A multimodal pointer method, comprising an elongated, graspable, control shell which has a rotatable, multi-axis control ball encoder positioned so that it may be used in multiple modes, with a minimum of two function keys that can be used in all modes. The MAP block decoder segments the received data block into at least a first segment and a second segment and calculates and stores alpha values during forward processing of the first segment. A dividing member at the edge of the spinning workpiece separates flow of fluids off of the top and bottom surfaces of the workpiece. These out of phase signals are converted and transmitted to the sensor. An insulator block is located in the slit between the pair of electrodes to prevent the pair of electrodes from making a short circuit within the slit.