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A lot of people don't want to take the time and/or lose the flow due to shifting the hands away from the keyboard and in particular orientation with the home row.
I liked the idea but it never exhibited the dynamic performance (accelleration-to-distance/decelleration-to-precision) of a trackpad which is why I think it faded away, even at IBM.
>which is why I think it faded away
You do realise trackpoints still exist on all new thinkpads and some Dell and HP laptops?
the reason they never became popular is that they are ont easy to master as soon as you first use them. the muscle patterns take a fair bit of getting used to before you get out of the awkward stage. However once you do they are as precise (if not more so) than touchpads with out having to move you hands into an entirely new position (much like this touchpad keyboard) however I think for this new keyboard to be effective, the activation force on the keys is going to need to be too high to resist accidental keypresses while using as a touchpad.
I think I'll stick with the trackpoint thanks.
TrackPoint. You want a TrackPoint.