[EDIT] Why do I need mouse acceleration to move windows and click buttons?

[Ben Gamari]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 12:58 PM, Dirk <noisyb at gmx.net> wrote:
> Well... the thing I tried to explain is that I (and other people) don't want
> to /have/ to give a f***...
>
> 1) I plug in 2000 dpi mouse
> 2) I move mouse 1 inch horizontally and/or vertically
> 3) pointer moves 2000 pixels horizontally and/or vertically
>
> NO MATTER HOW FAST I MOVE THE MOUSE
>
>
> that really is all that one cares about when he wants to use Linux for
> gaming. PRECISION! Not useless Desktop features that interfere and make one
> seriously freak out during an important match.
I think you really hit the nail on the head here: "when he wants to
use Linux for gaming." I think it's great that you use Linux as a
gamer but you must realize that you are a minuscule minority. Just
because you might need your mouse to move exactly 2.3442 pixels per
millimeter doesn't mean that the rest of the world does as well.
>
> You could completely remove mouse acceleration from the codebase and
> increase the quality of Linux as a gaming system.
We could and it might even improve the quality of Linux as a gaming
system but the overall experience for most users would suffer
tremendously. Pointer acceleration is a crucial part of the input
system, especially as screen sizes increase.
>
> People who believe they need an accelerated pointer to click buttons or move
> windows are not bright enough to realize the absence of acceleration
> anyways.
That's just not true. Try using a laptop touchpad or pointing stick
with infinite acceleration. You'll quickly give up in frustration. I
even find that a standard mouse is unusable without acceleration. It's
simply not possible to get both fine control and move across the
screen at a reasonable rate.

>
> I know Windows has mouse acceleration too... but just because they call it a
> feature it shouldn't be part of a Linux Desktop and enable itself, randomly,
> over and over again.
Exactly, the problem you are experiencing is not that we implement
pointer acceleration; it's that it is repeatedly enabled against your
wishes. Perhaps you should investigate why.
>
> Right now I run a script that calls xset 30 times a minute with sleeps as a
> cronjob to make sure it stays disabled.
>
> Before, I even sent my mouse back to the manufacturer because I thought it
> was broken before I realized it was a problem with Linux so I guess I /am/ a
> little annoyed.
>
> Not as much as i (e.g.) was before i uninstalled HAL to get control over my
> Linux back. But still...
If you have a problem with HAL, report a bug. Uninstalling isn't the
answer. It is an increasingly common dependency on the desktop and for
good reason.
>
> I'll check out
> http://www.x.org/wiki/Development/Documentation/PointerAcceleration
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
>