I use Caps Lock a lot. As a software developer, I often need to create constants which are formatted as MY_VARIABLE. The problem is that I have a problem with the nerves in my pinky (is that a real word?). After about two hours of coding, the finger will hurt, then tingle, and finally go numb from the tip all the way down to my wrist for the rest of the day (sometimes until the weekend). It only affects this finger, and only when I need to use the Shift key a lot. To alleviate this, I use the Caps Lock key. It usually allows me to go the entire day without any problems.
Yes, I use IDEs with autocomplete/assistance, but it's simply not enough. I've also looked into problems with my Ulnar nerve, but it seems to be fine. The only thing that seems to alleviate the problem is tapping using the Caps Lock key instead of holding down the Shift key.
It really depends on the industry, the shop, management, and users. However, when I was a server/desktop admin at an architectural firm, there was a book published every year that gathered lots and lots of IT management stats from various companies in the field. It encompassed staff sizes, experience levels, money spent on hardware, money spent on licenses, etc. It was extremely granular and gathered data from industry leaders as well as average and below-average firms. You could then do your own metrics and compare them with the published data. This was very useful when it came to dealing with management. I wish I knew the name of the book. There may be something out there for your particular industry, but you'll need to look around and talk to your counterparts at various IT shops within your industry.
In fact, there was also a yearly conference where you could network with other IT personnel within the architecture industry from around the country. My manager found it extremely useful to hear how other shops were solving problems, and sometimes to simply hear that we weren't alone in our challenges.
Slashdot Mirror
So what are we going to do about it? By we, I mean we as:
1. a body of corporations (those 20 or so affected)
2. a nation
3. a global community of nations (UN)
4. a cybercommunity
What can we do, and what is most likely to happen?
I use Caps Lock a lot. As a software developer, I often need to create constants which are formatted as MY_VARIABLE. The problem is that I have a problem with the nerves in my pinky (is that a real word?). After about two hours of coding, the finger will hurt, then tingle, and finally go numb from the tip all the way down to my wrist for the rest of the day (sometimes until the weekend). It only affects this finger, and only when I need to use the Shift key a lot. To alleviate this, I use the Caps Lock key. It usually allows me to go the entire day without any problems. Yes, I use IDEs with autocomplete/assistance, but it's simply not enough. I've also looked into problems with my Ulnar nerve, but it seems to be fine. The only thing that seems to alleviate the problem is tapping using the Caps Lock key instead of holding down the Shift key.
It really depends on the industry, the shop, management, and users. However, when I was a server/desktop admin at an architectural firm, there was a book published every year that gathered lots and lots of IT management stats from various companies in the field. It encompassed staff sizes, experience levels, money spent on hardware, money spent on licenses, etc. It was extremely granular and gathered data from industry leaders as well as average and below-average firms. You could then do your own metrics and compare them with the published data. This was very useful when it came to dealing with management. I wish I knew the name of the book. There may be something out there for your particular industry, but you'll need to look around and talk to your counterparts at various IT shops within your industry. In fact, there was also a yearly conference where you could network with other IT personnel within the architecture industry from around the country. My manager found it extremely useful to hear how other shops were solving problems, and sometimes to simply hear that we weren't alone in our challenges.