As far as steering a cursor on-screen goes, I prefer the Lenovo nipple/joystick design myself.
Today’s invention, however, is for those of us who can’t get used to using a touchpad on a laptop and yet still want to use a standard mouse -despite not having adequate deskspace (when travelling, for example.)
It consists of a chain of large, plastic links which can bend only in the horizontal plane.
To one end of this, a conventional mouse is attached.
As this is moved through the air, the links in the chain transmit their relative rotations to the laptop, so that the cursor can still be accurately positioned on the screen.
The chain can be easily folded up and stowed, when not in use.