Disable Your TouchPad to Prevent Typing Errors
Your laptop's touchpad is a convenient substitute for carrying a mouse, but it can easily get in the way of typing. Brush it with your hand, and you can find that the cursor has moved, resulting in gibberish. Some new laptops come with a switch to disable the touchpad -- my wife's new HP laptop does, in fact -- but for the rest of us, I've got a utility you can install that averts many of these touchpad errors.
TouchpadPal is a free program that prevents accidental touchpad activity when you're typing. The program requires no configuration -- just install it, and it goes to work right away.
The program doesn't actally turn off your touchpad, so you can still use it as a mouse substitute. But when it senses you're typing, it intercepts touchpad commands that it thinks are spurious.
I actually wish TouchpadPal was more aggressive. It still lets some unwanted touchpad commands through, so even if you're using it, you might find your cursor move occasionally. But it's a good start. For other alternatives, check out my older post on the subject, Disable Your Laptop's Touchpad When Typing.[via Digital Inspirations]
