Poogle. I am in front of a keyboard as much as 18 hours in a day. It's why I have lost so many social skills. ;-)
To the point... Finding a pointing device that is right for you is really very subjective. Recommendations help, but unless you can test before buying, you can only use research and testimonials to keep you from buying one of everything to find out what works for you. I think, if you are spending that much time in front of a keyboard, the device your holding is only part of the solution. So, here's what I have found makes sense, and works for me. 1) If you are going to use a mouse, and optical is a great choice. I find that with a traditional tail to have to pull around my desk, I spend quite a bit of time lifting the mouse to get that extra amount of tail for smooth movement. not always, but on some of my desktops, this is the case. 2) My most comfortable setup is a desk, where my office chair's height is such that when my hands are over the keyboard, my arms are resting over the arms of the chair. Therefore, my arms are supported so that my shoulders are being relied upon. Moving the mouse is much the same, I have full support from the chair arms. 3) I have also noted that unless the mouse is really low in relation to your body, those ergo pads for the wrist end up putting more strain on my shoulder. No matter how soft and spongee the pad is, it eventually ends up making my wrist sore from the pressure of my whole arm on the one point. I end up using the shoulder to gold the arm up a bit, defeating the purpose of ergonomics, in general. If your arm lays flat across your work desk, so that the wrist is flat against the desk, I find that much more comforting than resting against a pad that elevates my wrist above the desk. 4) Of course, posture is everything. I won't go into that, because any adult who spends long hours seated knows what posture is about. Relaxing the shoulders. Making efficient use of your motions. It all helps a lot. I am about as much an expert on this subject as any user of such products can be. But, when you spend 10-18 hours in front of a keyboard, and are not made of Herculean material, you learn to find what makes you comfortable, or take lots of pain-killers. As for devices, I have tried a lot of then. I still think that no matter what works good for me, you could easily find something else works better for you. I don't like trackballs, pointing sticks, joysticks, touch pads, or any facsimiles there of. I guess I feel most comfortable with a mouse in my hands. Everyone is different. Even writing tablets can be hard on the shoulder if you are constantly lifting your arm to use it. I think that the basis for good ergonomics has to start with how you position your body. Learning to relax my shoulders and making sure that the arms and wrist are supported, makes all the difference for me. My opinion. Hope this gives you some food for thought as you search for that right pointing device for you. Good Luck. T ----- Original Message ----- From: "Poogle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Newbie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2002 6:13 AM Subject: [newbie] [OT] Mousemats About 2 weeks ago my employer moved from a package which was about 90% keyboard based to a new package which requires almost complete mouse useage. As I am now pointing & clicking for 8 hours a day my mouse side shoulder is getting quite sore. Now to the question, I have seen thigh mounted mouse pads advertised and wondered if any of you have any experience of them, if so do they help ease the problems caused by repetitive mouse useage ? Another possibility is alternating between right/left hand useage, again do any of you do this or does the action which is alien to the "wrong" hand create the same problem on that side? -- http://www.poogle.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
