On 19.04.01 at 13:45, Jeff Porten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I think I've banged this drum here before, but let me just say again that
>if you're considering a new keyboard for RSI reasons, consider learning
>the Dvorak layout. The jury is out on whether it's actually faster, but
>I've been using it for 6 years and my fatigue went down to near zero when
>I switched. (Paradoxically, I'm starting to have problems again on the
>new TiBook keyboard; had no problems at all on my WallStreet G3.)
Far be it for me to present myself as any kind of an expert on RSI, but in
my experience it's very rarely that buying a new <whatever> will have any
kind of an effect on RSI. Improving lighting conditions (to reduce screen
glare) in your workspace, getting a better desk and chair, learning
keyboard shortcuts to avoid switching between the mouse and keyboard so
much, getting a good screen, and taking breaks to avoid being stuck in the
same position for too long; these are all far more effective measures.
Switching to Dvorak or buying a better mouse/keyboard can help, but more in
the sense that the new gear/setup lessens those little annoyance factors
that makes you tense and makes working with the computer uncomfortable.
For instance, if you find yourself at a portable keyboard (the new TiBook,
say) and keep hitting the "fn" key when you meant to hit the "Ctrl" key (as
you're wont to do if you use Telnet a lot) you'll start tensing
unconciously because you're worried you'll hit the wrong key. Remapping the
keyboard to switch the keys around -- or, even better, turn the Caps Lock
key into the Ctrl key :-) -- will eliminate that and consequently reduce
strain while working.
The Hockey Puck mouse from the iMacs fit most hands poorly, so you tend to
grip it too hard and tense your entire underarm -- and this translates up
the arm to the shoulder and neck! -- leading to sore muscles (at best).
And to bring this somewhat more on topic again... :-)
...these issues makes it important for applications to enable the user to
perform most operations conveniently from the keyboard. Since you can't
type in text in Word|Entourage|Excel|etc. with the mouse, you'll need to
use the keyboard a lot and so reducing the number of times (not the amount
of time!) you need to use mouse is important. In Photoshop -- or the Finder
etc. -- this would probably be the other way around; reduce the number of
things you need to use the keyboard for.
The worst offender for me in Entourage is the Find field in the mail
browser that makes it harder to switch between the Folder list and the
Message List using the Tab key. For others it will probably be something
else. In Mailsmith (the email app I use) the big offender is the fact that
it hits it's datbase every time you select a mailbox in it's Folder List;
so navigating them with the keyboard is slow and so encourages switching to
the mouse for this.
Lots of _little_ issues that have a huge impact, RSI wise.
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