Of Mice and Linux

[Scott Robert Ladd <coyote@coyotegulch.com>]

Please indulge a minor story in regard to testing beta kernels.

Last Friday, I made a minor change to my Linux .config and rebuilt 
2.6.0-test11. Soon thereafter, my mouse began getting "stuck", sometimes 
for several seconds, refusing to move no matter how vigorously I wiggled 
my wrist.

I rebuilt the kernel a couple of times, turning on and off various 
options; I plugged and unplugged devices from the USB ports; a 
considerable amount of cursing ensued. The problem was erratic -- and 
frustrating, because I hadn't had much trouble with 2.6 (which I've been 
using since the 2.6.4x days).

Then I borrowed a mouse from another machine, plugged it in -- and the 
replacement rodent worked flawlessly. It seems that my mouse broke just 
about the same time as I installed test11. Being a software guy, I 
should have blamed the hardware first...

...especially since the truth was right in front of me, emblazoned 
boldly across the mouse: the word "Microsoft".

I think the replacement will be from Logitech.

-- 
Scott Robert Ladd
Coyote Gulch Productions (http://www.coyotegulch.com)
Software Invention for High-Performance Computing