Fellow Computer Users:
I work with computers for a living. I now find myself stuck with a portable
computer with one of those dreadful touchpads. I think of it as a tremor
amplifier. My new employer chose the computer before I had a chance to OK it.
Well, I'm sure everyone here is acquainted with the horror that is drag and
drop especially on a portable. I set out on a quest to find some mouse
software for Win 95 which would make drag and drop easier and more reliable.
MS's Inteligent Mouse driver was an improvement because it allows one to
click an icon to "lock" the left button doown. Once locked, you can drag
without actually holding the left button down. Just move the mouse. This,
however, was only a slight improvement because it is extremely awkward to
use (e.g., the locking icon is usually at the wrong side of the screen or
blocking your view).
Then I stumbled on the Kensington Mouse. The mouse itself sucks but it
comes with a software driver which is nearly ideal. Now when I double
click, the mouse automatically goes into drag lock mode. The driver is very
flexible allowing all sorts of combinations and popup menus. Although the
software comes with the Kensington Moouse, it works with any compatible
brand. I'm planning to throw away the mouse, buy a new dumb one with a
better feel but use the original Kensington software. The sofware itself is
worth the price of the mouse for PWPs (People with Parkinsons OR People with
Portables OR Both).
Ron (49/2)
BTW: I saw mouse software advertised which accepts special commands just be
shaking or jiggling the mouse in a fixed pattern. For example, if you
jiggle the mouse back and forth twice it will automatically go into
drag-lock or launch Word or do whatever you set it for. Neat idea if you
aren't a PWP, otherwise a terrible idea.
