Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:14405 comp.windows.misc:389
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!tektronix!tekcrl!eirik
From: eirik@tekcrl.TEK.COM (Eirik Fuller)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.windows.misc
Subject: Re: 2 button mouse
Message-ID: <2452@tekcrl.TEK.COM>
Date: 24 Mar 88 22:46:42 GMT
References: <1694@bgsuvax.UUCP> <1469@husc2.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 45
Keywords: mouse buttons modifier keys
Summary: who needs buttons at all?

In article <1469@husc2.UUCP> mckenzie@husc2.UUCP (david mckenzie) writes:
>In article <1694@bgsuvax> denbeste@bgsuvax.UUCP (William C. DenBesten) writes:
>>I can see one way that apple could reasonably implement a multi-button
>>mouse.  Make the second button be the same as a shift-click; the third
>>button could be a command-click; 4th is a option-click (where does it
>>end?)  .  Then users with older machines would still have a method of
>
>Why bother?  The vast majority of computer users have two hands; hence a 
>question for the Sun users out there: What exactly are you doing with your
>other hand while you twiddle multiple buttons with your mouse hand?  How
>is a one-button plus modifier keys scheme less quick/convenient for power
>users than multiple mouse buttons?  Just curious...
>
>					David McKenzie
>					mckenzie@husc2.UUCP

So what is to stop some random (I hereby volunteer) from taking this
to its logical conclusion, which says the mouse doesn't need any
buttons at all?  Seriously, if you want to (in effect) move mouse
buttons to the keyboard, why not put all of them there?

I can say this for a one button mouse:  with less total buttons
(including mouse buttons borrowed from the keyboard), the designers
have to come up with an intrinsically better interface.  For those of
you who disagree, use X for a week and tell me you like holding down
the left control-meta-shift-whizbang key with your right elbow to drag
a window a few pixels.  :-)/2

Even smalltalk has its leftShiftDown hidden tricks (and, in Tek
smalltalk, rightShiftDown); makes me wonder why not do it with
chording (multiple buttons), so one hand can do it?

How about the other extreme:  put the entire keyboard on the cursor
tracking device? :-)  Leaves one hand free for Fritos :-)

Just don't ask me what's right; I can "drive" anything.  I switched
from emacs to vi a while back (no! not the editor wars!), and can
still switch back and forth when necessary.  I routinely switch between
smalltalk and X.  My favorite is debugging a smalltalk interpreter,
where every mouse button event or key event stops the interpreter
process (in adb).  Running adb in a window on a second machine
(smalltalk or X; either one works for me, though I prefer smalltalk so
I have a Browser nearby), it takes two hands to drive the mice, one on
the smalltalk mouse, the other to send adb commands to restart the
interpreter.  Reminds me of the gate scene in "The Gods Must be Crazy" :-).