 |
In Street Tech's continuing quest to build a digital workstation that's less harmful to meatbots (a.k.a. you and me), we tracked down the latest input gizmo that's lately been getting ink and electrons in the computer press. The Anir Ergonomic Mouse hails from Norway and was created by AnimaX International, a maker of computer pointing devices. According to AnimaX, studies were done on the muscle strains associated with computer mice and the AnimaX was designed with these findings in mind. The basic idea was that, since the forearm, wrist and hand come under the most strain when using a conventional mouse, and the wrist is rotated down in a horizontal position, why not design something that placed the hand in a more natural position with the thumb facing up. Interesting idea, but does it work?
Now, as regular Street Tech readers know, I have bad arthritis, and in all fairness to AnimaX, I proabably should have gotten a healthier user to try it out too. But then, the amount of upper arm movement is not likely to change that much with different users, just the immediate feedback on that movement. For me, that meant pain. For others, the upper arm strain might not be noticeable at first, but I wonder what the long-term impact might be on the elbow, shoulder and back. The other thing I found less than ideal was the hard plastic base that the bottom edge of your hand rests on. I like resting the parts of my hand that aren't on the mouse on a cushioned mat. The Anir manual cautions users to give the mouse several days to get used to it. They even picture three little "smiley faces" representing day 1 (Sad Face. "You'll Hate It."), day 2 (Quizzical Face. "You begin to like it."), day 3 ("That's better"). My experience was more like: day 1 (Hey, this kinda hurts), day 2 (Ouch, this thing is really bothering me!), day 3 (YEOWWW!! Get me offa this thing!). I actually woke up in the middle of the third night with shooting pains in my shoulder and upper arm. Strangely enough, I didn't have a problem with adjusting to navigation and clicking with the Anir. Clicking and dragging did take some getting used to. I've always thought that it was a good idea to have several types of input devices and periodically switching between them to ward off RSI. I was hoping that the Anir could serve as one of those devices for me. It didn't work out between us. The media kit that came with the Anir included several different studies showing the impact of mouse stress and the lesser stresses found with the Anir. It looks convincing, but so is the pain in my arm. If this technology seems like something that might appeal to you, I'd recommend trying before buying...and let us know what you think. - Gareth Branwyn [1/28/98] Other input devices reviewed on Street Tech: |
