Kanguru Presenter Mouse

James F. Carter, UCLA-Mathnet

This is the Kanguru Presenter Mouse by Interactive Media Corporation. Suggested retail price, US $50 (in late 2002). It has a radio receiver (433 MHz) that connects to the computer's USB, and a hand-held device with buttons on it and a laser pointer. I have a report that the same instructions work for the Keyspan Presentation Remote, and likely they are valid for any USB mouse emulator, except for references to button shapes and colors.

This discussion is mainly oriented toward Linux; however, many points apply equally to Windows. See the printed instructions that come with the mouse, for step-by-step installation instructions on Windows.

Setting Up the Mouse

You need the hotplug susbsystem to be activated for USB. (Most modern distros do this by default.) You need these modules available (again, most distros will have them by default).
- hid.o
- mousedev.o
- input.o
The modules configuration has to relate /dev/input/mice to the mousedev module. This also should happen by default, either due to /etc/modules.devfs (if you use it) or the hotplug configuration files. (hiddev.o is not needed for mice.)
You need to log in as root and modify your /etc/X11/XF86Config file for a second mouse. It is a USB mouse and uses the ps/2 protocol (no wheel). Maybe the setup program in your distro can do this for you. If not, you need these additions to the file. First, add this to your ServerFlags section (if not already present) for when you do not have the Kanguru mouse plugged in:
```
Section "ServerFlags"
  Option        "AllowMouseOpenFail"
EndSection
```
Next, add an additional InputDevice section for the Kanguru mouse:
```
Section "InputDevice"
  Driver        "mouse"
  Identifier    "Mouse[2]"
  Option        "Device"        "/dev/input/mice"
  Option        "Protocol"      "ps/2"
# Option        "Emulate3Buttons" "on"  # Doesn't work
EndSection
```
Finally, add the mouse to your ServerLayout (your regular mouse and keyboard should already be there):
```
Section "ServerLayout"
  --- other devices ---
  InputDevice   "Mouse[2]"      "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection
```
Finally, log out, kill the X-server by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Backspace, and log in to the new instance. Or reboot the machine, but that's not really necessary, unlike in Microsoft Windows.
Plug the receiver into your machine's USB port. Ignore complaints on syslog about usb_control/bulk_msg timeout. (On Windows, the New Hardware Wizard will start. Give it the disc of drivers that came with the device. You need to be logged in with administrator privileges to install the drivers, which will generally not be a problem on a personal laptop computer.)
For a new device, or if the battery has been changed, you need to set up association between the receiver and transmitter. The procedure is:
- Simultaneously for 5 seconds, press the M-key (the pie-shaped one at the bottom) and press the Composite Switch directly into the body (it's the one on the right side that has 3 positions for Karaoke). Watch for the light under the M-key to flash green. This creates a new random session ID.
- Within 40 seconds, use a ballpoint pen to depress the switch under the little hole in the top of the receiver. Be careful to support the receiver when doing this. Do not remove the receiver from the USB port; it needs power to receive the new session ID. If you take too long, try again from step 1.

To Actually Use the Device

To move the mouse pointer:: Press down (not sideways) on the big round button, on its rim in the direction you want to go. Push down harder to make the mouse move faster.
Mouse clicks:: Press the left or right end of the butterfly-shaped button. The composite switch (on the right side) acts as a locking left mouse button (for dragging, or smearing selections). Click the regular left mouse button to unlock. For UNIX geeks: despite an Emulate3Buttons option, the third button cannot be produced, even with an extended timeout. Ignore error messages on syslog about can't emulate rawmode for keycode 272.
If it doesn't work the first time:: Try changing the session key (see above). That's what happened to me. Also if a neighbor is using one of these mice and gets the same session key by accident, you (and he) will want to change session keys.
To turn on the laser pointer:: Normally it is completely disabled. To enable, press the M-key (pie-shaped one at bottom) and the laser key (pink button at top) simultaneously for 5 seconds; watch for the red light under the M-key to flash. After that, you can turn on the laser by holding down the pink button. The red light will blink every 2 seconds. If unused for 30 minutes, the laser will revert to deactivated status. Do not point the laser at people as the light can harm their eyes.
Karaoke Mode:: If you press the M-key (its green light turns on), the Windows driver can specially operate the Windows Media Player. On Linux you should just press the M-key again to turn the green light off.
Useable Range:: 10 meters. Likely the mouse really works at that distance; it worked throughout the programmers' offices despite metal obstructions.
On-Off Switch:: There isn't one. If no buttons are pressed, negligible power is used, like for a digital watch. The battery should last 10 to 12 months.
OpenOffice.org Impress and Microsoft PowerPoint:: A left mouse click (left side of the butterfly button) advances one page; a right click backs up one. (Likely KDE KPresenter works the same, but it was not tested.)

As with any such device, set it up on your computer and practice using the mouse, several days in advance of giving your presentation. It would be best to do a dry run of the complete presentation, in the room and with the equipment that you will actually be using. Setup generally takes longer than expected, preventing you from starting on time, and clumsy use of the equipment really detracts from the message you are trying to convey to your audience.