[Novalug] Keyboard/Mice: was IDE usage

[kkauffman at headfog.com]

Constant pressure leads to carpal tunnel, not repetition.  Unless it's
repetition of constant pressure.  The mouse is the number one culprit, but
the keyboard always got the blame.

I switched to a Logitech "thumb" trackball and all my issues went
instantly away because I stopped "gripping and moving" a device to point.

If you are trackball challenged, then I recommend you move to a hardware
resolution gaming mouse with a gaming pad and teflon add-on feet.  The
hardware resolution lets you use a toggle on the mouse to adjust
senstivity, so it is independent of the OS at that point.  The gaming pad
and teflon feet reduce the amount of effort required to move the mouse. 
The lower the effort, the less you feel inclined to squeeze the mouse.

I did move off the trackball to the game mouse configuration with a
Logitech MX518 mouse that I love (they are also down around $40 on sale
now).  If you need the xorg.conf settings, I can provide those as well
(extra buttons).

Ken

> since i don't even remember being a young whippersnapper anymore i'll
> chime in on one more thing related to this topic.  since i've started
> doing java/ide type work i've noticed that i experience some right
> wrist/elbow discomfort at the end of the day.  i've never had that
> feeling before (in many years of xterm/vi(m) use).  i'm beginning to
> think that i need to investigate a better mouse grip (currently using
> logitech wireless mx/laser model).  i think i tend to hold my right
> arm steady longer during the day and make smaller movements for mouse
> clicks than when i was just moving the mouse between xterms.
>
> doug
>
> On 9/21/07, Clif Flynt <clif at cflynt.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, Sep 21, 2007 at 08:05:28AM -0400, Kevin Dwyer wrote:
>> > ...
>> > The issue of power has been one for me too.  I can do a lot
>> > *accidentally* via the keyboard in command-mode in vim that is not
>> > possible in most IDEs.  IDEs hamstring me.  They also force me to use
>> a
>> > mouse more often than I'd like while writing code.
>> >
>>
>>   As a touchtypist and a longtime CLI user, I find that moving my hand
>> to the mouse and back to the keyboard slows me down more than I'd care.
>>
>>   Worse, it breaks the mental flow when I'm in a heavy
>> test-modify-retest
>> mode.
>>
>>   I tried a keyboard with a touch-pad area that I picked up at
>> MicroCenter a year or so ago, but the keyboard sux.  Different keys
>> required
>> different force to depress, space bar jammed, and stuff like that.  I
>> use
>> a lot of keyboards in the course of a day, but this one was unuseable.
>>
>>   I found a clicky keyboard from Unicomp that has the mouse built
>> into the keyboard.  http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html
>>
>>   I like this one.  It's built like a tank, and almost as noisy as one.
>> I can do simple navigation tasks and keep my fingers on the home row.
>>
>>   I still use the mouse if I'm going to do something with xpaint or
>> xfig,
>> or something like that.  But for simple click & go window changes or
>> even
>> using the browser, it's nice.
>>
>>   I suspect this keyboard will last longer than the Northgate that I
>> finally retired after 20 years.
>>
>>   Clif
>>
>> --
>> .... Clif Flynt ... http://www.cflynt.com ... clif at cflynt.com ...
>> .. Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide (2nd edition) - Morgan Kauffman ..
>> 14th Annual Tcl/Tk Conference:  Sep 24-28 2007,  New Orleans, LA.
>> .............  http://www.tcl.tk/community/tcl2007/  ............
>>
>>
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