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Well, evidently I should have fronted this thread with a disclaimer that I usually DO use a mouse, but in various cramped circumstances [in a car with someone else driving, on a flight, a train (depends on the train seating / accommodation), etc.] where there’s no good room / space to use a mouse, the touchpad comes into play. A rough guess would be 10% of the time. “Travel” can be a bit rough on a mouse packed in a laptop carry case, too...

While in town I dropped by Office Depot. That HP for $255 looks ok, but, it has only 2 USB ports. My old machine had 4. Buying a splitter adds cost & more to carry around and / or get lost, but, it IS an option.

For a bit more money, $300, I found @ Office Depot an ASUS with an i3 processor and 3x USB ports. That may be more like it. Next is to check Best Buy... And, poke about amongst business machine refurb options.

Thanks for the suggestions, all!