Inspired by something else.

[theweaselking]

What's your favourite ergonomic computing device, and how is it better than the standard please-injure-me-permanently-because-I-do-this-for-a-living default?

For me: I use an Evoluent Vertical Mouse 4 at home and work because I was starting to get an RSI from the normal mice and their left-right wrist-snappy motion. The VerticalMouse means that all my normal left-right horizontal wrist-movement becomes elbow-based hand movement, while letting me keep my hand vertical in a standard handshake-like position. Only downside? Its big and makes my laptop bag bulge. At work, I have a full-sized standard keyboard built into my laptop, and for a while I played with a Kinesis Freestyle, but at home I use an MS Natural 4000. It's a perfectly normal split keyboard with, for me, the right combination of angle and raise to avoid pain.

What do you use?

Comments

[nojay.livejournal.com]

Dell U2711 monitor. My eyeballs aren't frying after looking at it for four or five hours a day, I don't have to squint to make out colours and shades even when the room lighting changes behind me and I'm not constantly flipping pages back and forth because of the expanded screen area (2560 x 1440). I have a two-monitor setup but the second monitor only gets powered up occasionally at which point I start getting a sore neck from turning my head all the time -- the U2711 deals with 90% of my computing needs without the pain.

[rbarclay.livejournal.com]

I go to some lengths to have my mice without a scroll wheel, just plain old 3 buttons. If I have a scroll wheel, I'll pretty much unconsciously use it, and at the end of the day I feel a slight pain at the base of my middle finger and down the back of my hand. And of course a mousepad with a gel wrist-rest.
For keyboards; I swear by the buckling-spring kinds, and have original Model Ms at home and at 'ork (plus a stack of spare ones). I did use a standard soft-touch thing (the kind that come with Dell/HP workstations) for a couple months when working at a customer site, but threw it out when I got RSI pains.

[onlyonechoice.livejournal.com]

I love that mouse - it saved my hand at work, and I'm going to buy another one when I start using my computer at a desk at home. I have the Kinesis Freestyle with the accessory kit at work, and that also has saved my hands and wrists.

[matgb]

Oh, I love the look of that mouse. £88 on Amazon? Even more for the wireless version? I think I'll add that to the wishlist, yowsers.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

$100 from ergocanada.com, which I know is less useful for you. But still - about $100, which is a decent price for ergonomic kit.

[matgb]

Yeah, um, what an awful website, I mean, I've seen some IT firms with really sucky sites but that's bad. And they don't tell you shipping costs so I doubt they'll ship internationally, but thx. I'll look at more specialist places in the UK when I've time, it's a really good idea and it's got programmable buttons, it really bothered me when I lost my configurable mouse, but the local Wilco sold me a dirt cheap Trust wireless one with thumb buttons that I'm finding good enough for now.

Brilliant idea though, really impressed to see that sort of thing.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Ergocanada's site is terrible, yeah.

You could go directly to the manufacturer (http://evoluent.com/ergonomic/index.php) and see what they'll charge for shipping. The mouse itself is $109USD from them for the wireless, $99USD for the wired.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

$104 for wireless 4 and $85 for wireless 3 here in the US, but the best shipping price I can find offhand to the UK is $24.

[matgb]

Yeah, I basically need to buy it in the UK or EU, UK customs are clamping down on VAT (sales tax) avoidance at the moment and checking anything that looks valuable. Then they apply VAT plus import duty based on max value not cheapest value and, well, it sucks. On the other hand, overseas companies undercutting UK companies on internet sales is also a PITA, but as always our various enforcement people have taken a sledgehammer to this nut-it also gets applied to genuine gifts, prizes, etc.

I've found a reasonably cheap UK seller so it's on the "when I've got spare cash" list, but thx for looking.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Meaning if I bought and shipped it, I didn't look into their international shipping.

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

I have an ancient Logitech trackball that really needs to be replaced. The optics are scratched and dirty, but I can't seem to give it up. I left-click with my middle-finger, and scroll and right-click with my ring finger. I'm not sure how I why, but it's super comfortable this way, and I've never had any wrist or tendon soreness even when I'm at the computer for more than 12 hours at a time.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

See icon (Kinesis Contour). I don't use it everyday, but it is a good switch from flat keyboards. Neutral wrist positions and fully programmable so you can fix the "wreck your thumbs" default layout.

Also, frequent breaks, varied seating positions, and a less stressful job.

[rickbooth.livejournal.com]

I have the older version of the Natural keyboard and mouse at home, wireless. When I was at a desk all day hacking, I'm pretty sure the natural keyboard saved my guitar playing - I was gradually losing the use of my hands before. Now it's a much smaller problem for me, because I hardly ever actually type for more than an hour in a day - and all my web consumption, like right now, is on a tablet with Swype.

[jerril]

I learned to type (for the PC) on the original Natural, and continued to use the same keyboard until it finally died a few years ago... whereupon a guildmate took pity on me and mailed me his Natural Pro which was sitting around in his closet :)

I treasure it.

[pappy-legba.livejournal.com]

Whatever I can find. I'm left-handed, and I like 5 button mice with tilt wheels. Truly ambidextrous examples are getting rare, since more and more of those that bill themselves as ambidextrous locate buttons 4 and 5 for the right-hand thumb-- my left-hand little finger is not cool with that. I've got an old Logitech at work from before this plague spread. At home, I've got some absurd Razer thing that I picked up on the cheap. Its ergonomics aren't great but its DPI is.

For keyboards, I stick with my old-school IBM model M. Split keyboards don't do much for me, but well-made keyswitches do.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

I use a Logitech thumb-placed trackball, because we have opposable thumbs and it makes NO SENSE to have a trackball with the ball at the index or middle fingers. But I got tired of ergonomic keyboards, since I mislearned my touch-typing and would always turn the t into a y, the g into an h, and the v into a b.