Wheel mice on thinkpad ps/2

Allan Sandfeld Jensen (snowwolf@one2one-networks.com)
Thu, 2 Aug 2001 08:51:26 +0200


I think this message didnt reach the mailing-list the first time, trying
again.
Sorry if you see this message twice.
---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Hi.
I've solved a long standing problem with using an extended mouse over the
ps/2 port on a thinkpad. (search deja, I found bugreports dating back to
1998, all unanswered)
I discovered there is a "smart" device called a trackpoint controller, that
accumulates movement from both the trackpoints and the external mouse.
Provided it understands the external mouse! (it only understand standard
mice) A quick hack is disabling the trackpoint controller by sending 0xe2
0x4e, but a more general solution would be to write a linux driver that
autodetected a trackpoint controller with external mouse and disabled it. In
that way it would be transparant to userspace drivers.

The easiest for my would be writing it into pc_keyb.c but that's not
appropiate. So where should I place the driver?
If I want advanced functionality, where I instead demultiplexes the
trackpoint and the external mouse into a /dev/psaux1 and -2, I need to take
over the aux interrupthandler. Otherwise I can just speak through the
standard psaux.
And what of the new input-class, should all inputdevices eventually move over
there, or just USB?

regards
-Allan

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