Skip to main content

pointless thoughts on trackpad design




to: hp customer service
from: kip austin hinton
subject: why are hp trackpads on the left side of the computer?

i have a dv5000 (made in 2006). the trackpad is centered, equal distance from the left and right sides of the computer. all older models i have found had their trackpads centered.

i was thinking of a new laptop. but on your website, all the models i'm interested in have the trackpad on the left side. i don't mean slightly to the left - one edge of the trackpad lines up precisely with the center, and 100% of the trackpad is to the left of that edge. at bestbuy, it was very awkward for me to reach and use the new hp trackpads, because i am right handed (fun fact: the majority of humans are right handed). to be specific: i type with my right fingers on the right side of the keyboard, so if i want to push the "enter" or "delete" button, i use my right hand, never my left hand; if i plug in a mouse, i place that mouse on the right side of the computer, never on the left side.

so a few questions -

1. are you primarily marketing your laptops toward left-handers?

2. with the new laptops, how long will my right wrist last before i develop carpal tunnel?

3. seriously, can i special order a laptop with the trackpad on the right side?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

translation of the Manu Chao song "Me Llaman Calle"

this is about my translation of the Manu Chao song "Me Llaman Calle." [ video below ] i'm reasonably close to a literal translation, with changes to fit the rhythm and number of syllables per line. "baldosa" is like ladrilla (a brick to build a house) except flat like a tile. based on context, i translate it as "cobblestones." Chao also uses "maquinita," literally "little machine," but this implies a small device in english (a machine that does something, but does not move itself - such as a laminating machine, a blood-glucose meter, or an ATM) - so i use "little engine" instead, to imply movement. the one line i'm not happy with is the translation of "no me rebajo"; if i wasn't worried about rhythm, i would translate it as "it doesn't dig ruts into me." the tricky part is that this word, rut, is almost never used as a present-tense transitive verb in english. we generally use it as a noun (

"Our Founding Illegals"

"Our Founding Illegals" by William Hogeland New York Times, December 26, 2006 [not only are we a nation of immigrants - we are a nation of illegal immigrants. undocumented workers. including our "greatest" european ancestors.] America’s pioneer values developed in a distinctly illegal context. In 1763, George III drew a line on a map stretching from modern-day Maine to modern-day Georgia, along the crest of the Appalachians. He declared it illegal to claim or settle land west of the line, all of which he reserved for Native Americans. George Washington, a young colonel in the Virginia militia, instructed his land-buying agents in the many ways of getting around the law. Although Washington was not alone in acquiring forbidden tracts, few were as energetic in the illegal acquisition of western land... Washington harbored no fond feeling for breakers of laws that he too had recently flouted. “It is hard upon me,” he lamented without irony, “to have property which has

"how much our love meant to me"

driving to Palisades Park yesterday (saw Apples in Stereo , Page France & Headlights the night before). birds scuttled in formation along the shiny crashing waves. - Amalia and i translated this Ramon Ayala song. while she focused on meaning, i worked on rhyme. together, it is ready for the studio. so mr. Ayala, if you're jonesin' for a Third Coast top ten hit, we offer our translation services for a reasonable fee. it is unanimous, Ayala's music is the best for when we dance together. - she kept wanting to translate "rama" as "ram." i agree with her, everyone should start using "ram" in English, instead of "branch." let's say this new vocabulary is a combination tribute to Ramon Ayala and Ramiro Ayala . (no relation. that tree blocking the door - it should've been mesquite, but i think it's a live oak .) - probably title this " the mesquite tree ." - the branch of the mesquite tree where you were waiting