Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Vertical Ergonomic Devices for Linux?

Posted by Cliff on from the saving-your-wrists dept.

NonNullSet asks: "I am having trouble finding a truly programmable mouse for Linux. I'm a longtime (read older) computer user and have to use an ergonomic mouse (http://www.evoluent.biz) to work on Windows. I would like to find something similar (vertical shape, if possible, programmable buttons) for Linux, but haven't had any luck. Have any Slashdot readers been successful at finding/using programmable ergonomic hardware on Linux? Vertical shape plus click and hold would be excellent!"

18 comments

  1. Well... by Vaevictis666 · · Score: 4, Informative

    If the vertical mouse is USB, why wouldn't linux be able to pick it up as a four-button HID? As far as the machine is concerned all it should need to know is that it's got a pointer and some buttons...

  2. What are you talking about? by CyberVenom · · Score: 3, Informative

    The mouse you linked to claims to be Linux compatable already. Since it is USB/PS2 I wouldn't doubt that claim as both PS2 and USB HIDs have been supported properly by Linux for some time.
    -CyberVenom

    1. Re:What are you talking about? by NonNullSet · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have communicated with the vendor. All they say is that the mouse will be detected as a "two button" mouse. None of the programability (available via the Windows driver) will be present. So while the mouse would "work", it wouldn't have the feature set I want.

    2. Re:What are you talking about? by kinema · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I would recomend brining this up on the linux-kernel and/or linux-usb mailing lists. I can't immagine that it would be too difficult for someone to write a simple device driver for the extra non-standard buttons on this. If the extra buttons ended up being a seperate device in the input subsys maybe a virtual mouse could be created to bind the two devices (mouse and buttons) together into something that looks like a typical four button HID device.

    3. Re:What are you talking about? by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2, Informative

      If it is USB and HID-compliant, it probably already works (note that using many-button USB mice is a pain to set up -- here's my XF86Config section for a five-button (plus up and down on a scrollwheel, which is not properly detected by Fedora) config:

      Section "InputDevice"
      Identifier "Mouse0"
      Driver "mouse"
      Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
      Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
      Option "Buttons" "7"
      Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
      Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
      EndSection

      I believe that this is a pain in the ass with PS/2 mice, as the protocols can differ.

      --
      May we never see th
  3. vi by Michael.Forman · · Score: 2, Funny


    Programmable ergonomic hardware on Linux with a vertical shape and click and hold?
    Sure! Tape the keyboard to your monitor and use vi.

    Mod all vi jokes as Funny unless you're an emacs user, then mod them as Flamebait.

    Michael.

    --
    Linux : Mac :: VW : Mercedes
    1. Re:vi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a vi joke that includes a vi-vs-emacs reference! and it wasn't modded up? its like slashdot has been overrun with widows users or something. time for us to start another slashdot. this time for the real nerds. :P

  4. Guys, a few questions... by identity0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    How could you get 'Vertical' spelled right in the submission, but mess it up in the headline?! Did the submitter misspell it, or did the editors? And finally... did no one who was a subscriber notice, too?

    Sheesh... 'Verticle', indeed...

  5. XFree86 Pointer Button (and Keyboard) Re-mapping by infernalC · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here is the xmodmap documentation you are looking for.

  6. Joysticks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go to somewhere where you can try out a large number of gaming joysticks. You will have to do a bit of configuration, but you can use those as mice.

  7. Clarification of my above comment by infernalC · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think that the questioner has some misconceptions about "mice" as they relate to "Linux".

    Mice are not (generally) programmable. You can change the way your computer programs handle the input given them by the Linux kernel from mice. Most programs do not talk to the kernel directly about mice; they use a "middleman" program, which is in most cases X (for GUI applications) or gpm.

    These middleman programs have ways of swapping the meanings of the pressed buttons. The link in the parent comment shows how to do it for graphical applications running as clients to an XFree86 X server, which is likely the middleman program for the software the questioner wants to use on pretty much any stock GNU/Linux or BSD system.

    1. Re:Clarification of my above comment by NonNullSet · · Score: 3, Informative

      I understand the X11 paradigm. [In fact, I was an X11 developer back in the days of R4.] What I would like to do is be able to click a button and release it, but have the action (mouse event) be that the button is "held down" until I click again (at which point a button up event is generated). This is possible on many programmable mice on MS PCs (using a vendor driver). The reason I want this is that holding down a mouse button can (and does) cause RSI pain.

    2. Re:Clarification of my above comment by infernalC · · Score: 1

      I think this would either require truly programmable pointer hardware (which I don't think exists) or some new functions built into Xlib (which may or may not be easy to do). You may know better than I, but I think that Xlib actually translates pointer button patterns into abstracted events and sends them to applications that way (a double click is sent as a double click, not as two clicks in quick succession). I have not read the Xlib docs, but I will. IMHO, you raise a very important issue. Kudos.

  8. Re:What, no Bevis and Butthead jokes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That was a self-fulfilling inquiry.

    Oops, I think I just made another double entendre.

  9. Evoluent Supported on Linux by osewa77 · · Score: 1

    According to this link Evoluent is supported on "Linux and UNIX"

  10. I see the problem... by computersareevil · · Score: 1

    I think I see the problem with the Evoluent mouse: It's right-handed only. Right-wing, Enron-loving, right-handed Suits only use Windows. So I can see why this patented* mouse only works with Windows. (Yes, I know that's not true, but don't spoil the joke!)

    Everybody knows Linux users are more left-wing, so we are, naturally, lefties...

    *Another fine example of an obvious patent. I wonder if they patented the left-handed version? DIBS!