I wonder if we'll ever get there. I used to spend upwards of 14 hours a day on computers between jobs & hobbies and switching to ergonomic gear (especially the awesome MS Ergo 4000 keyboard) really saved my joints.
My buddy got a Leap Motion controller when they came out, which is pretty dang accurate with the latest software update, and Google is integrating voice into everything, including "always on" listening so you can just say "OK Google" to activate it, and they're starting to get into the smart home market, so that could be pretty cool. But I do find it so much more convenient to have a mouse & keyboard for controlling input - even though Dragon Naturally Speaking & other speech-recognition software is incredibly accurate these days, I still find it cumbersome to do actual work with it.
Thus far, switching to ergonomic gear has just shuffled the joint pain.
I switched from a Logitech G500 to an Evoluent VerticalMouse4.
1) The force for clicking is parallel to the axes of motion, so I needed to tense up my thumb and forearm with every click in order to prevent the cursor from moving. This ended up leading to aching in my thumb, and some in my wrist.
2) It slowed me down because I had to use my entire arm to attempt to make fine movements of the cursor, which required more re-aiming time, and slower movements.
3) Fewer buttons, so doing simple things took more time, either requiring my left hand to move around, or additional mouse travel. (I have two buttons on the G500 assigned to Forward and Back, for example.)
4) The G500's mousewheel is simply excellent. It's a little flywheel with two modes: "Super-cruise" where it smoothly rotates on its excellent bearings, or the more normal ratcheted mode.
I eventually went back to the G500, which I now have in front of the keyboard on the desk. It's not perfectly ideal, as it keeps my right hand away from the numeric keypad, but there's absolutely no more wrist pain.
But my index finger (left-click, wheel/middle-click, and two buttons) and thumb (three buttons) are still taking on a lot of work.
It's possible that I simply execute way too many keypresses and mouse clicks throughout the day.
😀
Nearly anyone who's seeing me using a computer for the first time will make some comment at my speed of getting around.
"What the hell! You didn't even touch the mouse!" (Keyboard shortcuts are nice.)
"Oh my god....that's ridiculous. How do you do that?"
"What did you just do?" (Opened
Everything to find a file, found it, created a new folder, moved the files, deleted the old folder, renamed the new one, and e-mailed the file to the person, usually in less time than it would take them to click My Computer and browse to the correct drive.)
"Are you a gamer? You move around so fast."
Keyboard at work: Microsoft Sculpt Comfort.
It's almost perfect.
- The spacebar is divided into a Backspace/Space and a Space. The wear patterns in it are apparent: I mainly use the "Backspace/Space" button as Space, with my left hand doing most of the spacing, though the right side does have a bit of wear on it as well.
- The F-lock thing for the Function keys. A little slider switch controls the toggle between the F1-F12 keys or their special functions. But, PrintScreen is not in the same grouping with the F# keys. So to use PrintScreen, I need to disable the F# keys, do the print, and then flip back.
- Wireless keyboard. Every wireless keyboard I've used has occasional lag issues, or will just decide to cut out severely for about 15 seconds every few days.
Maybe the G500 would be perfect if it required less force to push the buttons?
Or give me my damn fiber optic brain link.
Voice link: Nope, not unless it can keep up with normal speech rate. And I don't want to be talking to my computer all day. I don't much care for talking in the first place.
You know you been watching too much scifi when a picture of a guy with a cable plugged to his head doesn't seem strange.
Or, "Nice, how soon are they going to market with this?"
