Month: October 2011

Logitech Wireless Touchpad with Ubuntu

Logitech Wireless TouchpadI picked up a Logitech Wireless Touchpadat Fry’s last weekend. I’ve been research alternatives to a regular mouse and the Touchpad seemed like an interesting option. The other item I was considering was the updated M570 Trackball, since I’ve used one of those before and liked it quite a bit.

My biggest concern about the Touchpad was whether or not it would work under Ubuntu and if I could pair it with my existing Unifying Receiver. And it does! A number of the gestures work as well, which was a nice surprise. I was able to use the Touchpad right out of the box with Ubuntu 11.10 using the receiver that came with it.

Unfortunately, Logitech doesn’t provide the unifying software for Linux, so in order to pair the Touchpad with my existing receiver (the one that came with my wireless keyboard), I had to use my old Macbook Pro. If you have a Windows machine lying around, that will work too. I have no idea of you can configure the paring with either of those operating systems running under a virtual machine under Linux.

I’ve been using the Touchpad full time now for a bit less than I week and like it quite a bit. I recommend it to anyone who wants a trackpad-like device and can’t or won’t get Apple’s version.

 

 

On not reinventing the pencil every time you want to send a message…

I’m currently reading Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Crossing Press Feminist Series), by Audre Lorde. There are a number of good quotes in the collection, but this one struck me in particular last night:

As a Black woman, I find it necessary to withdraw into all-Black groups at times for exactly the same reasons — differences in stages of development and differences in levels of interaction. Frequently, when speaking with men and white women, I am reminded of how difficult and time-consuming it is to have to reinvent the pencil every time you want to send a message.

I run a group for women who work in technology. The group isn’t a women-only space, but we ask that men come as the guest of a woman attendee. This ensures that the gender balance is always in favor of the women. We get occasional flak for this rule and I find it difficult to explain while women’s spaces are important.

I think the idea of not wanting to reinvent the pencil everytime you want to send a message applies as equally to women’s spaces as it does to those of other opressed groups.

So, now I have a more useful metaphor when someone asks me why we but restrictions on the gender attendance of our group.