Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pointer

Way to Increase Mouse Pointer Speed?

drleary — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:31:48 -0800

Under Windows XP, is there a way to make the speed of the mouse pointer increase when you plugin a mouse, but decrease when you're just using the touchpad? Thanks!

How do I stop the mouse pointer from moving to the selected button automatically in OS X?

rollo tomassi — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:06:05 -0800

How do I stop the mouse pointer from moving to the selected button automatically in OS X? Somehow I have turned on a feature of OS X where the mouse pointer automatically moves towards any dialogue box with a button selected by default. I thought perhaps this was a feature of Universal Access, but there is nothing selected there that seems to fit the bill. I have even trashed com.apple.universalaccess.plist to no avail.

This seems to be user specific because I created a new user and it does not happen there.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as this is really annoying.

OS X 10.5.2, MacBook Pro.

Help me turn an HD DVD box into a Blue Laser Pointer!

SlyBevel — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:56:04 -0800

Help me turn an HD DVD box into a Blue Laser Pointer! I'm a bit of a laser junkie. I've had a green one for years now, and I want a blue one.

I keep reading about the coming (and current) Black Friday price wars on HD DVD boxes.

Here's the question:

Can I reasonably expect to be able to purchase a cheap HD DVD box, harvest the laser diode, and build it into a portable blue laser pointer?

I've seen this and other tutorials on harvesting a laser diode from a DVD or CD Burner and building a laser pointer from there. (But go ahead and link me to more if you know of others/better ones.)

So my question isn't really about the build, but about the laser diode itself.

1. Will it work theoretically?
2. Do I have a reasonable chance of harvesting the laser diode without ruining it? (I can solder/use solder wick, etc...)
3. Will I have to do any optical tuning to get the thing to shoot a beam across the room? (A deal breaker, as I'm not an optics geek.)
4. Standard diode power, or will I have to do some special power modulation junk? (Probably also a deal breaker. Then again, I have a couple of EE friends. So maybe on that one.)
5. HD DVD lasers are blue, right? Right? (Wiki says they are, but I really want to be sure.) Any clue what the rated mW will be on an HD DVD laser will be? I don't want to ruin my remaining eye. :)

Jumpy slow mouse pointer in one screen

rainy — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:24:09 -0800

Jumpy mouse in one screen. My mouse pointer does not refresh fast enough in one screen but is fine in second screen. I have an Asus video card based on nvidia 6200. It's driving 2 displays, one optiquest 22", the other NEC 19". The first one is dvi, windows is XP. On first screen, the cursor is very jumpy, it does not refresh often enough. If moved with an average speed, it jumps about every 1/3rd of a centimeter, instead of moving smoothly. On the second display it does jump but very little, the difference is huge. I guess they always jump a little, it should depend on monitor refresh rate unless processor is extremely slow. Here processor is athlon X2 3200. Changing resolutions and color depths does not make any difference. Using Asus or nvidia drivers and various settings in them does not make any difference. Everything else works fine on that large display, including dvd movies - this seems to be related only to mouse cursor. In win2k which I dual boot it seems to work much better, but I don't remember for certain, I used win2k and did not notice anything but after a day in XP I did notice by contrast with the 2nd display. I tried both Asus driver and Nvidia driver, and many various options in either. This is annoying because I work in CAD programs and I have to watch cursor carefully and it's just annoying that it jumps so much. I get the feeling that system is slow even though it's very fast. In the end it's more comfortable to use the 2nd display even though it's so much smaller. Another clue is that it seems to be ok after system is started but I think (I didn't test yet), if you start Autocad it becomes bad and after closing Autocad it stays bad. What could it be?

GUI Music video

fungible — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:23:53 -0800

Does anyone remember the name of a music video where the band is playing, and they keep getting moved about and assaulted by a pointer, as if they were part of a computer's GUI? And, if possible, where to find it online? Or, if you know of any other videos along that theme?

Combination laser pointer + presentation mouse?

NucleophilicAttack — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:28:26 -0800

Can anyone recommend a wireless presentation clicker/mouse + laser pointer for Mac OS X? Would need decent range (say, 30 feet), and be able to control (at minimum) PowerPoint and KeyNote.

The device will be paired with a MacBook Pro.

Is there an app for the PC that will make your mouse -- inside applications -- look more noticable?

grumblebee — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 14:45:49 -0800

I teach computer classes. Most of my classes are taught on PCs, but there's a Mac classroom next door. I was watching that class throught the window, and I noticed that there was a bright red halo around the intructor's mouse pointer. I would LOVE to teach this way, because many students have trouble seeing -- when my PC is projected on a screen -- where my mouse is pointing. So here's my question: is there an app for the PC that will make your mouse -- inside applications -- look more noticable? I'd rather not make the mouse bigger, but something like a halo or ring would be awesome.