What mouse?

[Woodarc]

Hi I'm really struggling with RSI. My physio suggested a a handshake position may be better. I already use a 3Dconnexion space navigator in my left hand but it seems the clicking and rolling (of the wheel) with my right index finger is doing the damage. Although I have plenty of keyboard short cuts the problem persists. I've tried a tablet but holding the pen creates the same problems due to the constant gripping action (the legacy of 20 years + of clutch pencils and rotring pens!). The options I'm looking at at the moment is either a 3M Ergonomic mouse or a Evoluent VerticalMouse. The 3M doesn't appear to have a wheel, does anybody have one of these if so any feedback would be gratefully received. Which do you think would be best?! Many thanks

[dale]

This may interest you.

http://leapmotion.com/

[Woodarc]

I've looked at that but it is not available until Feb 2013. I can't wait that long! Thanks anyway

[Woodarc]

Anybody used one of these Can be used by either hand.

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[boofredlay]

Looks like a Terminator Killer Whale morphing up off of the ground.

[Gaieus]

@unknownuser said:

Looks like a Terminator Killer Whale morphing up off of the ground.

With a bow tie.

[Trogluddite]

When you see the picture of it with someone's hand wrapped around it, it looks like something else entirely! Made me quite jealous, I can tell you!

Back on topic...
RSI is a nasty problem, I too have been afflicted, though thankfully it has lessened with good old TLC. After two decades of computing and playing bass guitar and drums, and being a general round-shouldered slouch, I guess I was begging for it.

Now, it has to be said, it is more a shoulder and upper-arm thing for me, but I have found that using a thumb operated trackball has done wonders for my comfort.
I think it does offer some relief for the fingers too, as there is no need to grip the thing, apart from a gentle squeeze when operating the buttons. With a little practice, it can easily be operated on your lap or knees, and no wrist movement is needed - which relaxes the muscles of the entire arm and shoulder.
Although it is really designed for desk-top use, I actually find it better than the ones that are specifically designed to be hand-held - most of them are sold as "travel mice", and so tend to be rather small and finger-achingly fiddly.
Probably the only down-side is that the "thumb-ball" ones are not ambi-dextrous, but most trackballs that are don't seem to have a wheel, which results in bizarre button combinations being needed when scrolling etc.

Hope you find a solution that works for you - RSI is so often trivialised as office whingeing, but I know from experience just how debilitating it can be.
Beware folks, it can creep up on you very easily - take care of your yourselves, you will regret not doing so when you find yourself unable to get a beer to your lips!!

[Dave R]

My preference is a simple mouse with two buttons and a center scroll wheel/button. I've tried a number of more complex mice and found them uncomfortable and the additional buttons annoying. On my PC I'm still using a cheap wired mouse. On the Macbook I have the least expensive Logitech wireless mouse I could get. Both work just fine for me.

Of course there are others who like the more complex mice. I expect you'll get 20 people responding and 20 different answers.

That penguin mouse does look rather strange. I wasn't thinking penguin or killer whale at first.

[jason_maranto]

My wife and I both use Evoluent mice (she has had surgery) and have for several years -- they work very well but do take a bit of getting used to for most people (when someone else tries to use my computer they always give me the "WTF?!? look" at first).

I also use a Wacom Intuos tablet exclusively on my other machine and I do find it to be the least stressing option for long work periods -- although it can feel somewhat less precise than a mouse for modeling purposes.

In my recent years I've found good ergonomics to be very important to me, so I have a very custom working environment... probably my favorite item is my chair: http://www.salli.com

Best,
Jason.

[tadema]

I can picture one of these collapsing

imagine what that would do to your ar........ar doesn't matter