I have a pointing stick module i had from a really old laptop. It has 4 pins just like a USB cable. If i were to solder a USB cable onto the 4 pins and plug it into a computer, would it move my mouse like a real pointing stick? If i were to connect wires to the pins and then connect those same wires to corresponding pins on an Arduino, would i receive output from the D- and D+ pins? Here are some pictures of the device:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6pnhnptcjzf5v7i/IMG_20120614_151526.jpg and
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ppyo5o14bx2xj8k/IMG_20120614_151532.jpg
Here is a diagram of a USB port. Do the pins on the pointing stick function the same as a USB cable? I would assume c1 is power, c2 is data+, c3 is data-, and c4 is ground?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/USB.svg
My best guess is that this is just a joystick with 2 pots in it. I would put a meter across pairs of pins and see if the ohm reading changes when you move the stick. I expect that you will find that one pair will be the up down axis and the other will be the left right axis.
If that is the case you can read the positions using the analog inputs on the arduino. You could also hook it up to a computer using the game port.
I highly doubt that there is enough circuitry on that board for usb.