trackball

A trackball is a computer cursor control device used in many notebook and laptop computers. The trackball is usually located in front of the keyboard toward the user. Essentially, the trackball is an upside-down mouse that rotates in place within a socket. The user rolls the ball to direct the cursor to the desired place on the screen and can click one of two buttons (identical to mouse buttons) near the trackball to select desktop objects or position the cursor for text entry.

IBM's ThinkPad series of notebook computers uses a "pointing stick", called a TrackPoint, that is integrated into the middle of the keyboard keys.

Last updated on: Apr 05, 2005

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