New Joystick Style Ergo Mouse

Mr_Perl writes "For those of us who love to use a mouse to play games, except for the wrist pain after too much of it, 3M has come up with a joystick-mouse type thing that is in my opinion very comfortable to use." I'd love to try one of these out. Not available yet tho. update my bad, it is out. Now I gotta find one.

This is'nt really new

[Chainsaw]

Anir has been manufacturing these for a while.
http://www.animax.no/anirmousepro.html

Avialable for some time and is an ero product

[Jambu]

Huh? Not available yet? The article says available form 4th quarter 2000. My sister has been using one of these for several months, as she had to leave her cold fusion programming job 'caus of a severe autonomic nerve condition that developed from computer related RSI. she finds this 3M device to be good, in conjunction with Dragon Naturally Speaking to avoid using the keyboard.
Its not really that joystick like though since it is the whole base that moves.
The reason it is better for RSI is that the thumb nerves are supposed to be far less fragile

Availabity of this product

[Kong the Medium]

Why isn't it available yet, CmdrTaco? Don't you read your own linked pages ? there it says:

Compatible with PC's, Macintosh, and iMac computers with USB ports. PC's- operate using WIN 95, 98 and NT4.0. Win 2000 available 4th quarter 2000. Macintosh/iMac/iBook-operate using Apple O/S 8.1 or higher with USB upgrades. Plug and play only, no software.

So it should be available for more than 9 months. Also look for the Where to buy button at the bottom of the page.

Re:Left Handed

[stx23]

I'm left handed, but I was forced into using a mouse with my right hand during my time at University.
I find it easier this way, and it has the added bonus of being able to write while using the mouse.

Available in Canada...

[Pyrosz]

from Misco (http://www.misco.ca) for $94.95 and is available in 2 sizes.

- No I dont work there, I just have a catalog in front of me. :)

Re:Obviously...

[jfunk]

My Logitech Mouseman Optical is very nice and light. I find it very comfortable to use and it is symmetrical, so you'd likely have the same experience as me.

Where there's no ball or mechanical parts, the weight is very low, while not feeling 'cheap.' I also like the fact that I can use it on just about any surface, including the cushions on my couch or my pant leg. Not only are mouse pads not required, they are a hinderance as well.

Re:Swear I've seen this before

[DeadMeat (TM)]

You're right, these have been out for years.

Suncom, a cheap peripherals company (best known for their oh-so-cheap joysticks), was selling joystick-style mice at my local department store back before when we got our first PC clone, which was in 1988. This was even years before mice were standard on computers. (That's right, Virginia, computers didn't always use mice!)

Even back then it looked uncomfortable.

This has been around since 1999!

[Hates]

We've had this availble in the UK since around the end of 1999! A couple of people where I work have had it and we also certainly didn't get it from 3M!

Although it's a little weird at first and you look at it and can't imagine how it could be comfortable. It is acutally quite nice to use. But unlike a mouse which you can use standing, this is pretty useless if you doing anything but sitting.

Years old

[Shanep]

I'm sure 3M was making a mouse exactly like this one that was on the .au market years ago.

Try moving your mouse around by resting your semi closed hand on it. Notice how much more effort that is required and what an uncomfortable method this would be. I don't move my mouse with my arm, I flick it around the entire screen, and have done so for more than 10 years starting with the original MS mouse (the pregnant ergo MS mouse is horrible for this though, the bump gets in the way), with three fingers moving with my wrist stationary on the mouse pad.

This 3M joy-mouse is not even optical! I rather love my Logitech Optical Mouseman Wheel, I don't even wish it were a wireless one, as I have the mouse cable, cable-tied with enough slack in a loop, to my keyboard cable where it enters the keyboard case, this way, it never gets caught or drags on anything (on a keyboard/mouse slide drawer). It may as well be wireless, since the days of feeling the cable rub and catch on things are gone.

I only wish it had a much higher sampling rate, so as to avoid what seems to be phasing effects that cause the opposite movement of what is done, when moved quickly and suddenly. It anoys me in Starcraft games sometimes!

I've used one!

[Sulka]

And didn't like it at all! The problem is the weight of the hand rests on top of the mouse. In order to move it even on a good mousepad, you need to apply a lot of force. This makes precision clicking much harder to do than with the usual wrist-action mouse. Several other people at the same company tried it too and didn't like it.

And that's so old tech too, it was available last year. :P

The best mouse wristwise that I've found is the tiny small model from Logitech.

Review

[izzlazz]

HardwareZone did a review [hardwarezone.com] of this a couple of days ago. They weren't too happy about it.

They've been around for years...

[cutecub]

This is news? The Anir Vertical Mouse [animax.no] has been around for years.

I own both both a Mac version and a PC version and they now have a USB version available. They come in 3 sizes for both left and right-handed people.

My experience has been that it Really does help with carpal tunnel problems. However it requires that your desk be at the proper height - otherwise you end up trasferring some of the strain to your shoulder.

My experience is that it is a bit more difficult to use on the PC than the Mac due to the PC's lack of speed sensitivity. Likewise, the vertical mouse is not the greatest for Gaming.

Nevertheless, its a great alternative to living with a painful disability.