Laptop pads: was Weird random reboot -- thinkpad x220
On Fri, 2 May 2014 12:54:24 +1000
Zenaan Harkness <zen@freedbms.net> wrote:
> On 5/2/14, Ivan Kovnatsky <sevenfourk@gmail.com> wrote:
> ...
>
> Unrelated, but how do you find the trackpad? I completely disabled
> mine in BIOS, since the "textured bumps" on it make the pointer (even
> at extreme settings) useless for fine mouse work - I could not make it
> work in non-extremely-annoying way.
I'll go one step farther and say I *hate* the pads on most laptops.
Being a touch-typist, I don't pussy-foot around the keyboard, I hammer
it, and invariably my wrists or the heels of my hands tweak the
mousepad and doubleclick it or move off the field I'm filling in or
something. So I usually disable my mousepad. The following shellscript,
called "touchtoggle", toggles the pad on and off:
=========================================================
#!/bin/bash
curstate=`synclient | grep -i TouchpadOff | sed -e"s/.*= //"`
if test "$curstate" = "1"; then
synclient TouchpadOff=0
else
synclient TouchpadOff=1
fi
=========================================================
I always hook that shellscript to a hotkey, so I can instantly toggle
the state of the pad: off for general typing, on when I simply MUST use
the pad.
Also, in every carrying case for every laptop, I carry a trusty
Logitech M310 wireless led mouse. These mice are shaped well, have
enough sensitivity to be "fast enough" even with LXDE, and the scroll
wheel is stiff enough and its rotational clicks are discrete enough
that middle clicking can be done without fear of turning. So, unless
I'm trying to work where there's no table, I just use a regular mouse.
Have you ever tried the xxxterm browser? It might be called xombrero on
your Debian version. It's a browser made to be used with keystrokes
reminiscent of Vim: No mouse required. Here are the few commands you
must know in order to start being productive with xxxterm:
j: Move down
k: Move up
F6: Input a URL
:fav: Add current page to favorites
Alt+F: Show favorites
f: Toggle numbering of links. When links are numbered, you can follow
one by typing its number and pressing Enter. Sometimes pressing
Enter is optional.
As an added bonus, unlike all the bloatware browsers, xxxterm never
decides to take 50% to 100% of CPU, heating things up and forcing your
CPU fan to sound like a turbojet. I switched my default browser from
Firefox to xxxterm after one too many times when Firefox made my CPU
temperature go up to 79C.
SUMMARY:
I know nothing about the mouse pad on a thinkpad x220, but mouse pads
on most laptops are PITAs, and there are plenty of ways to render them
unnecessary for 90% of your work, and there's a 1 keystroke way to
toggle the mouse pad on and off.
SteveT
Steve Litt * http://www.troubleshooters.com/
Troubleshooting Training * Human Performance
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