| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Finding the right size of mouse for you Thread poster: Mario Chavez (X)
|
|---|
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 01:14
English to German
| Kaspars Kalnins 
Latvia
Local time: 02:14
Member (2020)
English to Latvian
+ ...
| De Luxe M618 vertical mouse | Apr 13, 2017 |
I use it for 2 years. It helps me heal carpal tunnel syndrome.
... See more
| | | | Oliver Walter
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
German to English
+ ...
| Microsoft optical mouse | Apr 13, 2017 |
I do all my translation work using a laptop computer and, in general, I don't like their keyboards or the mouse-substitutes (called track-pads , I think).
I use a Microsoft optical mouse, that I bought a few years ago, and is probably still available. It plugs into a USB port, so it never needs a battery replacement or recharge. It has a comfortable feel and nice large soft-action buttons. Overall dimensions: 124 mm length, 66 mm max. width, 40 mm max. height.
I also use a sep... See more I do all my translation work using a laptop computer and, in general, I don't like their keyboards or the mouse-substitutes (called track-pads , I think).
I use a Microsoft optical mouse, that I bought a few years ago, and is probably still available. It plugs into a USB port, so it never needs a battery replacement or recharge. It has a comfortable feel and nice large soft-action buttons. Overall dimensions: 124 mm length, 66 mm max. width, 40 mm max. height.
I also use a separate plug-in USB keyboard, the Labtec Ultra Flat, which is a bit smaller than some keyboards but has the (for me) correct feel and movement of the keys. It has a numeric keypad (that I use in conjunction with the Alt key for typing accented letters like é and ü), separate from the main sets of keys so I don't need to press a separate Num Lock key to turn part of the main keyboard into a numeric keypad (another disadvantage of most keyboards on laptop computers).
Oliver ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I use one of these | Apr 13, 2017 |
(Still available from Apple)
I don't like battery-powered mice (mouses? meece?) because I either wreck the planet by constantly throwing away dead batteries, or I use rechargeables that keep running out on me, or that keep disconnecting from Bluetooth.
This is the best mouse Apple ever made. If a mozzarella could be a mouse, this is a mozzarella. And it gives almost as much sensual pleasure.
It weighs nothing at all (mainly because it contains no batteries, which are heavy). It plugs into any USB port.
I am a design-orientated person. The things we touch, like our pets, must respond to us.
But whenever I can, I prefer not to use a mouse and keyboard, but Mac Dictation instead. Voice dictation is where everything is going anyway.
That little nipple in the middle? You roll your finger on it, to scroll in any direction.
Apple has forgotten how to design mouses. This was the last good one.
[Edited at 2017-04-13 16:01 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:14
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Tom in London wrote: (Still available from Apple) I don't like battery-powered mice (mouses? meece?) because I either wreck the planet by constantly throwing away dead batteries, or I use rechargeables that keep running out on me, or that keep disconnecting from Bluetooth. This is the best mouse Apple ever made. If a mozzarella could be a mouse, this is a mozzarella. And it gives almost as much sensual pleasure. It weighs nothing at all (mainly because it contains no batteries, which are heavy). It plugs into any USB port. I am a design-orientated person. The things we touch, like our pets, must respond to us. But whenever I can, I prefer not to use a mouse and keyboard, but Mac Dictation instead. Voice dictation is where everything is going anyway. That little nipple in the middle? You roll your finger on it, to scroll in any direction. Apple has forgotten how to design mouses. This was the last good one. [Edited at 2017-04-13 16:01 GMT]
Tom, I remember that mouse, and I don't like it. Yet I love well designed things, like my 15-inch MackBook Pro or my chair at home with firm enough but unobtrusive lumbar support.
Let's not confuse design and ergonomics, however. Apple has designed some pretty things from a design viewpoint, but they're a disaster for the user. Ever tried that Mac computer in the shape of a cube? It was heavy and had no handles. Design for human consumption has to be ergonomic if it is meant to be manipulated for a period of time, or else it is not good.
A screen can be more or less designed with just one shape in mind (square, rectangular, rectilinear or round corners, etc.) because our eyes are not our fingers or bones. Since no humans are born with standard hand sizes or fingers, keyboards and mice have to follow the user's contours and biomechanics. A mouse can't just feel right or sensual or round but it has to give proper support to the fingers and the handpalm using it.
Regardless, any repetitive use of anything (mouse, knife, handgun, price gun, etc.) for long periods of time wreaks havoc with the hand and arm muscles, not to mention the shoulder. Things like the weight of the object, the position of the user, how far, how high something is being supported by our hand/arm/shoulder, etc. all affect the user's health.
Even cellphones are invariably unergonomic: our hands are not made to hold a rectangular or square object, which is also flat, for long periods of time without suffering pain later on. Young people don't care because they feel invincible (like all of us did) and because their muscles and tendons are still growing and are very elastic. With age, all of us lose muscle mass and suppleness.
Finally, I, as a man, don't need a mouse having the feel or contours of a human breast (it's a button, Tom, not a 'nipple').
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Well - you're either a sensual person, or you're not. But as those of us know who have a design culture, it isn't merely about looks. We have a *relationship* with the things we use, particularly if we touch them. That relationship is emotional. As for Apple's approach to design, it has gone badly off the rails in recent years. Their latest mouse designs are quite repulsive.
The biggest problem about non-wired mooses/muss is that batteries are heavy, and I don't like a heavy mouse.<... See more Well - you're either a sensual person, or you're not. But as those of us know who have a design culture, it isn't merely about looks. We have a *relationship* with the things we use, particularly if we touch them. That relationship is emotional. As for Apple's approach to design, it has gone badly off the rails in recent years. Their latest mouse designs are quite repulsive.
The biggest problem about non-wired mooses/muss is that batteries are heavy, and I don't like a heavy mouse.
[Edited at 2017-04-14 08:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:14
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Design culture? | Apr 14, 2017 |
Tom, your statement of belief, “you're either a sensual person or you are not” makes assumptions outside of the topic. I have no idea what you're talking about when you say design culture but it comes across as exclusivist, as if those who don't think along your lines don't have a so-called design culture. Feel free to clarify.
About mice for computers, it mostly comes down to personal taste and need. For years Apple had the hockey puck mouse, a round thing that I tried a... See more Tom, your statement of belief, “you're either a sensual person or you are not” makes assumptions outside of the topic. I have no idea what you're talking about when you say design culture but it comes across as exclusivist, as if those who don't think along your lines don't have a so-called design culture. Feel free to clarify.
About mice for computers, it mostly comes down to personal taste and need. For years Apple had the hockey puck mouse, a round thing that I tried and didn't care to repeat the experience. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I agree about the hockey puck mouse.
Otherwise, I think you are getting much too personal. I'm out of here.
| | |
|
|
|
Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 01:14
Member (2016)
English to German
| It's all about ergonomics | Apr 14, 2017 |
Mario Chavez wrote:
I recently purchased a Logitech mouse for about 15 euros because my current USB wireless mouse is too small for my hand.
This may seem like a superfluous preoccupation but it is not. Years ago, I heard (or read) that the size of a mouse should conform to the user's hand size, because if the mouse is too small, the hand muscles have to work a bit harder to grasp the contours of the device. Given the fact, the necessary reality that most of us translators use a mouse (wired or wireless) for hours at a computer, holding a mouse that is too small for our hand creates problems in the long term or aggravates some preexisting problems, among them:
Tendinitis
Overuse muscle syndrome
Tennis elbow
Muscle cramps
Wrist pain
Shoulder pain
For such afflictions, there are several other factors at play; it's not just the type or size of the mouse.
It's all about ergonomics, and there's a lot of helpful technology out there. Gaming technology has brought about some very good products.
Here's my setup (please excuse the gear porn):
- Super ergonomic keyboard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiRmAT-1sPA
- (for the right hand) a gaming mouse with lots of buttons (especially the thumb buttons are brilliant):
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/peripherals/2010/09/20/logitech-g700-review/1
- (for the left hand) a gaming keypad with many more buttons, a directional thumb pad and a scroll wheel:
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-nostromo
- further to the left, I have a separate numeric keypad, which comes in handy when I have to deal with lots of numbers:
http://www.logilink.eu/showproduct/ID0008.htm?seticlanguage=en
- I program all buttons on all devices exactly to my liking with this ingenious software:
http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/
I highly recommend this for any translator who has a Mac. Once you have the hang of it, it has countless possibilities to make the workflow easier.
For example, I've reprogrammed my mouse's buttons (right mouse button = single click, left mouse butten = double click), which completely alleviated tendinitis symptons in my index finger.
- In front of my face, at about chin height, I have a decent microphone for use with dictation software.
I've seen a device that tracks eye movement (i. e., it can tell what spot on the screen you're looking at). Unfortunately, this technology is not really functional yet, but I assume that it might render mice obsolete in a few years time.
[Edited at 2017-04-14 10:11 GMT]
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:14
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Cool split keyboard | Apr 14, 2017 |
Jan, thanks for sharing those links. The tall Logitech mouse is interesting, although I wouldn't use many of its buttons.
Despite having improved my arm condition with the HP Wireless X4500, I'm still searching for some sort of ultimate mouse since I woke up with some forearm pain simply because I typed a lot yesterday. And more today. Ugh.
| | | | Jan Truper
Germany
Local time: 01:15
Member (2016)
English to German
| buttons are the solution | Apr 14, 2017 |
Mario Chavez wrote:
The tall Logitech mouse is interesting, although I wouldn't use many of its buttons.
The many programmed buttons actually come in very handy.
For example, I have a "Delete" button, an "Activate microphone for Dictation software" button and a "Confirm, go to next segment, select all" button.
I also have a "double click, copy selection, switch to web browser, open dictionary bookmark, paste selection in search field, hit enter" button.
All of these serve to minimize use of arm, hand, fingers and brain.
| | | | | Logitech M325 | Apr 14, 2017 |
I use a Logitech M325 mouse for a long time now. Actually, I am quite happy with it. The price on Logitech's website is $ 29.99. I should add that my hands are rather small (about S to M size).
| | |
|
|
|
Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:15
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Elif Baykara wrote:
I use a Logitech M325 mouse for a long time now. Actually, I am quite happy with it. The price on Logitech's website is $ 29.99. I should add that my hands are rather small (about S to M size).
Hi, Elif. Yes, hand size is a good parameter to keep in mind and test a mouse for proper fit. I have M hands (being a man, that is). How do I know? 17 cm length between wrist and middle finger. And across the fingers, not counting the thumb, it's 9 cm.
I've read that the hand at rest forms a unique arch across the knuckles. The fingertips (4 fingers) rest atop the surface while the thumb rests on its left edge, leaving its tip inward.
I use a squishy ball (red or green) to exercise my hand muscles and avoid overtiring them while typing or using the mouse.
I've met some of your countrypeople here in Lisbon. Very nice people to chat with.
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Finding the right size of mouse for you | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
