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

Question

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.

Answer 1

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).

Answer 2

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).

Answer 3

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

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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'.

Answer 6

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.)

Answer 7

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).