Tag: optomechanical encoder

MicroSpeed’s PC-TRACK trackball, released in 1991, has a significantly better ergonomic design than the company’s previous model, the FastTRAP trackball. This trackball has a symmetrical design, suitable for both right- and left-handers. The trackball is big. MicroSpeed chose a 2.25-inch ball for this device because their research showed a significant increase in cursor positioning accuracy with a larger ball. Studies…

The TopTrak trackball is medium in size and has rounded corners. The device is equipped with a 2.5 m cable, which is much longer than the typical distance between the user and the system unit. The trackball has a serial connection interface. Additionally, the trackball comes with a steel foot pedal, which duplicates the left mouse button and adds another…

The FastTRAP device from MicroSpeed, released in 1987, is a trackball with three buttons, as well as an additional wheel, thanks to which it can generate coordinates not along two, but along three coordinate axes – x, y, and z – that is, it supports one more coordinate plane than a mouse or tablet. The additional axis was designed primarily…

The microLYNX trackball (or “µLYNX” if Greek characters are allowed), was manufactured in California by Honeywell, a subsidiary of Disc Instruments. Having appeared in 1986 or a year earlier (some of the advertising materials are dated 1985), the trackball proved to be a long-liver and subsequently withstood many incarnations as the model “LX200”, which differed in connection interfaces, electronics and…

Apparently, the Colani Trackball was, along with the mouse of the same name, among the first so-called “designer” mice – devices officially developed in collaboration with celebrities in the field of technical design. This mouse was named and shaped by Luigi Colani. Colani is best known in the automotive industry, with about 40 concept cars; no less actively he designed…

The most notable visual feature of the Easy Options trackball is the 60s home appliance style design. Turning the device upside down shows the FCC ID code, which reveals that the trackball has been manufactured by a Taiwanese company since 1993. As you can see in the figure below, this manipulator is relatively small. In terms of ergonomics, one can…

The Truedox model 300 trackball was produced by Truedox Technology Corporation in Taiwan. The manufacturing company not only sold the device under its own name, but also actively provided it for rebranding, as a result of which the model 300 is more common under other names, such as Memorex or Sunnyline, than under the original brand. In particular, this copy…

The evolution MOUSE-TRAK trackball was manufactured by ITAC Systems, a Texas-based company specializing primarily in high-quality, ergonomic trackballs for professional use. The company positioned itself as a pioneer in the production of trackballs for Unix systems and X terminals since the MOUSE-TRAK model release in the late eighties. Introduced to solve the problem of the repetitive strain injury (RSI) syndrome…