Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Trackballs
Raised as a usability problem by 4 people on Hacker News over 14 years (2013–2026), in 4 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Trackballs are too imprecise to click small targets or aimUnreviewed
20132026- Standard trackballs force an awkward hand movement away from the keyboard2026-01-12
- Pixel-precise movement in drawing programs is frustrating with a trackball2018-01-17
- Trackballs too imprecise to click small targets or aim in shooters2013-09-27
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 4 complaints
- Standard trackballs force an awkward hand movement away from the keyboard2026-01-12
- Scroll ring is not smooth and touch scrolling is jittery, making scrolling poor2019-12-16
- Pixel-precise movement in drawing programs is frustrating with a trackball2018-01-17
- Trackballs too imprecise to click small targets or aim in shooters2013-09-27