Editing Trackball

{{For|the game of catch|Trac Ball}}
{{short description|Pointing device}}
[[File:Wireless-trackman-mouse.jpg|thumb|[[Logitech]] Cordless TrackMan Wheel trackball mouse]]
[[File:Trackball-Kensington-ExpertMouse5.jpg|thumb|250px|The original version of the [[Kensington Computer Products Group|Kensington]] Expert Mouse can use a standard [[Billiard ball#American-style pool|American pool ball]] as a trackball.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}]]

A '''trackball''' is a [[pointing device]] consisting of a [[ball]] held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball [[mouse (computing)|mouse]] with an exposed protruding ball.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 1996|title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Track Ball|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-015/page/n43/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=15|page=42}}</ref> Users roll the ball to position the on-screen [[pointer (computing WIMP)|pointer]], using their [[thumb]], [[finger]]s, or the palm of the [[hand]], while using the fingertips to press the buttons.<ref name="FOLDOC">{{FOLDOC|tracker+ball}}</ref>

With most trackballs, operators have to lift their finger, thumb or hand and reposition it on the ball to continue rolling, whereas a mouse would have to be lifted itself and re-positioned. Some trackballs have notably low friction, as well as being made of a dense material such as [[phenolic resin]], so they can be spun to make them coast. The trackball's buttons may be in similar positions to those of a mouse, or configured to suit the user.

Large trackballs are common on [[Computer-aided design|CAD]] workstations for easy precision.{{Citation needed|reason=This is an unsourced statement dating back to the original article copied from FOLDOC, dated 1996. An image search of "cad workstation" doesn't produce a single image showing a trackball in several pages' worth of results.|date=December 2023}} Before the advent of the [[touchpad]], small trackballs were common on [[laptop|portable computers]] (such as the [[BlackBerry Tour]]) where there may be no desk space on which to run a mouse. Some small "thumballs" are designed to clip onto the side of the [[computer keyboard|keyboard]] and have integral buttons with the same function as mouse buttons.<ref name="FOLDOC" />

== History ==
{{Anchor|Ball tracker|Roller ball|Rollkugel}}

The trackball was invented as part of a post-[[World War II]]-era radar plotting system named [[Comprehensive Display System]] (CDS) by [[Ralph Benjamin]] when working for the British [[Royal Navy]] Scientific Service.<ref name="Hill_2005_Benjamin"/><ref name="Copping_2013_Benjamin"/> Benjamin's project used [[analog computer]]s to calculate the future position of target aircraft based on several initial input points provided by a user with a [[joystick]]. Benjamin felt that a more elegant input device was needed and invented a ''ball tracker''<ref name="Hill_2005_Benjamin"/><ref name="Copping_2013_Benjamin"/> system called the ''roller ball''<ref name="Hill_2005_Benjamin"/> for this purpose in 1946.<ref name="Hill_2005_Benjamin"/><ref name="Copping_2013_Benjamin"/> The device was patented in 1947,<ref name="Hill_2005_Benjamin">{{cite web
|title=RALPH BENJAMIN: An Interview Conducted by Peter C. J. Hill
|first=Peter C. J.
|last=Hill
|date=2005-09-16
|type=Interview
|series=Interview #465
|url=http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Oral-History:Ralph_Benjamin
|access-date=2013-07-18
|archive-date=2013-10-15
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015084700/http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Oral-History:Ralph_Benjamin
|url-status=live
}}</ref> but only a prototype using a metal ball rolling on two rubber-coated wheels was ever built<ref name="Copping_2013_Benjamin"/> and the device was kept as a military secret.<ref name="Copping_2013_Benjamin">{{cite web
|title=Briton: 'I invented the computer mouse 20 years before the Americans'
|first=Jasper
|last=Copping
|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|The Telegraph]]
|date=2013-07-11
|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10174366/Briton-I-invented-the-computer-mouse-20-years-before-the-Americans.html
|access-date=2013-07-18
|archive-date=2013-07-14
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714164020/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10174366/Briton-I-invented-the-computer-mouse-20-years-before-the-Americans.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Production versions of the CDS used joysticks.

The CDS system had also been viewed by a number of engineers from [[Ferranti-Packard|Ferranti Canada]], who returned to Canada and began development of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]]'s [[DATAR]] system in 1952. Principal designers Tom Cranston, Fred Longstaff and [[Kenyon Taylor]] chose the trackball as the primary input, using a standard [[five-pin bowling]] ball as the roller. DATAR was similar in concept to Benjamin's display, but used a [[digital computer]] to calculate tracks, and sent the resulting data to other ships in a task force using [[pulse-code modulation]] radio signals.<ref name="Vardalas_1994_DATAR">{{Cite web
|title=From DATAR To The FP-6000 Computer: Technological Change In A Canadian Industrial Context
|first=John
|last=Vardalas
|publisher=IEEE
|work=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
|date=1994
|volume=16
|series=No. 2
|url=https://ewh.ieee.org/reg/7/millennium/fp6000/fp6000_datar.html
|access-date=2007-10-15
|archive-date=2008-09-07
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907233232/http://ewh.ieee.org/reg/7/millennium/fp6000/fp6000_datar.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

DATAR's trackball used four disks to pick up motion, two each for the X and Y directions. Several additional rollers provided mechanical support. When the ball was rolled, the pickup discs spun and contacts on their outer rim made periodic contact with wires, producing pulses of output with each movement of the ball. By counting the pulses, the physical movement of the ball could be determined.

Since 1966, the American company ''Orbit Instrument Corporation'' produced a device named ''X-Y Ball Tracker'', a trackball, which was embedded into radar flight control desks.<ref name="Bülow_2009_Rollkugel"/><ref>{{cite web|title=ORBIT X-Y Ball Tracker|publisher=oldmouse.com|url=http://www.oldmouse.com/trackball/orbit.shtml|access-date=2013-08-03|archive-date=2013-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005122238/http://www.oldmouse.com/trackball/orbit.shtml|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

A similar trackball device at the German ''{{lang|de|{{Interlanguage link multi|Bundesanstalt für Flugsicherung|de}}}}'' was constructed by a team around {{ill|Rainer Mallebrein|de}} of Telefunken {{lang|de|Konstanz}} as part of the development for the [[Telefunken]] computer infrastructure around the main frame {{Interlanguage link multi|Telefunken TR 440|de|3=TR 440|lt=TR 440}}, process computer [[Telefunken TR 86|TR&nbsp;86]] and video terminal [[Telefunken SIG 100|SIG&nbsp;100-86]],<ref>{{cite web
|title=SIG-100 video terminal and mouse
|url=http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/input-output/14/346/1874
|access-date=2013-08-03
|archive-date=2013-08-27
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827055238/http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/input-output/14/346/1874
|url-status=live
}}</ref> which began in 1965.<ref name="Bülow_2009_Rollkugel"/> This trackball was called ''{{lang|de|Rollkugel}}'' (German for "rolling ball"). Somewhat later, the idea of "reversing" this device led to the introduction of the first computer [[ball mouse]] (still named ''{{lang|de|[[Rollkugel (mouse device)|Rollkugel]]}}'', model [[RKS 100-86]]), which was offered as an alternative input device to light pens and trackballs for Telefunken's computer systems since 1968.<ref name="Bülow_2009_Rollkugel">{{cite web |url=http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Auf-den-Spuren-der-deutschen-Computermaus--/meldung/136901 |title=Auf den Spuren der deutschen Computermaus |trans-title=In the footsteps of the German computer mouse |language=de |publisher=Heise Verlag |date=2009-04-28 |access-date=2013-01-07 |archive-date=2013-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127230503/http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Auf-den-Spuren-der-deutschen-Computermaus-216255.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="OldMouse_Telefunken">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldmouse.com/mouse/misc/telefunken.shtml|title=Telefunken's 'Rollkugel'|publisher=oldmouse.com|access-date=2013-08-03|archive-date=2013-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808075232/http://www.oldmouse.com/mouse/misc/telefunken.shtml|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Ebner_2018">{{cite news |title=Entwickler aus Singen über die Anfänge der Computermaus: "Wir waren der Zeit voraus" |language=de |trans-title=Singen-based developer about the advent of the computer mouse: "We were ahead of time" |author-first=Susanne |author-last=Ebner |department=Leben und Wissen |date=2018-01-24 |newspaper=[[Südkurier]] |publisher=[[Südkurier GmbH]] |publication-place=Konstanz, Germany |url=https://www.suedkurier.de/ueberregional/wissenschaft/Entwickler-aus-Singen-ueber-die-Anfaenge-der-Computermaus-Wir-waren-der-Zeit-voraus;art1350069,9590558 |access-date=2021-08-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302234231/https://www.suedkurier.de/ueberregional/wissenschaft/Entwickler-aus-Singen-ueber-die-Anfaenge-der-Computermaus-Wir-waren-der-Zeit-voraus;art1350069,9590558 |archive-date=2021-03-02}}</ref>

In later trackball models the electrical contacts were replaced by an [[optical chopper]] wheel, which had small slots cut into it in rather than electrical contacts. With an LED for illumination from one side and an optical sensor on the other, rotation of the wheel periodically blocks and unblocks the light, so the sensor produces electrical pulses to indicate that rotation is occurring.

Mice used the same basic system for determining motion, but had the problem that the ball was in contact with the desk or [[mousepad]]. In order to provide smooth motion the balls were often covered with an anti-slip surface treatment, which was, by design, sticky. Rolling the mouse tended to pick up any dirt and drag it into the system where it would clog the chopper wheels, demanding cleanup. In contrast the trackball is in contact only with the user's hand, which tends to be cleaner. In the late 1990s both mice and trackballs began using direct optical tracking which follows dots on the ball, avoiding the need for anti-slip surface treatment.

As with modern mice, most trackballs now have an auxiliary device primarily intended for scrolling. Some have a [[scroll wheel]] like most mice, but the most common type is a “scroll ring” which is spun around the ball. Kensington's SlimBlade Trackball similarly tracks the ball itself in three dimensions for scrolling.

{{asof|1989}} and into the 2020s, two major companies developed and produce consumer trackballs, [[Logitech]] and [[ACCO Brands|Kensington]], although Logitech has narrowed its product line to two models. Other smaller companies occasionally offer a trackball in their product line. [[Microsoft]] produced popular models including The Microsoft Trackball Explorer, but has since discontinued all of its products.

In September 2017 Logitech announced release of MX-Ergo Mouse,<ref name="techscoop.in">{{Cite web|url=https://www.techscoop.in/2017/09/gaming-mouse-that-goes-across-multiple.html|title=Gaming Mouse that goes across multiple systems: Logitech's MX-Ergo Trackball Mouse|access-date=2017-09-14|archive-date=2017-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914220758/https://www.techscoop.in/2017/09/gaming-mouse-that-goes-across-multiple.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which was released after 6 years of its last trackball mouse.

== Special applications ==
{{See also|List of trackball arcade games}}
[[File:Bandai-Apple-Pippin-Applejack-Controller-FL.jpg|thumb|An [[Apple Pippin]] [[gamepad]] with a trackball]]

Large trackballs are sometimes seen on computerized special-purpose workstations, such as the radar consoles in an [[air-traffic control]] room or [[sonar]] equipment on a ship or submarine. Modern installations of such equipment may use mice instead, since most people now already know how to use one. However, military mobile anti-aircraft radars, commercial airliners (such as [[Airbus A380]] and [[Airbus A350]]) and submarine sonars tend to continue using trackballs, since they can be made more durable and more fit for fast emergency use.  Large and well made ones allow easier high precision work, for which reason they may still be used in these applications (where they are often called "tracker balls") and in [[computer-aided design]].

Trackballs have appeared in [[video games]], particularly early [[arcade game]]s (see a ''[[List of trackball arcade games]]''). In March 1978, [[Sega]] released ''[[List of Sega arcade video games|World Cup]]'', an [[List of association football video games|association football game]] with trackball controls.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sega Arcade History |date=2002 |series=[[Famitsu DC]] |publisher=[[Enterbrain]] |page=34 |url=https://archive.org/details/segaarcadehistoryfamitsudc/page/n35 |lang=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WORLD CUP（ワールドカップ） |url=https://sega.jp/history/arcade/product/15316/ |website=[[Sega]] |access-date=2 May 2021 |language=ja |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502072259/https://sega.jp/history/arcade/product/15316/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 1978, Atari released ''[[Atari Football]]'',<ref name="atari_production99">{{cite web|title=Production Numbers|url=http://www.atarigames.com/atarinumbers90s.pdf|publisher=[[Atari]]|access-date=19 March 2012|year=1999|archive-date=10 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510143012/http://www.atarigames.com/atarinumbers90s.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> which popularized the use of a trackball, with the game's developers mentioning it was inspired by an earlier Japanese association football game.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stilphen |first1=Scott |title=Michael Albaugh interview |url=http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/michael_albaugh/interview_michael_albaugh.html |access-date=2 May 2021 |work=Atari Compendium |date=2017 |quote=I saw a soccer game with one (I remember only that it was Japanese, and a soccer game. Taito is plausible) |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502072258/http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/michael_albaugh/interview_michael_albaugh.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Steve L.|last=Kent|authorlink = Steven L. Kent|year=2001|title=[[The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond : the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world]]|publisher=Prima|isbn=0-7615-3643-4|page=118|quote=Contrary to a popular notion, Football was not the first game to use a trak-ball controller. According to Dave Stubben, who created the hardware for Atari Football, Taito beat Atari to market with a soccer game that used one. According to Steve Bristow, when his engineers saw the game, they brought a copy into their lab and imitated it.}}</ref> Other notable trackball games include Atari's ''[[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]]'' and ''[[Missile Command]]'' – Atari trademarked it "TRAK-BALL".

[[Video game console|Console]] trackballs, now fairly rare, were common in the early 1980s: the [[Atari 2600]] and [[Atari 5200|5200]] consoles, as well as the competing [[ColecoVision]] console, though using a [[joystick]] as their standard controller, each had one as an optional [[peripheral]].  The [[Apple Pippin]], a console introduced in 1996, had a trackball built into its [[gamepad]] as standard.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=July 1996|title=The Pippin Atmark|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_094_Volume_08_Number_07_1996-07_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n23/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=94|page=22}}</ref> Trackballs were occasionally used in e-sports prior to the mainstreaming of [[optical mouse|optical mice]] in the early 2000s because they were more reliable than ball mice, but now they are extremely rare because optical mice offer superior speed and precision.<ref name="techscoop.in"/> Trackballs remain in use in pub golf machines (such as [[Golden Tee]]) to simulate swinging the club.

Trackballs have also been regarded as excellent complements to analog [[joysticks]], as pioneered by the Assassin 3D, a trackball released in 1996 with joystick pass-through capability.<ref name="Assassin3D">{{cite web |url=https://dondeq2.com/2018/11/30/assassin-3d-precision-deathmatch-controller/ |title=Assassin 3D: Precision Deathmatch Controller |website=www.dondeq2.com |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122093150/https://dondeq2.com/2018/11/30/assassin-3d-precision-deathmatch-controller/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Later in 1996, [[Mad Catz]] released the [[Panther XL]], which was based on the Assassin 3D. This combination provides for two-hand aiming and a high accuracy and consistency replacement for the traditional mouse and keyboard combo generally used on [[first-person shooter]] games. Many such games natively support joysticks and analog player movement, like Valve's ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' and id Software's [[Quake (series)|''Quake'' series]]. {{As of|2020}}, one professional [[eSport]] player was known for using a trackball.<ref name="legend">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/interview-with-adrian-kerp-wetekam-mood-kept-going/1100-6437175/ |title=Interview with Adrian "Kerp" Wetekam - "Mood kept going down every week" |website=[[GameSpot|www.gamespot.com]] |last=Rouffa |first=Jonathan |date=1 March 2014 |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027215616/https://www.gamespot.com/a/v8798520cd6f71f31812f51e79fd207ba/bundles/gamespotsite/css/gamespot_white.css |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:TrackballPB145.jpg|thumb|A trackball mouse on an Apple [[PowerBook 145]] laptop computer]]
Trackballs are provided as the pointing device in some [[Internet access|public internet access terminals]]. Unlike a mouse, a trackball can easily be built into a console, and cannot be ripped away or easily vandalized. Two examples are the Internet browsing consoles provided in some UK [[McDonald's]] outlets, and the [[BT Group plc|BT]] Broadband Internet public [[phone box]]es. This simplicity and ruggedness also makes them ideal for use in industrial computers.

Because trackballs for personal computers are stationary, they may require less space for operation than a [[mouse (computing)|mouse]], simplifying use in confined or cluttered areas such as a small desk or a [[19-inch rack|rack-mounted]] terminal. They are generally preferred in laboratory setting for the same reason.

Trackballs were often included in laptop computers, but since the late 1990s these have been replaced by [[touchpad]]s and [[pointing stick]]s. Trackballs are still used as separate input devices with standard desktop computers, but this application is also moving to touchpads due to the prevalence of [[multi-touch]] gesture control in new desktop operating systems.<ref>{{cite web|last=Topolsky|first=Joshua|date=July 30, 2010|title=Apple Magic Trackpad Review|url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/07/30/apple-magic-trackpad-review/|website=[[Engadget]]|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-date=February 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220171802/https://www.engadget.com/2010/07/30/apple-magic-trackpad-review/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Ergonomics ==
[[File:Trackman marble wheel.JPG|thumb|[[Logitech]] TrackMan Marble Wheel designed to use the ball with the thumb]]

People with a mobility impairment use trackballs as an [[assistive technology]] input device. Access to an alternative pointing device has become even more important for them with the dominance of graphically-oriented operating systems. There are many alternative systems to be considered. The control surface of a trackball is easier to manipulate and the buttons can be activated without affecting the pointer position.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.axistive.com/alternative-pointing-systems-for-mobility-impaired-people.html| last=Dennis van der Heijden| title=Alternative Pointing Systems for Mobility Impaired People| publisher=Axistive| date=2006-03-15| access-date=2007-06-05| archive-date=2007-09-28| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044208/http://www.axistive.com/alternative-pointing-systems-for-mobility-impaired-people.html| url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Kensington TurboBall Mouse.jpg|thumb|A Kensington TurboBall Mouse designed to use the ball with the index or middle finger]]
Trackball users also often state that they are not limited to using the device on a flat desk surface. Trackballs can be used whilst browsing a laptop in bed, or wirelessly from an armchair to a PC playing a movie. They are also useful for computing on boats or other unstable platforms where a rolling deck could produce undesirable input.

Trackballs are generally either thumb-operated, with a ball about an inch in diameter or smaller moved by one digit (almost always the thumb) and the buttons clicked by others, or finger-operated, with a ball over two inches in diameter operated by the middle fingers and the buttons by the thumb and little finger. Users favor one format or another for reasons of comfort, mobility, precision, or because it reduces strain on one part of the hand/wrist. Most, but not all,<ref>For example, the [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916025144/http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/trackballs/devices/189%26cl%3DUS%2CEN Logitech Cordless Optical TrackMan] is finger-operated but asymmetric.</ref> finger-operated designs are symmetrical in design, making them [[ambidexterity|usable by both hands]], while thumb-operated designs are by their nature asymmetric or “handed,” allowing the smallest examples to be held in the air.  Thumb-operated trackballs are not generally available in left-handed configurations, due to small demand.

Some computer users prefer a trackball over the more common mouse for ergonomic reasons.  There seems to be no conclusive evidence from studies{{Which?|date=April 2018}} performed to determine which type of pointing device works best for most applications.  Application users are encouraged to test different devices, and to maintain proper posture and scheduled breaks for comfort. Some disabled users find trackballs easier since they only have to move their thumb relative to their hand, instead of moving the whole hand, while others incur unacceptable fatigue of the thumb.  Elderly people sometimes have difficulty holding a mouse still while [[double-click]]ing; the trackball allows them to let go of the ball while using the button.

At times when a user is browsing menus or websites rather than typing, it is also possible to hold a trackball in the right hand like a television remote control, operating the ball with the right thumb and pressing the buttons with the left thumb, thus giving the fingers a rest.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/Ergonomics/compergo.htm#MOUSE,%20TRACKBALL,%20OR%20OTHER%20INPUT%20DEVICE |title=Center for Disease Control web page about computer ergonomics |access-date=2017-09-17 |archive-date=2010-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322222204/http://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/ergonomics/compergo.htm#MOUSE,%20TRACKBALL,%20OR%20OTHER%20INPUT%20DEVICE |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Mobile devices ==

[[Image:Google Nexus One with Evernote for Android (4375773612).jpg|thumb|[[Nexus One]] with a trackball]]
Some mobile devices have trackballs, including those in the [[BlackBerry]] range, the [[Danger Hiptop#Hiptop 3|T-Mobile Sidekick 3]], and many early [[HTC Corporation|HTC]] [[smartphone]]s.  These miniature trackballs are made to fit within the thickness of a mobile device, and are controlled by the tip of a finger or thumb. These have mostly been replaced on smartphones by touch screens, although on the BlackBerry range they were replaced by an "optical trackball" or "[[optical trackpad]]" before later being replaced with touch screens.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/137319-farewell-blackberry-os-here-are-the-23-best-blackberry-phones-that-changed-the-world |title=The history of Blackberry: The best BlackBerry phones<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2020-08-02 |archive-date=2020-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806070650/https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/137319-farewell-blackberry-os-here-are-the-23-best-blackberry-phones-that-changed-the-world |url-status=live }}</ref>

== On mice ==
In lieu of a [[scroll wheel]], some mice include a tiny trackball sometimes called a [[scroll ball]]. A popular example is Apple's [[Apple Mighty Mouse|Mighty Mouse]]. Mice with a larger trackball on a side may be designed to stay stationary, using the trackball to move the mouse cursor instead of moving the mouse.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lifewire.com/logitech-m570-wireless-trackball-mouse-review-4691293 |title=Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball Mouse Review: Unconventional Features<!-- Bot generated title --> |work=Lifewire |access-date=2020-08-02 |archive-date=2020-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815000859/https://www.lifewire.com/logitech-m570-wireless-trackball-mouse-review-4691293 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Touchpad]]
* [[Pointing stick]]
* [[Mechanical mouse]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category inline|Trackballs}}

{{Basic computer components}}
{{Game controllers}}

[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1946]]
[[Category:Pointing devices]]
[[Category:Game controllers]]
[[Category:Computing input devices]]
[[Category:History of human–computer interaction]]