Gen2 pointing device

[Albert Cahalan]

It's time to think outside the box again. These office-oriented
pointing devices aren't working very well. Kids are commonly
coated with stuff. That includes abrasive grit, conductive liquid,
and opaque liquid. Mud and food are particularly common.

The touchpad fails with conductive liquid. Remember that people
do not have equally sweaty hands, even in an equal environment.
What works for you, or in a cold office, won't work for everybody.
Now add mud and food.

Using a stylus unsurprisingly requires a stylus. This is not good.
If the stylus were to be a primary input device, it would need to
be in relative mode. Anything pressure-sensitive is going to
encourage heavy pressure with sharp objects, leading to damage.
On the positive side, at least it works fine while filthy.

The touchscreen is first of all just plain inadequate. It lacks the
ability to hover, which is used throughout sugar. It is inaccurate.
Depending on mechanism, it has either the touchpad or stylus problems.
The really terrible thing is screen damage. Screens will not last long
if kids are rubbing them with filthy fingers. Mud contains grit.

This could work:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick
It might be possible to mold it right into the keyboard, preventing
entry of liquids or grit while cutting costs.

This could work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_stick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GameCube_Analog_Stick.jpg
It's especially good for tablet mode, assuming that gets kept.