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This is a summary of the responses I received regarding
ergonomic mice.
Most of the respondents (greater than 90 per cent) recom-
mended a trackball mouse. The benefits listed included more
stable wrist positioning, light or no strain on the fingers oper-
ating the trackball, and configuration options such as auto-
mated drag and drop.
One respondent noted: "The condition for a trackball is that
the ball must be rather big. Having a smart tracking driver also
helps, if it has some kind of proportional mouse speed." As
far as I can tell, this is quite true (see below).
Other advice included going to a large computer-products
store and actually trying all of the different mice available, rather
than making a wild guess and ordering a mouse on-line or
through a catalogue. This was extremely valuable advice. It's
true that each hand is different, and each person has unique
mousing needs. I found that a large ball was indeed necessary
to make the trackball a good mousing alternative. I also found
that, through use, some styles of trackballs actually made my
hand hurt more. So go out and give those ergo-mice a test run
("kick the tires") before you buy one.
Many respondents recommended physical therapy and a
trip to the doctor to determine if, indeed, what I am experiencing
is carpal tunnel syndrome or RSI. This is definitely good advice,
and as I've said before, see your general practitioner, as well
as a specialist if you have severe or continued hand, wrist or
finger pain.
If you're in the market to buy an ergonomic mouse, here is a
quick list of recommended mice (from the 25+ messages I
received).
Recommended trackball mice included:
- Kensington Orbit trackball mouse. . www.kensington.com
Number of votes: 4
- Kensington's Expert Mouse, which is not a mouse at all, but
a 4-button trackball, approx. $100 U.S. Number of votes: 1
- Logitech Marble Trackball. Number of votes: 4
- Logitech MouseMan. Number of votes: 1
Other options included:
- Cirque glidepoint "mouse", called the "Smooth Cat" mouse. http://www.glidepoint Number of votes: 3
- IBM TrackPoint II Keyboard (the "mouse" is the little red eraser
nub pointer nestled between the G, H and B keys). Number of
votes: 2
- Lifetime Trackball Keyboard from Keytronic. "The keyboard
itself is nice, with a good tactile response and firm feel. It has a
small (2 1/2") trackball just below the space bar right where the
thumbs can control it." Number of votes: 1
- Anir Mouse (looks like a joystick) http://www.animax.no/.
"The instructions say the mouse will take 3 days to get used
to, and that is exactly right. It took precisely 3 days for me. But on
the first try it's really difficult to master." Number of votes: 1
- Hand-Eze gloves (keeps hands warm, and supposedly massages
your hand, increasing circulation). Available at the MC (MIT) for
$15. Also distributed by Dome Publishing company (really!) at
1-800-432-4352.
