Mechanical Mouse Jigglers

Grunfeld

If anyone wants to earn a fortune just make one of these... please.  You'll sell them to millions of poor saps who have this problem:
I do a couple of days in an establishment which has an IT system which gently puts its computers to sleep if they are not active for... oh must be at least two minutes.
I have spent the entire day doing clinics, trying to pay attention to what someone is saying, but with one eye open for the tell tale sign of the screens dimming and trying to jiggle the mouse before all my patient's information vanishes and I have to f**king log in AGAIN....
On an entirely serious note I've lost a shit load of time doing this crazy bollocks today and I do it every single bastard working day.  And so do dozens of other people.  It's insane and I want it fixed.
And Trevor f**king Baylis has just gone and f**cking died so I can't ask him.

I had a few minutes when someone didn't show up so I've googled and here's what doesn't work:

• Balancing the mouse on the end of a glass
• Placing the mouse on top of a watch
• Placing the mouse on top of a clock
  

I need something like in the 7 second video below but which doesn't look as crazy. 
I was even thinking of a little USB powered "rolling road" like a treadmill that moves underneath the mouse.
Anyone have any ideas?
Oh, and it has got to be mechanical.  Software USB stuff will not work, I guarantee it because IT have locked the computers down so tight that I know that option hasn't got a hope in working.

Heartfeltdawn

Can you get into the Power settings on each computer? If so, change the sleep settings. 

If those changes have to come from a network admin, then file a request. 

Grunfeld

Heartfeltdawn said:

Can you get into the Power settings on each computer? If so, change the sleep settings. 

If those changes have to come from a network admin, then file a request. 

Thank you but I'd have more chance of getting into Angelina Jolie's knickers. 
Filing a request has been done.  Refusal has also been done.  Policy. 
I want a jiggler.

Bowks

1. Get an analogue clock movement
2. mount a piece of paper on the second hand
3. place sellotape roll over this contraption, ensuring paper is at same level as sellotape. This might need a book or 2 as a prop
4. balance mouse on top
5. SUCCESS!

I have a friend that had a similar issue when contracting at a bank, where they measured periods of inactivity.

Grunfeld

@Bowks -- good call.  I can see this has got legs.  I've just ordered a clock movement.  I can picture the mouse balanced on top of the sellotape roll and a disk of text rotating underneath it. 
This could work!
EDIT:  But what happens when the cursor gets off the screen?  Would that then count as inactivity?  Because the disc of text will only take the cursor in one direction.

Sporky

Mechanical Mouse Jigglers is an excellent band name.

Phil_aka_Pip

suggested modification. use the hands of the clock movement to rotate the ball in the mouse to that the cursor moves round in a circle. Never goes off-screen

Bowks

Grunfeld said:

@Bowks -- good call.  I can see this has got legs.  I've just ordered a clock movement.  I can picture the mouse balanced on top of the sellotape roll and a disk of text rotating underneath it. 
This could work!
EDIT:  But what happens when the cursor gets off the screen?  Would that then count as inactivity?  Because the disc of text will only take the cursor in one direction.

No idea sir! I saw it done with a grid on the paper, not sure if that made a difference.

axisus

I think I wouldn't find it that difficult to knock up something for that. Could be crowdfunding potential to design something cheap and elegant!

Grunfeld

axisus said:

I think I wouldn't find it that difficult to knock up something for that. Could be crowdfunding potential to design something cheap and elegant!

Do it!!  Elegance and not looking mental is the key.
This may even have potential because a lot of people would want one.  If you google you can see the problem is not exactly rare.
In the last two hospitals I've worked in this problem is like one of those staple "things to moan about" but I totally get that compared to "real" things it's trivial.  Except actually it isn't.
I probably shouldn't admit this but today I had a patient telling me their story -- nothing life threatening -- and I was not paying full attention because of this stupid bloody IT issue.  That person has traipsed into hospital and wants, expects, and deserves decent treatment and I'm only paying attention to about two sentences in three because of this problem.  That is actually what's prompted this -- it pisses me off that I wasn't fully attentive. 

EDIT @Phil_aka_Pip - optical mice, no balls.

ICBM

This sounds like a project for Lego Technic to me.

I don't have any specific ideas, but you get motors and battery boxes and all sorts of gears and stuff...

Almach

Windows Media Player disables the screensaver by default. Have it running in the background.

Myranda

I mean... If you have anyones personal data on your machine you will be causing a GDPR violation...and unless your boss has €20million they don't want,  it might be a sackable offence...

But... Jiggle away. 

Grunfeld

Almach said:

Windows Media Player disables the screensaver by default. Have it running in the background.

It's not the screen saver.  It is a "thing" [it probably a technical term] which is run by IT across all the computers which automatically logs you off if your screen is inactive for about two minutes.  I get why it has been created and put there -- it's a security measure.  I personally don't need it cos of stuff I won't bore you with. 
@ICBM -- good call on Lego Technic -- that might be useful.  In the final version I see it as a powered by USB thing.  I figure if people can charges their phones -- and they can - then a PC can power a mouse jiggler.

Grunfeld

Myranda said:

I mean... If you have anyones personal data on your machine you will be causing a GDPR violation...and unless your boss has €20million they don't want,  it might be a sackable offence...

But... Jiggle away. 

@Myranda -- as it happens I get it, I know why this system is there.  It's just today I've had enough of it.  I'm sick of security dongles that don't work and I'm sick of a security auto-log out which is affecting my sanity.  I'm just sick of it.

EricTheWeary

Fairly sure Homer Simpson solved this decades ago

https://i.imgur.com/Qmgoma5.gifv


[ bastard imgur, anyway look up Homer Simpson pecking bird]

Myranda

Grunfeld said:

Myranda said:

I mean... If you have anyones personal data on your machine you will be causing a GDPR violation...and unless your boss has €20million they don't want,  it might be a sackable offence...

But... Jiggle away. 

@Myranda -- as it happens I get it, I know why this system is there.  It's just today I've had enough of it.  I'm sick of security dongles that don't work and I'm sick of a security auto-log out which is affecting my sanity.  I'm just sick of it.

Oh I get it... One of my final year project options was looking at the practice of passwords because I've been where you are. Our solution involved a heavy thing on a space bar (in a document or text field) then on return select all and delete... 

Must contain a letter and a number and special character... Makes it hard for me to guess... But they're still printable ASCII characters (about 100ish) so a computer trying to crack it won't care... Some places even have maximum password lengths and that's one of the most important bits... (Even finger print scanners aren't great... They break, they suddenly decide that's not your thumb any more and they only convert your thumb to a number so it's possible to record and replay your thumb... Nothing is an easy fix.)  

But... Given that the biggest cause of any breach (Hacking or data protection) is staff on site (it has a name "Insider Threat") and a massive part of it all is leaving your PC unlocked so anyone can "be" you as far as the network is concerned, it's not going away any time soon.

You at least have the sympathy and understanding... Though I know in a few years I'll be in a position that will likely fire or cause firings for mouse-jiggling-technology and similar, so I guess then I'll have to have only unsympathy 

Sporky

Not mechanical, but...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRU-DataPort-WiebeTech-Automatic-Activity/dp/B000O3S0PK

Grunfeld

Okay, that's useful information.
Any hypothetical mouse jiggler is to be kept classified, covert, and personal use only.

Myranda

Grunfeld said:

Okay, that's useful information.
Any hypothetical mouse jiggler is to be kept classified, covert, and personal use only.

Exactly! 

Just Don't. Get. Caught.

I mean... 

Be good ;-) 

thumpingrug

I think this will get worse with GDPR.  We have just received an internal communication telling us to set all PCs to a 2 minute time out in preparation for GDPR.  Currently they are set at 30 mins which seem perfectly reasonable.