Bug#866031: xserver-xorg-input-synaptics: Breaks xserver-xorg-input-libinput on jessie → stretch upgrade

[Julien Cristau <jcristau@debian.org>]

Control: tag -1 - l10n

On Mon, Jun 26, 2017 at 19:29:49 +0100, Conrad Hughes wrote:

> Package: xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
> Version: 1.9.0-1+b1
> Severity: normal
> Tags: l10n
> 
> Dear Maintainer,
> 
> I've just upgraded from jessie to stretch on a laptop with a "SynPS/2 Synaptics
> TouchPad" (/proc/bus/input/devices).  After upgrading, tap-to-click no longer
> worked, and I had to use physical buttons for pointer clicks; further, under
> Mouse & Touchpad settings, the only options were primary button, mouse speed
> and natural scrolling: no option to enable tap-to-click.  Various sites
> suggested various remedies (including Gnome Tweak Tool, which didn't work), but
> the solution that worked for me was to uninstall/purge xserver-xorg-input-
> synaptics: with that gone, after logging out and in, I had a much longer list
> of Mouse & Touchpad settings, including tap-to-click.
> 
> It seems that xserver-xorg-input-synaptics sabotages xserver-xorg-input-
> libinput.  From some sources I understand that -synaptics may be obsolete and
> -libinput the future; if so then perhaps the upgrade process is at fault, as I
> had both of these installed after the stretch upgrade.
> 
Turns out, as far as I remember, gnome in stretch breaks if you don't
use -libinput, but other desktops break if you don't use -synaptics.
The game is rigged, you lose every time.  :(

Cheers,
Julien