disabling a synaptic touchpad, totallY!

[Gene Heskett]

Greetings all

Now a lubuntu 14.04.2 LTS install on the lappy.

Generally very happy because for starters I was able to setup a working 
network for the install.  The only repeated problem was that despite 
changing the hostname to my choice with the hostname utility, it was 
steadfastly "corrected" to a very long name at every reboot until I 
actually edited the /etc/hosdtname file itself. Took about 6 reboots to 
figure that out and make it "stick". :(

I use nfs4 here for my shares as I don't have to go around fixing all the 
perms & whathaveyou that samba/cifs does to files when copied machine to 
machine.

I just tried for the 2nd time to edit /etc/exports, using nano.  Only to 
have that @#&^%$ touchpad clear what I had just spent 5 minutes typing.
12 years ago, the Mandrake install had a utility called synaptics that 
could switch it on and off, but I guess that was too easy. :(  The 
driver from xorg seems to have zero effect on it, contrary to the 
documentation I have read so far.

I have got to totally disable this touchpad facility, as totally as if I 
had opened the machine and pulled the plugs on it and removed it leaving 
a gaping hole in the panel.

How can I do that, emphasizing that if I lose the mouse, I can't use the 
machine untll I go buy another mouse, the pad will never again be used.  
Not even open for discussion.

Thanks all.

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
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Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>