I'm not certain how to prove or disprove (a). I looked through all the files attached to this bug report but didn't find anything definitive. I poked around on my own hardware looking at lshal output, various files under /sys/class/input but didn't find something I could suggest checking. Presumably you can check your hardware vendor's data sheets.
Regarding (b), try running this command:
synclient -m 100
In theory, the fifth column 'f' is the number of fingers seen by the touchpad. Try two fingers, and more, and see if the number changes.
I'm not certain how to prove or disprove (a). I looked through all the files attached to this bug report but didn't find anything definitive. I poked around on my own hardware looking at lshal output, various files under /sys/class/input but didn't find something I could suggest checking. Presumably you can check your hardware vendor's data sheets.
Regarding (b), try running this command:
synclient -m 100
In theory, the fifth column 'f' is the number of fingers seen by the touchpad. Try two fingers, and more, and see if the number changes.