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Mouse cursor disappears.

I tried with closing flash apps/websites, restarted iMac, updated to newest flash plugin but still using for example Photoshop, afer a few minutes cursors turns invisible.
I searched in forum for OSX Lion and there this problem was mentioned several times. Does it mean that it was NOT SOLVED?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Jul 26, 2012 2:28 PM

Reply
501 replies

Jun 15, 2013 1:01 PM in response to CT

"Third party software conflict" is not an adequate response. If the "Third party software conflict" is one which Apple should reasonably contemplate and address, then Apple is negligent if not recklessly irresponsible as appears to be the case with this chronic, festering problem. And, this is not a free pass for the 3rd party; I have an unrelated issue with a conflict between my OS, Word 2011, and my Samsung printer.


Anyway, it appears that my cursor problem is vastly different from that of others. Mine goes off two sides of the screen, not the other two, and can be retrieved. I can live with mine (likely having some Ph.D. fix) but the majority of problems here should be viewed as if they occurred with new automobiles and Apple and 3rd parties no longer given a feudalistic free pass as they deserve none.

Jun 15, 2013 2:12 PM in response to RobertBurnsOB

RobertBurnsOB wrote:


"Third party software conflict" is not an adequate response. If the "Third party software conflict" is one which Apple should reasonably contemplate and address, then Apple is negligent if not recklessly irresponsible as appears to be the case with this chronic, festering problem.

I agree. Apple could do something, even if it just acknowledged the fault with a "so what"


I think I posted earlier that one of my two cursor problems disappeared after I ditched the Magic Mouse and returned to my 5-year-old optical tethered mouse. The disappeared fault is (was) the one where the pointer or cursor (depending on the type of application I was running) often disappeared and I had to pair the mouse again in System Prefs. (taking several seconds of interruption each time). (My Trackpad was essential.) The other, remainig, problem occurs when I am typing away (looking at the keyboard) and find a line of type has not appeared but is in Spotlight's field !! I have to dismiss Spotlight and type again. However, that fault seems to occur less frequently now.


My iMac is like a car where the wipers stick in mid-position and I have to press the airconditioning and heated rear window buttons on and off to get it working again. Why should I have to tolerate the same on my computer (the one "that just works" to quite Jobs)?

Jun 15, 2013 6:35 PM in response to SteveKir

I find it unacceptable how Apple won't even really acknowledge this problem that has been affecting so many professional users for such a long time. In my opinion, something like this should take priority over making something like a cool new feature for Mavericks.



All the new stuff being developed is, for the most part, great, but any bug like this that affects productivity for the people who make a living off the Mac OS should take absolute priority over any enhancements. I remember a time when Apple wouldn't let something like this persist through the following update. A professional user's OS should be totally reliable—first and foremost. Apple is showing us where its priorities are—and it's not the people who have been loyal to their OS from the beginning and rely on it for their profession. If the professionals are not being supported, what is going to keep us with Apple when there are increasingly more and more cheaper alternatives available? I'm seeing fewer reasons as time goes on. One of the biggest problems people have with hackintosh is the lack of support. Well, we aren't getting much support with genuine Apple products, either. So, whats the problem?



I've seen (fairly new) hardware fail more frequently than ever before and operating systems being released hastily. 1) My mother's laptop screen (much wasted time on the phone with Apple and finally decided to just return the whole laptop after being completely frustrated with the whole thing). 2) My optical drive (bought laptop December of 2011). 3) My friend's laptop screen. Hardware reliability has taken a hit, it seems. I have a G4 tower that still runs with no issues (when I turn it on to get an old psd or something). Much of my old hardware still runs with no issue, but with the new stuff, I've seen pieces failing left and right. It seems Apple is becoming more concerned with quantity over quality. There's another reason I chose Apple that will now be removed from my list.


TL;DR


<Edited by Host>

Jun 15, 2013 6:52 PM in response to charlesl80

Apple has already shown its colours by censoring your post. Take a look for yourself: "<Edited by Host>"


I have often vented with the same frustration partly because I am a lawyer and partly because I was long (and at heart still am) an activist. But, that avenue (see how I am trying to please the unAmerican censor) is fraught with expense and the secret society of computer professionals. That secret society feudalistically feels good about taking a 50 cent piece of merchandise and sell it hundreds of dollars as an iPhone [an aired N.P.R. program is my source], putting out M$ monopoly software that is riddled with bugs and security defects and beta prematurity, or bondaging users with endless contracts with carcinogenic exculpatory-clauses. Worse, the secret society doesn't have enough independent, honest experts to go to bat against the industry. As with feudalism, we might need to await advancements in spirituality or society that create enough guilt or obsolescence to bring us real change.

Jun 15, 2013 8:56 PM in response to RobertBurnsOB

So, did you see what I intended to be posted in an email notification? Is that how you knew it was changed? (Besides the "<Edited by Host>")


Thanks for the heads up. Funny how Apple doesn't notify the person by email or something that they edited their post. I feel they should, since it could change important aspects and the meaning of what you wrote.


Apple is turning to the dark side. You can even see it with the design of the new Mac Pro 😀.


<Edited by Host>

Jun 15, 2013 10:01 PM in response to RobertBurnsOB

Apple certainly doesn't deserve being defended in this case, but I did want to throw in my two cents as a former quality software engineer and long time sufferer of this disappearing mouse problem.


First as I look at this thread there are 280 replies which probably means there are two or three dozens commenters. Apple undoubtedly has metrics that allow them to see how long a thread is or how many users comment on an issue and can predict how widespread the problem is and how many people it affects. With two dozen commenters it's likely we haven't met their threshhold for raising alarms.


Second as a QA guy I feel for these troublesome bugs. Testing is a lot like the scientific method. They make a hypothesis, establish a control, alter a single variable, test and monitor, rinse and repeat. These complex bugs that only happen on occassion and are caused by 3rd party software conflicts, but only for some people are extremely tough to sort out. It's possible the QA team hasn't been able to reproduce this issue, or they can't reliably reproduce it. Then if the QA team is finally able to reliable reproduce it, it may stump the developer and they may not be able to pinpoint where in the code things are going awry.


So I know it's all been a frustrating issue that's been a pain in my side for a good long time and I can understand your frustrations as well, but consider the scale that Apple operates at today and the complexity of what they are doing and it's a miracle any of it works at all. Apparently nobody lived through the days where Microsoft was king and Windows 98 was endemic and getting a printer to actually print often took days of troubleshooting.

Mouse cursor disappears.

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