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Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

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micrex22
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Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

#1 Post by micrex22 » Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:21 am

So I'll be setting up Linux on my soon-to-be-arriving X1 Carbon 4th Gen (probably Xubuntu, Debian or Open SUSE).

However, the last time I had installed a Linux distro, while the TrackPoint worked and was fully functional after configuring some values... the way it handled was not like that of the IBM Windows and OS/2 driver (when said IBM driver is adjusted for lightest sensitivity so one doesn't have to push very hard).

Is there a way to replicate the precise handling of the rich IBM driver of Windows|OS/2 to Linux?

I don't exactly want to install Windows 10 or ArcaOS just to get the best TrackPoint experience, since both of those OSes have their own unique problems.

micrex22
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Re: Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

#2 Post by micrex22 » Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:00 pm

I figured there'd just be tumbleweeds. This is probably the wrong forum to ask this question, although if I were to ask it on a linux neckbeard forum they'd probably just attack me--so I'll take my tumbleweeds!

Isn't that impressive, that with all of these Linux users, none of them have figured out the rich IBM driver settings?

Well... I'll go on a quest to try and figure it out and post back my results--because it's something as a ThinkPad-TrackPoint user which is mandatory for me.

axur-delmeria
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Re: Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

#3 Post by axur-delmeria » Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:23 pm

I used these as reference : http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_co ... TrackPoint and https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/TrackPoint

I put a text file named 10-trackpoint.rules at /etc/udev/rules.d/ with the following content:

Code: Select all

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTR{name}=="*TrackPoint*", ATTR{device/sensitivity}="240"
Though when I did a live upgrade to Debian 9 two weeks ago, it doesn't work anymore. Something might have changed under the hood, . :(
I still haven't found the time to bisect the issue though.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

micrex22
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Re: Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

#4 Post by micrex22 » Thu Jul 13, 2017 4:16 am

Virtually all Linux distros use X.org, so that's how the TrackPoint would have to be configured under.

Unfortunately X.org is programmed quite poorly and after trying a bunch of things, it's just not possible to get the same awesome TrackPoint sensitivity as you can under Windows|OS/2 with Linux. 'Passable' but not 'perfect'-- and we want perfect.

So... Linux is a dead end until Lenovo (or someone) ports IBM's rich driver to Linux.

P.S. Windows and OS/2 also have their own proprietary ways of handling cursor acceleration and control, so that would have to be analyzed and replicated. Although many Linux users tell me they don't like how Windows handles the cursor--when I happen to like it.

axur-delmeria
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Re: Linux TrackPoint Driver (how to replicate rich IBM driver)

#5 Post by axur-delmeria » Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:39 am

^
What settings have you tried?

I've played around with some settings, and added the speed setting to 10-trackpoint.rules file

Code: Select all

ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTR{name}=="*TrackPoint*", ATTR{device/sensitivity}="240" ATTR{device/speed}="200"
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

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