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This is the stuff under the trackball on an IBM Model M5-1 keyboard. It uses LED and phototransistor pairs along with gear-like disks to sense the motion of the ball. I was going to guess photodiode, but some components are labeled with 'D' (D3 and D4 components, but not labels, are visible), and others with 'T'.
Although it is hard to see here, I think each pair is a slightly different distance from the center of the disk's rotation. This should give the phototransistors a response like a quadrature encoder, which allows the detection of motion and the direction of motion. If, for instance, the disk blocks both LEDs from the view of both phototransistors, and the disk is rotated, one of the two LEDs will become unblocked before the other. The change shows motion, and which LED is unblocked first determines the direction of rotation.
This is the root drive of my main computer. Or, rather, it was the root drive of my main computer. Might be again at some future point depending on how well this Ubuntu installation goes on a drive I just swapped in.
Yes, this is a boring "Stuff on my desk" picture. It was that kind of day. Suck it.
02 May 2007 --- Curved Wall in Living Room with Tufted Sectional Sofa --- Image by © Tom Sibley/Corbis
29 Jul 2003 --- The homepage for the Google News website. The service from the most popular search engine on the Internet gathers news stories from various on-line sources. --- Image by © James Leynse/CORBIS
24 Jun 2010, London, England, UK --- Ben Paton (23) from Sommerset, the first person to get a new iphone 4 at the Apple store in central London. --- Image by © Paul Hackett/In Pictures/Corbis
121_Access Brookhaven- Attendees listen to pre-recorded remarks from Dr. Vanessa Chan, Chief Commercialization Officer, Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of Energy, at Access Brookhaven, an in-person conference where they learn about the different capabilities that the Instrumentation Division offers to support industry’s research and development efforts in a broad variety of fields and the partnerships opportunities offered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at Brookhaven National Laboratory January 26, 2023. (Official Lab Photo by Kevin P. Coughlin / Brookhaven National Laboratory)
January 16 - Yes, the desk's a mess. No, I never turn it off. Please continue to do my bidding, my precious.
This image is in a set called "My Daily Photo Stream". Whereas the focus of my eJournal and images blog is on text, I want to create an emphasis on photos here. I'll shoot and add an image each day. Doing so will remind me to constantly carry my camera and it'll be a more direct record of current, personal experiences.