Re: [SAGE] Suggestions for Dvorak (learning/goodkeyboards/etc)

[Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be>]

At 11:40 AM -0500 2004/01/22, Glenn E. Sieb wrote:

>  Anywho.. I figured people here might have some good suggestions. :)

	I also suffer from RSI, and I've done a bit of research on the 
subject.  The problem is that RSI is an intensely personal subject, 
and the exact nature of the problems differ widely.  The differences 
are so extreme that what works for one person will rarely work for 
the next.

	In my case, my RSI is primarily triggered by mouse usage.  For 
you, it may require trying all sorts of different RSI-reducing 
devices until such time as you find something that works for you, and 
this process should probably also involve your doctor and/or 
physiotherapist.


	For people with RSI primarily triggered by keyboard use, the 
thing that usually helps most of them, and helps those the most, is 
to use a keyboard that allows you to rotate the wrists so that they 
are essentially vertical, as opposed to the traditional IBM Selectric 
horizontal position that has been taught in typing classes since the 
mid-80s.  See 
<http://www.alimed.com/product_detail.cfm?VMID=2&FamilySKU=73245> for 
an example of such a keyboard.

	The "humped" keyboards that cause the wrists to be straightened 
(such as the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard) usually don't help very 
much, and they usually don't help very many people.  However, they're 
a lot easier and cheaper to manufacture than the types that allow you 
to rotate the wrists vertically, so that is what the vendors push. 
If you were to go this route, I would suggest something like the 
Kinesis Contour instead (see 
<http://www.alimed.com/product_detail.cfm?VMID=2&FamilySKU=7898>).

	For many people, chording keyboards can also be very helpful. 
See <http://www.datahand.com/> for one example.


	See 
<http://directory.google.com/Top/Shopping/Health/Emergency_and_Safety/Occupational_Health_and_Safety/Ergonomics/?il=1> 
for a list of vendors of various ergonomic products, and 
<http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Hardware/Peripherals/Keyboards/> 
for vendors of keyboards, including ergonomic models.

	I can also highly recommend the Alimed company as a supplier of 
various health-related and ergonomic products.  I've used them for a 
long time, including wrist braces, arm bands, and various other 
products to help reduce my RSI problems.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@skynet.be>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
     -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

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