More laptop neepery

[desperance]

I committed heresy overnight and this morning. I blame it of course on my general cast-downiness, but I did actually allow myself to wonder if the LHP were not entirely P after all - if, indeed, it might not have a flaw.

S'okay, though, I am rational again. It's not - of course! - a flaw.

What it was, in both Windows and Linux (but especially, dramatically in Linux) I was having things happen that I hadn't invited to happen, programs opening themselves out of menus and such. And what it is, is that I have never had a touchpad before so I actually don't know what they do, apart from shoving the cursor around. I didn't know they did anything, apart from shoving the cursor around. I had no idea that you could cause things to happen by tapping on the touchpad in lieu of clicking the button below.

Now I do know this, and it explains a lot. I still assert that the pad is ludicrously sensitive, esp in Linux; it interprets the lightest touch as a tap. I'm still not in control. So I went to reset it, but I don't have access to those controls; I'd have to go into the config files, apparently, and change stuff. Which - well, yes, I have been there and done that before. But it's scary.

So I shall learn to handle my hypersensitive touchpad, and that'll be fine. Also, I have a tiny wee USB mouse from an earlier iteration of the whole Vaio thing, and that works fine.

Also, my hands hurt. Again last night I was heretical and inclined to blame the LHP, but today I have remembered wrestling with a bottle of fizz, which is enough to make anyone's hands hurt. (Usually, opening fizz is one of my skillz. This one, nor I nor durham_rambler could shift it, until Roger applied principles of grip and leverage with an old-fashioned nutcracker.) Even so, it's a useful reminder that I do live on the edge of a precipice, that my hands are only ever one bad day short of hurting, and I should probably be careful.

Comments

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

I shall not abuse Shakespeare by repurposing (and restating) quotes about stars and faults and ourselves.

Instead, because I've been pondering what it would look like in Chinese, I bring you:

电脑 手提 天上 完美

diàn nǎo shǒu tí tiān shàng wán měi

courtesy of this and its mirrors, although they are not to blame for how I abuse it.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Aww. Also, hee. This took me a while, because I am stupid today; I fumbled around with electricity ... heaven ... shàng - up to, so up to heaven? tí, to carry, carry something electric up to heaven ... měi is beautiful, wán means entire ... entirely beautiful ... something electric, entirely beautiful, heavenward ... oh! oh *grin*!

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

It was the best I could do, because that dictionary site is unaware of laptops. I can only hope my ignorance of Chinese grammar wasn't too big an obstacle.

[(Anonymous)]

You should be able to change the sensitivity of your touchpad, the same as you can change the sensitivity of a normal mouse. I know how to do it in windows but not linux unfortunately.

Abigail X

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought. And I do know how to do it in Linux, but when I get there it tells me that the system's not set up to do that, and I have to dive into its software innards to wake up that particular strand. Which half the point of being a Linux geek is to spend half your time up to your virtual elbows in its virtual gizzard, but I'm chicken...

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

I developed my l33t skills in fizz opening at a party a few years back where a friend and I were trapped in a very small galley kitchen with several cases of insufficiently chilled pink cava, and a flat full of very thirsty guests. We set up a production line opening bottles, and now we are both pro standard - it is a rare day when a drop is wasted.

I also developed a fizz callous on my hand, which I consider a mark of honour.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I also developed a fizz callous on my hand, which I consider a mark of honour.

Durn tootin'. I was confident you'd have the skillz, but to bear an industrial brand... Yup.

Ordinarily, I reckon myself to be handy at this particular task - to the point of volunteering, at other people's parties - which is why I was first humiliated when I could not shift this one, and then frankly relieved when Roger couldn't either.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

I've been known to snatch a bottle out of the hands of incompetent bar staff saying "Oh for goodness sake, let ME do it".