Mouse pointer jitter

About Qemu-system-ppc, a PPC Mac emulator for Windows, macOS and Linux that can run Mac OS 9.0 up to Mac OS X 10.5

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AlexSantos
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:18 pm

Mouse pointer jitter

Post by AlexSantos »

Hi

I am running Mac OS 9.0 in Qemu on an iMac 27inch i7 3.4GHz machine.

I find that the mouse pointer is rather jittery (not smooth)

Is this expected behavior and does anyone know if this might see improvement in future updates or why this occurs? Is there any workaround or fix?

Kind regards
—Alex Santos
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adespoton
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Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by adespoton »

Are you using the USB mouse driver, or the virtual ADB mouse?
AlexSantos
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Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by AlexSantos »

I don't know, whatever is default because I didn't assign a flag for the mouse, USB or virtual ADB. Is one preferred over the other in terms of improving the smoothness of mouse tracking on screen?

I installed QEMU via homebrew:

Code: Select all

brew install qemu
I run it from the terminal in Mac OS Sierra and this is what I entered to run QEMU.

Code: Select all

./qemu-system-ppc -hda /Volumes/Slice_2/Qemu\ OS9/Qemu-64Bit_211Pre-MountainLion-16092017/MacOS9.img -M mac99 -m 256 -g 1280x960x32
So should I add

Code: Select all

-usbdevice mouse
There are a number if flags as per the man page, I am not sure which I should use actually. Sorry I didn't read the man page much before posting this question.

Kind regards
—Alex
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Cat_7
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Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by Cat_7 »

Hi,

You have me puzzled ;-)
You installed qemu through brew, but also downloaded the version for Mountain Lion we provide.
I guess these two are different builds, but I do not know at which point in time of the source code the brew version was build.

You do not need the brew version if you want to run the 16-09-2017 build.
Just make sure you start the included qemu from the folder in which you put our build and adjust the qemu.command file provided.

Also, if you want to use the usb mouse, add -device usb-mouse to the command line.

Best,
Cat_7
AlexSantos
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:18 pm

Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by AlexSantos »

Hi Cat_7

Thanks for the note and for the potential mouse fix.

Yes i do have two builds, it was just the way things went, at first I couldn't get the brew version working so stuck with the 16092017. The brew version appears to be 2.10.1 and I may eventually use it because I find brew makes life easier.

Anyway, thanks for the tip on the mouse and sorry for any confusion ;)

Kind regards
—Alex
AlexSantos
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:18 pm

Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by AlexSantos »

Cat_7 wrote: if you want to use the usb mouse, add -device usb-mouse to the command line.
Hello again

Actually now that I read your reply more carefully, I was actually already using a mouse. I added the additional flag to the command line but there is no apparent change. The mouse does not run smoothly over the desktop. I suppose this is the expected behavior.

I should mention that the mouse is actually the Apple Magic Mouse so it's not physically connected to the computer as it is in fact connected via Blue Tooth.

I will locate a wired USB mouse and attach it directly, close and reopen Qemu, and report back on any performance change.

Thanks again, I just wanted to document this incase.

Kind regards
—Alex
AlexSantos
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Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:18 pm

Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by AlexSantos »

Hello once more.

I have attached the Apple mouse I use on an iMac G3 directly to the iMac and then ran the command to boot OS 9 but the mouse pointer refuses to move smoothly as it does on the original machine. Perhaps it is just like this. In the host OS the said mouse works as expected.

If there is something else I could try I would be open to your opinion.
—Alex
almeath
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Location: Australia

Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by almeath »

I have the same issue, with almost the same Mac hardware as you. Although slow/jittery mouse pointer has been a problem in other emulators like Basilisk II and SheepShaver - it seems to vary from build to build.

In my experience no emulator has been able to perfectly reproduce the smooth scrolling and responsiveness of the original hardware. Perhaps over the years and as modern systems get more powerful it will become possible. :?:
almeath
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Location: Australia

Re: Mouse pointer jitter

Post by almeath »

I have noticed that the smoothness of mouse tracking greatly improves when switching to full screen mode and also using the 'zoom to fit' setting.
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