RSI-basher?

[Paul Robinson]

On Wed, Aug 11, 2004 at 09:50:11AM +0100, Dick Davies wrote:

> These are absolutely brilliant. I would be typing this with my nose if it weren't for mine,
> as it is I am still doing development work and sysadmin with only the odd ibuprofen to keep
> me healthy.

Yeah, that's the thing. Last night I was in an absolutely foul mood, because
I knew if this got any worse, in effect my career would be over. As I'm
still only 26 (yes, I have been in front of a screen playing/admining/coding
since I was 11 and I can't imagine being able to do anything else for a
living), this is not something I really wanted to occur.

On the mailing list there have been loads of good pieces of advice about 
ergonomics, individual choices of keyboards and setups, and they're all 
useful. I intend taking all that advice (even the weird one about the copper 
bracelet) simply because until neurological i/o implants are available, I 
don't have any choice.

I also, having realised I can get work to pay for it and having read your 
comments, have decided I'm going to get one of these keyboards. Even if work 
refuse for some reason, I'm going to pony up for it out of my own pocket. 
Unless I find something even better. :-)
 
> * universal support - no drivers needed, every OS I've used it with (*BSD, Linux, win*, mac os*)
> sees it as a USB hub with mouse and keyboard attached.

That's nice. Only thing I have to consider is those occasions when I'm 
plugging into boxes without USB support. Hmmmm.

> * flash updates using a piece of Java - you also get a GUI then to configure all the perks

Java? I'm in BSD world! Getting Java to run on FreeBSD was so hard the last 
time I tried it, I've given up hope. Still, I'm sure I'll find a way. :-)

> * it can switch layouts - I think Dvorak, Qwerty and Qwerak are in the latest ROM - *without* needing
>   a layout update in the OS : so if you use Dvorak you set that in the keyboard and don't need to configure
>   each OS - win2k in particular drives me potty since it has per-app keyboard maps, I avoid all that with
>   this.

Yeah, I'm thinking about making the jump to Dvorak, but I can type very 
quickly with QWERTY and am not sure I want to go through the pain of 
re-learning the layout. It seems a lot of hassle seeing as I only got 
touch-typing down pat about 2-3 years ago.

> * it fits over most laptop keyboards so you can use it anywhere - there's a macintouch version out soon 
>   that replaces the standard iBook keyboard

That's a must for me. If I go Dvorak, I need it to go over my thinkpad. I 
can't believe I'm considering replacing my thinkpad keyboard...

> the only other feature I'd like is changable overlays - they do printable overlays, but paper wears out.
> I got the QWERTY version, then switched to Dvorak and it would have been nice to see where an odd character is,
> but if you're learning to touch type on it its simpler to download the printable overlays and stick them
> on either side of the monitor.

That's the one thing that has put me off so far. If I go one route and then 
want to try or revert another route, it's $300 effectively down the drain. 
At the moment the $/GBP exchange rate is so good for me that this is not 
actually prohibitively expensive - about 150 GBP - but down the road it 
might be closer to 225 GBP as it has been in recent years.

> All in all they are really well made bits of kit, I agree they're a bit pricey but it's the best 300 dollars
> you'll ever spend if it means you can keep working. And the 'wow, nice keyboard'/'what the f_ck is that, it looks
> like a stealth fighter' geek points are a nice bonus...

True. I would have preferred them to come in Manchester City Blue rather 
than Manchester United Red/Burgandy, but then that's probably me 
over-thinking about the new Premiership season starting this weekend.... :-)
 
> any specific questions feel free to mail me.

Cheers. I think you've covered everything.

-- 
Paul Robinson
http://www.iconoplex.co.uk/