Stop Microsoft

Operating Systems => Linux and UNIX => Topic started by: Pathos on 5 May 2006, 10:33

Title: middle mouse button
Post by: Pathos on 5 May 2006, 10:33
Linux is supposed to be good for old hardware right?

Why the hell do certain apps require a middle mouse button ?

fluxbox tabs are useless without it and earlier this weekend I spent two hours typing up the output from ruby profiling because aterm needs a middle mouse button to copy text...

the middle button has not been around for that long and only 1 of my 4 computers has one.


[/rant]
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Refalm on 5 May 2006, 12:12
You can configure xorgcfg to let the LMB and RMB be interpreted as MMB.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 5 May 2006, 18:37
Mice with middle buttons have been around for a long time (I'd say at least 14 years but probably much longer), the Acorn computers we used at middle school all used them. I've been using three button mice with my last few PCs but I do admint they've become more popular recently with the scroll button doubling as a middle button.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Refalm on 5 May 2006, 20:51
I have lots of mouses here at home (some of em serial) that have no middle mouse button. Actually, the serial ones do have one, the old PS/2's don't :P
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 5 May 2006, 20:58
I know English isn't your first language and I'm not meaning to mock but to educate, mice is the plural for mouse. Hell even people who have English as their first language mess this one up, it isn't obvious it's just one of the quirks of our language.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: H_TeXMeX_H on 5 May 2006, 21:41
Hehe ... what's the plural of moose ... meese, mooses, or moose ?
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 5 May 2006, 21:59
Moose, I think it's the same like, sheep, geese and fish.

Another one people often get worng is you can have many dice but only one die.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Refalm on 5 May 2006, 23:28
Quote from: Aloone_Jonez
I know English isn't your first language and I'm not meaning to mock but to educate, mice is the plural for mouse. Hell even people who have English as their first language mess this one up, it isn't obvious it's just one of the quirks of our language.

A computer mouse isn't exactly a mouse, is it? ;)
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: piratePenguin on 5 May 2006, 23:59
Quote from: Refalm
A computer mouse isn't exactly a mouse, is it? ;)
In England, yes.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Orethrius on 6 May 2006, 01:10
Quote from: Aloone_Jonez
I know English isn't your first language and I'm not meaning to mock but to educate, mice is the plural for mouse. Hell even people who have English as their first language mess this one up, it isn't obvious it's just one of the quirks of our language.


Actually, check out definition 3 here (http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/mouse), but I can hardly claim the legitimacy of the variant word's origin given that it likely started among those of the Net-savvy who lack a formal education - but arrogant claims of creation are better left for another day.  ;)
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: GenuineAdvantage on 6 May 2006, 05:47
I prefer to call them miceses.

And I thought in England they called them "jubjubs"?
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 6 May 2006, 16:20
"jubjubs"?

Never heard of them, perhapes they might in some parts.

I suppose I'm worng but it still sounds kind of wrong, mouses.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: KernelPanic on 6 May 2006, 17:25
Quote from: Aloone_Jonez
Moose, I think it's the same like, sheep, geese and fish.

Another one people often get worng is you can have many dice but only one die.


Erm, surely singular is goose. Plural is geese, "A gaggle of geese".

goose != geese
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 6 May 2006, 17:54
Alright, I was wrong about that too. :D
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: mobrien_12 on 6 May 2006, 18:56
The middle mouse button has been around forever.  

All X11 workstations had one.  Because of this, X11 is built expecting a middle mouse button as the paste in terminals.  That's standard X11, not Linux.  Because of crappy two-button-only-mice, XFree86 and XOrg has a setting so that pressing both Left and Right at the same time emulates a middle mouse button click, but it needs to be enabled in the config files.

You could almost always find a PC mouse with a middle button and you damn well needed one for high end applications.  They weren't quite so common because (a)many mouse makers were cheap and (b) there was the "average computer users are morons" philosophy.  In other words, two buttons would be less confusing than three.  

Then the scrolling wheel was introduced and, what the heck, lets just make that a mouse button too.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: piratePenguin on 6 May 2006, 19:07
Quote from: mobrien_12
The middle mouse button has been around forever.  

All X11 workstations had one.  Because of this, X11 is built expecting a middle mouse button as the paste in terminals.  That's standard X11, not Linux.  Because of crappy two-button-only-mice, XFree86 and XOrg has a setting so that pressing both Left and Right at the same time emulates a middle mouse button click, but it needs to be enabled in the config files.

You could almost always find a PC mouse with a middle button and you damn well needed one for high end applications.  They weren't quite so common because (a)many mouse makers were cheap and (b) there was the "average computer users are morons" philosophy.  In other words, two buttons would be less confusing than three.  

Then the scrolling wheel was introduced and, what the heck, lets just make that a mouse button too.

I found it extremely odd that a (new enough) mouse I used to use had a scrollwheel that you couldn't click...
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Jack2000 on 7 May 2006, 00:11
jubjubs ??
man dose are like litle
candies/ like a jelly but smaller ...
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: mobrien_12 on 7 May 2006, 00:36
Quote from: piratePenguin
I found it extremely odd that a (new enough) mouse I used to use had a scrollwheel that you couldn't click...


Yeah that is odd.   Who made it?
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: GenuineAdvantage on 7 May 2006, 02:42
Doesn't seem that odd to me. I had a mouse with 2 scrollwheels, neither of them clickable. But it had 3 buttons, in weird positions. Oh and it was a trackball mouse. Made by A4Tech which are probably out of business now. I gave that to my sister.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: piratePenguin on 7 May 2006, 03:27
Quote from: mobrien_12
Yeah that is odd.   Who made it?
It was an Iqon (or is it Icon) one IIRC. Probably something they bought and put their stamp on.

I've never bought a mouse, I just use the best of what everyone else throws out. Right now a Dell ("by Microsoft") mouse. That Iqon mouse would be in the attic, where there is no light.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 7 May 2006, 03:42
I've always thrown mouses out because they always stop working after a while, anyway perhapps the first two button mouse was an MS mouse.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Jack2000 on 7 May 2006, 11:54
Mine first was a Compaq
adn now a Benq one ;)

[whats up with the Q-s ?]
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: Pathos on 23 May 2006, 05:30
the -2button parameter for X11 is the workaround that emulates a middle button click when you press both buttons.

How many laptop mouses come with a middle button ?

from wikipedia : The American Heritage Dictionary of English Language, Fourth Edition, states that "computer mice" and "computer mouses" are both proper plural forms for "computer mouse." "Mice" is the generally accepted plural term.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: 7031 on 5 June 2006, 22:23
I do think it is pretty lame needing a 3 button mouse for fluxbox. I though Linux was supposed to be good for old harware too.
Even more annoying when you are using a laptop, as they tend to not have a middle mouse button and just have a scroller button. I think you could change them in Winblowz but not helping here.

You have got a valid point though, as none of my PS2 mice have a third button, the only mice I have that have a middle mouse button are the ones that are USB and of course, they are all fairly new.
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: H_TeXMeX_H on 6 June 2006, 06:24
I use fluxbox and never use the third button ... it only brings up workspaces right ? I don't use workspaces ... I use tabs instead (allmost all programs I run are tabbed ... only OpenOffice isn't)
Title: Re: middle mouse button
Post by: worker201 on 6 June 2006, 06:45
I use workspaces all the time in FC4.  Nice handy way to keep your shit organized.  Got my work apps (terminal, gedit, ggv) running in one, firefox thunderbird and gaim in another, and yet another for bittorrent and maybe another terminal.  Running a 3-window app like Gimp usually gets a workspace all to itself.

Of course I've never had any use for a 3rd mouse button.