Ergonomic Mice Reviewed

Gregg writes "Most of the time these mice are marketed towards people suffering from RSI, however anyone feeling discomfort using a regular mouse should be able to switch to any of these pointing devices that were created with ergonomics, and only ergonomics in mind. TechSpot's comparison includes three products: the Perific Wireless Dual Mouse, 3M Ergonomic 'Renaissance' Mouse, and Evoluent's VerticalMouse 2." From the article: "People are sometimes under the impression that only those who work at a computer all day are at risk of repetitive stress injuries (RSI). Unfortunately that is not true and even people spending an hour or two per day using a computer are now suffering from RSI. Even if you aren't going to purchase ergonomic products for your everyday use, there are still some very helpful tips on how to lower the risk of someday suffering from RSI. Many specialists recommend taking short breaks after long periods of computer use to reduce risk. It is also a good idea to do a few quick and simple hand/wrist stretches that will help make sure you are doing your best to try and stay healthy."

Comments

Jeez, mice sure are high-tech these days

[jackcarter]

Mine's the old style: furry and with a little tail. I give it a little water, some pellets twice a day, and it just runs around on its little wheel and is happy.

USB Overdrive

[Phroggy]

Mac users may want to stay away from the Evoluent mouse because you'll need to spend $20 for a USB Overdrive to program all of the buttons.

While this is certainly a good thing to be aware of, I disagree that it's a reason to avoid this mouse. First of all, USB Overdrive good software - I don't use it myself but it has a good reputation. Second, the software is not actually required to use the mouse - Mac OS X fully supports the second button for contextual menus and the wheel for scrolling, and the third button works in Safari, Firefox 1.5, and probably other apps.

Finally, just about ANY mouse is going to require this software to make use of the fourth and fifth buttons, because mouse makers don't make their own Mac drivers. Some manufacturers may bundle it instead of making you buy it separately (I think Microsoft does this), so you should definitely consider that as part of the cost of the mouse, but that doesn't mean you should avoid this mouse, or any other, just for that reason.

All you hardware designers, listen up

[Miss_Thistlebottom]

Trackballs, as someone's mentioned, are the way to go. You might have to try a couple before you find the one that works for you (Kensington Orbit, Logitech Trackman, etc.), but it's worth the try. Several injured people in my office have switched and are happier.

What I am annoyed about (it's always something, innit?) is that there are NO Bluetooth trackballs! Hello Logitech! It might be a small segment of your market, but I think there are enough of us who are very, very interested. Especially to go with our shiny new iMacs and their wireless BT keyboards. My trackball cord is abotu the only one in sight on my desktop, but a BT version is the only thing I'd trade it for. Neither Kensington nor Logitech seem to be interested.

(There is one weird-looking, unappealing BT trackball image circulating, but I have yet to hear of anyone actually finding it for purchase, and what I really want is one of the two more common trackballs.)

Right-handed bias

[piyamaradus]

As with almost all higher-end mice, these seem aimed at primarily or entirely right-handed use. Left-handed mouse users are almost completely stuck with 2 or 3 button mice that are longitudinally symmetrical and thus work with either hand. I'd love one of the high end logitech laser mice but it's impossible to use in any reasonable fashion with the left hand. Yet I find most left-handed people have given up and just use the mouse with the right hand, which makes very little sense -- mousing with the left hand on a standar keyoard reduces by 3x-4x the distance required to move the arm to change from keyboard to mouse and allows the right hand to use the keypad or other control-type key clusters easily. I chose to use the left hand with the mouse on my first mouse-enabled machine ~18 years ago (I'm not strongly handed either way, but use left for some tasks and right for others) and am amazed that the mouse manufacturers treat 10% of the population this way. Logitech doesn't even answer my emails.

Make your own

[mathgenius]

For less than $20 I modded a cheap mouse so that I can have one of these "vertical" mice at home. It's a lot cheaper than the 3M model. Also you can adjust it to fit your hand exactly.

Simon.

Re:"ergonomic" devices are not ergonomic at all

[shawb]

Have you ever heard of carpal tunnel syndrome? What you are describing is the worst possible thing to do to your wrists. The large muscles and ligaments in your shoulder and elbow can take some repetitive use. The delicate tendons in your wrist will swell from mousing all day using the method you described, pinching off the carpal tunnel nerve. Extremely painfull and debilitating. That's why ergonomic mice require macro-movements with the whole arm rather than the delicate micro movements used in fingertip mousing.

There are other conditions the position you mentioned can cause or aggravate, such as bursitis and tendonitis.

The best defense is to take a break every now and then and stretch out the wrist. General body stretching can also help back pain which can result from sitting in a chair all day.