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html \_ Looks nice, but I would think your hands would get tired like that. I would really prefer an input method where I could use most of my upper body for CAD work. The thing Tom Cruise used in "Minority Report" is more the direction I would like to see. It's a replacement for a mouse, the most stupid RSI inducing input device ever made. People with real RSI are individuals who have to deal with heavy manual labor like meat packers or jackhammer operators.
html There are no known conclusive studies linking computer usage to either RSI or CTS. Other studies have shown that the percentage of people who develop any sort of RSI who are regular computer operators was no different than the percentage of people who develop it in the general populace period, indicating that whatver it is, it's not the computer IO that's causing it it is, it's not the computer IO that's causing it -williamc -williamc \_ Hmm. she ended up seeing a doctor, and then eventually an ergo consultant, and her injuries healed. And, uhm, no, my 5' 1" sister doesn't operate a jackhammer or any other heavy equipment, and she doesn't pack meat. She works at a computer all day as a statistician for UCSF. It was directly caused by using an old and sticky Sun Type 3 keyboard in a cold room at a shitty desk with bad posture for too long hours at a time. RSI can have equal probability of occurence in general population and computer users, and computer use could still cause RSI. In fact, can any people who are knowledgeable about courtroom arguments enlighten me on how lawyers attempt to prove causation in courts? And she worked long hours on not ergonomic computer systems, but that may just be a coincidence, she's obviously lying about the heavy manual labor side jobs she must have been employed in! As I stated before, there are no conclusive epi studies that support CTS with the workplace in general, although there appear to be strong causal linkages to heavy manual labor.
htm I'm highly skeptical that CTS is caused by computer IO. If it was you'd actually see a direct statistical correlation to computer usage and CTS or other ailments of the sort. For example, it may be that people who are predisposed to computer use also have a natural resistance to developing CTS. Still though I think the broader point of the op is that typing doesn't cause it any more than doing whatever else people are likely to have to do to get by, which a lack of correlation certainly is evidence of. You cannot conclude ANYTHING causal from correlative information alone, regardless of what that information might be. It may be that the frequencies are the same for computer users, typers, and the general populace, yet computer use causes CTS, and typing does not. In order to determine anything here you need to either force people to use typewriters or computers (which decouples the hidden common causes involved), or use randomized experiments (which fakes the same kind of decoupling). The evidence may not point in the right direction and it certainly is not conclusive, but a demonstrated lack of correlation between typing for a living and CTS and increased risk of CTS certainly *IS* evidence that typing doesn't cause CTS anymore than average. Especially in the absense of any reasonable hypothosis about why people in that field would be unrepre- sentative and Especially since i'd predict that people in that field, if anything, should be more likely to get it and more likely to whine about it when they did. People who do have CTS may have gotten it regardless of computer IO or not. Think about it, the current generation of workers are involved with the least amount of manual labor in probably the history of mankind. Why then did our forebearers not complain constantly about CTS? If you don't think working on a farm during the turn of the 20th century required constant repetitive tasks, well, what can one say... Also, one would think CTS would be much more prevalent in the past before the advent of modern soft-touch keyboards. In addition, writing in general is much harder on the hands. I get writer's cramp, I've never gotten "typist" cramp, especially on a modern day computer keyboard. Admittedly, some of these keyboards are horrid to type on, and no doubt they would lead at least hand fatigue if used in the long term, but realistically, I think human beings are better designed in general to withstand impact than what comes out of typing on a typical modern day keyboard, even if you are typing at 100 WPM for an extended period of time. Also, the average programmer probably types a lot less than a legal secretary, and it's been stated a number of times that there is no correlation between developing CTS or IRS and the amount you type, which makes one wonder... That is, after using emacs for over 10 years I started having pains in my left pinky. The pain spread to my whole arm and I had to get physical therapy a few times. But the thing that really helped was using a Kinesis keyboard in which I have to use my thumb to press CTRL and ALT keys. From what you're saying, is there no difference between the quality of IO, one that requires more effort or more frequency on certain fingers? html Introduction to the TactaPad Movie This movie is a silent screen capture of a user interacting briefly with a few applications on Mac OS X It dem onstrates how the TactaPad is full y compatible with existing software. Advanced Interactions in TactaDraw 3:57 See how the features of the Tact aPad can improve the user interface for a drawing tool. This movie demon strates different interaction techniques which use both hands, either wo rking together on one task, or in paralle l on two related tasks. It als o shows how tactile feedback can be used t o augment the user experience . html by Brooke E Smith The Bogus Epidemic Everybody knows that using a compute r keyboard can cause repetitive stres s injuries. After all, we're being bombarded with stories in the popular press about the number of employe es who have become disabled from keybo ard work. We're constantly being told how to prevent "ergonomic" ills th rough use of special chairs, key boards, and other devices. And if it's t oo late for prevention, billboa rds for hand surgeons offer quickie cures for carpal tunnel syndrome and other so-called cumulative trauma disord ers. However, before you pay o ff the next workman's compensation claim by a co mputer operator, or pur chase a wrist rest for your own use while keyboar ding, consider that sc ientific evidence linking computers with carpal tu nnel syndrome or any other medical condition is strangely lacking. When doctors, ergonomists, attorneys, or anyone else are asked to provide rel iable scientific evi dence that these conditions are actually caused by c omputer use, they f ail to do so. For this reason, every single lawsuit b rought by a comput er operator claiming damages based on keyboard use tha t has gone to tri al has ended up in a judgment for the defense. Moreover , cities such as Miami who have required their employees to prove that t heir injuries w ere caused by computer use in order to get workman's comp ensation payme nts have avoided paying out any taxpayer dollars on these claims. Absent the hype by plaintiff's lawyers, chiropractors, inventors of ergon omic devices, and others profiting from the repetitive stress injury epi dem ic, the essential facts about these conditions are as follows: 1 What is a "cumulative trauma disorder" or "repetitive stress injury"? Neither " cumulative trauma disorder" ("CTD") nor "repetitive stress injur y" ("RS I") is a specific medical condition. Some limit use of the term " CTD" t o conditions arising from obvious trauma or injury that occurs mor e tha n once, such as might be experienced by someone who sustained multi ple but separate injuries to his back from playing football on different occ asions over the years. In contrast, the term "RSI" is often applied to r epetitive activity which is not inherently harmful or injurious, but whi ch is alleged to become so due to the sheer number of repetitions or the presence of other circumstances which "stress" the body. ...
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