Automatically Disable the Touchpad when a USB Mouse is plugged in under Linux with udev v. 0.2

I wanted to do it, came across this bug at Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-input-synaptics/+bug/116919

I made a generic version inspired by the appletouch howto and by the script
/usr/share/doc/xserver-xorg-input-synaptics/script/usbmouse
from xserver-xorg-input-synaptics

udev rule: /etc/udev/rules.d/85-synaptics.rules

# automaticly disable touchpad when usb mouse present
# (c) 2008 D. Jansen <>
# published under the GNU GPL 3.0, other licenses on request
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", SYSFS{product}=="*Mouse*"
ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ID_CLASS="mouse", RUN+="/home/djtm/scripts/touchpad-udev"
ACTION=="remove", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ID_CLASS="mouse", RUN+="/home/djtm/scripts/touchpad-udev"

and the script /home/djtm/scripts/touchpad-udev

#!/bin/bash
# automaticly disable touchpad when usb mouse present
# (c) 2008 D. Jansen <>
# published under the GNU GPL 3.0, other licenses on request

if [ "$(grep -e Mouse /proc/bus/input/devices)" ]; then
xinput set-int-prop "Synaptics Touchpad" "Synaptics Off" 8 1
xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Off" 8 1
#synclient TouchpadOff=1
else
xinput set-int-prop "Synaptics Touchpad" "Synaptics Off" 8 0
xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Off" 8 0
#synclient TouchpadOff=0
fi

The new version no longer requires -- Option "SHMConfig" "On" -- in xorg.conf

Installing 32-bit software's libraries in 64 bit Ubuntu

I just came across an awesome tool that manages the installation of 32-bit libraries in a 64-bit system. It's called getlibs and I found out about it in a skype (2.0) installation guide for Ubuntu 64. The actual 2.0 guide is here.

And you may be interested in this forum thread about getlibs.