X always must have a cursor

[Sean Estabrooks]

On Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:46:33 +1000
Peter Hutterer <peter.hutterer at who-t.net> wrote:

> (I assume that you're not referring to the visible shape but to the concept
> of having a cursor/sprite/pointer)
> 
> The pointer is your virtual input point on the GUI. Without it, you cannot
> know where the next click from your mouse/touchpad/etc. is going to. For
> direct-touch interfaces you obviously don't need the visible shape since
> your finger provides the location information, but you still need the cursor
> concept to tell the applications where you touched.

But that's just it, why is a mouse/touchpad/etc required?   What's wrong with
only having keyboard input exclusively without any pointing device at all?
 
> In the example you mentioned above - if the user drags a finger across the
> screen, what else do you suggest should happen?

How about: nothing at all.

Sean