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RollerMouse Aims to Replace the Traditional Mouse

Posted by timothy on from the reminds-me-of-the dept.

ThinSkin writes "Over at ExtremeTech, we have reviewed the RollerMousePRO, an ergonomic input device that claims to reduce pain and discomfort associated with repetitive mouse use while also increasing productivity. The idea behind the product is to have a fully functional docking station for your keyboard that allows you to navigate a cursor without much hand movement. There is an interesting Flash demo that illustrates how this works." Using a roller-bar beneath the keyboard may remind some people of the Outbound Macintosh-based laptop.

9 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. My optical mouse isn't going anywhere by hsmith · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Until they have a screen that can figure out what i am looking at and want to "click". Small things like that are as bad as the "eraser" and touchpad mice.

  2. How is this better by Nept · · Score: 3, Interesting

    than the thinkpad pointing device? (the small red joystick between "G,H,B" keys)

    --
    "Teachers leave us kids alone ..." - Roger Waters, Pink Floyd
    1. Re:How is this better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      This one won't leave an annoying dot shaped dent in your monitor?

    2. Re:How is this better by sugar+and+acid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I love the little pointing nub/joystick thingies on some laptops. Someone really needs to come up with a catchy name. What I would really love is a stand alone usb keyboard with one of those for a desktop. Does anybody make one?

      Anyway they are great, as you don't have to move your hands off the keyboard to move the mouse and you can use either hand and share the load abit between hands. For some reason I tend to use my left hand the most instead of my dominant right hand which is weird, especially as I use my right hand to use a normal mouse.

  3. Faugh on the mouse monopoly! by ZiZ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    People are naysaying this, but I've been using one of these for a few weeks now, and it is INCREDIBALLY nice not to have to move my hand over to reach the mouse (and it has more buttons than your traditional laptop touchpad/eraserhead mouse, too). Yes, it's not for gaming, but if you're gaming, switch to a traditional mouse for that...then go back to an alternative input system which requires less motion, less stress, and gives you more productivity for the remainder of your computing time.

    --
    This flies in the face of science.
    1. Re:Faugh on the mouse monopoly! by Dun+Malg · · Score: 2, Interesting
      People are naysaying this, but I've been using one of these for a few weeks now, and it is INCREDIBALLY nice not to have to move my hand over to reach the mouse (and it has more buttons than your traditional laptop touchpad/eraserhead mouse, too). Yes, it's not for gaming, but if you're gaming, switch to a traditional mouse for that...then go back to an alternative input system which requires less motion, less stress, and gives you more productivity for the remainder of your computing time.

      Could you briefly explain how it actually works? Those morons at SuperMondoExtremeTech-X failed to actually describe what the F this rollermouse is, other than "an updated version of the OLD rollermouse". The pictures show what looks like, to me, a roller. This only acounts for the vertical axis. How does horizontal movement work?

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
  4. Supermouse by po8 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...while also increasing productivity.

    One way to tell it's time to change jobs: Increasing your mouse speed and accuracy noticeably improves your productivity.

  5. Re:What pain and discomfort? by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Are they trying to create a market where none exists, or do some people really get a sore wrist from mousing?

    Well, not sure of the product or their marketing ploy...

    However, I do know that people that are suffering from RSI injuries, and using a mouse adds to the pain and discomfort they have, as it creates further swelling in the wrist area, putting pressure on the nerves.

    Now whether a mouse or keyboard created the RSI injuries is up for debate, because even in the people I have worked with, it can't be demonstrated to have one single activity that created the problem.

    Also, products like this 'may', like I said, help with people that already have RSI injuries, but one of the most effective and simplistic solutions for RSI suffers in a Pen Tablet, whether it be a desktop Wacom or a full blown Tablet PC. The Pen (or Pencil) seems to create less pain for existing RSI users, and pen devices are also cheap now and also add functionality if the people do any handwriting notes or paint on their computers.

    (Yes a pen tablet can take a bit for users to get use to, but once they do, most prefer it over a common mouse, especially because of the absolute mapping and precision that comes with it.)

  6. You're right! by evolutionaryLawyer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But anecdotal data are data nonetheless. You should maybe look up data in the dictionary (Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions), it does not have to be statistically analyzed to be data.

    Statistically analyzed data is much more informative, true, but anecdotal data has actually been used to justify medical decisions since the beginning. Only recently has evidence based medicine taken hold so that we evaluate the anecdotal data and see if the shit we have been doing has any effect whatsoever.