On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 16:30:55 +0100
Didier Kryn <kryn@???> wrote:

> Le 28/12/2020 à 16:00, Steve Litt a écrit :
> > On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 09:39:04 +0100
> > Didier Kryn <kryn@???> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>     Note you might as well open your laptop and unplug the
> >> touchpad. Just search for a tutorial on how to change it.
> >>
> >> --         Didier
> > Huh? How did you draw that conclusion?
>
>     Well, it's a hardware problem you are trying to solve by a
> software method; why not solving it by a hard method? If your
> touchpad is unusable and is always in your way, the most radical
> method to get rid of it is to unplug it, no? And my experience with
> an old laptop is that it may be easy to do. I have changed the
> keyboard of this old laptop and I could see the connector of the
> touchpad.

Perhaps I misrepresented my circumstances. I need a mousepad for
Firefox and other all GUI all the time apps, and I need the mousepad
shut off for text authoring programs. So I hit a hotkey and bang, the
mousepad is toggled.

Also, I wouldn't be caught dead doing hardware work on a modern laptop:
I'd probably break it. The shellscript is trivially easy, and it's
reliable. So even if I *never* wanted the mousepad to work, I'd prefer
a software solution to having to bust into a laptop.

SteveT

Steve Litt
Autumn 2020 featured book: Thriving in Tough Times
http://www.troubleshooters.com/thrive