sungo @sungo@nymwars.org

@garbados For me, I feel like there's enough loudness around the issue that it doesn't need me adding to the chorus. If folks aren't convinced by the existing evidence, me following them around with a trumpet isn't going to help.

@pmosetc my current trackball has a 55mm giant ball and I wish I could find a source for them. The bearings i've found are too shiny and I can't imagine wooden balls are a good idea. I've got a 50mm "fengshui" ball coming that might work.

Ultimately, the goal is to have a swappable top that can support multiple sizes

@pmosetc yeah I'm looking to source bigger balls but these thumball replacements are super easy to come by and designed for this kind of sensor.

@diode I was not aware of this. thank you.

@pmosetc this is also nowhere near the final case for this thing. the sensor needs rotated 90deg if nothing else

@pmosetc here's my chubby hand for scale on the size of the current ball.

@erosdiscordia but yeah, that's my thought. it would allow lots of customization and leverage existing parts.

@erosdiscordia oh there are way louder switches than blues these days. there are folks in the community who are proud to have the loudest keyboard possible.

@erosdiscordia that's my thought. this is going to be a couple of pcbs, regardless, and I'm pondering one that has three keys.

My current noodling is basically a U-shape that wraps the ball with 2U keys (on a regular qwerty, that's about the length of the backspace key) or maybe 1.5U (the length of the typical Tab key).

I'll have 3d printed mockups before too long

I also need to sit down and start figuring out kicad to build a pcb to replace the jank handwired breadboard at the heart of this.

new top for the trackball. I'm trying to protect the sensor for outside interference a bit.

bearing situation remains ridiculous and I'm still thinking that through. I also have some bigger bearings coming than the ones recommended for the design that inspired this one.

And I'm thinking about buttons. The original inspiration has no buttons and relies on users putting mouse keys on their custom keymaps. But in playing with a similar setup, I've decided this is Not For Me. And it sounds like lots of folks who are interested in the concept also need buttons. (it makes sense. one-handed mousing is kinda what we know).

@galaxis nothing like 2MB of json to display a login page

I’m going to have to build a windows box capable of running fusion360 just so I can deal with all these asshats publishing their “CAD files” only in f3d format, the least accessible format possible

@ajroach42 amazon has a few ~$20 video cameras that seem simple enough. This one looked interesting https://www.amazon.com/Wearable-Auxiliary-Detection-Camcorder-Enforcement/dp/B09N8SJFSF

what do you think, @pamela ? hako violet mouse buttons?

I am both amused and slightly terrified at the thought of using keyboard keyswitches as mouse buttons. It would let people choose really loud clicky awful switches so their mouse clicking could be heard three blocks away. It would also let people choose nice and soft and tactile switches for their mousing needs and be easier on their fingers.

@gizmomathboy The style is less important and I have thoughts on supporting lots of styles. the trick is the sensor (which it turns out is relatively easy to come by) and the controller. and the keyboard firmware I use happens to support pointing devices and this sensor. So the rest is just physicality

@pamela ​

@erosdiscordia the super duper end goal here is for this to be a bit of a open hardware product. starting with a diy kit + 3d printing, and maybe getting more product-y. at the very least, I'm sure eventually I could be convinced to build some for friends :)