Most laptops come with a built in pointing device (yes there are some that
don't but that is not our concern they are fairly old) and most of them now are
Touch pads. Your computer may have
two of the three, a touch pads, a pointer (some people call them erasers - they
look like a pencil eraser!) or a mini-joy stick (which it really is).
As for a mouse they are an external device that you attach to a port on the
exterior of the computer. The port may be a true mouse/keyboard port (more on
this later) or USB.
Touch pad, the touch pad is a material that is conductive sensitive. By
conductive sensitive I mean that your body is conductive, the pad is sensitive
to the conduction your body creates. To be non-technical, when you touch the pad or
move your finger across the pad the pointer on the screen moves. Magic.
The pointer or mini-joy stick in the keyboard also moves the pointer on the
screen in the direction you push it. More Magic.
There is good news and bad news about these devices, good news is they seldom
break or fail. Bad news is that if the mini-joy stick in the keyboard fails you
have to replace the keyboard. If the touch pad fails sometimes it is only the
touch pad that has to be replaced, but I have seen keyboards with the touchpad
attached. So be prepared to buy a keyboard and if you only have to buy a touch
pad you save some money.
To replace the mini-joy stick or touch pad you would use the
keyboard page
for disassembly instructions.
Mouse, you can attach an external mouse to your computer if the touch pad or
mini-joy stick is uncomfortable or you don't like the way it is setup. (I have
two mice I carry with my laptop, wired and wireless. Wired for on an aircraft,
wireless for any other place). Older laptops had a port that was both keyboard
and mouse connections, it was wired to accept either device, you can still find
the little 'Y' cable that you plug into the keyboard/mouse port then plug in the
keyboard to one connector and the mouse to the other, neat. Newer computers use
USB for the mouse so you will have to buy a USB mouse to connect an external
mouse to your laptop. Be aware that Wireless mice are NOT useable on an aircraft
because they use a radio frequency that interferes with the Aircraft
electronics.
This site contains a lot of information. As
with any publication not all information is available due to space, time, or
subject constraints.
If you have a question that you did not find the answer
on this web site you a can
ask your question here and we will endeavor to get you the most up to date
answer possible!
