"Two finger scroll" should be the default

I think it's high time that Ubuntu have two-finger scrolling enabled by default.

As 12.04 LTS was the last release to offer Unity2D, subsequent releases all require fairly capable-ish 3D acceleration and fairly modern-ish hardware (which, BTW, I think was the right move). I think you'd be hard pressed to find any laptops capable of delivering a vaguely acceptable Unity experience with Ubuntu 13.10 that at the same time somehow lack a touchpad capable of two-finger scrolling.

So I think we've well crossed the point where this setting is wrong for the majority of Ubuntu user. I'd also argue we're at the wrong end of the curve with this setting as far as delivering the future (or even just the preset) to Ubuntu users, in terms of making a good first impression with a lasting, positive brand impact.

For someone with a laptop old enough that it lacks a two-finger capable touchpad, opening a settings dialog in order to turn off two-finger scrolling (aka turn *on* edge scrolling) is probably the least of their worries. When someone is knowingly trying to run the latest and greatest OS on hardware than is more than five or six years old, their expectations are different, are more forgiving.

But when someone happens to install Ubuntu 13.10 on brand new hardware, and it doesn't work the way they've come to expect on pretty much every laptop sold in the last five years, I think their first reaction probably isn't to look for a setting to change; instead, I think they assume, "well, it's broken, screw this". We shouldn't make our users go find the, "yes, please enable the present" checkbox, ever.

For what it's worth, System76 has shipped all their laptops with two-finger scrolling enabled for a *very* long time (many years before I joined). Although Ubuntu's default here doesn't effect our ability *ship* Ubuntu systems with two-finger scrolling enabled (because we can just override the default), this is still something we'd like to see changed. We want our restore procedure to be to download and to install regular, vanilla Ubuntu. It's a testament to Ubuntu, and especially to Ubiquity, that this is so wonderfully pleasant. But having two-finger scrolling off after a restore is discordant and trying, especially if it feels like a big step backward compared to someone's first experience using Ubuntu pre-installed on their shiny new product.

And even aside from the OEM perspective, because anyone can download and install Ubuntu willy-nilly, you never know who is going to be installing it, or in what situation. Everyone's first experience with Ubuntu is an opportunity to earn lasting loyalty.

I think Ubuntu should always put its best foot forward, future style.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.10
Package: ubuntu-settings 13.10.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-3.8-generic 3.11.0-rc6
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-3-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.12.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
Date: Mon Aug 26 18:28:59 2013
MarkForUpload: True
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ubuntu-settings
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)