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ErgoSlider Offers a New Mouse Alternative
Zothecula writes "First achieving widespread use with the release of the Apple Macintosh in 1984, the humble computer mouse has reigned supreme as the digital pointing device of choice for more than 20 years. During this time it has seen off countless pretenders to the throne, as well as undergoing some useful (and otherwise) redesigns such as Apple's Magic Mouse, Microsoft's Arc, the 3D-Spheric-Mouse, the AirMouse and the Orbita. The latest product to take a shot at the title is the Ergo-Slider Plus+, a device that looks like a padded wrist rest, but with a cylinder at the front that rolls and slides in a special groove to move the onscreen cursor."
It reminds me of the Isopoint pointing device in the long-passed Apple-compatible Outbound Laptop.
More than 10 years ago I had a coworker that suffered from RSS from mouse-use, and she got a piece of hardware that is more or less the spitting image of this device.
Slashvertisement, anyone?
Ah, no. That thing is an "ErgoSlider", or possibly an "ErgoSlider Plus".
As you can tell from the name, the "ErgoSlider Plus+" is something completely different and totally new.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I have read several reviews complaining about the ErgoSlider causing cramps and pains. There's no easy way to carry out the rotating motion, for one thing. For another, wrist rests are bad for your wrists. Wrist rests should only be used while resting because you are supposed to keep your wrist straight and neutral while carrying out fine hand movements. The ErgoSlider has you dropping your wrist habitually, and it leads to increased movement of the wrist during operation, leading to strain on the tendons and nerves, particularly within the carpal tunnel.
HAL
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
As you can tell from the name, the "ErgoSlider Plus+" is something completely different and totally new.
Think I'll wait until the ErgoSlider Plus# is released.
Both touch and gesture are extremely faulty from ergonomics/RSI viewpoint - they will not be and can not be 'the future', simply as the hands of homo sapiens simply won't tolerate handling touchscreens or gesturing 8 hours a day, 5 days a week - they'll get too tired much, much sooner; and if you *need* to use them still while tired, greet RSI and damage to your hands.
Mouse+keyboard causes problems for some people in excessive use and can often be fixed with proper positioning. Full-day use of touchscreens and gestures will cause problems for everyone.
Really, even a full day of having your hands touching but not resting on a touchscreen would be physically impossible. A full day of having your arms raised in whatever gesture would be physically impossible.
Touch/gesture interfaces are suitable for occasional use, but not for replacing your main workday interface. Sorry, but you'll have to find something else that involves a rested position of your main muscles.