Perhaps the most reviled pointing device ever, the TrackPoint was invented by IBM for use in its line of ThinkPad notebooks. It had the advantage of being compact, requiring far less space than a touchpad. With a little practice, it was also a reasonably efficient and ergonomic controller. On the downside, many people found it difficult to use, it was useless for anything that required finesse (like drawing applications), and it just plain felt weird. As a result, the TrackPoint collected a wide range of nicknames, of which we'll list just a few of the more printable ones: cat's tongue, nub, nubby mouse, pointing stick, stick mouse, stupid little red pointer, nipple mouse.