What is the correct term for the mouse pointer/nipple/joystick thingy in the middle of a laptop's keyboard?

75

6

I want to call it a "mouse nipple" or maybe a "joystick", although I know these are not correct.

It's different from the touchpad, which is below the keyboard and has dedicated click buttons. Instead, it sits smack in the middle of the keyboard at the bottom right corner of the G key and bottom left corner of the H key. Tapping it translates to a click and nudging it left/right/up/down controls the pointer on the screen.

What is the correct term for this thing? I'd like to google some info about configuring it, but my google fu fails without the proper name.

Doug T.

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 1 891

2We called it the clit. I'm surprised nobody else mentioned it. – Stephan Muller – 2015-02-13T14:59:09.403

2The challenge is to find an appropriate term that doesn't have a sexual connotation. – Jahmic – 2016-11-29T07:14:07.620

26"annoying" sums it up for me. – Shadur – 2012-06-19T17:00:52.130

6Whatever it is, it kills trackpads! Love that red nub – Simon Sheehan – 2012-06-20T04:18:04.530

2It's always been called a 'nipple' be it a keyboard/mouse/laptop nipple... Have called them that for 8+ years and informed many thousands of others it's called such :) – HaydnWVN – 2012-06-20T16:16:01.600

It should be called a keymouse. – VISQL – 2012-06-20T17:54:08.630

"What laptops should have stayed with rather then cluttering up my machine with an inaccurate and slow touchpad" I mean, really. Tap tap tap tap Finally at the edge of the screen. Oh wait, I clicked by accident. – Canageek – 2012-06-21T01:05:53.797

Answers

88

pointing stick

The above device is generically called pointing stick:

The pointing stick (trademarked by IBM as the TrackPoint and by Synaptics as the TouchStyk) is an isometric joystick used as a pointing device (compare especially touchpad and trackball). It was invented by research scientist Ted Selker. It is present on many brands of laptops, including Lenovo's line of ThinkPad laptops, Toshiba Tecra laptops, HP business notebooks and on Dell Latitudes under the name of Track Stick. It has also been used on computer mice and on some desktop keyboards (as an integrated pointing device).

Dennis

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 42 934

15On a side note: The first result for the Google query mouse nipple is actually the Wikipedia entry I quoted. – Dennis – 2012-06-19T13:33:46.233

32I like mouse nipple can I get a trademark for that? Just think of the potential to advertise..."The Mouse Nipple 34DD is the newest improvement...in nipple technolgy." – Ramhound – 2012-06-19T13:48:21.927

2I've always called it a nipple. After all, it bears no relation to pointing or stick whatsoever. – nicodemus13 – 2012-06-20T14:04:04.467

1I typically refer to it as "That IBM touch-pad replacement I used as a mouse when I completed Half-life 1 on Hard.Request clarification or suggest improvements. – medivh – 2013-07-19T11:39:17.620

74

Apparently, the thing goes by many different names...

One of the most formal names is TrackPoint™-style pointer.

Other less formal or abusive names can be found on XKCD (16+, may not be safe for work).

Marcks Thomas

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 5 749

3Nub was the first thing that came to mind. – Bratch – 2012-06-19T15:05:23.573

4"Stupid red cap that pops off and gets lost in the bottom of the bag" , "Eraser that got attacked by a Dremel"... – voretaq7 – 2012-06-19T15:41:03.000

3I wish we could up-vote edits. I almost down-voted the original incarnation of this answer, since it was more of a joke answer than actually useful. Now I don't want to up-vote it because the credit won't go to the person who actually made it more appropriate. – Iszi – 2012-06-19T17:53:24.763

The original incarnation contained an image with the answer "TrackPoint™". I don't think "Style Pointer" is a name for it, rather a "TrackPoint™ Style Pointer" (all one name) - so if anything the edit has lessened the usefulness/correctness. Up-voted for the original answer as it was. – lucideer – 2012-06-19T18:45:05.220

IBM is (was) a big player in producing these things, and their product was called TrackPoint. So TrackPoint Style Pointer means a pointer in TrackPoint style. – ONOZ – 2012-06-20T08:55:19.003

It's always been the informal for me. Like in life, the responce you get from the damn thing isn't always what you'd expect. – Chef Flambe – 2012-06-26T00:31:33.223

29

There is no single correct term since there is no de-jure authority for naming of computer parts.

Different manufacturers use differrent names, you could therefore choose to regard the makers name for a thing as it's correct name

  • IBM: Track Point
  • Dell: Track Stick
  • Toshiba: AccuPoint

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick#Naming_and_brands

RedGrittyBrick

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 70 632

Yes, I have known those things as an "accupoint" since about 1999 – Mark Henderson – 2012-06-19T22:21:05.260

Indeed. The Satellite Pro got me hooked on the term "accupoint", and also single-handedly made me hate the infernal thing. – Nathan Cox – 2012-06-19T22:26:59.573

Just ordered a couple of these from the Dell Preimer website for the CIO a few days ago, they were referred to as "PointSticks" – LawrenceC – 2012-06-20T11:24:01.467

18

I like to call it the "GHB stick", since it usually resides between G, H, and B. However, I'm not aware of anyone else using that particular terminology.

Iszi

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 11 686

1This makes a lot of sense actually. I will adapt it, for kicks :D – Der Hochstapler – 2012-06-19T17:51:33.537

Whoa, this is another weird double entendre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Hydroxybutyric_acid

– CamelBlues – 2012-06-19T20:42:22.827

@CamelBlues I knew it sounded familiar, but couldn't pin down why. – Iszi – 2012-06-19T20:49:07.043

So would that be the "Ghib stick"? – Nathan Cox – 2012-06-19T22:27:30.023

@NathanCox Nice, but I usually just pronounce the letter likes: "gee aitch bee stick". – Iszi – 2012-06-20T02:27:52.933

2

XKCD aside, I've also heard it referred to as a 'pushpoint' - which I guess makes sense as a more generic term for 'trackpoint' just like 'pushpad' is a more generic term than 'trackpad'.

pjz

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 460

Can't say I've ever heard "pushpad" used in place of "trackpad", but I can see the logic. I'm not really sure how one is particularly more generic than the other, though. Is "trackpad" trademarked or something? – Iszi – 2012-06-20T13:09:52.567

1

eraser

I have heard of it being called the "eraser", or some longer phrase like "eraser pointer", "eraser controller", "eraser stick", "eraser thing", etc. (Some implementations just look like a little red cylinder, and don't have little bumps on the top, like the bumps on the picture above. Perhaps especially due to their commonly-red color, they look kind of like a thin pencil eraser.)

TOOGAM

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 12 651

That said, I favor "pointing stick" as the most generic and technically-accepted term. I'm just adding this to the mix as I've definitely heard this being used on multiple occasions. – TOOGAM – 2017-09-17T01:28:29.443

0

When it's clear from context that you're talking about a computer input device (so you don't need the more precise terms in Dennis's and Mark's answers), I've heard it called a nub.

The word nub is also useful to refer particularly to the separable rubber component, when you're distinguishing it from the pointing device as a unit (e.g. when replacing it).

Mechanical snail

Posted 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

Reputation: 6 625

Asked: 2012-06-19T13:23:31.140

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Active: 2017-09-17T01:27:36.833