Originally Posted by SanDiego1K
I've been using a Sony Vaio PCG-R505DL the past two years. It hasn't held up well; at some point, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new laptop. People are consistently recommending the ThinkPad. The Vaio has a touchpad; I understand that the ThinkPad has a joy stick. How difficult is it to adapt?
I personally find that the pointing stick gives more precise control than touchpads. It limits the laptops that one can consider, though. The Thinkpad T series now has combo pointing stick and touchpad;I have a T41 and occasionally use the touch pad, but still prefer the pointing stick. In addition, you don't have to move your hands from the keyboard to use it, a great advantage. The only thing it's probably not good for is playing games.