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Help For Those With Shaky Hands
maotx writes "IBM has developed an adjustible mouse adapter that compensates for the shakes of patients with hand tumors and other causes of uncontrollable shaking. According to the International Essential Tremor Foundation, in the US alone nearly 10 million people are affected by essential tremor, the most common form of hand tremors. This adapter will plug in between the mouse and computer and is compatible with existing mice. No word on which port is supported (ps/2, usb, etc). More info here, here, and here. It is expected that IBM will sell the adapter for under $100 USD."
Another semi-obvious possible use would be to utilize similar technology to make operating a mouse on a train (or other bumpy ride) less error-prone.
How many OSes do people use? Maybe 3? If the adapter turns out to be PS/2 then that's only 1 OS you have to worry about. My point is, making it a hardware adapter only serves the purpose of making money off something that could just be a standard feature in all OSes. It has nothing to do with being OS-agnostic. Their testing and technical support isn't going to bother supporting all OSes anyways.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
My hands are shaking since I was a child and doctors say there is no direct cause for this ( ie no known disease ). And its usually tedious task to use mouse. So thank you IBM =)
Never learn by your mistakes, if you do you may never dare to try again
I have an essential tremor, albeit a mild one. It only manifests itself severely when my muscles are tensed, like making a tight fist. Most of this time it's not a problem, but I have days when my hands are a little bit shaky and I'm prone to stray clicks. Accidentally closing a window is seriously annoying.
Tremors suck. People who have severe tremors need all the help they can get. I know someone with a severe tremor, and she has to put up with a lot of stares and sometimes hostility. Once a nurse yelled at her to HOLD STILL! while trying to take a blood sample, as if she were doing it on purpose just to piss the nurse off. Of course, the stress of that situation only made it worse.
What would really be nice would be bowls, glasses, and spoons that stay level so someone with a shaky hand could drink a martini or have some soup without spilling. Right now all they have are weighted utensils, which suck.
BTW, age is a factor, but essential tremors can happen at any age. I'm 40, and I've had this tremor for 20 years or so. Fortunately, it hasn't gotten worse.