Trackball Recommandation and Keyboard for CTS

Need some comfortable mouse and keyboard to help my carpal tunnel syndrome:

Need a trackball which fits the following specs:

1. Want the ball to be controlled with my index and middle finger not my
thumb.
2. Wired
3. Needs to have actual scroll wheel (not simulated one)
4. Prefer the trackball which can be used by either hand.

would like for the price to be somewhere below 60$ but if
I find someting that is good I would definitely go higher.

This is the closes I've found but it seems to be discontinued:
Microsoft Trackball Explorer
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...320&pfp=SEARCH


for the keyboard this one seems to be good one. Any opinions or
suggestions.?
Microsoft Natural 4000 keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109148

thanx a million

"asdf" wrote...
Need some comfortable mouse and keyboard to help my carpal tunnel syndrome:

Need a trackball which fits the following specs:

1. Want the ball to be controlled with my index and middle finger not my
thumb.
2. Wired
3. Needs to have actual scroll wheel (not simulated one)
4. Prefer the trackball which can be used by either hand.

would like for the price to be somewhere below 60$ but if
I find someting that is good I would definitely go higher.

Look at the Kensington Expert Mouse -- the one with the cue-ball trackball.
I've been using one for 8+ years!

Though it does not have a discrete scroll wheel, the buttons can be configured
to toggle the trackball to scroll mode.

"asdf" wrote in message ...
Need some comfortable mouse and keyboard to help my carpal tunnel
syndrome:

Need a trackball which fits the following specs:

1. Want the ball to be controlled with my index and middle finger not my
thumb.
2. Wired
3. Needs to have actual scroll wheel (not simulated one)
4. Prefer the trackball which can be used by either hand.

would like for the price to be somewhere below 60$ but if
I find someting that is good I would definitely go higher.

This is the closes I've found but it seems to be discontinued:
Microsoft Trackball Explorer
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...320&pfp=SEARCH


I also vote for the Kensington Expert Mouse. If you ever need to replace
the ball, I've done so by going to a pool shop to get red snooker ball. I
like the feel of their Expert Mouse. The ball is heavier so you can
actually spin it, great in games when you want to keep moving while
repositioning your fingers. I could never figure out some idiot thought the
thumb is more dextrous than the index and/or middle finger. It isn't. Most
trackballs have more resistance than the Expert Mouse, even Kensington's own
Turbo Mouse and Orbit Trackball which I don't like.

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thanx for the great recommendation. Went to compusa and to look at the
model. Seems great but what i don't like about is that it's tilted upwards.
Do you guys find this to be the problem. Does the wrist pad thats included
help to reduce the tilt.

Any thoughts on kensington orbit
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...049&pfp=SEARCH
feels comfortable in my hand and has good slope but no scroll wheel which
Expert has
much cheaper too.

thanx


I also vote for the Kensington Expert Mouse. If you ever need to replace
the ball, I've done so by going to a pool shop to get red snooker ball. I
like the feel of their Expert Mouse. The ball is heavier so you can
actually spin it, great in games when you want to keep moving while
repositioning your fingers. I could never figure out some idiot thought
the
thumb is more dextrous than the index and/or middle finger. It isn't.
Most
trackballs have more resistance than the Expert Mouse, even Kensington's
own
Turbo Mouse and Orbit Trackball which I don't like.

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"asdf" wrote in message ...
thanx for the great recommendation. Went to compusa and to look at the
model. Seems great but what i don't like about is that it's tilted
upwards.
Do you guys find this to be the problem. Does the wrist pad thats included
help to reduce the tilt.

Any thoughts on kensington orbit
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...049&pfp=SEARCH
feels comfortable in my hand and has good slope but no scroll wheel which
Expert has
much cheaper too.

thanx


I also vote for the Kensington Expert Mouse. If you ever need to replace
the ball, I've done so by going to a pool shop to get red snooker ball.
I
like the feel of their Expert Mouse. The ball is heavier so you can
actually spin it, great in games when you want to keep moving while
repositioning your fingers. I could never figure out some idiot thought
the
thumb is more dextrous than the index and/or middle finger. It isn't.
Most
trackballs have more resistance than the Expert Mouse, even Kensington's
own
Turbo Mouse and Orbit Trackball which I don't like.

--
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I never liked the upward tilt. Even before they began providing their own
wrist rest, I would get a mouse pad with an integral gel pad for the wrist
and lay their trackball atop the pad. That gave me the elevation needed for
a straighter and more comfortable wrist while padding my heel.

When testing the trackball, you were probably standing up and over the
trackball. Well, the same would apply if you tested a mouse. That would
not be the angle under which you would actually use the device. Plus the
display shelf was also probably tilted. It will look weird but you need to
bend down so your arm flexed at the elbow is at the same height and angle as
the store shelf. They probably don't provide the wrist rest with the
display unit because it would "walk off". Go grab a mouse pad with a gel
wrist pad (if there is one outside of its packaging or you can remove one
without destroying the packaging) and put it under the trackball so the heel
of your hand or your wrist (depending on your finger length) has something
at about the right level on which to rest.

Also expect the display unit to be more severely used with all the kids
banging on it, pulling out the ball and dropping it on the hard store
floors, and because the display units never get cleaned (for both the
rollers, bearings, and the ball). I don't recall a store refusing to refund
or exchange a keyboard or mouse that I've taken back so I doubt they would
refuse to take back the trackball. However, be sure that the store actually
has the Expert Mouse in stock. All the retail stores around me are always
out of stock on this particular model. If you order online, check their
return policy.

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"asdf" wrote...
thanx for the great recommendation. Went to compusa and to look at the
model. Seems great but what i don't like about is that it's tilted upwards.
Do you guys find this to be the problem. Does the wrist pad thats included
help to reduce the tilt.

I've been using the wrist pad (about 3/4" thick; comes up to the top edge of the
base), and it works just great! I got the pad when I bought the v5 Expert
Mouse, which replaced the v3 I had several (5+?) years ago.

Looking at the new selection, I might even consider the new optical ExpertMouse
with the "scroll ring"!


Any thoughts on kensington orbit
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...049&pfp=SEARCH
feels comfortable in my hand and has good slope but no scroll wheel which
Expert has much cheaper too.

It may be a case of "You get what you pay for"... One of the best features of
the ExpertMouse is the mass and inertia of the tracking ball. I think it may be
a "good thing" for your CTS.

"asdf" asdf asdf.com wrote:

Need some comfortable mouse and keyboard to help my carpal tunnel
syndrome:

The best medicine for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is
speech-recognition. You can pick up a copy of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking version 7 on eBay cheap. ViaVoice is not the way
to go.

I don't miss typing. I don't need a spellchecker. Text to speech TTS
is useful for proofreading, you must proofread to avoid mistakes
that are worse than typos.

It can be a long-term learning experience that is difficult to
master. However incredibly frustrating, if you are an avid computer
user and can learn to speak well enough to satisfy a stupid computer
program, it's most awesome. Then if you can afford the professional
(scripting) version, that's icing on the cake.

Good luck.











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Subject: Trackball Recommandation and Keyboard for CTS
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"John Weiss" wrote in message
. ..
"asdf" wrote...
thanx for the great recommendation. Went to compusa and to look at the
model. Seems great but what i don't like about is that it's tilted
upwards.
Do you guys find this to be the problem. Does the wrist pad thats
included
help to reduce the tilt.

I've been using the wrist pad (about 3/4" thick; comes up to the top edge
of the base), and it works just great! I got the pad when I bought the v5
Expert Mouse, which replaced the v3 I had several (5+?) years ago.

Looking at the new selection, I might even consider the new optical
ExpertMouse with the "scroll ring"!


Any thoughts on kensington orbit
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...049&pfp=SEARCH
feels comfortable in my hand and has good slope but no scroll wheel which
Expert has much cheaper too.

It may be a case of "You get what you pay for"... One of the best
features of the ExpertMouse is the mass and inertia of the tracking ball.
I think it may be a "good thing" for your CTS.


Mine broke and the stores haven't had it stock (and, for awhile, it was just
too pricey online), plus others are using my host and they weren't
comfortable with an "alien" pointing device. Since I'll be getting a new
one soon (damn the other users since my wrist and pinky are getting tired of
mice), I'm wondering if the ExpertMouse still has the ball-bearing steel
rollers? My old one lasted 7 years (with one ball replacement). I found it
gave smooth and even movement whereas rubber-coated or plastic rollers in
other trackballs had to much resistance (i.e., felt friction) and got dirty
too quick which caused hestitation or erratic movement, especially when
attempting very fine movement. I remember pounding unmercifully on the
ExpertMouse when playing games and it survived a long time. A button broke
because a heavy object crashed on it when some shelving gave way, not
because of my abuse of it. Mice are too fragile and more tiring to use.

So are the latest ExpertMouse trackballs as industrial-stength as they once
were? None of the stores in my large 2-city metropolis even have a demo
model on display or a box that I can dig into to look. I miss my
ExpertMouse sorely (literally). It was a feature that Kensington used to
play up regarding the high-quality and strength of their ExpertMouse, but I
see no mention of ball-bearing steel rollers anymore on their web site. I
found their TurboMouse and Orbit trackballs to be disappointing (i.e., no
better than the competition regarding qualify and feel although the
trackball was better positioned). I would think if it still had those
high-quality features then Kensington would play them up.

--
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"John Doe" wrote in message
...
"asdf" asdf asdf.com wrote:

Need some comfortable mouse and keyboard to help my carpal tunnel
syndrome:

The best medicine for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is
speech-recognition. You can pick up a copy of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking version 7 on eBay cheap. ViaVoice is not the way
to go.

I don't miss typing. I don't need a spellchecker. Text to speech TTS
is useful for proofreading, you must proofread to avoid mistakes
that are worse than typos.

It can be a long-term learning experience that is difficult to
master. However incredibly frustrating, if you are an avid computer
user and can learn to speak well enough to satisfy a stupid computer
program, it's most awesome. Then if you can afford the professional
(scripting) version, that's icing on the cake.


That is okay if you are in a controlled and quiet environment. With other
users talking over short-height cubicle walls (or no walls, like you share a
large cubicle) then get used to the pinch of a headset all day long. Thank
God I don't work in a sales area with everyone talking at once on headsets
and cell phones. I'd go nuts in my still-quiet development area. I'm sure
there are folks that want to play their CDs and listen to online music at
work but we don't give them speakers in order to deliberately keep the area
quiet[er]. At home, you might think you're safe in your den to use a mic
until the spouse runs in and yells, "SHUTDOWN! We're late for the party" and
you lose all your changes or setup. Speech recognition is okay if you are
orating mostly text, like a fiction book or letter, but just try to tell the
speech-recognition program how to write code, write mathematical formulae,
draw a picture, or even how to play a game (by the time it figures it out,
provided the game didn't disable that input and the noise of the game did
not interfere), it will be too late unless you are playing very
slow-reacting games.

from the reviews that i've read on amazon, newegg and epinions the version 7
expert trackballs are using plastic rollers. There is a good chance, judging
from people's
reactions that you will eather love this change or will hate it.

Also, is there any word on when version 8 is coming out. I really like this
trackball but am still very concerned that the incline of the device will
not be
comfortable even with the included wrist pad. I guess Ill order it from
Newegg
and see if it's good.

"Vanguard" wrote in message
. ..
"John Weiss" wrote in message
. ..
"asdf" wrote...
thanx for the great recommendation. Went to compusa and to look at the
model. Seems great but what i don't like about is that it's tilted
upwards.
Do you guys find this to be the problem. Does the wrist pad thats
included
help to reduce the tilt.

I've been using the wrist pad (about 3/4" thick; comes up to the top
edge
of the base), and it works just great! I got the pad when I bought the
v5
Expert Mouse, which replaced the v3 I had several (5+?) years ago.

Looking at the new selection, I might even consider the new optical
ExpertMouse with the "scroll ring"!


Any thoughts on kensington orbit

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...049&pfp=SEARCH
feels comfortable in my hand and has good slope but no scroll wheel
which
Expert has much cheaper too.

It may be a case of "You get what you pay for"... One of the best
features of the ExpertMouse is the mass and inertia of the tracking
ball.
I think it may be a "good thing" for your CTS.


Mine broke and the stores haven't had it stock (and, for awhile, it was
just
too pricey online), plus others are using my host and they weren't
comfortable with an "alien" pointing device. Since I'll be getting a new
one soon (damn the other users since my wrist and pinky are getting tired
of
mice), I'm wondering if the ExpertMouse still has the ball-bearing steel
rollers? My old one lasted 7 years (with one ball replacement). I found
it
gave smooth and even movement whereas rubber-coated or plastic rollers in
other trackballs had to much resistance (i.e., felt friction) and got
dirty
too quick which caused hestitation or erratic movement, especially when
attempting very fine movement. I remember pounding unmercifully on the
ExpertMouse when playing games and it survived a long time. A button
broke
because a heavy object crashed on it when some shelving gave way, not
because of my abuse of it. Mice are too fragile and more tiring to use.

So are the latest ExpertMouse trackballs as industrial-stength as they
once
were? None of the stores in my large 2-city metropolis even have a demo
model on display or a box that I can dig into to look. I miss my
ExpertMouse sorely (literally). It was a feature that Kensington used to
play up regarding the high-quality and strength of their ExpertMouse, but
I
see no mention of ball-bearing steel rollers anymore on their web site. I
found their TurboMouse and Orbit trackballs to be disappointing (i.e., no
better than the competition regarding qualify and feel although the
trackball was better positioned). I would think if it still had those
high-quality features then Kensington would play them up.

--
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