Synaptics touchpad switches apps in an undesirable way

[Gene Heskett]

On Saturday 16 January 2010, Tim wrote:
>On Sat, 2010-01-16 at 10:22 -0700, Craig White wrote:
>> I've seen people tape a flap of cardboard over the touch pad if they
>> use a mouse.
>
>That is so tempting...  The simple solutions are often the best.
>
>I've tried reconfiguring mine, but that causes its own problems:
>Sometimes you need to use it, because you don't have the mouse, and you
>really don't want to have to reconfigure things, yet again.  Disabling
>the pad while typing adds annoying delays to your editing if you
>actually do want to want to use the pad.  Disabling tapping doesn't
>disable tapping 100% of the time on my system.  I wish it did, I have
>real buttons on my laptop that don't accidentally trigger, but the pad
>does.
>
>Can we design something worse than the mouse?
>Yes, here's a slow-as-stuck-in-molasses twiddle stick in the middle of
>the keyboard, that's worse than steering the inertia-riddled ship in the
>Asteroids game.
>Can we design something worse than the stick?
>Yes, here's a touch pad.  Sensitive to the movement of a fly, five feet
>away.
>I dread to think what comes next...

If that is a synaptics touch pad, and most are, there is a utility by the 
same name that can shut that SOB off.  I have an HP lappy that is completely 
unusable when its enabled.  Upstate MI ticks can trigger it crawling around 
in your shorts. Install it, and I use one of those miniature M$ travel mice, 
the one that stores the USB dongle in a pocket on the bottom of it, which 
also shuts the mouse off so your batteries will last a few months too.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)

1.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight -- it's not just a good idea, it's
the law!