By Gary Kirchherr
In 1987, a year or two after I started using personal computers, I started working with what was then a relatively new computer accessory - a mouse. Computer ease of use took a huge leap forward - how easy it was to select text this way instead of using those darn cursor keys!
Computers I've used since then have provided more comfortable mice, and made expanded keyboards the norm. But you can now replace your standard-issue keyboard and mouse with input devices that may seem radical, but are as helpful to productivity as I found the horsy mouse on that Mac Plus to be.
Here are a few alternatives to consider:
Trackballs. A trackball essentially is a ball that you spin to move the computer-screen's pointer. My first experience with them came using the jawbreaker-sized devices built into older Macintosh PowerBooks.
Manipulating the thing with your thumbs took some getting used to, and even now the PowerBook trackball doesn't feel quite as natural as the mouse. But trackballs do save space. Sometimes you just don't have the desk real estate and elbow room to work with mice.
Several companies have attempted to make trackballs that provide space-saving convenience while making them as easy, or even easier, to use than mice. The company that's been the most successful, at least on the Mac platform, is Kensington, maker of the TurboMouse. (Yes, the name is confusing, but it is a trackball.)
The Kensington TurboMouse takes up little more space on the desk than a floppy disk, and its large ball is far easier to manipulate than the dinky ones built into laptops. The two buttons on the Kensington's current Mac model are programmable, letting you select one button, say, for click-and-drag, or clicking the two buttons at once for double-clicking. These features, coupled with the TurboMouse's stationary position, saves a lot of wear and tear on the wrist and fingers.
A handful of Sentinel employees have used the TurboMouse for a while, but they are a relatively new addition to the newsroom. Shortly after I got mine, a fellow editor wanted to try it. Both of us now swear by them.
Another editor was intrigued by the TurboMouse, but wondered if a trackball were available that didn't sit so high on the desk. Fortunately for her, a company called Costar makes the Stingray Trackball. The rounded-rectangular device has a smaller trackball that sits deeper in the device, which has two large flaps on either side that serve as its buttons. I like the Stingray Trackball's large buttons, but personally I'm not wild about the smaller ball. My co-worker, however, loves it.
The TurboMouse has a street price of about $100. The Stingray Trackball goes for about $65.
Trackpads. A new entry in the input-device derby, the trackpad is a small, flat device with a touch-sensitive tablet. Trace a movement with your finger on the pad, and the cursor will mimic it on the screen.
I haven't had a chance to work with trackpads, other than briefly trying the ones built into Apple's newer PowerBooks. Trackpads certainly seem to have a strong selling point in maintenance - unlike mice and trackballs, they don't have moving parts that accumulate disgusting crud that's such a pain to clean off.
MacWEEK magazine recently showed decidedly tepid enthusiasm for the whole trackpad concept, but of the four trackpads it reviewed, it liked the Alps Desktop GlidePoint 3 the best. It has a street price of about $80.
Ergonomic keyboards. A newer concept than trackballs, ergonomic keyboards are contorted to reflect the natural resting position of the arms and wrists. Not surprisingly, the keyboards feel strange at first to those of us who've used only flat keyboards since our high school typing class. But once you get used to them, you'll find that they're far more comfortable.
The best ergonomic keyboard I've seen is the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. The keys are easy to the touch, and the oversized, one-piece spacebar saves wear and tear on the thumbs. And at about $100, it's about the same price as a regular keyboard. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't make a Mac-compatible model.
Apple Computer abandoned its own adjustable yet flimsy and grossly overpriced ergonomic keyboard several years ago. This has left a company called Adesso with a virtual monopoly on the Mac side. Adesso's Tru-Form Extended Keyboard isn't bad, but its keys are stiffer than I prefer and I don't like the small, split spacebar. But it's still more comfortable than a standard keyboard, and it's a permanent fixture on my desk. Both the Microsoft and Adesso keyboards are about $100.
One word of advice: If possible, try these gadgets before you buy!