the mouse pointer settings should be device specific

Binary package hint: gnome-control-center

Different types of pointing devices behave differently, and so settings like acceleration and movement speed should be set by device rather than generically tied to "pointer".

For example, I'm using a ThinkPad x201. This has the IBM trackpoint (the red joystick nub in the keyboard), a touchpad and I am using a bluetooth Apple Magic Mouse.

When I'm not using the bluetooth mouse, I typically use a combination of the pointer and the touchpad (for example, when working on a plane, or in a restaurant). These devices typically need a faster acceleration set to make pointer movements more efficient. So I set the acceleration higher to account for the much smaller surface area of the touchpad and the limited movement of the trackpoint.

BUT, as soon as I connect my Magic Mouse, it takes on the same acceleration settings as I had set for the other devices, and becomes all but unusable because it's far faster by default when moving the pointer.

So, the means that I, the user, must set the mouse properties manually every time I use one or the other. So when I don't have my bluetooth mouse connected, I have to set the acceleration up to compensate for the slow trackpoint/touchpad devices. when I do connect the mouse, I have to manually slow down the acceleration to make the mouse behave properly.

Expected results:
I should be able to set a profile for each pointing device with settings set accordingly. So I can set one set of parameters for the built-in devices and one set for my bluetooth mouse, and perhaps a third profile for a different USB mouse.

Or at the very least, generic parameters set for decice TYPE. So built-in devices get one profile and config while external devices get another.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: gnome-control-center 1:2.32.1-0ubuntu15
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Apr 27 09:50:56 2011
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Release amd64 (20101007)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: gnome-control-center
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to natty on 2011-04-16 (10 days ago)