OFF-TOPIC: re. tendinitis

["Wendell Cochran" atrypa@xxxxxxxx]

> Date:     Fri, 21 May 1999 17:25:14 -0400 (EDT)
> From:     "..." 
>
> What causes RSI is improper wrist positioning, not mice
> or keyboards per se. . . . If you believe
> that using a touchpad in and of itself will prevent
> recurrence of your tendinitis, good luck.

Quite so, on all points. However, my problem can be traced to
the rigid limits on where I can put the input device.  Two spots
only are available for the mouse pad. The touchpad can be used in
so many places that variety of posture is almost automatic.

Also, the pointer once set by touchpad stays put. With the mouse I
was constantly making minor readjustments.

> If a linux driver is important to you, why didn't you buy
> a Synaptics?

'Ignorance, Madam, pure ignorance.'

(Tim Baehr mentions the Alps, which has licensed Cirque's
'Glidepoint technology' -- whatever 'technology' means nowadays.)

> [The gods] certainly meant wrists to be elevated
> with computer input devices.

Seems to me we've too many variables to settle that for everyone,
but: my wrist was always elevated while using the mouse, & while
using the touchpad it's mostly lowered.

At any position or elevation I now recognize the danger signals on
extending my forefinger. Remember the brief promise of the touch
screen for input? It was killed by the 'gorilla-arm' effect. Just
spend say 2 minutes making fingerprints on your screen . . .

Wendell Cochran
West Seattle