How to make Dell pointsticks better?

Coming from a Thinkpad, Dell's pointstick on my Precision M4700 sucks so much; it is infuriating me

Anyways, could anyone recommend a modification or a cap replacement to make the Dell pointstick better?

I was thinking about trying this
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-New-Blue-D...852?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e2a726e4
or
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/LOT-OF-5-DEL...29?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item232ac5c28d

Is it possible to fit pointstick caps from other Dell models on my M4700 or are the pointsticks model specific?

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

These guys will fit, the only problem is that the height of the rubber caps is a tad too low if you ask me. I have some of those blue caps and they are made of stiffer rubber which is great, but they fit a bit recessed in the keyboard which kinda makes it harder to use the pointstick.

If I could fit a Thinkpad trackpoint cap in there, it'd be great, but alas, it's not possible without some modifications. Ideally, you'd need to have a piece of hard plastic made as an adapter for the TP trackpoint cap, but I doubt it'll be cheap or easy.

 

Having come from Thinkpads, the Dell Latitude trackpoint does bother me quite a bit. The nub is recessed into the keyboard, and the texture digs into your fingertips.

I had some Thinkpad trackpoint tips laying around and tried to use them on the Dell, but they won't fit without having a shim of some sort.

Are there any taller tips (perhaps from older Dell Latitudes) that will fit the E6x20 series?

 

I agree with this 100%. The actual tracking mechanism isn't terrible, but the nubs are.

Some of the E6x00 series nubs had a raised lip which helped a little, but the rubber was still too soft.

I so far haven't seen replacement nubs that are taller on eBay or elsewhere, but if you do find something report back!

 

There was a thread (here or some foreign forum) about modding a tp nub on to dell, involve some molding soft plastic or w.e.
It is about heating jng up the gel like plastic, inject into the cap, snap it on, then let it cool (tp nub's slot/inner diameter is larger than dell one, but the outer diameter is close iirc).

What bothers me though, is that why hp can make it compatible with tp nub's and dell wont do it.

 

This x1000, it would make for a better trackpoint experience. The HP nubs are much stiffer and it shows in how they behave.

They must source their sensor from different manufacturers. The square plastic piece of the HP snesor is much bigger than that of Dell's and just happens to fit the TP nubs. It looks to be one piece + nub, Dell's also look like it is one piece + nub. Lenovo's is actually two pieces, a small square plastic piece, something I'd call an adapter that is also made of hard plastic and that the nub fits on + the nub. I could take pictures of all three if you want.

By the way, I checked, the hard plastic "adapter" for Lenovo doesn't fit on Dell's smaller sensor.

 

An easy thing to do might be to use a hot glue gun to fill the inside of a Thinkpad tip, and while the glue is still semi-soft, put it into the dell pointing stick and let it harden. It should fit snugly and still be removable.

 

Small ball of sugru.com molding rubber, or home made stuff from cornstarch and RTV silicone. but put a release agent on the bare nub first or getting it back off becomes a pain

The future needs fixing - the future needs fixing - sugru

Husband did this do an older D620 a month or two ago

 

Awesome. I'll be doing this soon. Can't stand how bad my Latitude's trackpoint is compared to the ones my my Thinkpads.

 

My workplace has a 3d printer. I modeled an adapter so that I can use the Thinkpad/Lenovo nubs on the Dell. If you have access to a 3d printer, you can access my model here:

Thinkpad/Lenovo to Dell Nub Adapter by smithmat - Thingiverse

It's a piece of plastic that snaps on to the Dell, and then the Thinkpad/Lenovo nub fits over it.