The point of RSI tools is to tell you to take a break *before* your hand starts hurting.
I agree with the fact that some employers will use any excuse to monitor workers, but Workrave and friends is something you'd want to use even if you were working for yourself.
Weirdly, when I tried to type the "right way", the way that typing teachers teach you to type (with your wrists held up in the air), I got RSI, and it hurt.
When I do it the wrong way, with the palms/wrists resting on the wristrest, it's great, and I've not had a problem. I curve my back, scrunch up, put my feet on a footrest (or not), and it's all good.
But when I'm hurting, there's almost nothing I can do to not make it hurt.
I've come to the conclusion that general bodily health is the most important factor in whether you experience RSI or not.
You can set times for mini-breaks and full breaks separately. Full breaks lead you through a configurable series of animated exercises.
I can vouch that they really do work if you do them diligently.
It allows you to (configurably) cancel or postpone a break, but it's geared toward locking the screen so you you're less tempted to skip breaks. You can even set a max time on the computer per day plus log work/breaks on the network.
On the other hand, it seems strange that the new American economy is based entirely on
-hustling stuff via spam^H^H^H^Hemail marketing -getting people to click on ads while penalizing sites that ask people to click on ads -movies -figuring out who you are/what you've bought so you can buy more of it. -knowing who your friends are so you can be peer-pressured into buying more stuff.
It just seems that after you've figured out the basics of food production, housing, metals/commodities, transportation, there's nothing left except for group-brainstorming ethereal "value-adds" like the above.
Isn't Javascript flexible enough to let programmers define their own programming styles without the need to tinker with the language proper?
It seems to me most of the innovation in the Javascript space is taking place in libraries/frameworks (like jQuery, Dojo, Scriptaculous, Prototype, YUI, GWT and so on), as it should.
Hooray for finally getting to read some some geeky good news (Year of Linux themed), as opposed to all the wins for the other side (Nokia/M$, DHS domain seizures, patent trolls, Sony, Apple/GPS)
Now for the guy that modded me "-1 Redundant"--It's horrible to have to explain jokes, but:
TCP/IP protocol: TCP is a protocol (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). What happened to the days geeks would lust after W. Richard Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated? SNA architecture: SNA is an architecture (Systems Network Architecture) and SLDC control: SLDC is a control method (Synchronous Data Link Control)
For the record, I sometimes say PIN number, too, but that doesn't mean you can't rib someone about it.
If you're part of a company, the company pays for the computing resources. It will ensure that an antivirus is running on your machine.
If you're an independent contractor (graphic artist, consultant, whatever), you definitely don't want to pass on a virus to a client--Business 101.
I wouldn't pass a virus on to a vendor if you want your work done on time, or if you don't want every address in your vendor's addressbook (including yours) to be spammed.
The classic quote of course is that every languge environment expands to implement LISP badly, so why not just start with the real deal?
You can just implement any language features you desire by yourself.
And if you say that corporate programmers can't handle LISP, what makes you think that they can handle closures, lamda expressions, and the rest?
The fact is, I think the legions of corporate programmers cannot handle advanced language features. They're better off being verbose.
But the line of reasoning employed against Java and for advanced language features (make the language more powerful, and code more terse) can be used continually until you end up with Scheme.
Slashdot Mirror
The point of RSI tools is to tell you to take a break *before* your hand starts hurting.
I agree with the fact that some employers will use any excuse to monitor workers, but Workrave and friends is something you'd want to use even if you were working for yourself.
Thanks for the suggestion. Hope it helps someone.
I actually misspoke. There is one thing that relieves the pain for me: The Cat's Paw.
It's just a piece of flexible material with holes cut for your fingers. You make you fingers flex outwards, and it relieves pain in your arm/wrist.
By giving you something to resist against, you get better relief.
I keep one on hand just in case I develop another case of RSI.
>...a built in, ready to activate, feature of GNOME?
Well, it was in Gnome2: System > Preferences > Keyboard Preferences > Typing Break.
It's not as full-featured as Workrave, and it doesn't lead you through exercises.
I have no idea whether the so-called "new/improved" Gnome3 or Unity still have it.
Weirdly, when I tried to type the "right way", the way that typing teachers teach you to type (with your wrists held up in the air), I got RSI, and it hurt.
When I do it the wrong way, with the palms/wrists resting on the wristrest, it's great, and I've not had a problem. I curve my back, scrunch up, put my feet on a footrest (or not), and it's all good.
But when I'm hurting, there's almost nothing I can do to not make it hurt.
I've come to the conclusion that general bodily health is the most important factor in whether you experience RSI or not.
Works great.
It's available for Win and Lin.
You can set times for mini-breaks and full breaks separately. Full breaks lead you through a configurable series of animated exercises.
I can vouch that they really do work if you do them diligently.
It allows you to (configurably) cancel or postpone a break, but it's geared toward locking the screen so you you're less tempted to skip breaks. You can even set a max time on the computer per day plus log work/breaks on the network.
Click here to install in Debian/Ubuntu/Mint
The commands are so complicated that you need a game to be able to memorize them?
It's stuff like this that makes you just want to stick with good old SVN.
Well, developers are the only ones who are stupid enough to work themselves out of a job.
Doctors and lawyers would never do that.
The Californian economy is based on this stuff.
On the other hand, it seems strange that the new American economy is based entirely on
-hustling stuff via spam^H^H^H^Hemail marketing
-getting people to click on ads while penalizing sites that ask people to click on ads
-movies
-figuring out who you are/what you've bought so you can buy more of it.
-knowing who your friends are so you can be peer-pressured into buying more stuff.
It just seems that after you've figured out the basics of food production, housing, metals/commodities, transportation, there's nothing left except for group-brainstorming ethereal "value-adds" like the above.
But what do you use in its place?
(I just use a separate browser with JS turned off.)
Isn't Javascript flexible enough to let programmers define their own programming styles without the need to tinker with the language proper?
It seems to me most of the innovation in the Javascript space is taking place in libraries/frameworks (like jQuery, Dojo, Scriptaculous, Prototype, YUI, GWT and so on), as it should.
What will the point of some new syntax be?
Didn't nVidia cancel the Ion?
"Talk to the hand"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5U47LCcfc
Hooray for finally getting to read some some geeky good news (Year of Linux themed), as opposed to all the wins for the other side (Nokia/M$, DHS domain seizures, patent trolls, Sony, Apple/GPS)
Thanks for the backup.
Now for the guy that modded me "-1 Redundant"--It's horrible to have to explain jokes, but:
TCP/IP protocol: TCP is a protocol (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). What happened to the days geeks would lust after W. Richard Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated?
SNA architecture: SNA is an architecture (Systems Network Architecture)
and SLDC control: SLDC is a control method (Synchronous Data Link Control)
For the record, I sometimes say PIN number, too, but that doesn't mean you can't rib someone about it.
Yeah, the SNA architecture under SLDC control was a good system.
>Why complaining? /. Oracle-phobia
>That's my problem how?
If you're part of a company, the company pays for the computing resources. It will ensure that an antivirus is running on your machine.
If you're an independent contractor (graphic artist, consultant, whatever), you definitely don't want to pass on a virus to a client--Business 101.
I wouldn't pass a virus on to a vendor if you want your work done on time, or if you don't want every address in your vendor's addressbook (including yours) to be spammed.
Yes, sir, I assure you that all our ATM machines are networked with the TCP/IP protocol, so yes, they are automatic.
the iPhone failed to fail (in accordance with general Slashdot consensus)
When people talk about such features, I wonder:
Why not LISP? (Or Scheme)
The classic quote of course is that every languge environment expands to implement LISP badly, so why not just start with the real deal?
You can just implement any language features you desire by yourself.
And if you say that corporate programmers can't handle LISP, what makes you think that they can handle closures, lamda expressions, and the rest?
The fact is, I think the legions of corporate programmers cannot handle advanced language features. They're better off being verbose.
But the line of reasoning employed against Java and for advanced language features (make the language more powerful, and code more terse) can be used continually until you end up with Scheme.
By the way, How to Design Programs is a great programming book using Scheme.
What happened to "appliances"? Set it and forget it?
Now it's going to be Windows all over again:
My phone's too slow, buy another one.
-reinstall OS
-upgrade OS
-install antivirus
-check for rootkits
Ominous?
Ubuntu's tag line used to be Linux for Human Beings.
The new one is Linux for Crash Test Dummies.
But since Ubuntu is basically Debian unstable cleaned up, wouldn't testing be just fine?
Are scrollbars now considered "power user functionality" that have to be hidden?
If anything, these change remove a key concept of newb-friendliness: discoverability.