Novel pointing devices? | Hacker News Reader

Novel pointing devices?

5 pointsabstractbill8 comments

The RSI in my right hand is getting pretty bad recently. My arm aches all the time, and my fingers are sore when I use them. My thumb joint has started clicking :-(

I finally figured out what it is I'm doing this time (there have been times before, when I've had to adjust after getting into a bad habit). This time I'm exclusively using the track-pad on my macbook-pro and, to get better accuracy, I'm resting the weight of my hand on the tip of my thumb while I use my forefinger to mouse.

Yeah, I know it sounds dumb. It was completely unconscious though - I've only just noticed I do it.

I think I need to get a new pointing device. I've tried many normal mice, and I went through a period of liking track-balls for a while... is there anything else that might be better? Something different from all of the above?

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Disclaimer: I work for this company.

I don't have any scientific studies to back me up, but the marketing for Wacom tablets says they help:

http://www.wacom.com/comfort/index.cfm

http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm

It's a very different experience to working with a mouse; the active area on the tablet maps to your entire desktop, so after you're acclimatized, it's almost like the pointer moves in reaction to thought.

(Edit: fixed formatting)

I had a friend who really hurt his wrists from coding too much, and he switched to a Wacom tablet. It was a little strange to watch him mouse around a webpage with the Wacom pen, but he claims it helped him tremendously.

Otherwise, learning the keyboard shortcuts for your favorite programs might go a long way to help you reduce strain.

Also, I haven't personally used it, but I like the concept of this mouse, it slides into your laptop's PCI slot (probably not too good for the wrists, though): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G1D8HU/ref=cm_rdp_produ...

My wife swears by the Roller Mouse:

http://www.contourdesign.com/rollermouse/

It sits underneath a keyboard and uses a roller that rolls up and down and slides left and right. Takes a little getting used to, but significantly reduces hand motion and strain.

Fellows has some interesting products which I've used in the past with some success. In general, using a variety (I also use a wacom sometimes, and often use a mighty mouse with my ibook)

http://www.google.com/products?q=fellowes+microtrac http://fellowes.com/Fellowes/site/products/ProductDetails.as...

They used to have a presentation version of this that was wireless and had a pistol below the trackball cage. I bought two and still use one if and when I have an office. I haven't tried this microtrac version but it would definitely take all stress off your wrist!

I can't use a mouse for more than a few minutes, but I use a trackball all day long.

Kensington Expert Mouse does it for me.

- Perific mouse... - One of those ergonomic 'sideways' mice... that look like: http://www.fentek-ind.com/lmvmr3sb.jpg - Drop the mouse altogether and learn VIM/Emacs. - Get a Wacom Tablet (Bamboos are cheap), or - Get one of those head-tracking devices

"Drop the mouse altogether and learn VIM/Emacs."

Seriously, you can almost completely avoid having to use the mouse. I have tons of key shortcuts set up in Gnome, I call all my programs from the keyboard, etc, so it's not that hard. Plus, it will save you a lot of time.

I spend 90% of my time in Emacs already.

I've learned a few firefox shortcuts this morning though, and that is helping!

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