You Asked for It
January 2005
Hi Sharon,
I’ve been researching ergonomic mice and came across your website and your comments on the Zero
Tension Mouse in your Nov 2004 newsletter. Since the Zero Tension Mouse is one I am considering it
was very interesting to me. Dr. Leahy’s website certainly makes a compelling argument for how great the
Zero Tension Mouse would be at helping computer users avoid RSI, but you mentioned certain problems
with using this mouse. I’d be curious to know what Dr. Leahy would have to say about your assessment
of his design! You suggested the Evoluent Mouse as an alternative. Are the people at WCB using it still
happy with it? My hand is very small (from the first crease at the wrist to the tip of my middle finger it is
6”) and unfortunately the people at Evoluent believe their mouse might be too big for my hand as I would
not be able to reach the buttons comfortably. I’m still thinking of trying one out on a trial basis but I’m also
looking into yet another mouse: the Perfit Mouse Optical by Contour Design (there are two models — one
with a thumb wheel and one without). Have you had any experience with this supposedly ergonomic
mouse and if so, are there ay inherent ergonomic design flaws in your opinion? Do you have a
suggestion on what would be the best ergonomic mouse for a small hand?
Sylvie
Response:
For a small hand, I often recommend simply using a laptop mouse. Both the Kensington Pocket Mouse
and the Logitech Mouseman Traveler have work for my clients so far. The Contour mouses are also
good, but slightly more expensive. I like to see a scroll wheel, but am not too keen on a thumb wheel
because the thumb is not designed to draw out and back, but just to curl into the fist. I prefer to see a
finger scroll wheel, if possible.
(By the way, I applaud the Evoluent folks for recognizing the importance of the mouse fitting the hand
size. All too often, people are sold products without checking for fit. That’s when “ergonomic” products get
a reputation for being expensive gimmicks and not solving people’s problems!)
Feedback
Greetings!
I purchase the Evoluent mouse based in part on your recommendation. I just wanted to give you
a little feedback after 2 weeks with the mouse.
I purchased it because of a "mouse elbow" problem I was having that was moving into the wrist
and shoulder. Although the hand position is comfortable, I found that using my third or fourth
finger to right-click the bottommost button was painful. The middle button is not programmable;
it is statically set at a left click, so adjustments were not possible (although I plan to contact the
company). I right-click a lot, so this is not optimal.
Also, for me, the short depth of the "platform" between the thumb and forefinger made it
uncomfortable and fatigued my thumb quickly (even though I don't use the thumb button).
I would be interested to find out what other laypeople had to say. Also, the buttons "stick".
Sincerely,
Leslie
My Reply:
Thanks for the feedback. You may want to get hold of the supplier about the programmability
issue and sticking buttons. That doesn't sound right based on a quick review of the features on
the web site.
Dear Sharon
I have noticed lately that a number of computer users who wear progressive lenses are pushing their
monitors further away, to a far distance seen through their lenses because then they look straight at the
screen without having to lift the chin and strain the neck and upper back. One of the reasons for that is
that many of them obtained LCD monitors and sitting at the corner workstations they now have a lot of
space behind the monitors. It is always quite difficult to adjust the height of the monitor and the chair to
adjust the line of vision without straining the neck as many progressive lens wearers complain about. We
will have to wait for adjustable tables a long time yet before the prices will be acceptable. But the
monitors, if pushed back much further than the recommended arm's length distance or maximum of 29 -
30", are really rather far. Is there any information out there about using the far (or farther) distance for
viewing the screen?
Eva
