PC's are a pain in the Neck

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/computers/when-pcs-are-a-pain-in-neck-20110318-1bzl0.html

When PCs are a pain in neck

Charles Wright

March 18, 2011

 

Bleeding Edge

Studies show poor posture at your computer could cost you in time off and medical bills.

YOU have just invested in an expensive notebook PC, or possibly a desktop PC with one of the latest Intel quad-core CPUs, lots of RAM, an SSD flash drive and a 23-inch monitor. One question you're not likely to be thinking is which part of your new digital darling is likely to put you in hospital.

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The answers is the bits most of us completely overlook: the keyboard and mouse.

A study by Microsoft shows the average office worker spends six hours a day working away with those commonplace input devices.

Indeed, the only thing we spend longer touching, according to the researchers, is a pillow.

As a consequence, more than 30 per cent of office workers have taken time off because of workplace aches and pains, including repetitive strain injury (RSI) and carpal tunnel syndrome. Things seem to be getting worse, because about a decade ago, Microsoft was quoting figures from the Institute for Psychology at the Technical Academy in Darmstadt, Germany, indicating that a quarter of all people who spent more than three hours working on computers suffered from painful aches in their hands and arms on a weekly basis.

That might have something to do with the fact many more users these days have abandoned desktops for notebooks, without bothering to equip them with an external keyboard and mouse. The default notebook setup is an ergonomic disaster area that has literally crippled more than one of Bleeding Edge's friends and colleagues.

We also recommend using a stand that elevates the screen to a good viewing angle. It is usually recommended that the top of the monitor should be level with the eyes but research at the University of Queensland suggests it might be better placed a little lower.

Microsoft has some ergonomic information at bit.ly/gAk5FD. Logitech approaches the topic at bit.ly/f9psRn.

Both are clearly aimed at getting users to buy one of their ergonomic input devices.

Personal preferences obviously differ greatly when it comes to selecting a keyboard. We had serious problems with the first wave of Microsoft's ergonomic keyboards, with two separate key sections for each hand to avoid the user bunching his shoulders.

We discovered we apparently prefer to hunch our shoulders and, for some reason, Microsoft seemed to have positioned one of its keys in entirely the wrong place. As a result, we had to do more typing to make corrections. We had better results with the Logitech Wave design.

We also use a Logitech mouse but the Kensington trackball range, including the Expert Mouse at bit.ly/hCUJu2, is definitely worth considering.

But Bleeding Edge believes that whatever design you settle on, it's just as important to try to reduce the strain of using these devices.

Unlike the average user, for instance, we don't position the mouse beside the keyboard. Instead, we use our thigh as a mousepad.

And we try to reduce the number of keystrokes and mouse movements.

One of the most useful keys on the modern keyboard is the Windows key — the one with the tiny Microsoft Windows logo. Most people seem to ignore it but it offers several useful shortcuts.

Hold down the Windows key and hit the R button, for instance, and you're presented with the Windows Run box. The Windows key by itself calls up the Start menu. Windows-E opens a new Windows Explorer window, making things like file dragging and dropping faster, and Windows-F gives you the Find menu.

Alt-Tab is great for cycling through applications. If you're using Microsoft Word, you can cycle through all open documents with Ctrl-F6.

There's a full list of Microsoft shortcut keys at bit.ly/1tufP8 and it is well worth devoting a little time to learning them.

Spending a little time with the manual could also save you a lot of finger strokes.

We also use a program called Yankee Clipper X, at bit.ly/eJS81V, to extend the capabilities of the Windows Clipboard, so the items you collect when you use the handy Ctrl-C and Ctrl-X shortcuts for copying and deleting text remain available for re-use.

Yankee Clipper X costs $14.95; KeyText 3 is $29.95. Given this sort of tool could help to keep you out of hospital, we're wondering if we might be able to claim them on Medicare.

 

 

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