...and they assume that the pointing device is a mouse.

inspiration: I'm using a trackball with my left hand because of a broken button. The pointer shape doesn't make sense since i'm not clicking with my right index finger.

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[–] 52 points 9 months ago (24 children)

I remember when everyone was customizing their mouse cursors like they were ringtones.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago* (22 children)

    Yeah, there was like, a 15 year period. Where nobody ran standard cursor on their desktops. People would have these crazy animated things that would just drive you crazy.

    Good riddance. The mouse cursor should be almost invisible, not draw attention to itself.

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  • [–] 23 points 9 months ago (9 children)

    The mouse cursor should be almost invisible, not draw attention to itself.

    Linux solved a problem I didn't really know I was having. getting old, lose the cursor because old. Wiggle the mouse around and the cursor grows like the grinches heart long enough for me to see it, then it goes back to normal.

    ms.. they put a white circle which you can't see if you press some weird ass keyboard combo that may or may not also open edge and attempt to create a ms account (I dunno if this is true, they just suck)

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Which distro/desktop environment? I have only seen that on macOS.

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    I need the mouse cursor to be better at drawing attention to itself at times though. When you have a couple big monitors often finding where that cursor is hiding becomes a problem.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    fortunately, on macOS, all you have to do is wiggle the mouse a bit, and it'll get really big for a moment so you can find it, lol... it's super-helpful!

    edit: also, if out of your work is with apps in 'dark mode' (lots of black bgs with white/light text), consider inverting your cursor to be white instead of black. it helps it stand out a bit more without being too distracting.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    I do increase the size of the cursor permanently, and colour them brightly. It works wonders, a bright pink or cyan or orange cursor always makes me smile a bit when I stop to appreciate it.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Honestly mouse cursor customization is the one thing I miss from KDE, I love having goofy animations as my cursor

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    Wdym? I run Ubuntu with KDE and there certainly is cursor customization. You can choose one of defaults or download any cursor you want externally.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago (8 children)

    Windows used to have a left handed pointer unless I am mandala’d again

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago

    On the left margin of word documents, your cursor changes to left handed, to help the mouse not cover content when selecting stuff near the border.

    You can still change the mouse pointer to be this way by default, as well

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Side note, I watched a video about how Mandela effect is maybe the most American concept ever. So many people kinda ignored/forgot that a guy won the Nobel Prize and was president of a major country for several years, or were never taught it because he's black. Even more couldn't be bothered to pay close enough attention to the spelling of a popular author's name (also foreign). People would rather think that there is some supernatural mystic shared memory gap experience rather than believe we're idiots.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    I thought the whole Mandela effect/Berinstain Bears thing was tongue in cheek satire about our faulty memories, but then again I thought flat earth was tongue in cheek satire.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    That's how I treat it. I often use the phrase when I'm surprised to learn I remembered something wrong. I don't actually believe I've traveled to an alternate dimension.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    I hope you guys are right and most people use it that way, and some small instances it's kinda funny. But I fear the danger of being able to handwave away more important information as "it's weird how our brains do that!" instead of crap, I need to pay more attention. Maybe a case by case thing I dunno.

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago

    Most people do be right handed

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago

    It actually made me curious, and apparently you can download cursor packs that point the other way :3 so that's neat

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    I’m left-handed, but I’ve always used a mouse with my right hand... and now I’m wondering if I was unconsciously influenced by the orientation of the pointer.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Mouse with your off hand means your main hand can do other things - type or such. Most keyboards have a numberpad to the right, so the left is the more ergonomic place for a mouse.

    I have two computers, and two keyboards and two mice. I keep a mouse on each side. (I tried a KVM and didn't like it). YMMV.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Most keyboards have a numberpad to the right, so the left is the more ergonomic place for a mouse.

    This is why I got a TKL keyboard. It took a long time for me to realize how far away I was reaching for my mouse.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago*

    I know they assume right-handedness with the pointer's orientation, but I dont see how they assume the method of locomotion. Nothing about the cursor itself would matter if you're using a mouse, a trackball/pad, a controller, etc. 🤨

    I don't know if Windows still has this, but you used to have a shitton of options for the style of your cursor, including left-handed oriented pointers. And you could also download more. I used to have my hyperlink pointer as a middle finger instead of the default index finger. 😌

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    They were flippable in the Windows 95/98 era. Is this no longer the case?

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    I have a coworker who's also left-handed (as am I), but he actually uses a Logitech MX Master 3 (which is very much designed to be held with a right hand), with his left hand. No idea why, it's uncomfortable and he can't use half the buttons correctly.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Normalize Worms 3D cursor!

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    *Correct-handed

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    I use the mouse left-handed and have never had this thought

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    The arrow doesn't make sense...?

    Oh! You have a tiny hand graphic for mouse pointer?

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  • [+] -6 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Not much of a shower thought.

    That's like saying the color green is green

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Could be a right in the shower with a hand injury, struggling to figure out how the left hand works as they fumble the soap, wondering what else they've been so rightfully been accustomed to

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