Alternative mice

[sluggobear]

Anyone have any "hands-on" experience with alternative mice?

Been having some strain on my thumb.  So far I've been using a Futuro Thumb Stabilizer, which helps a bit.

I've been looking at the 3M Renaissance, SmartCat Glidepoint, Quill, GoldTouch, Contour PMOXLR XL, Contour Design and maybe even SmartNav.

I tried the Humanscale Whale mouse, but couldn

Comments

[sparkygearhead]

Out of curiosity, why are you eliminating trackballs from your quest? I know it violates two of your rules, but I like my Logitech MarbleMouse so much I bought one for home and for work. I do CAD work for a living, and I'm on the computer for probably 8 hours a day. I've been using Trackballs in one form or another for 15 years and I love 'em.

[sluggobear]

Do you turn the trackball with your thumb?

I used a trackball for awhile, and it made my thumb cramp even worse than the mouse. :-(

[zacwolfdotcom]

I have to agree here on the trackball issue...

{sigh} yet another, silly Zac, pulling shit out of his ass post...

I will be willing to bet that your issue isn't ultimately with specific strain on your thumb, but is instead a symptom of the overall over utilization of many parts of your hand and arm.

A mouse puts long term, nearly simultaneous, strain on all or "large groups" of the tissues of the entire arm, as basically a mouse leverages several muscles and nerves, in large group, involved in "fine detail" movements. Taken individually, the movements seem trivial, but taken as a whole and over time, the weakest link will often "give".

For example, through some feat of bad engineering that doesn't bode well for those that believe in "Intelligent Design", the human hand has a bone with a hook-like process that can actually physically damage a nerve that runs along this process. This happens, primarily, when surrounding tissues, muscle and tendons, are placed under simultaneous use (which evolutionary theory says is "unnatural"

[sluggobear]

I think you're definitely right... the thumb is not the real problem. I've been reading a lot about repetitive stress too. Crazy stuff!

I had a trackball, but I couldn't use it for more than an hour... I'm clumsy too, and that made tracking maddeningly inaccurate for me.

Also I find significant relief when my thumb can stay stretched outward instead of grasping or moving.

As for the bigger picture... I read a book called "It's Not Carpal Tunnel..." with information about RSI. it had some interesting points, though some of it was based only on theory. It also got off on some unncessary tangents. But it's main premise was compelling... I will try to blog more about it soon!

[sparkygearhead]

Oh, no no no! I've used those before, and they do indeed suck. I broke both my thumbs years ago and they can't handle that sort of strain. The marble mouse is the one that's directed with your three middle fingers. The thumb is the left click, the little finger is the right. If nothing else, you should give them a try.

[sluggobear]

Oh... funny, I didn't realize a marble mouse was different than a trackball... hmmm

[sparkygearhead]

Actually, it sounds like what you're calling "trackballs" are actually "thumbballs". In my experience, trackballs are usually larger (1 1/2-2" diameter) and manipulated with the fingers. That's the way they're used in most business applications I've seen in the military and FAA.

Looking at the huge variety of input devices out there, it seems every inventor on the planet wants to get into the game. I'm surprised we don't have controllers strapped to our weenies by this point! (Wouldn't that make Powerpoint presentations a LOT more fun?)

[sluggobear]

Yah, my hubby has a (non-thumb) trackball... it's actually pretty comfortable!