The best laid plans of mice...
Written: Aug 01 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Keeps wrist in "neutral" position, comes in different sizes
Cons: Right-handed model only, does not solve RSI, causes profuse sweating in hand
|
|
|
| Ledermann's Full Review: Anir Mouse |
This mouse seems like such an incredibly good idea... It's just so disappointing to find that it simply relocates ergonomic problems, rather than solving them.
While I won't bore you with all the gory details of all the surgeries I've had to try to correct severe nerve damage from years of computer work, suffice it to say they've been numerous and pretty severely invasive. So, I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for something that might help me type and mouse a little more easily and comfortably. At one time or another, I've tried 'em all, including this little guy.
Like most people who encounter this design, I initially assumed that it worked like a joystick: a stationary base with a handle that freely rotated. Nope; the entire unit moves just like a regular mouse, and that wide flat base contains the same kind of mouse ball as any other mouse.
This means that you are now trying to use the gross-motor-function muscles of your arm --- which are considerably larger than those in your hand --- to make finely detailed movements they're simply not capable of handling. In turn, this means that you either swing wildly around the computer screen hoping to hit the right place, or you subconsciously end up using your fingertips to achieve the fine movement you need.
So what have you done in the process? You've now created the same strain on your fingertips that a regular mouse put there, you've added strain to the thumb tendons that now are responsible for clicking (the "click" button is in the top of the unit and you click with your thumb), and you've put new strain on the large muscles of your arm and shoulders. In essence, you haven't solved the ergonomic problem so much as you've simply redistributed it. It just means your orthopaedic surgeon is going to have that much more to do.
Perhaps it was just me, but I also found that this mouse caused my hand to sweat profusely. It's built of the same material found in many other mice, so I doubt that it's the material. I think instead that it's the "death grip" I was forced to adopt in order to have any control over this thing at all (see the whole "large muscle" discussion above). Within minutes of using this mouse, my hand would be so moist I had to keep a hanky nearby for the express purpose of wiping myself down every few minutes.
Finally, it's worth noting that this mouse is available ONLY in a right-handed model. I'm ambidextrous with regard to a mouse, but the severe nerve damage is in my right hand, so I certainly would have preferred to have the option of a left-handed model. As it was, I was hoping that this would be "ergo-friendly" enough to compensate for forcing me to use my right hand. It isn't.
So, the search for the perfectly ergonomic input device continues --- but this one, sadly, isn't it!
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 69.99
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Ledermann
|
|
Location: Aptos, CA
Reviews written: 53
Trusted by: 12 members
About Me:
Silicon Valley guy reviews appliances, movies, & music -- film at 11!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.