2020 Apple 13" M1 laptop, disabling trackpad causes crash

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
1

Just a note of warning to prospective purchasers of the above mentioned laptop.
If you choose to use an external USB mouse and check the box in Big Sur’s system preferences module that reads, DISABLE TRACKPAD WHEN EXTERNAL MOUSE DETECTED, your computer may crash.

I have never been a fan of trackpads on any laptop, I find them inaccurate and pokey, so I have typically added an external USB trackball mouse. The trackpad on the new M1 lappy is very sensitive, and one can easily cause the cursor to journey across the screen with a touch from the palm of one’s hand —I have found this to be a major nuisance. Apple has—theoretically—allowed one to disable the trackpad, presumably for this very reason, but the feature is flawed. I don’t know if it is a hardware, i.e., USB, or Big Sur issue, but it is a verifiable problem. And I don’t know if Bluetooth mice are equally involved, but these new laptops have been experiencing Bluetooth issues of a different nature, and that is the reason that I had chosen a USB device.

2

This is an addendum to my prior post in re the M1 13" laptop.

After some experimentation, I was able to force the M1 to accept the USB trackball, while disengaging the internal trackpad. Doing so does cause an initial crash, or re-boot, that generates a crash report, but thereafter, as long as one does not re-engage the trackpad, the external mouse continues to function properly and there are no further reboot issues. The caveat is, however, that the trackpad does not appear to awaken with removal of the external mouse, which is what Apple claims should occur.