laptops shipped, the engineers made the TrackPoint more crimson in color. Talk about a loophole, yeah?
Lenovo acquired the TrackPoint brand from IBM in 2005
Lenovo purchased IBM’s PC division in 2005 for approximately $1.75 billion, thus acquiring the ThinkPad brand of laptops and the TrackPoint technology that came along with it. This was a big deal at the time because, according to this article from PC Mag, “no Chinese company had acquired a major U.S. company” up until that point. It turns out that Lenovo’s acquisition was pretty damn lucrative. As of October 2022, Lenovo has sold over 200 million ThinkPads.
IBM sold its PC division to shift focus from hardware to software. The company was also up against some pretty stiff competition and profits from the PC division were declining; selling off the PC division helped improve its financial situation.
Lenovo removed the TrackPoint nub from the ThinkPad 11e in 2014
Lenovo removed the TrackPoint from the (now discontinued) ThinkPad 11e back in 2014, which was a surprising move from the company. However, the reasoning was perfectly sound (at least in my eyes!). The ThinkPad 11e was designed for the education market, so the company didn’t want to risk including the TrackPoint nub because it posed a potential choking hazard for younger PC users.
Of course, die-hard fans weren’t happy about the missing TrackPoint on the ThinkPad 11e, but the thing that really pissed them off was the removal of the left and right mouse buttons at the top of the touchpad on the X1 Carbon model. This design choice caused a rebellion so great that Lenovo quickly changed course and permanently brought back the left and right mouse buttons on the second generation of the X1 Carbon. Wild, right?
The takeaway nobody asked for
The TrackPoint is something of a legacy item, a beloved relic of the past. While it was innovative at the time, I’m not sure it’ll survive the rising tide of modern laptop technology and design. Though long-time fans will likely raise their pitchforks and torches at Lenovo’s TrackPoint-less Aura Edition laptops, I can’t help but wonder… is this a glimpse into what’s to come? Will Lenovo finally ditch the TrackPoint nub for good? It’s likely. Very likely. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | Sydney Morning Herald - 21 Jan (Sydney Morning Herald)The top German has questioned why let calls at Melbourne Park are left to the human eye, rather than available technology. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Sydney Morning Herald |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 21 Jan (ITBrief) Seagate Technology has begun shipping Exos M hard drive samples with capacities up to 36TB, utilising its Mozaic 3+ platform to enhance data storage solutions. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | PC World - 21 Jan (PC World)At a glanceExpert`s Rating
Pros
Compact and versatile, with a long power cord
Easy-to-navigate app
Solid motion-detection technology, including face recognition
Cons
1080p video resolution
Some stability issues
Useless without a subscription
A high price for what’s delivered
Our Verdict
The myQ Outdoor Camera’s long cable makes for flexible installation options, but its low video resolution is showing off some dated tech, and you’ll need to pay for a subscription to save video at all.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Prices Today: myQ Smart Outdoor Wired Camera (model MYQ-C43AXXW)
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$60.11
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myQ continues to step further and further from its garage door controller roots with another camera—its third—this one designed for outdoor use.
The Chamberlain Group-owned operation seems intent not to reinvent the wheel here. Aside from a light cosmetic change to the base, this is very much the same camera as the myQ Indoor Camera and the Garage Camera.
This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras as well as the best smart garage door controllers.
Specifications
The swiveling ball-and-socket base is the main departure from the design of myQ’s prior models, and the design change means that the myQ Outdoor Camera must be installed on a wall, though theoretically it could also work on a ceiling in a pinch. Fortunately, physical installation is easy: A small mounting plate attaches with two screws (included) to the wall, and the camera locks into the plate with a twisting motion.
We thought we’d seen the last of Micro-USB connections.Christopher Null/Foundry
Instead of being hardwired, like the indoor camera, a 25-foot-long USB power cable is included, though as further proof of the camera’s lack of forward momentum, it uses a Micro-USB interface instead of the more modern—and far more convenient—USB-C. On the plus side, the cable has a rubber gasket around the plug to help prevent water intrusion into the camera. The unit carries an IP65 weather resistance rating. According to our IP code decoder, that means it should be dustproof and able to withstand a blast of water from a jet nozzle.
Setup is a simple process, using a painless Bluetooth connection to bridge to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network within the myQ mobile app.
Otherwise, its specs are indistinguishable from the indoor camera: resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 130-degree field of view, two-way audio, and standard infrared night vision are all included. As with myQ’s other cameras, while live video is always available on demand, the unit is designed exclusively to record on motion detection—and only to myQ’s cloud service (more on this later).
Installation and setup
The myQ Outdoor Camera is designed to mount on a vertical surface, but you could hang it from an eave in a pinch.Christopher Null/Foundry
Setup is a simple process, using a painless Bluetooth connection to bridge to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network within the myQ mobile app (5GHz networks are not supported). If you have other myQ devices, the camera shows up within the app as another selection in the app’s vertical collection of devices (and beneath a large ad you can’t get rid of).
Managing the camera is an equally simple matter of tapping the preview screen, which in turn takes you to a basic live view, where you can grab a snapshot (though not a recording), turn the microphone on for two-way communication, or enter the settings menu. It’s a bare-bones interface, so users looking for more advanced recording features should probably select a different product.
Performance
I’ve always found myQ cameras to have reasonably good video despite their low resolution, and the Outdoor Camera is no exception. Video is only a little bulbous due to the fish-eye lens, but colors look good during the day and nighttime video is surprisingly crisp—better than I’ve seen on other myQ gear. myQ doesn’t state how long recordings are limited to, but only one of the recordings in my multiple days of testing exceeded 30 seconds. (It was still less than a minute long.)
You’ll find all the expected detection and recording options you’d expect to see in a modern security camera, but you can’t record any clips without a paid subscription. Christopher Null/Foundry
The myQ Outdoor Camera’s motion detection was also solid in my testing, and even at low sensitivity it was able to pick up distant figures moving. It was even able to identify my face from more than 40 feet away, using its new AI-powered face-detection feature. Thanks to firmware updates, the camera (and all others in the myQ line) can now be configured to detect animals, vehicles, and people in addition to faces you register with the app. It all works quite well—and detection zones are supported if you want to block out certain parts of the image from recording (to protect your neighbor’s privacy, for instance).
On the other hand, the myQ ecosystem’s stability remained something of a problem in my testing. Live video and recorded clips were often slow to load, and the app or camera crashed on two occasions completely, throwing out a cryptic error I was unable to bypass and requiring the camera to be power cycled before it would work again. That can be a big problem if you mount the camera high on a wall.
the myQ Outdoor Camera’s bright green LED cannot be overriden. Christopher Null/Foundry
I also don’t love the very bright green LED that appears front and center above the camera lens. This light is always on and can’t be turned off; I found it so annoying that I ended up putting a piece of electrical tape over it.
Recorded clips are getting easier to flip through; myQ’s “History” tab puts all video activity from all your myQ devices in chronological order on one screen, and you can filter out certain devices or types of events as desired with a tap. Some minor upgrades to the myQ app in recent months seem to have made this process a little more intuitive than it was in the past.
Should you buy a myQ Outdoor Camera?
The bad news is that almost none of this will work without a subscription: A plan is required if you want to save video, period. Those plans have not changed since our most recent myQ camera review, with two plans still offered: $4/month or $40/year for seven days of storage on a single camera; or $10/month or $100/year for 30 days of storage on multiple cameras (no device limit specified). A 30-day trial of the single-device plan is included with purchase.
But there’s another spot of worse news for you: While the myQ Indoor Camera runs just $38, the Outdoor Camera is priced at a whopping $80. I’m not sure that a long USB cable merits double the outlay over the previous iteration of the camera, but if you’re already happy with the myQ ecosystem and are looking for something with more of a permanent mounting option, the upgrade may not be seen as outrageous.
That said, I’d only recommend it for users who are already invested in the myQ ecosystem. Those who aren’t already wed to myQ will get a better deal on an outdoor camera elsewhere. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | BBCWorld - 21 Jan (BBCWorld)Experts in Leeds say new technology now allows them to reach previously `inoperable` tumours. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
|  | | ITBrief - 20 Jan (ITBrief) Athelis Health Club in Warrington has remarkably cut membership fraud by 90% by implementing advanced facial recognition technology from i-PRO. Read...Newslink ©2025 to ITBrief |  |
|  | | Aardvark - 20 Jan (Aardvark)China is pushing back against US bans on its technology in an interesting way. Read...Newslink ©2025 to Aardvark |  |
|  | | PC World - 19 Jan (PC World)TL;DR: Charge four devices at once with the 100W Omega USB-C GaN Charger on sale for $59.99.
Having a lot of different devices means you also have a lot of different batteries to manage. That’s a lot easier when you can use one charger for all of them.
The Omega 100W GaN Charger is a compact, practical solution for charging multiple devices. It has two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, providing up to 100W of power. That means you can charge a laptop, phone, and tablet at the same time. It’s also on sale for $59.99 (reg. $119).
This charger uses GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology to charge efficiently without overheating, but it’s not one of those huge bricks. The Omega is smaller than a lot of traditional chargers, so you can pop it in your pocket or bag. It’s compatible with global voltages, so you can use it wherever you go, whether at home, in the office, or abroad. The charger uses smart power distribution to make sure that each connected device gets the appropriate charge without overheating or slowing down.
Simplify your charging setup.
Get a 100W Omega USB-C GaN Charger for $59.99.
100W Omega USB-C GaN Charger – $59.99
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StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...Newslink ©2025 to PC World |  |
|  | | BBCWorld - 19 Jan (BBCWorld)The government says technology should `make people`s lives easier` but any system won`t be mandatory. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
|  | | BBCWorld - 18 Jan (BBCWorld)The two countries sign a 20-year treaty covering areas ranging from defence and technology to energy and trade. Read...Newslink ©2025 to BBCWorld |  |
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