Having serviced peoples computers for them, some people just do not need to be able to change anything whatsoever on their computers... even that doesn't help some times. Now, granted, this probably doesn't apply to people that are interested in using linux. IMHO a better solution would be a tool that helps you edit the config files yourself but highlights pertinent bits, backs them up for you, etc--basically anything a properly configured text editor will do but more specifically tuned.
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Jim,
I hear and understand exactly what you are saying, but I'm afraid you appear to have missed my entire point. I would like, with the moderators' permission, to push this a little further, and explain what worries me. wraithe appears to be as well educated, or versed, in linux as you, and she understood. Really it all boils down to one simple point. Quote:
I did share on another thread some time back a comparison between the present scene (with Linux) and this previous one. To save having to take another link, I'll post it here, with a link so that the complete article may be read, in context, which is always as important as the actual verbage. The original link is on this page Quote:
I would not dream of "putting you in the same box" as those to whom I was addressing those remarks. But, honestly, my friend (and please let us be friends), I worry that thoughts directed at "we are making things too easy for Joe User because this is a bigger, better, more technical system than the plebs want to use" - even if those aren't your actual thoughts - will do irreperable harm to our bigger, better and more technical operating system :) |
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sorry dont want to sound like a feminist, but please just add an "S" in there for me in future, plz... then i will be smiling more often...lmao... and damm i need to follow the corporate down falls more often...i didnt realise that amiga had that sort of problem, i was more onto the fact that people are so scared of an OS that is good for more than what people think it is used for...Bit like the mac when it comes to publishing...people see the hype and if we scare them with techno talk, well guess what, less users less growth.. and growth is what linux needs more of...of course we also need lots of geeks to keep it growing but hey, push it and it will grow... "if its free it can be better than a paying thru the nose" |
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Had hoped that image link might lead to a photo. Rats!! It didn't. Where in Ozzie are you? Richard in (Adelaide, South) Australia |
south west, western australia..
Manjimup...lol... |
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Also, unless you re-compile the synpatics driver and replace the one from your distro, things won't work. If you want, I can put my synaptics_drv.o on a server for you to d/l, but compiling your own may be a better way to go. I don't see why evdev has to be compiled as a module; were it compiled into the kernel, that should be OK. But in any case, you can see if an evdev module has been loaded by typing lsmod | grep evdev and seeing if it reports something like evdev 9856 1 If it does, your evdev module is loaded. If not, try (as root) modprobe evdev and if it says (something like) FATAL: Module evdev not found. then you will have to re-compile your kernel. If it doesn't complain, then the grep command should now list the evdev module. Now the trick is to make sure evdev is loaded BEFORE X starts when your system boots. That depends on your distro. Also, do you have a file called /var/log/Xorg.0.log? If so, look through it and see if it has a line something like Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/input/synaptics_drv.o to make use that your X module got loaded. You might also see if there are any lines in that file starting with "(WW)" or "(EE)" (warning and error messages) that might illuminate the problem a bit. Cheers. Jim |
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Last time I was in those parts was during the WAY celebrations, 1979 I think? Helped out at Perry Lakes Stadium west of the city at the Scout Jamboree (WAYJAM). I visited from Woomera, where I worked 1977 to 1980. I lived at Bunbury, and worked at the TV station there (BTW3/GSW9) for several years in the late 60s, when it first went on air. Had a ham radio buddy who lived at Denmark; VK6NL, maybe his name was Noel. My callsign was VK5DQ. Small world :D |
"Also, unless you re-compile the synpatics driver and replace the one from your distro, things won't work. If you want, I can put my synaptics_drv.o on a server for you to d/l, but compiling your own may be a better way to go."
The instructions with the driver I downloaded seem contradictory. The Readme says: How do I compile the driver? Beginning with version 0.11.8, it should be possible to compile the driver by simply running "make". This will compile a driver for XFree86 4.2.x, which will also work for 4.3.x versions of XFree86. But the Install says: For use with kernel 2.6.x you need to enable synaptics touchpad support when configuring the kernel (CONFIG_MOUSE_PS2). You also need support for the evdev interface (CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV). If you compile evdev as a module, make sure it is loaded before starting the X server, as it will not be auto-loaded. So either I just run "make" and the thing should compile itself, or I have to configure the kernel and compile evdev as a module. As someone who is brand new to all this, I'm a lot nervous about messing with the kernel. BTW, Grepping evdev yields no response, not even an error message. |
I bit the bullet and just ran "make" and "make install" without bothering with the kernel or evdev. After editing xorg.conf with the recommended ALPs settings, and changing the two tap settings to "0," the problem seems to be solved. Again, thanks to all who helped. As with most of the headaches I've encountered getting this laptop running on Linux, I've discovered that the solution is fairly simple once I knew where to look. And, yes, the entire process has been educational.
At the same time, I've discovered that this problem with mousepad tapping is not rare at all. I would imagine there should be something included in most FAQs for setting up laptops, along with a detailed how-to. |
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First, I'm glad to see that you say it works now. Second, I'll point out that those instructions aren't so much contradictory as (perhaps) poorly written. When it says that to *compile* the driver all you have to do is run "make", that's completely true, as you discovered. However, just because you have compiled something doesn't mean that you don't need to do additional work to integrate it with your system. That's what the INSTALL instructions were going on about. Evidently, the kernel on your system already had the required options (which makes sense, since you were (presumably) replacing an older version of the synaptics driver (which presumably needed evdev) with your newer and more wonderful version). The instructions in INSTALL seem to be written for someone who is starting from square one, but your system evidently was further along than that. Cheers. Jim |
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