Why do some laptops have a 'red button' in the middle of the keyboard?

In 1992, researchers Ted Selker and Joe Rutledger came to IBM with an idea: to come up with a special button in the middle of a laptop keyboard that would work. It seemed to work, and it was Richard Sapir, one of the most important industrial designers of the 20th century, who made it happen. Called the TrackPoint, the red button was first added to the IBM ThinkPad 700c.

TrackPoint first appeared on the IBM ThinkPad 700c

IBM rethought its future a few years ago and decided to exit the commercial market to focus on more professional areas. That move included selling its laptop division to Lenovo, so the ThinkPad brand now belongs to Lenovo, including the TrackPoint.

Lenovo continued to use this red button in their later laptops, but not many people knew about its usefulness. Many users thought it was a kind of “backup” trackpad in case the original trackpad broke, allowing the user to continue using the laptop. But this was a mistake because it actually meant something.

TrackPoint is designed to improve productivity by eliminating the need to move your hands between the keyboard and the trackpad. Its location is not random, as it is the natural area for typing. A slight movement of your finger is enough to move the mouse to perform an action.

One interesting thing is that it has a “changeable” nature, depending on the pressure of the finger and the type of finger we use (left or right index finger), the TrackPoint will work in different ways. The most interesting thing is that depending on the force of the impact, the mouse pointer will move faster or slower. Having to jump from the keyboard to the mouse and vice versa is quite time-consuming. Through this system, the change is instantaneous.

After being acquired by Lenovo, TrackPoint still exists on the company's laptop lines.

The problem with the red button is that it doesn’t allow for right or left click functionality. To fix this, many laptops place these at the top of the trackpad. The TrackPoint is usually red for easy identification, but it can also be black, or customized in green.

The accuracy of this button is superior to that of a normal touchpad. However, if you are new to working, it may take some time to get used to because it is very different from what we have done on a normal laptop keyboard. Once you get used to it, over time it becomes very convenient to use.

Overall, the TrackPoint is seen as a mouse that replaces the touchpad on the keyboard but feels practical and is geared towards efficiency. By detecting different pressure levels and even between the right and left hands, productivity is greatly improved. It will take some time for users to get used to using the TrackPoint, but they will definitely see the efficiency it brings.

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