16 lines
903 B
Plaintext
16 lines
903 B
Plaintext
drunk mouse syndrome
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n. (also mouse on drugs ) A malady exhibited by the mouse pointing device of
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some computers. The typical symptom is for the mouse cursor on the screen to
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move in random directions and not in sync with the motion of the actual
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mouse. Can usually be corrected by unplugging the mouse and plugging it back
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again. Another recommended fix for optical mice is to rotate your mouse pad
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90 degrees. At Xerox PARC in the 1970s, most people kept a can of copier
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cleaner (isopropyl alcohol) at their desks. When the steel ball on the mouse
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had picked up enough cruft to be unreliable, the mouse was doused in
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cleaner, which restored it for a while. However, this operation left a fine
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residue that accelerated the accumulation of cruft, so the dousings became
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more and more frequent. Finally, the mouse was declared alcoholic and sent
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to the clinic to be dried out in a CFC ultrasonic bath.
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