Doctor Warns of the Hidden Danger of Touchscreens

good job they don't have pointy corners by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:30 · Score: 5, Funny

you could have your eye out

Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by Mashiki · 2012-01-11 07:58 · Score: 2

I wouldn't worry about your eyes. Just think what happens when you eat the things.

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Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by Rizimar · 2012-01-11 08:46 · Score: 2

Wait, we're not supposed to eat them? Why wasn't there a large and blatant warning on the package?
Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by newcastlejon · 2012-01-11 08:53 · Score: 2

On that note I'd like to say a word about sharp edges. Whomever it was who decided that aesthetics outweighed the practical concerns about putting a right angle at the edge of my MBP was a bloody fool. A 1mm chamfer doesn't seem too much to ask.
Before you all jump in to call me a fool for buying one, I didn't; it was an insurance replacement.

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Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by mcgrew · 2012-01-11 09:39 · Score: 1

I wouldn't worry about your eyes. Just think what happens when you eat the things.

Yeah, they have a "do not eat" warning on silica gel... one guy read it and starved to death. He was the same guy, I think, who it took six months to get from New York to Florida because of all the signs that said "clean rest rooms ahead".

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Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by mspohr · 2012-01-11 09:41 · Score: 1

I'd like to second this...
My MacBook Air has a sharp corner along the front edge which eats into the palms of my hands when I use it on my lap. I've set up a wrist rest to use on my desktop to avoid the problem there.
This is a stupid design that clearly wasn't thought through. A slight beveling of the edge would make all the difference in the world (but it might spoil the "lines").
Of course, you only discover this design flaw after you have used it for hours... it's not something that's obvious in the store.
I've even thought of trying to add a bevel to the front edge myself using some sandpaper but my skills are rudimentary so I would probably just mess it up or make it worse.

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Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by newcastlejon · 2012-01-11 09:56 · Score: 1

If you do decide to attack it with some glass paper (use a fine grade with fabric backing, paper-backed stuff doesn't work well with metal), bear in mind that aluminium is pretty soft compared to most metals you're likely to come across; Any power tool will likely go through it like a hot knife through butter.
If you're serious about it, start with a file then finish it off with some wet-dry paper. Oh, and don't expect it to match the finish on the rest of the machine; the anodised finish is very, very thin.

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If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by newcastlejon · 2012-01-11 09:59 · Score: 1

Bugger, I forgot to clarify something: when I say glasspaper I mean emery. Glasspaper is what my high school teacher introduced it as, and old habits die hard.

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If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by russotto · 2012-01-11 10:20 · Score: 1

Yeah, they have a "do not eat" warning on silica gel... one guy read it and starved to death. He was the same guy, I think, who it took six months to get from New York to Florida because of all the signs that said "clean rest rooms ahead".
I'd like to thank him for improving my pissing experience. Once I passed him, things got pretty gross.
Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by mspohr · 2012-01-11 10:25 · Score: 1

Thanks for the advice. I am sure that I would butcher it up if I tried a power tool so I was thinking of using some fine cloth emery paper as you suggest. However, that would probably ruin the finish.
I did get a plastic shell cover for my Air for Christmas from my daughters (brand: Speck). It's a clear plastic hard shell in two pieces. The bottom piece extends beyond the front edge and is a softer slanted edge that is less of a problem. I could even take sandpaper to it without worrying about damaging the machine itself. This may be a better solution.

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Re:good job they don't have pointy corners by fnj · 2012-01-11 12:11 · Score: 1

And all the signs that said "Stop" but failed to add "... and then go".

Not this again..... by icebike · 2012-01-11 07:31 · Score: 4, Insightful

More hype to sell the same tripe.

Seems to be simply latching onto the current fad toy and trying to saddle it with the same things they have been attributing to computers since the 80's.
There is nothing new in the article, simply attributing the same (largely imaginary) "diseases" to a different activity. But by mentioning touch screens they grab the headlines. Nothing about a touch screen forces you into the same position, viewing distance, or hand movements, in fact a tablet is probably the remedy for such complaints more than the cause.

But they trot out the same stuff they were crying about with desktop computers: Repeated motion injuries, Posture, Eyestrain.

I'm surprised they left off testicular heating.

Really? Touch screens?
This looks like building a case for more insurance fraud if you ask me.

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Re:Not this again..... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:32 · Score: 1

First world problem.
Re:Not this again..... by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 07:35 · Score: 2

Considering I avoid touchscreens as much as possible (vastly preferring my wife's android phone with a real keyboard and trackball; also great if your touchscreen develops a deadspot), and get repetitive stress injuries easily (had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car), I see no reason to dispute this article. Touchscreens absolutely put more wear and tear on parts of my body never accustomed to it. At least keyboard-strain is something I've learned to cope with -- don't sleep with my hand under the pillow anymore; drive with whatever hand is the good hand that month; mouse with my off-hand (left, cause i'm right-handed), etc etc. But yes, this is a new kind of strain. Just got my first touchscreen device this year, a GPS. I very quickly learned what the unlabeled buttons did, as my fingers are f'in sore after using it.

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Re:Not this again..... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:43 · Score: 1, Funny

had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car
I drive one handed every time I see an attractive woman.
Re:Not this again..... by MoonBuggy · 2012-01-11 07:43 · Score: 3, Insightful

I...get repetitive stress injuries easily (had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car)
Genuine question: how does lifting a keg equate to repetitive stress? I can understand pulling a muscle or something, but lifting something in and out of the car once or twice seems far from all but the most excessive definition of 'repetitive'.
Re:Not this again..... by iamhassi · 2012-01-11 07:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

More hype to sell the same tripe.
Here's the reasons listed in the article:
--Repeated motion injuries, like using your thumbs to type
--unnatural postures and forces, such as tilting their hands too far inward or outward while tapping or putting force on their wrists while typing.
--Eyestrain, either because the characters and images aren't clear or because the screen is obscured by glare or reflections

Although the article also contradicts itself: "tablets and smartphones almost guarantee such awkward use because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position -- most of which involve poor posture."

But doesn't that also mean people can hold the devices in more natural positions, making them far safer than PCs or laptops? Also the same argument could be made that books are dangerous because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position.

And that's pretty much the entire article. Nothing to see here, move along.

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Re:Not this again..... by iamhassi · 2012-01-11 07:47 · Score: 1

Considering I avoid touchscreens as much as possible (vastly preferring my wife's android phone with a real keyboard and trackball; also great if your touchscreen develops a deadspot), and get repetitive stress injuries easily (had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car), I see no reason to dispute this article. Touchscreens absolutely put more wear and tear on parts of my body never accustomed to it.
Actually if you read the article you would have realized that it has nothing to do with touchscreens, the reasons given for the "stress" was eye strain and typing with thumbs which is required for any phone.

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Re:Not this again..... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2012-01-11 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny

had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car
I drive one handed every time I see an attractive woman.
I'm not going to ask who drives the car when you see two attractive women...

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Ezekiel 23:20
Re:Not this again..... by PIBM · 2012-01-11 07:51 · Score: 1

From that page: "Sitting in a chair places 400 pounds of pressure on your lower back."
That would mean there's 400 pounds of me over the lower back, not including anything supported by the desk on which I'm resting my arms. Care to explain how that's possible ? Isn't the average male weight under 200 pounds anyway ?
Re:Not this again..... by oldmac31310 · 2012-01-11 07:51 · Score: 1

Guessing he could have damaged his ulnar nerve. Which could have been compromised by repetitive stress and the heavy weight was the final injury that put his arm out of commission. Just guessing as I said.

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Re:Not this again..... by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 07:52 · Score: 1

Curses. :)
[Though I think most of the comments here would apply to both, and they were what drove me to post my comment. :)]

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Re:Not this again..... by icebike · 2012-01-11 07:53 · Score: 2

But doesn't that also mean people can hold the devices in more natural positions, making them far safer than PCs or laptops? Also the same argument could be made that books are dangerous because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position.
Exactly. The remedy is built into the device.
No one is forced to sit in front of a tablet all day typing as was the case with desktop computers. Even those that do find a way to do hours of writing on a tablet have long since given up on the touch screen and have added keyboards. These are casual use devices.
You can walk around with a tablet, you move it when you become uncomfortable, you can easily seek the best lighting angle, and if your eyes bother you, you hold it at a different distance, angle, adjust the brightness, change the font size, wipe the finger prints off the screen. All of this is done naturally.
The article should be touting the tablet as the solution rather than suggesting it is the problem.

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Re:Not this again..... by khr · 2012-01-11 07:54 · Score: 2

It is a shame they left the testies out though, laptops can indeed kill sperm (non-permanently of course) :)
Are you kidding? As somone who hates kids and condoms, that's a selling point!
Re:Not this again..... by desdinova+216 · 2012-01-11 07:56 · Score: 1

ewww That's TMI
Re:Not this again..... by Pope · 2012-01-11 07:56 · Score: 1

Probably PSI. Women in high heel shoes have incredibly high PSI centred on the heel, even if they don't weigh much :)

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Re:Not this again..... by AlienIntelligence · 2012-01-11 07:58 · Score: 4, Funny

and get repetitive stress injuries easily (had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car),
Fuck man, if you got injured from repetitively lifting beer kegs into your car...
and you're not doing it for a living, you have other problems.
-AI

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
Re:Not this again..... by AlienIntelligence · 2012-01-11 08:05 · Score: 1

Just bite through the pain ffs! That's how my granddad got through a full-working life! People are pussies these days.
No shit.. just wait til they find 40 and arthritis starts hitting.
Yesterday my knee was 5-6 in pain. I probably have hundreds
of pain pills from "good meaning" doctors in my cabinets. But
who the hell wants to be popping pills for the rest of their life?
So... just steeled myself and kept working. Today it's back to
normal 1-2 pain. Love winter.
Hell, my (other ex) was addicted to Vicodin, I had to threaten
her Dr to make him stop prescribing them.
Now I keep my strong pills in case someone accidentally cuts
an arm off, lol.
-AI

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
Re:Not this again..... by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 08:11 · Score: 1

You're not the first to point this out, but you're the funniest. :)

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Re:Not this again..... by Kelbear · 2012-01-11 08:16 · Score: 4, Funny

What's wrong with waving hello?
Re:Not this again..... by garyebickford · 2012-01-11 08:32 · Score: 1

And the floor gets it worse. Long ago in my construction days, I learned that the spike heels that were popular in the 1950s and early 1960s had a heel surface (the pointy end) of about 1/4 inch square = 1/16 square inch. And the way they made a woman walk more than doubled that force as an impact on the floor. So a 110 lb. (50 kg) woman was producing an impact on the order of 16 * 110 * 2 = 3420 PSI. Given the normal range of women's weights, this equates to 3000 to 4000 PSI on the floor, which is approximately the yield strength range of concrete!

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Re:Not this again..... by Dinghy · 2012-01-11 08:52 · Score: 1

PSI is even less likely. 400 PSI would mean that a 200 pound person is having their entire load supported by a half-square-inch surface area. Highly unlikely while sitting.
Re:Not this again..... by artor3 · 2012-01-11 08:53 · Score: 1

If you bothered to read instead of immediately jumping to prove how much smarter you are, you would see that their claim is that touchscreens are worse than normal interfaces for two primary reasons:
1) Lack of tactile feedback causes users to push against the screen with several times the force used on a keyboard, without even realizing it.
2) The fact that even the lightest touch can cause something to happen forces users to hover their fingers over the keyboard when thinking, whereas with a normal keyboard you can rest your fingers on the keys without accidentally pressing one.
These two factors increase the likely hood of developing an RSI through touchscreen use as compared to keyboard use. The only real flaw with the article is that they don't really give any suggestions as to how to get around these problems, except to use a bluetooth keyboard, which isn't much of a solution.
Re:Not this again..... by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:54 · Score: 1

It is not an imaginary disease. Why do people think that?
It's real, studied and documented.
Warning people they may experience pain fom ding a common task like using a touchscreen is responsible. People don't think about it.
Many people using a touch screen phone with one hand. Moving the thumb around the keyboard. Doing that repeatedly can cause pain.
"Repeated motion injuries, Posture, Eyestrain.
All of which are proven to happen.

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Re:Not this again..... by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:55 · Score: 1

"which is required for any phone."
not a touch screen phone.

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Re:Not this again..... by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:57 · Score: 1

" just steeled myself and kept working."
then you pain was not 5-6. 6 being distressed; which would mean you cant work.
probably a 3-5.

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Re:Not this again..... by stephanruby · 2012-01-11 09:13 · Score: 2, Informative

There is nothing new in the article, simply attributing the same (largely imaginary) "diseases" to a different activity.
I don't know anything about other diseases and I admit that the "testicular heating" you mentioned sounds made up (although, I don't know anything about that one either), but are you saying that the carpal tunnel syndrome (which is one of those "repeated motion injuries") is also one of those imaginary diseases? If you do, please provide one link from anyone who believes carpal tunnel syndrome is made up. I'm not asking you for multiple sources, or even a reliable source, I'm asking you to provide a single link to someone that even questions this (aside from yourself). It can even be a non-doctor if you like. I just did a quick search on google and didn't find anyone myself.
Fifteen years ago, I also started experiencing the beginning symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand, and no I didn't even have insurance or worker's comp at the time (I had just gotten out of school and I was working as a temporary admin employee), but luckily I was able to reverse the symptoms completely by changing all my habits and all my computer accessories (both at work and at home, plus I also switched to using the left hand for a few months). I've also had known several people that had been in excruciating pain because of carpal tunnel syndrome and that had to have surgery (so the fact that I saw them go through this process made me very cautious not to be caught in the same thing). And I'm not a doctor, but perhaps the inflammation created in the wrist could be verifiable by a third party through X-ray or something (may be a Doctor or a nurse on slashdot could chime in???).
In any case, right now fifteen years later, I'm an independent mobile developer, I own several phones and several tablets, and I also started getting cramps in my hands and fatigue in some of my joints because of all the touchscreens I've repeatedly been using (it didn't get as bad as fifteen years ago and it did not affect my wrist, but I could easily see how something like this could worsen). Thankfully, this was just the result of all the games I've been playing and all the manga I've been reading, not of the actual work I've been doing, so it was fairly easy for me to just quit doing those things, and all of it just went away. But please do not take my own examples the wrong way. As someone as cautious as I am and as free as I am to customize my environment the way I want (even when I was a temp), my circumstances are going to be vastly different from someone who works in a factory setting, or a low level worker who works constantly with a touchscreen for data input (with a proprietary device that can not really be changed), or even someone who doesn't know any better about modifying his/her habits as soon as potential symptoms show up.
So for me, I wholeheartedly believe that some of those diseases are not made up, and that those articles repeating the same thing can be just plain good old preventative medicine. And if you still don't believe me, try to ask a doctor, or try to speak with actual people that have been affected by this. I'll bet you anything that you'll be able to find some people that didn't have insurance or workers comp, or anything else that would help, and that really couldn't benefit from having such a condition in the first place.
Re:Not this again..... by icebike · 2012-01-11 09:17 · Score: 1

If you bothered to read instead of immediately jumping to prove how much smarter you are, you would see that their claim is that touchscreens are worse than normal interfaces for two primary reasons:
1) Lack of tactile feedback causes users to push against the screen with several times the force used on a keyboard, without even realizing it.
2) The fact that even the lightest touch can cause something to happen forces users to hover their fingers over the keyboard when thinking, whereas with a normal keyboard you can rest your fingers on the keys without accidentally pressing one.
These two factors increase the likely hood of developing an RSI through touchscreen use as compared to keyboard use. The only real flaw with the article is that they don't really give any suggestions as to how to get around these problems, except to use a bluetooth keyboard, which isn't much of a solution.
I read the entire article. None of it is believable.
Re their point 1: Utterly Stupid. People figure out the force they need in the first 45 seconds of use. Who do you ever see mashing their touch screen?
Re Point 2: hovering a finger will not induce RSI, because there is no stress involved, and the hover is not held for that long. Besides, point two directly contradicts point one. The article is internally inconsistent, which is indicative of speculation rather than actual testing and observation.
In short these people sound like they don't even use a touch pad, because they display total ignorance of what people really do with them.

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Re:Not this again..... by nine-times · 2012-01-11 09:37 · Score: 1

But doesn't that also mean people can hold the devices in more natural positions, making them far safer than PCs or laptops? Also the same argument could be made that books are dangerous because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position.
I think the point isn't that these devices will inherently and necessarily cause repetitive stress problems, but that if used without awareness and care, they *might*. Yes, it's only "might" and not "will", but understanding the potential for these kinds of injuries can lead you to taking proper preventative measures.
Hence the article. The article outlines some of the dangers and gives some ideas for preventative measures. If you are not aware of these possible injuries, then the article could be educational and therefore helpful in preventing problems. What's wrong with that?
Re:Not this again..... by artor3 · 2012-01-11 13:30 · Score: 1

Exactly who is speculating here? You assert that people "figure out the force they need" shortly after beginning to use the screen, but you have absolutely no way of knowing if that's true. You've never measured the force of fingers on the screen. People can be pressing too hard without visible "mashing" their fingers against the screen.
And your assertion that hovering a finger can't induce RSI because "there is no stress involved" shows just how clueless you are. Try pointing a finger roughly horizontal to the ground and holding that position for five minutes and tell me no stress is involved. My finger started aching after three minutes.
And how on earth does point to contradict point one? Pushing too hard on something can hurt you, hovering your finger too long can hurt you. Do you believe it is impossible to freeze to death, given that one can burn to death? There is total ignorance on display here, but it is not on the part of the authors.
Re:Not this again..... by icebike · 2012-01-11 13:33 · Score: 1

Exactly who is speculating here? You assert that people "figure out the force they need" shortly after beginning to use the screen, but you have absolutely no way of knowing if that's true. You've never measured the force of fingers on the screen. People can be pressing too hard without visible "mashing" their fingers against the screen.
And your assertion that hovering a finger can't induce RSI because "there is no stress involved" shows just how clueless you are. Try pointing a finger roughly horizontal to the ground and holding that position for five minutes and tell me no stress is involved. My finger started aching after three minutes.
And how on earth does point to contradict point one? Pushing too hard on something can hurt you, hovering your finger too long can hurt you. Do you believe it is impossible to freeze to death, given that one can burn to death? There is total ignorance on display here, but it is not on the part of the authors.
Oh, so you don't have a tablet either.
If you did you wouldn't make silly assertions about people pushing too hard on a hand held device, or holding your finger horizontal for 5 minutes.
Please post back after you actually have a tablet or smart phone and have used it for more than an hour.

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Re:Not this again..... by gl4ss · 2012-01-11 16:34 · Score: 2

touchscreens are shit for your wrists and fingers.
what amazes me is that they claim it as hidden risk. no it's not hidden risk, it's in plain view. it's so fucking obvious that a touchscreen is going to ruin your hands faster than touch typing. even faster than two finger typing. you can't rest your hands. the devices can't be propped up. the input device and the screen are at the same point, either your neck or your hands are going to get the shaft and quite easily both. not to mention that you'll end up holding the device too. it wouldn't be bad if you did it for 20 secs per hour, but using an ipad constantly is as tiring as the job for an old school scribe was.
for the record, reading a book in funny positions on sofa fucks your wrists too - trying to write on it even worse.. typing machines were invented for a reason and evolved the way they did into a keyboard for a reason. - then the fucking ergo-fucks started selling adjustable furniture that didn't do it's job, was flimsy as hell, and then another round of the same shit and another round and another round.....

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I'll add this to the list by LordNicholas · 2012-01-11 07:31 · Score: 1

Of things to never waste any brainpower worrying about in any way.

Also dangers of door knobs... by Kenja · 2012-01-11 07:31 · Score: 1

pickles, books, refrigerators and just about anything if you use them too often and too violently.

So what?

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"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"

Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 07:36 · Score: 1

Nobody could ever repeat those motions as much as they repeat motions on a device they hold in their hands. Unless you're opening 30 pickle jars a second for 8 hrs a day, it's a disingenuous comparison.

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Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by Megahard · 2012-01-11 07:40 · Score: 1

I was thinking of problems with pickles other than the jar. The kind that gets you a trip to the emergency room.

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Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by Kenja · 2012-01-11 07:43 · Score: 1

I was thinking of problems with pickles other than the jar. The kind that gets you a trip to the emergency room.
Now expand this line of thinking to include door knobs.

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"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 07:46 · Score: 2

Now, think about the choice of the word "expand". HAHAHA

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Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by geekoid · 2012-01-11 09:00 · Score: 2

If you can't poop out a pickle, you have other problems.

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Re:Also dangers of door knobs... by BoberFett · 2012-01-11 09:50 · Score: 1

I wonder if our ancestors got Repetitive Stone Throwing Syndrome? Did caveman doctors prescribe better stone throwing techniques?

Breaking news... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:32 · Score: 1

This just in...the #1 cause for repetitive stress injuries and eyestrain is...living....

Re:Breaking news... by Volante3192 · 2012-01-11 07:42 · Score: 1

It's also the #1 cause of death. Here we are, wasting our time on heart disease and cancer...
Re:Breaking news... by The+Grim+Reefer · 2012-01-11 07:43 · Score: 2

When I was born my doctor told me that it could cause all kinds of health problems later on.

Sound the alarm! by wjcofkc · 2012-01-11 07:34 · Score: 1

If we sounded an alarm for every little thing out there that is bad for us, we would all be wearing noise protection gear to save our poor sensitive little ears from damage. Oh and forbid we strive to adapt to new things. We might evolve! Run for the hills!

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Learned this in the 90s by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:35 · Score: 1

Anyone remember the first touchscreen fad that died out due to "Gorilla Arm"? Same thing, different decade.

Every time I see a vertical touchscreen advertised as a feature, I cringe a little inside as I imagine trying to use one for an extended period.

Re:What about the hidden dangers of Siri? by pclminion · 2012-01-11 07:35 · Score: 2

And if you think continuously you may burn out your brain cells, as appears to have happened with this researcher.

My wrist hurts! by coldsalmon · 2012-01-11 07:38 · Score: 5, Informative

I'm wearing a wrist brace right now because I held my Nook Color one-handed for too long over the course of a couple of weeks. Obviously I can't say for sure that this was the cause of my pain, but it gets worse when when I hold it in one hand only, and better when I use both hands or support it some other way. I wish I had thought of this before I started using the Nook. Yeah it's not a problem of national concern, and the article uses absurdly alarmist rhetoric, but these are real sources of pain and it's always good to have tips on how to avoid pain.

Re:My wrist hurts! by medv4380 · 2012-01-11 08:12 · Score: 2, Insightful

You would have had the same injury doing that with a book. This article is clearly written by the radical fringe who won't be happy unless man is back in the forests eating strait from the trees.

Diseases caused by unnatural postures and forces

I Concur, Doctor! by tunapez · 2012-01-11 07:39 · Score: 1

My eyesight has been dwindling over the past 3 or 4 years since I got my 1st Tablet. Now I have to wear reading glasses on a string around my neck everywhere I go! I'm thinking a class action is in order. How many more vibrant, enthusiastic 42yo's must go blind before this atrocity is righted????

PS: Get off my lawn!

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Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...

Re:I Concur, Doctor! by Translation+Error · 2012-01-11 07:45 · Score: 1

My eyesight has been dwindling over the past 3 or 4 years since I got my 1st Tablet. Now I have to wear reading glasses on a string around my neck everywhere I go! I'm thinking a class action is in order. How many more vibrant, enthusiastic 42yo's must go blind before this atrocity is righted????
Absolutely! And we should get the crack legal team that took down the jerks responsible for the Opti-Grab!

--
When someone says, "Any fool can see ..." they're usually exactly right.
Re:I Concur, Doctor! by tunapez · 2012-01-11 08:26 · Score: 1

One dollar and...NINE CENTS!

--
Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...

I can see it now by pak9rabid · 2012-01-11 07:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Apple: You're touching it wrong.

Re:I can see it now by XrayJunkie · 2012-01-11 19:59 · Score: 1

Apple: You're touching it wrong.
Heard that phrase from my ex a couple of times ;-)

I'm sure that.... by mark-t · 2012-01-11 07:44 · Score: 1

... even when we get to the point that computers can read our minds, and know exactly what we want them to do without interacting with it physically in any way at all, that doctors will still find some way to say how bad they are for us.

--
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

I've already experienced mild RSI in the thumb after somewhat excessive touch screen use. Same as with mouse and keyboard use. I don't see why this would be something to write off. Rather, it is obvious that it would become a problem at some point.

One more scare story... by unixisc · 2012-01-11 07:46 · Score: 1

... probably from the same people who told us that cellphones cause cancer, gas station explosions yada yada yada

Because it pertains to nerds by Compaqt · 2012-01-11 07:48 · Score: 5, Informative

What are you talking about? Good on you for having great health.

Meanwhile plenty of geeks suffer from computer-related health problems. The most common up to now has been carpal tunnel or repetitive stress syndrome.

The advent of touchscreens means people are bending their necks downward for extended periods. For many/most it may not be a problem.

For others, it can result in cervical spondylosis, a debilitating condition of the neck.

The reason for such articles is to encourage people to take preventive measures. One of the best is Workrave, a break reminder program for Win and Lin. Click to install. (Deb/Ub/Mint)

--
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog

Re:Because it pertains to nerds by AlienIntelligence · 2012-01-11 07:55 · Score: 3, Informative

What are you talking about? Good on you for having great health.
Meanwhile plenty of geeks suffer from computer-related health problems. The most common up to now has been carpal tunnel or repetitive stress syndrome.
One trip to a REAL doctor and you'll find that CTS, really doesn't
exist for people that use computers, correctly.
I can give you the number to a real Dr, if you'd like to talk to him.
I'm sure he would have loved to make the money from the surgery
on my ex-wife's wrist. Instead, he said... adjust your chair height
to where your arm, at 45 degree extension, will have your radius/ulna
parallel and about an inch above the desk surface. Buy a gel pad
for the kb and the mouse and you'll be fine in a few months.
And she was.
I had the same thing... absolutely crippling pain from the base of
my palm, all the way thru my shoulder-blade. I raised my seat,
maybe an inch. Gone in months.
If you have your chair at the wrong height... put too much weight
on your wrists when you type and mouse... you will get symptoms
that appear to be CTS and RSD... but aren't. CT scan will prove it.
Myth, busted.
-AI

--
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by tlhIngan · 2012-01-11 08:09 · Score: 4, Informative

The advent of touchscreens means people are bending their necks downward for extended periods. For many/most it may not be a problem.
I doubt that. People have been reporting problems before touch screens. Blackberry users, for example, but also people who text a lot on their non-touchscreen phones.
The medical condition is real, but the cause is not - it's not a recent thing brought on the explosion of touch screens - it's been around for years. Notably brought on because the folks with blackberries (out over a decade) tend to be older businesspeople and thus experienced it years before. Or people texting on their phones for nearly two decades now. And young kids have been glued to their Nintendo portables for nearly 2 1/2 decades.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by jdgeorge · 2012-01-11 08:15 · Score: 3, Funny

Umm.... so, your point is that you agree with the parent's advice to prevent the issues from becoming a major health problem.... Got it.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:39 · Score: 2

Or you self diagnoses was wrong.
OR, here is an idea: maybe there are different severity? Shocking I know.. well, shocking to simpletons like you.
ou will get symptoms that appear to be CTS and RSD... but aren't. CT scan will prove it.
No, the symptoms are precursor to CTS and/or RSD. Like many thing, when acted upon soon, you can recover.
You did the right thing, but you inplication that it applies to every case is stupid and harmful.
And no myth is not busted, but your ignorance and arrogance has been confirmed.
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion"
Your post does not match your sig.
Make up your mind

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:43 · Score: 1

But it is new to a lot of people. So to make people aware that there is a risk, and you should take step to mitigate it is the responsible thing to do.
Not that I'm defending the author. I mean how far can we trust someone who states:
"as well as the Wi-Fi radios in various devices. The research here has been contradictory, though the risk is probably low if you follow the manufacturers' guidelines for safe use."
No, there is no good evidence to support it. all provocation tests have be negative, all blinded test have been negative.
To claim it's contradictory is false and misleading.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by eulernet · 2012-01-11 08:46 · Score: 3, Informative

Adjusting your seat is a good advice, but you should also change your position.
When your body starts to hurt, just listen to it, and change your position by straightening your back, it's very simple and effective.
Also, I recommend using a Trackball, because it's the horizontal movements when using a mouse that hurt your wrist.
I personally use a Microsoft trackball, mine is at least 6 years old, and still working nicely.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by Kymermosst · 2012-01-11 09:27 · Score: 2

The advent of touchscreens means people are bending their necks downward for extended periods
Ever thought about, you know, holding the touch screen up, instead?

--
"Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by jareth-0205 · 2012-01-11 09:27 · Score: 1

If you had even an ounce of imagination or empathy you might consider that perhaps different people have different bodies, and different sensitivities. Good for you that you don't have problems. Perhaps other people aren't as lucky as you, and perhaps their capacity for repetitive movement isn't what yours is.
You have just used a whole two anecdotes to judge thousands of other people. What a bigot.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by jackbird · 2012-01-11 14:12 · Score: 1

How long can you hold a tablet out in front of your face without tiring your arm?
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by thoromyr · 2012-01-12 06:33 · Score: 1

you're out of luck. MS made (or had made) a great product and then discontinued it. Last I looked you could pay a nice premium to get one that was allegedly new...
I put up with the idiosyncrasies of my 8 (i think) year old MS track ball because it is still better than the alternatives. I dread the day when mine quits working.
Re:Because it pertains to nerds by Kymermosst · 2012-01-12 13:16 · Score: 1

Hours.

--
"Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives" should be a convenience store, not a government agency.

Here come the lawyers by schwit1 · 2012-01-11 07:48 · Score: 1

This sounds too much like an opening for tort lawyers to start suing manufacturers and employers.

I RTFA.... by Lumpy · 2012-01-11 07:50 · Score: 1

And all I could see on that page was...

Quack, Quack, Quack.....

Anyone else feel the Quackyness of the "doctors" concerns?

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.

Common Sense by mrjatsun · 2012-01-11 07:53 · Score: 1

When I got my first smartphone, I noticed my thumb started clicking and got sore when using my smartphone a lot. I changed the way I held it and no more problems.

"Doctor, it hurts when I do this, ..."

Sour grapes? by mrbester · 2012-01-11 07:54 · Score: 1

Aww, did ickle diddums not get the iPad he wanted for Christmas?

--
"Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:54 · Score: 1, Insightful

Because the InfoWorld.com submitter is submitting an InfoWorld.com article, and Geek.net is probably getting a little something on the side. Gotta love slashvertising.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 07:55 · Score: 5, Funny

pussy

You should try tablets by symbolset · 2012-01-11 07:57 · Score: 5, Funny

You wouldn't believe the RSI potentials here. Just chiseling a single line of text gives me blisters.

--
Help stamp out iliturcy.

Re:You should try tablets by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-01-11 10:55 · Score: 4, Funny

If you're touching the screen while there is porn on it... I hate to break it for you, but you're doing it wrong.
Re:You should try tablets by MagusSlurpy · 2012-01-11 22:21 · Score: 1

At least the screen is warm!

--
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by MrHanky · 2012-01-11 07:59 · Score: 2

Because loads of people here are buying into the nonsense that touchscreens are so awesome and the future of everything.

Re:Yeah, it's a danger to my sanity by drummerboybac · 2012-01-11 08:00 · Score: 1

What kind of phone does that?

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by ArhcAngel · 2012-01-11 08:03 · Score: 4, Funny

You want to talk RSI? try playing Street Fighter II on the SNES for 16 hours straight. I had to have thumb splints for months!

--
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Typical /. defensivness by bussdriver · 2012-01-11 08:05 · Score: 2

So used to defending "new" technology that you can't allow legitimate concerns to be raised?

I get it, I'm surrounded by technologically ignorant people who respond irrationally to the stuff. But it is no reason to become irrationally defensive of the technology-- for those people, it does make sense to not discuss the topic at any depth but one does not have to get down to their level either.

TFA is nothing new and seems so obvious that its hardly worth discussion. As somebody who deals with those "non-issues" and knows older people who suffer daily from them I am glad this was an issue in the 90s because it was when I became motivated enough to take precautions. This stuff can cause seriously miserable conditions later in life (do not get surgery it makes it worse.) Things like this serve a purpose:
A) inform people of the general problem who do not yet know (unless nobody has children there is always a new batch)
B) inform people who know but do not THINK about how touch screens are no different than existing tech (may be worse)

Sure, there is the anti technology types who will twist such information or those who do not properly comprehend it and go around saying "doctors say touch screens are bad for your health." Those people can be so annoying that it provides plenty of motivation for going to an irrational position on the opposite side.

Just because you believe the "disease" is imaginary.... BELIEVE being the key word. Hope you don't have to rediscover the problem with 1st hand proof; although, there would be some justice in having people dismiss your bitching as imaginary.

--
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news

Re:Don't Blink by desdinova+216 · 2012-01-11 08:06 · Score: 1

mod this funny

Re:first p by AlienIntelligence · 2012-01-11 08:07 · Score: 2

damn...

Well, if it wasn't for your stress injuries from tablet use,
yes you might have been frosty piss.

Maybe this is actionable... call an ambulance chaser!

-AI

--
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion

Re:Yeah, it's a danger to my sanity by AlienIntelligence · 2012-01-11 08:10 · Score: 1

If my goddamned phone touchscreen doesn't stop getting wonky every time the relative humidity gets above "desert" then there's going to be a hidden danger of me throwing it against the fucking wall.

FWIW, due to the economy, we have lots of homes available
to buy or rent, here in the desert.

lol

-AI

--
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion

I can see the TV headlines now by chiph · 2012-01-11 08:16 · Score: 1

"Your iPhone could KILL YOU! Tune in for our special report, today at 5:30."

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by bmo · 2012-01-11 08:17 · Score: 2, Interesting

This gets a 5? Really?

I didn't believe RSI existed until I actually got it myself, with pain going from my hand, around my elbow up to my shoulder. Previously I had thought that RSI was no big deal and I thought it was psychosomatic.

I found out that RSI can be some serious friggin' pain. The hard way.

The culprit was the Logitech MX1000 that I bought. One of the early laser mice. It's a pile of shit shaped into a huge lump that makes you cock your wrist back if you let your wrist lay on the desk.

It didn't take long, actually, to get the RSI. A couple of weeks with that mouse and I was done for.

I solved the issue by going to a trackball and elevating my forearm to straighten out my wrist. With this, the pain went away - I was no longer bending my wrist back and I could keep my forearm in one place so as to keep the wrist at the same angle.

So you, OP, do not deserve the 5. You deserve a -1 because you are a dumbass troll.

--
BMO

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-11 08:17 · Score: 4, Interesting

This is the sort of thing that makes me stare at fighting game players in utter incredulity. How and why would anyone ever put up with such ridiculously tiresome finger movements for so long? It's probably healthier to get into an actual fistfight!

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by jdgeorge · 2012-01-11 08:21 · Score: 4, Informative

Touchscreens are awesome, and they are the future of a lot of human-computer interaction. They're simply not a substitute for a real keyboard, or a properly arranged physical workspace.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by thePowerOfGrayskull · 2012-01-11 08:21 · Score: 4, Funny

Come on.

To piss you off.

Seriously, that's the only reason. It's posted to troll you, personally.

Couldn't you have just by drainbramage · 2012-01-11 08:26 · Score: 1

Let go of the keg?

--
No brain, no pain.

Re:Couldn't you have just by ClioCJS · 2012-01-11 08:30 · Score: 1

NEVER!

--
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com

Anecdote X by SomePoorSchmuck · 2012-01-11 08:28 · Score: 1

I have been typing at a high KPM (sometimes for several hours a day) for 25 years going back to CLI days and using a mouse daily since the spread of the PC GUI. I also have a modest but ongoing interest in playing the piano. I have never had any RSI problems.

Then two years ago I got a touchscreen smartphone and absolutely can trace a very clear rise in vision focal distance issues and recurrent wrist/elbow strain in that time period. Nothing else in my life hobbies, living patterns, or activity levels has changed in the last two years. The vision issues I could perhaps either partially or wholly pass off as the inevitable age-related presbyopia, but the wrist/elbow strain is indepedent of the aging process, entirely unprecedented in my personal medical history, and does in fact decrease markedly if I go for several days not using the phone, even while continuing other potentially implicated activities such as weight training, sports leagues, bike riding, PC keyboarding, driving, and so forth. It was interesting to read a comment above. I have experienced the same thing -- which is that sleeping with whichever hand is most affected inserted between pillow and mattress provides significant relief, kind of like the opposite of gout sufferers' extreme sensitivity to the slight pressure of their own bedsheets.

--

Hollywood, Television, has become the dream machine. We need to take that back; each of us is a Dream Machine

Touchscreen and driving? by drainbramage · 2012-01-11 08:30 · Score: 1

There is even more to worry about than just RSI.
I've wanted to whack some of those pinheads myself.

Now, I don't want to go off on a rant here but:
Put the damn thing DOWN!
Give it a frickin rest!

--
No brain, no pain.

I'd like to take you seriously . . . by hideouspenguinboy · 2012-01-11 08:30 · Score: 5, Funny

But, your use of, commas, has driven me to, bang my head, against my desk . . .

. . .resulting in CST. I got a gel pad though so I'll be fine in a few months.

Re:I'd like to take you seriously . . . by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 08:46 · Score: 1

Who cares about the commas?
What I hate is the
constant line breaks
for no apparent reason.
The web browser
handles text formatting
no reason for you to
make it mobile sized.
Re:I'd like to take you seriously . . . by swanzilla · 2012-01-11 09:17 · Score: 4, Funny

Who cares about the commas? What I hate is the constant line breaks for no apparent reason.
The web browser handles text formatting no reason for you to make it mobile sized.
Bet
ter
saf
e t
han
sor
ry.

--
0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
Re:I'd like to take you seriously . . . by jones_supa · 2012-01-11 18:58 · Score: 1

Who cares about the commas? What I hate is the constant line breaks for no apparent reason.
But it makes it look more...poetic.

Lawsuits by sycodon · 2012-01-11 08:31 · Score: 2

This Tessler guy is just doing the foundation work for future lawsuits.

Just watch, in several years someone will sue Apple or other tablet makers and Tessler will be in the expert witness seat.

--
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Stan92057 · 2012-01-11 08:31 · Score: 1

Because what interests one geek doesn't interest another. It might not be the Holy Grail of Geek topics but its one that affects all geeks.

--
Jack of all trades,master of none

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by X0563511 · 2012-01-11 08:31 · Score: 2

... at the end of the day, it's probably even more entertaining for everyone involved.

--
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Greyfox · 2012-01-11 08:33 · Score: 1

Because sometimes when we touch, the feelings get to be too much.

--

I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:34 · Score: 1

Because it's fun.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Tendinitis by dptalia · 2012-01-11 08:36 · Score: 1

Three days after I got my Kindle Fire I had the worst Tendinitis flare up since I was a teenager.... I had to start holding/using the fire completely differently to prevent more injuries. Biggest downside of the damn thing!

--
Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, which is why engineers sometimes smell really bad.

Talk to the computer! by na1led · 2012-01-11 08:37 · Score: 2

[faced with a 20th century computer] Scotty: Computer! Computer? [He's handed a mouse, and he speaks into it] Scotty: Hello, computer. Dr. Nichols: Just use the keyboard. Scotty: Keyboard. How quaint.

--
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by 0123456 · 2012-01-11 08:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

Touchscreens are awesome, and they are the future of a lot of human-computer interaction.

No, touchscreens suck ass. They're only good when you're doing very basic operations which don't require much control.

The only device I use on a regular basis which might not totally suck ass with a touchscreen is my e-book reader, and even there I'd much rather press a button to go to the next page than have to make some stupid gesture.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by mcgrew · 2012-01-11 08:42 · Score: 2

Well, it's "for nerds" because we all use these devices, but it isn't "news that natters" because it's not news; we already know about RMS (repetetive motion syndrome, not Richard Stallman) etc because most of us have experienced it.

TFA is really bad, though. It claims that the danger of cell phone radiation is "inconclusive", when the facts are that not a single study has shown that cell phones or CRTs cause cancer or brain damage. It's not badly written but spans seven screens; I shouldn't have even clicked. Didn't waste my time past the second screen, if you haven't RTFA don't bother, it's a waste of time.

--
Free Martian Whores!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by bipbop · 2012-01-11 08:45 · Score: 3, Informative

They aren't necessarily tiresome. Some people can play games all day without hurting themselves.

Musicians learn to avoid building up muscle tension, both in the muscles they use, and sympathetic tension in the muscles they aren't using. They learn to keep good posture, keep their wrists relatively straight, to breathe properly and so forth, and these skills get passed down to new musicians.

The same skills apply to video games. But there's no "classical video game technique". People tense up, have terrible posture, and generally do things that will hurt themselves if they keep it up long enough. It's totally natural, and takes training for most people to avoid it.

I'm not proposing any particular solution to this, but I think some basic training might help with the sort of people who injure themselves playing video games. Certainly the ways to avoid RSI are non-obvious, whether you're playing Street Fighter or sitting in an office typing all day.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by geekoid · 2012-01-11 08:50 · Score: 1

"buying into"? no. Touch screen are awesome. I can do a lot of things the is far more difficult with an actual keyboard.

I was concerned I would miss my keyboard when I went from a G1 to an Nexus S. The touch screen is far better and quicker.

That sight completely misses the point.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by bmo · 2012-01-11 08:51 · Score: 1

Funny, I had been using mice since the early 80s without using any kind of pad with a wrist rest.

But by your terse message it's my fault that after decades of not using a mouse pad with a wrist rest, I somehow should have known that I needed one? That i needed a mouse pad with tits? Like the ridiculous one as the first result?

Get fucking real.

The MX1000 resides in the trash and I have given up on mice altogether, especially the high-backed ones. My cursor devices consist of a touchpad, trackball, and drawing tablet.

The MX1000 was badly designed on top of being expensive. All these high backed mice that require built-in boobs on the mouse pad are ridiculously bad designs.

--
BMO

I wonder what the doctor would say about by kilodelta · 2012-01-11 09:03 · Score: 1

My continual use of keyboards for the past 34 years of my life.

Re:I wonder what the doctor would say about by SomePoorSchmuck · 2012-01-11 09:29 · Score: 1

My continual use of keyboards for the past 34 years of my life.
Probably the same thing any other doctor would say about people whose blood type gives them an inherently stronger immunity to smallpox infection. Not everyone gets every disease/syndrome even when exposed to the same pathogens/conditions.

--

Hollywood, Television, has become the dream machine. We need to take that back; each of us is a Dream Machine

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 09:10 · Score: 1

I have tendonitis and using an iTouch and similar devices actually really hurts after a while, I made sure to have a physical keyboard for this fact because you almost always and up using your index fingers to do everthing and it's hard to keep that finger "out" while the others are curled. Most of the time you don't notice it until it gets sore.

Geeze by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2012-01-11 09:16 · Score: 1

People need to hit a gym once in a while if a tablet is going to take them out.

--
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.

If you use a touchscreen... by sapgau · 2012-01-11 09:24 · Score: 1

Watch the way you slide that finger...
Don't pinch and zoom that picture the wrong way...
Don't overwhelm those accelerometers when playing your favorite games
If you flick don't try to read that text until it stops!

Kids, wear that helmet by swb · 2012-01-11 09:30 · Score: 1

It's all part of the "wear a helmet" safety paranoia.

When I was a kid, nobody wore a bike helmet and nobody ever knew anyone who sustained a serious head injury from a bike accident, either.

OK, it does happen -- but we're reached this point where you can't do anything without wearing a helmet. WTF?

I get it when riding a motorcycle and for some kinds of bike riding, but it seems like the risks of everything get so amped up it's like sitting on a pile of sand can't be done without safety equipment.

Re:Kids, wear that helmet by pclminion · 2012-01-11 09:51 · Score: 2

Weird how it's changed even since the 1980's. I was a kid then, and remember many times coming inside bleeding from something I'd just done to myself, and my mother would respond with something like "Oh, you hurt your leg? Well let me chop off the other one so it hurts the same on both sides of your body." This same woman, 25 years later, suggested to me in all seriousness that I should make my toddler wear a helmet IN THE HOUSE. At all times.
Some of that is obviously because of her age (clearly she's gone nuts), but it's also because people think that's normal. I know parents who spent an entire weekend covering every corner of every object in their house with soft foam and taping it in place. If little Jimmy falls down the stairs, richochets off the wall and smacks his head on the inner left corner of the underside of the kitchen chair, no problem, it's padded.
Other day my 4 year old took a chopstick out of a drawer to play with it. He left it sitting on the floor. I told him he'd better pick it up or at some point today his head will be striking the floor. He didn't listen, he ran, he stepped on it, he fell, he screamed. I laughed at him and said "I told you so." I received looks of shock from other adults in the room like I was psycho.
Re:Kids, wear that helmet by mjr167 · 2012-01-11 10:09 · Score: 1

Some kids need a helmet :P.
You aren't the only one that laughs at their kid and says "I told you not to do that." How else are they going to learn about gravity? Granted, had the kid been seriously hurt you would have had a different reaction, but a little pain with no damage teaches a valuable lesson.
Re:Kids, wear that helmet by blair1q · 2012-01-11 10:56 · Score: 1

Well, your doctor knew someone who'd had such an injury. Probably several someones.
You never knew them because they were dead or hooked up to a machine in a hospital instead of out and about to meet you.
And bicycle or motorcycle doesn't make a difference. It's not the speed that does you in. It's the fall. Your head hits the ground the same, dropping from 5 feet, either way, and that's what your helmet will be certified for. No lid in the world will do a damn thing to stop your skull from shattering if you go horizontally headfirst into a curb or car or pole at 40 mph, so no lid tries. If you ever heard of anyone surviving that, it was due to luck, not design.
Wear your helmet anyway.
Re:Kids, wear that helmet by nedlohs · 2012-01-11 14:09 · Score: 1

A helmet while biking makes sense. It's not exactly a huge hassle and there is that small chance it'll prevent serious injury.
Of course if the choice is between ride a bike without a helmet and don't ride a bike at all (because the kid hates helmets that much - peer pressure is a big deal and if no one else does...) then I would strongly suspect the health benefits of the exercise and fitness far outweigh the amazingly small chance of serious head injury...
Of course my 7 year old plays outside unsupervised after dark, so I'm well into the bad parent range of safety...
Re:Kids, wear that helmet by swb · 2012-01-12 04:30 · Score: 1

We used to setup jumps for our bikes in the street because the asphalt had worn smooth and when we fell the abrasions weren't as bad as the sidewalk, which had a lot of rough patches and you'd get hurt.
I'm thinking the lesson is that kids figure out what hurts and what doesn't and learn some kind of sanity about risk taking.
Now, everything is made "safe" for them and they have no concept of risk.
Strangely this is like those that run the banking system...

new stuff is dangerous by CharmElCheikh · 2012-01-11 09:38 · Score: 1

Sounds like all the "that new stuff is new so it's dangerous" crap we always hear. Since i was a child and started spending time on my brother's amstrad i've heard people explain me how I was damaging my health. I then spent the next 20 years or so not giving a damn and spending my days and nights in front of computers; now my eye sight is still of 10/10 both eyes and i have none of these arithric / back / wrist / fingers issues i keep hearing about. Plus it's what got me a job and pays the bills, so i'll continue spending my life in front of computers and not giving a damn.

--
My /. user ID is probably higher than yours

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by MrHanky · 2012-01-11 09:44 · Score: 1

"Sight". Written like someone using a touch screen or suffering a stroke.

Don't read paper books! by flohuels · 2012-01-11 09:48 · Score: 1

Reading books can cause: shortsightedness, finger stress injures, dead trees and higher intelligence!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by AmberBlackCat · 2012-01-11 09:50 · Score: 1

Long ago, my friend had the NES Advantage Joystick. It was a big controller with a knob to simulate the joysticks of arcade games. Well that big black knob was missing from his, leaving only the stem that the knob was screwed onto. He continued to use the Joystiq with just that stem. I saw the red mark in the center of the palm of his hand from using the thing. He didn't care.

P'eh by Tarlus · 2012-01-11 09:54 · Score: 1

It's only hazardous because of people staring at their screen and not watching where the fuck they're going.

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/* No Comment */

And in related news, by jenningsthecat · 2012-01-11 09:56 · Score: 1

doctors warn that scratching your ass too much, or doing it the wrong way, may also result in Repetitive Stress Injuries.

This also applies to hammering nails, polishing windows, playing tennis, etc. Too much joint strain causes problems - this is news how?

--
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.

LOL! by eyenot · 2012-01-11 09:59 · Score: 1

I barely even touch my touch screen while I use it. This is the most laughable and desperate thing I've seen in almost forever.

If some kind of person is cramming their fingers hard against their touch screen, they are fucked up already, and they are the kind of person who hits their head with a hammer or dives into a hydroelectric dam spillway, or forms a hematoma in their chest with the side of their hand through continuous repeated impact.

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"Stratigraphically the origin of agriculture and thermonuclear destruction will appear essentially simultaneous" -- Lee

If I were susceptible to RSI by Chrisq · 2012-01-11 10:11 · Score: 1

doctors warn that scratching your ass too much, or doing it the wrong way, may also result in Repetitive Stress Injuries.

This also applies to hammering nails, polishing windows, playing tennis, etc. Too much joint strain causes problems - this is news how?

If I were susceptible to RSI I'd have got it from wanking by now. How many slashdotters wouldn't have.

RSI issues from vertically oriented touchscreens by MichaelSmith · 2012-01-11 10:16 · Score: 1

I saw this in a control room environment where the voice switch was controlled by a touch screen set into a console panel. Using the touch screen with the hand pulled back seemed to cause the problem so we replaced the screen with a custom mechanical keypad set flat on the desk. But I dont see the same problems with portable phones and tablets because the user is free to position the screen where it is comfortable for them to use.

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http://michaelsmith.id.au

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Lehk228 · 2012-01-11 10:20 · Score: 1

not just bad designs, potentially liable designs, when you sell a product that has different and worse safety and health characteristics from a standard product of that type, and fail to warn the user of said increased risk to safety and health, you are potentially liable for their injury.

it would be like selling adhesive bandages and putting in little tiny print on the corner "warning, not sterile packed, not for human use" and selling them right next to the real band aids

--
Snowden and Manning are heroes.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by winspear · 2012-01-11 10:29 · Score: 1

I totally agree with the eye strain. How many of you slashdotters have perfect 20:20 vision ? I guess not many...hehehehehehehe. Tablets and smart phones definitely put a lot of stress on your eyes when compared to bigger monitors.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-11 10:37 · Score: 1

Fighting game players probably rarely if ever break bones, fist fighting is known to cause broken bones.

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I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by catmistake · 2012-01-11 10:40 · Score: 1

Oblig.

Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious.

--
The Admin and the Engineer

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by jdgeorge · 2012-01-11 10:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

Musicians learn to avoid building up muscle tension, both in the muscles they use, and sympathetic tension in the muscles they aren't using. They learn to keep good posture, keep their wrists relatively straight, to breathe properly and so forth, and these skills get passed down to new musicians.

Musicians also learn to take breaks, not to play too long at a time, or (as frequently happens) they end up with injuries that are destructive to their musical careers. They cannot play all day without hurting themselves, regardless of how awesome their form, posture, and breathing is.

a few other uses by Chirs · 2012-01-11 10:43 · Score: 1

I use the ebook reader a lot, but also the web browser and the video player. It's great for casual use when you're trying to get the kid in your lap into a deep enough sleep that you can move them. Those three things account for 90% of my tablet use. My wife uses the facebook and email apps a lot.

It's bollocks, all the way down. by blair1q · 2012-01-11 10:52 · Score: 1

Every one of his objections is something that is actually alleviated by freeing you from the desk-and-keyboard-and-fixed-monitor model of computing.

You can use many positions and orientations when you use mobiles.

And because you're outside and moving around, instead of planted on your pasty, fat, congealing ass all day, you're 27% less likely die of a heart attack.

This is one of those cases where you just want to take someone's diploma away from them.

ignorance by Tom · 2012-01-11 10:54 · Score: 1

especially if Microsoft's Windows 8 effort succeeds in popularizing touchscreen PCs and laptops.

Bwuahahahaha...

Someone just wrote "I have no clue WTF I'm talking about" in 48pt bright-red bold letters across his own article.

--
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-01-11 10:58 · Score: 4, Informative

They're only good when you're doing very basic operations which don't require much control.

Which covers surprisingly many activities (time-wise). You listed one yourself - book reading. Now also think newspapers, and everything else online that's "consume only" - i.e. where you don't rush to post a witty comment as soon as you read it, as is the case on Slashdot.

The perfect device would have both touchscreen and keyboard+mouse/trackpad/trackpoint, and will adjust to whatever controls you're using at the moment. We're already seeing this emerge with Asus Transformer, Lenovo Thinkpad tablet, and other similar devices on hardware side, and Win8 (and, to some extent, Android) on software side.

I can believe it.... by t4ng* · 2012-01-11 11:04 · Score: 1

I don't own or use any touchscreen devices, but I've thought about this to myself while watching people using iPads at cafes. But since most of them are very young, they probably won't notice pain for at least another decade. The main problems I see is people hanging their head over the device as they use it, and typing with index fingers only with all the other fingers curled up with lots of tension.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by hairyfeet · 2012-01-11 11:07 · Score: 1

Newsflash: Anything done repetitively that puts the body at unnatural angles causes injury, now with the weather here is Suzy "Rain is wet Bill, back to you!". I mean I can understand this for like Google News, but Slashdot? Hell my back bugs me every time it rains thanks to hunkering over PCs all damned day and I have the middle finger on my left hand stuck at around a 30 degree angle thanks to getting it cracked in a bike wreck and refusing to quit playing bass. the doc said "That finger will most likely either lock straight or lock crooked thanks to the joint damage, your choice" so I chose crooked so i could still use it to mute strings.

Anything you do over and over is most likely gonna cause SOME damage, the only question is what kind. Hell guys that play Les Pauls are more likely to have a stroke thanks to the weight pressing down on the neck and slowly but surely causing damage to the artery, but I don't think they'd be willing to give up that tone and sustain even if they knew, do you? TINSSAAFL and EVERYTHING has a cost, the only question is are you willing to pay the price. I put up with the back aches because i like computers and i'm not giving up my 30 pound Swamp Ash P-Bass, but I know what i'm getting into. Its like that old joke "Doc it hurts when I do this" Doc: Well don't do that!" but its nuts that an article like this ends up on slashdot, slow news day i take it?

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ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.

I can confrim ... by kbahey · 2012-01-11 11:25 · Score: 2

I can confirm that ever since I switched to checking Twitter and Facebook (via TweetDeck) heavily on my Android phone (Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 then Arc), I have experienced wrist pain and numbness.

And yes, I spend a couple of hours daily, because I was following the news closely in a troubled part of the world.

Once I got those wrist cuffs that prevent the wrist joint from moving, the pain went away.

--
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by syousef · 2012-01-11 11:57 · Score: 1

This is the sort of thing that makes me stare at fighting game players in utter incredulity. How and why would anyone ever put up with such ridiculously tiresome finger movements for so long? It's probably healthier to get into an actual fistfight!

You realise you just opened yourself up to someone offering to beat the living daylights out of you, right? ;-)

If you don't enjoy the game, it is unsurprising that you fail to understand the attraction. The focus is not the repedative hand movement, it is the pleasure of playing and achieving things within the game. That is true of any hobby.

I love astronomy. When I show someone who knows nothing about it Jupiter or Saturn through a telescope reactions range from "You spent all that money to see that fuzzy thing" to " Wow! You mean I'm seriously honestly looking at a real planet? No tricks? No joke?". Some love spending time and money on the gear - me? That's a pain in the rear, but totally worth it to get to view and understand our universe 1st hand.

I love photography. I will carry a heavy backpack with expensive cameras, lenses and flashes, batteries and gear to clean it all? I often hang 2 cameras off my neck. Think I enjoy that? It's because when I go out I can get a pin sharp picture of an exotic bird or a butteryfly, or just of my kids running around and playing that's better than a snapshot.

I love computers. Others may love installing software and maintaining hardware but for me it's a means to an end. I find what I can do with my laptop absolutely incredible.

I hate building and maintaining my remote control planes. For others that is the best part of the hobby. For me it is fiddling irritating and boring. But when I get to do aerobatics with an r/c plane I am in hog heaven.

You must have hobbies and passions. Please do not be closed minded about them. Even if playing a video game is not a productive one, there are others that are. I've listed my hobbies. Others have dedicated their lives to curing disease, advancing science and technology, teaching others....many noble things. All would have paid for it in various ways - some even with their lives. Without people willing to sacrifice for their passions and persevere the human race would not be where it is today.

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These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-11 12:02 · Score: 1

Yes, but bone can heal (at least, most bone, by mass.) Arthritis is a one-way street. Also, you're less inclined to do it again.

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by kaizokuace · 2012-01-11 12:09 · Score: 1

Hmm I never thought about how laying your wrist on the desk could stress your wrists when using the mouse. I dunno what the shape of that mouse was like but I can say this, I work out a lot and my forearms are big enough that I can't really rest my wrists on the desk without forcing it.

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Balderdash!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-11 12:20 · Score: 1

I think you overestimated the scope of my complaint! I used to make maps for Doom, I collect and restore vintage computers, and I'm a few months away from a bachelor's degree in bioinformatics (in fact, a lecture is going to start in ten minutes.) I was criticizing people for playing games that are particularly cruel to the fingers and wrists because they require rapidly hitting the 'punch' and 'kick' buttons. That's all. :)

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 12:53 · Score: 1

Well, I'm not one to judge you how you use your touch screen devices but just make sure you wipe it with lysol daily after using your private parts on it. Just saying.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by nedlohs · 2012-01-11 12:54 · Score: 1

And brain damage from repeated blows the head isn't a one-way street.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Totenglocke · 2012-01-11 13:16 · Score: 1

Clearly you never did marching band in high school or college.

--
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson

Not as ridiculous as it sounds. by mykro76 · 2012-01-11 13:29 · Score: 1

If I'm lying on my back in bed playing a game on my phone, after about half an hour I get pins and needles in my hands. Certain positions do restrict blood flow, and when you've gotten comfortable with a touchscreen device you're loath to move.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-11 13:44 · Score: 2

No, now you're going off topic. We're talking about Street Fighter players getting into fist fights. Brain trauma is unlikely.

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by nedlohs · 2012-01-11 13:52 · Score: 2

Why? Seems pretty likely they'll fall over and crack their skills on the ground trying to throw a punch.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-11 14:02 · Score: 1

I suppose that could happen. :)

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Desease vector by nedlohs · 2012-01-11 14:12 · Score: 1

Almost as big as touching the same doorknob as someone else. Or the same hand rail. Or, dear God, standing next to them while they breathe. Or even using the same non-touch-screen phone.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-01-11 14:23 · Score: 1

Touchsmart desktops are rather pointless because they lack portability. So e.g. book reading is right out, and so is couch surfing - the main attractiveness of a tablet.

As for laptops, I've seen a few Tablet PCs, but they also kinda miss the point. For one thing, they are all too heavy to hold in one hand - partly because "converting" them keeps the keyboard attached, and partly because of all the beefier hardware compared to the likes of iPad. For another, the OS ( Windows XP/Vista/7) is not really well-suited for touch operation.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by davester666 · 2012-01-11 14:37 · Score: 3, Informative

Um, those aren't musicians. They're noise-makers.

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Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by antdude · 2012-01-11 14:37 · Score: 1

16 hours straight? WHY?

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Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).

Biggest danger of touch screens by Glonoinha · 2012-01-11 14:44 · Score: 4, Insightful

Honestly the biggest danger of touch screens isn't the RSI - it's crashing your car.
Don't ask how I know this.

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Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer

Re:Biggest danger of touch screens by KozmoStevnNaut · 2012-01-12 02:18 · Score: 1

How do you know this?

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Eat the rich.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Sulphur · 2012-01-11 15:11 · Score: 1

Someone was on tour in a control room on a tour.

He reached out and said "What's that?"

After everyone responded to the upset, they said "That's touch screen, you idiot."

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by slash.dt · 2012-01-11 16:19 · Score: 1

And conversely, I get pain in my fingers and wrist if I use a standard shaped mouse for any length of time, and the Logitech MX1000 is my mouse of choice which I use 8-10 hours per day for several years without any pain.

Horses for Courses - what is a bad design for you is not necessarily a bad design for others. Ain't choices great!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Misagon · 2012-01-11 16:22 · Score: 1

There have been studies that have shown that some EM radiation of the type radiated by cell phones (and cell towers) can cause damage to brain cells. One thing that science is inconclusive about is that all cell phone radiation would be harmful. Different phone systems and carriers use different frequency bands and these bands may affect cells in different ways. Each frequency band must therefore be studied separately, and that has not been done.

Most "experts" who claim that cell phone radiation is harmless often refer to studies that show that a) the thermal effects of cell phone radiation at legal levels is negligible and/or b) that the radiation is non-ionizing, I.e. does not nudge the atoms in DNA molecules. However, radiation can have other effects!

One scientist that is known to have conducted research for GSM-900 is professor Bertil R R Persson. Here are some papers:

Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation
Radiofrequency and extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field effects on the blood-brain barrier.
Exposure of rat brain to 915 MHz GSM microwaves induces changes in gene expression but not double stranded DNA breaks or effects on chromatin conformation.
Lecture slides (Swedish and English, scroll down to the middle for the interesting stuff)

--
"We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley

Will someone think of the children!? :P by ed1park · 2012-01-11 16:40 · Score: 3, Insightful

I've seen parents give their little kids iphones to keep them busy/distracted, and they will stare at that the phone for hours watching videos just 5-6 inches from their faces. This has got to be bad for their eyesight especially when they are 3 or 4 years old still developing...

About time by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 16:52 · Score: 1

It's about time someone has put forth an effort to develop proper ergonomic practices for touch screens. Following proper ergonomic practices at the desk has relieved a lot of bodily stress for myself and several people I know that work with computers every day.

Sadly I think a lot of it falls on deaf ears. Most people ignore the ergonomic guides that come with desks and various computer components. Can't expect them to all of a sudden pay attention now, at least not until it's too late.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by ArhcAngel · 2012-01-11 17:33 · Score: 1

I was playing a friend head to head...and losing. I couldn't let that stand!

--
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by mywhitewolf · 2012-01-11 18:50 · Score: 1

How hard to people press the screens on their touch devices? seriously you barely need to make contact?

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by syousef · 2012-01-11 19:44 · Score: 1

I think you overestimated the scope of my complaint! I used to make maps for Doom, I collect and restore vintage computers, and I'm a few months away from a bachelor's degree in bioinformatics (in fact, a lecture is going to start in ten minutes.) I was criticizing people for playing games that are particularly cruel to the fingers and wrists because they require rapidly hitting the 'punch' and 'kick' buttons. That's all. :)

Yeah I had a quick look at your web page since your signature says you're a biologist. You clearly have a very good grasp of the tech, but your web page organization leaves something to be desired. I say this not as an insult but because I see you are intelligent and have potential. Still I gave up trying to decipher your page, pretty and cool as it was, it was also hard work, and there are other things vying for my attention.

Getting back to the point: Do you understand any better why a golfer, tennis player or cricket player might risk strain and injury to play their game? How about exploring the unknown like Marie Curie who found radium and her painful cancerous death. People are willing to take risks for fun or suffer for their hobby or art. Have you ever worked late into the night on one of your pet code projects?

I have to say (at the risk that you'll find it sexist) that it's refreshing to see a female geek that's into hardcore coding. I work in industry and there are women who code and do it well, but those who are actually interested in science and computing - those who "get it" and would spend extra time on it are rare. It's not a competence thing. It's an interest and passion thing. Anyway my point is I'm not trying to belittle or criticize you. Such passion is to be treasured and nurtured in either sex. My point is to try to open your eyes to the fact that others are passionate about other things and someone such as yourself should see that a bit of hand strain (which is all that most people will face) is something a lot of people will put up with to have some fun.

--
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by LongearedBat · 2012-01-11 21:25 · Score: 1

We need to educate people into using ergonomic gaming postures and techniques. Parents who don't provide their children with corrrect equipment (chairs and the like) and training can be sued for negligence. Also, let's sell healthy drinks and foods that are scientifially formulated to replenish nutrients specifically spent on long periods of gaming. ;)

(This an attempted joke. A bad one perhaps, but still.)

Though on a serious note, I would be sad but not surprised if it came to that, eventually. It's like we live an an age of loss of sponteneity.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by nhat11 · 2012-01-12 01:27 · Score: 1

Pretty ironic when you posted as an Anonymous Coward lol

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Creepy · 2012-01-12 04:43 · Score: 1

Taking breaks is only a choice for musicians during practice - when you play gigs for money, you do what is demanded of you, when it is demanded of you. If that means 6 hours of playing without a real break, you do it (which I've done playing cello at a wedding reception - there was some downtime, but not a lot of time to leave for, say, a bio break). Ergonomically, my instruments (cello, 6 and 12 string guitars, electric basses, piano) are a lot more finger friendly that my touchscreen since they all have gradual resistance, not an abrupt stop. I think the biggest threat in all of those is the convolutions my hand needs to make to make certain chords.
I've also done vocals, but I had to quit the band I sang part time in due to vocal nodes (everyone had to sing in that band, so I had no choice but to quit until I healed, but the band didn't last that long anyway).

Angry Birds Finger (TM) is more a problem of addiction - you don't have to keep playing, you choose to because you want some reward.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-12 14:51 · Score: 1

Alas, I haven't put nearly as much work into organising my site as I'd like to; I'm much too busy with other things (and the framework beneath it) to give it the sense of sanity necessary to make it properly usable. This is not to say I don't have the skills—I've applied them elsewhere countless times, and have even used the site's framework in a very successful project with hundreds of users—but I just haven't had the time to stop and think. Some day, I hope.

Of course I understand the desire and drive to go to an extreme extent for one's hobbies, even dangerous ones. I'm really, really just complaining that arcade-style fighting games are characterised to an excessive extent by ergonomic hazards, and berating the fans thereof for not taking up a slightly less RSI-inducing hobby. Short of chessboxing and "Is It A Good Idea to Put This In The Microwave?", there aren't too many geek hobbies so prone to causing injury.

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by toddestan · 2012-01-12 15:09 · Score: 1

Actually, the SNES had one of the most comfortable controllers if you ask me. On the other hand, 16 hours on the N64 would absolutely kill me.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot? by biovoid · 2012-01-12 17:23 · Score: 1

But there's no "classical video game technique".

Reclined, feet up. 2ft from the TV. Beer on the left, pizza on the right, controller in hand.

Slashdot Mirror

Doctor Warns of the Hidden Danger of Touchscreens

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