We’re taking another look at the Microsoft curve keyboard and accompanying mouse. The new curve is quite an overhaul over the older model and seems to be targeted more for mass consumption in terms of design. Whereas the old model was a split keyboard, the 6000 takes the curve and applies it to a standard keyboard layout. The result is a keyboard that looks less exotic and has a lower learning curve. Call it a standard keyboard with a bit of a curve to the keys.

In terms of ergonomics, I feel like this keyboard takes a small step backwards over it’s predecessor in order to appeal to a broader audience. To our more conservative readers, this keyboard presents a cheap & easy upgrade in your ergonomics without having to commit to getting used to an wildly different shape/layout. Most of the time when I try a new keyboard shape my typing speed is stunted while I get used to it, but the MS Curve 6000 is so close to a normal keyboard that the affect was very minimal. Being that it’s not a split keyboard and that the keys are flat; it’s less foreign at the cost of being less ergonomic.

Lets talk about the keys. Millions of key presses eventually add up, so the quality of the buttons themselves becomes important. I can’t find a spec for KOH on this guy, but I will say it has a pretty soft touch. What I really like about these keys over your standard keyboard is that the key press is somewhat dampened. Old school 1990’s clicky keyboards had a distinct click sound and they somewhat jarred your finger a little on each key press. With the MS Curve, the kickback is very smooth and minimal by design.. That means less stress on you finger joints and your muscles.

The mouse is quite comfortable, although, slightly larger than your average mouse. The neat part about this mouse is the design of the thumb rest. If you want to you can position you hand so that you don’t even touch the mouse pad, thus controlling it with your hand instead of your wrist. There’s a small extrusion to rest your thumb on. Some ergonomic mice are designed around this principal like the handshoe mouse. You can also place your wrist on the mouse pad and move the mouse with your fingers like most people do. The shape of the mouse works both ways. My generic advise is to change up your input devices or how you use them throughout your day to minimize the repetitiveness. This mouse works out fine in both positions which is uncommon and kinda awesome.

The other features on the mouse are great. The click is exactly what you expect from a typical mouse and the scroll wheel is butter smooth. Some mice have a lot of resistance on the scroll, but this one has almost no drag. While this mouse was designed with ergonomics in mind, it’s not quite at the level of specialization as some of the other mice we talk about on this site. I’d say it’s better than 85% of the standard mice out there.

While I try to keep reviews focused on the RSI aspects, I will say that while the keyboard works great on a Mac, the mouse get’s hung up from time to time. In windows it works flawlessly, so it’s probably just an issue with the Mac driver.

So, in conclusion.. If you’re looking for a cheap wireless keyboard & mouse setup that’s mildly ergonomically minded, you’re looking at a decent product. It’s easy to learn, better than your average peripherals, and it’s mass produced to the point of being very cheap. Amazon’s selling em for $63 a pop. If you have advanced repetitive stress injuries, you should be looking at some of the more specialized keyboards & mice out there. If you don’t have problems yet and want to be preventative or if your discomfort is light, then this is a decent choice for a keyboard. It’s cheap, has an easy learning curve, and it looks pretty normal sitting on your desk.

Several mice have attempted a design where the entire hand is supported by the mouse, therefore never touching the mousepad. The idea is that supporting the weight of your hand on your wrist and moving the mouse with your fingers can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome because your wrist is bent during use. The majority of designs on the market up til now felt like they were brewed in someone’s basement and manufactured with a little VC capital. The handshoe mouse on the other hand is the real deal, well made, and created by some researchers at a couple universities.

The first couple hours with the handshoe mouse are a little awkward, but afterward it starts to feel a bit more natural. It’s the first mouse we’ve heard of that comes in 3 different sizes for those with differently sized hands. When making a mouse that’s so highly contoured to your hand, I can see where providing different sizes of a mouse is important. I got the medium sized one.

One mouse I’ll compare it to is the Evoluent Vertical Mouse. The handshoe mouse is halfway between a normal mouse and a vertical mouse in that it tilts your hand about 30 degrees to the side. I found the angle to be just right. If fits my hand pretty much like a glove; more so than any other mouse I’ve ever tried. The upper part of your thumb kind of has 2 options for where it can go. The curve for your thumb is a little steep downwards, so you can place you thumb into the little nook or you can hold it straight. It’s the difference of having your thumb bent at a slight angle or straight, and both feel pretty good.

The takeaway is that the curvature of the mouse feels great. It holds my hand very close to the position my hands wrest naturally when sitting in a chair. They did their homework.

With the Evoluent vertical mouse, the bottom side of your pinky finger replaces your wrist’s job of providing an anchor for moving the mouse with the rest of your hand. The big jump for the handshoe mouse is that there is no anchor. Your hand is completely supported by the mouse. Your fingers have more dexterity than your arm in fine movements, so when using only your arm, your level of control is reduced. I wouldn’t recommend it to FPS gamers, but for day to day business people, I’d say it’s definitely livable. I had to reduce my mouse sensitivity a little bit in the computer.

The buttons are very solid and have a nice click to them. If you have severe ‘trigger finger’ then you might want something with a softer click. I will say the right button is softer than the left, so it might be a manufacturing inconsistency. The scroll wheel is the same story. While it’s has an excellent feel and is very high quality, it doesn’t exactly glide like butter like some mice. This is a mouse oriented towards relieving wrist pains & hand aches more so than trigger finger. For people with both trigger finger and wrist problems, you might consider this mouse in conjunction with perhaps a foot pedal for the mouse click.

The verdict? I like it a lot. The build quality is excellent and it has a nice weight to it. The downside is that it costs $130 which puts it in a whole different price bracket from other ergonomic mice. I think that for people who have wrist and hand pains in their mousing hand that this mouse should definitely be considered. Although expensive, it’s a lot cheaper than hand surgery, and the difference between it and a normal mouse is night and day.

Update: One week has passed and my hand feels great. My wrist pains have mostly subsided and my fingers aren’t cramping like they used to. I can’t help but feel like there’s really something to this design. I’m truly shocked at the results after just 1 week of full time usage. Occasionally because of the reduced level of control I get frustrated when I have to point on something very small, but most of the time I don’t think about it. Time will tell if this mouse is the magic bullet, but so far, we’re off to a great start.

Our expectations were pretty low for the usb heated mouse and rightfully so. Our theory for reviewing this mouse is to ask the question, “if heating pads help your muscles, does a heated mouse help your hand if you have repetitive stress injuries?” We put that theory to the test, and we were rather disappointed.

First off, the build quality is horrible. It’s light weight cheap plastic, and the mouse buttons kept getting stuck. It’s basically an unusable mouse because the buttons don’t respond well. For example, I’ll try to click on something and once I lift my finger, it doesn’t let up. It leaves me wondering, “did they test this thing before mass manufacturing?”

Lets talk about the heating element. It’s a small element in the middle that doesn’t get very warm at all. The heat is an on/off switch so it’s not like there’s adjustments to be made. I found the temperature to be luke warm, and overall a disappointment.

While I wont totally discount the idea of a heated mouse providing comfort to people with RSIs, in this case the mouse is such a poor execution that it’s just a waist of money. The poor quality of the buttons contradicts any benefits that the heat it provides might have. Sorry, the review stops at that. If I go crazy trying to use it after 5 minutes, it has failed. It’s only perk is that it only costs $23. I’m afraid being cheap doesn’t justify being useless.

In the 90’s the answer to RSI was the microsoft natural keyboard which split the keyboard at an angle to avoid bending your wrists. Personally I felt it was such an extreme angle that it almost bent your wrists too much in the opposite direction. The curve keyboards are somewhere in the middle; a compromise between traditional keyboards and old school spilt keyboard layouts. Logitech has a very similar wave keyboard out as well.

Let me start by saying that the MS version has a built in wrist pad that is actually pretty decent. I’m not typically a fan of gel or rubber wrist pads, but this one has a certain build quality that is actually pretty nice.

As for the learning curve; compared to some of the more exotic layouts it is minimal. The touch typists among us will be able to pick up the curve and type right away. For me, I was somewhat error prone for about a week before I eventually adjusted to the shape of it. After that it was smooth sailing.

The question we ask here at RSIStuff is always, “is this the key to comfort from my repetitive stress injury?” It depends on the person, so lets discuss it..

Compared to a standard $10 keyboard, the curve is a fantastic improvement. The wrist pad is nice enough that I actually enjoyed having it there. The angle of the curve is a vast improvement over split keyboards from the 90’s. The two work together to provide a very natural hand position. The keys are easy to push which is a big plus.

I would say that for someone shopping for their first ergonomic keyboard who has minor discomfort should give it a try because at $40, It’s a serious bargain for an ergonomic keyboard considering some of the more exotic ergonomic keyboards out there cost several hundred dollars. If your RSI is more advanced, this keyboard may or may not help you. I say that because its layout is not drastically different from a normal keyboard; its more like a keyboard with a twist. People with advanced RSI should certainly consider it, but might also consider a more exotic keyboard layout that puts their hands in a very different position than what they’re used to.

For those with a very developed case of repetitive stress injury who have tried a couple of ergonomic keyboards before, don’t expect miracles from this keyboard. It’s modernized update to the natural keyboards. In my trial, I gave it 3 months. At first I really enjoyed the unique design and it was a huge help in my hand pain.

After some time passed, I found that it was not the cure-all for my hands & arms. At the end of my 3 month trial, I decided that the automation features of the logitech g15 were more beneficial (because it reduced the # of key presses) than the improved layout of the curve. However, that’s mostly due to the fact that my job has me doing nothing but editing code all day. If I were a writer, I would swing more towards the curve for long typing sessions.

My recommendation for people who’s keyboards cause them discomfort is to experiment and try various keyboards to see if they can find one that doesn’t cause them stress. Everyone is different and deciding if a keyboard is good for you can take months to decide. At this price point, this keyboard quite affordable and worth a try.

The SteelKeys 6g keyboard is a nitch keyboard designed for gamers as an extremely high quality keyboard with gold plated connectors, solid metal mounting surface, and a very nice 59.5 grams per key push. RSI Stuff asks, does all this stuff make a difference for people who suffer from RSI? We gave it a 3 month trial to see..

Let me start by saying that as an old school computer user, I really want to like this keyboard. It’s very reminiscent of early 90’s clunky keyboards, before membrane based keyboards became popular. Many people call this ‘Clicky’, which old school geeks love. Each keypress makes a distinct sound and touch, feeling very responsive, and fulfilling. That’s what this keyboard is; an very luxurious and updated version of old school ps2 keyboards.

One of the important numbers to consider when buying an ergonomic keyboard is how many grams it takes to push a key, known as key on force (KOF). SteelKeys rates at 59.5, which is about the perfect number. Keyboards range from 40-120 KOF, but anything below 55 is very uncommon because it would feel too sensitive. At 59.5, this keyboard has the perfect feel to it.

Nostalgia aside, for someone who suffers from RSI, this keyboard did not do the trick for me. First off, it has the standard straight keyboard layout which notoriously bends your wrists inwards. While the KOF is 59.5, the backing is all metal, and the keys are rather ‘clicky’, which for me created a whole new problem:

I gave the keyboard a 3 month trial. Up til now my RSI was focused on my wrists & forarms, but this keyboard introduced arthritis in my fingers’ joints which is new for me. I’m 25 years old btw. My theory is that the metal backing combined with the old school clickiness of 90’s keyboards causes a jolt to your finger with every key push. Those jolts add up, and eventually you have a problem in your hands. Once I realized what was happening I switched keyboards back over to the logitech g15, and the problem went away after 3 weeks.

It’s a shame because the build quality from Steelkeys just so phenominal. Compared to a standard QWERTY keyboard, I would take the SteelKeys any day of the week. It beats any OEM keyboard I’ve seen.

In conclusion, this keyboard was created for another nitch market (gamers). After my 3 month trial I find it hard to recommend it to someone who suffers from RSI. Simply put, 90’s style clunky keyboards just aren’t good for people with hands sensitive to RSI.

If RSI is not an issue for you, I’m sure you would find it to be a very nice keyboard; the build quality is incredible which is hard to ignore. If RSI is an issue, for the $100 price point, there’s plenty of other keyboards you should try out first that are more tailored towards your needs than this keyboard.

Voice recognition software has been around for many years, and every year it gets much more impressive. Until now if you were using OSx, your choices have been pretty sparse. MacSpeech Dictate Pro is a port of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 that maintains a native Macintosh application feel. We got our copy and this week and we’ve been playing with it ever since.

While the MacSpeech Pro website has a small list of recommended microphones, but we just use a regular old Logitech USB Microphone and so far it’s been going great!

While in older versions of speech recognition software, users spent hours upon hours training the software to their voice. With MacSpeech Dictate, the training process took about 10 minutes. Of course we were skeptical that 10 minutes of training would be enough, so we put it to the test. To our amazement, the accuracy after just 10 minutes of training is incredibly good. Did I mention that we’re using it to type this very article? So far this article has gotten just 3 words wrong. Fixing mistakes as you speak is very fluid. If as you’re typing you see a phrase that was incorrect, all you have to say is ’scratch that’ and it will undo what it just typed. You can also step back word by word by saying ’scratch word’.

When it comes to accuracy, most programs that do speech-recognition have a bad reputation of making people talk like robots. We felt that we were able to talk fairly naturally, although we do find that against our Will we need to use decent grammar and actually articulate words. The take away is that you want to sound more like a news anchor than a robot. News anchors are of course known for saying every syllable and not slurring their speech too much, as that makes their voice easier to decipher over the microphone.

Application launching with MacSpeech Dictate is as simple as saying ‘open firefox’ or ‘open calculator’. All of the applications in your application folder are already automatically loaded in as shortcuts, so it requires no configuration. Many other shortcuts are already configured such as “Expose all Windows”, “capture screen”, “cut selection”, or “file new”. MacSpeech Dictate also comes with a slew of commands for Finder, iCal, Mail, Safari, and text edit. It works by having commands bound to AppleScript commands, which means you can create macros with custom voice commands to control any application you have that can be controlled with the keyboard. Anyone familiar with how powerful AppleScript is knows what a killer feature this is.

As far as speed is concerned, the dictation process runs very quickly and takes up very little CPU time. We’re using a Mac Pro desktop, with 4 cores, and the overall CPU usage never spikes over 10%. On a typical Macintosh laptop, I wouldn’t be surprised if CPU usage spiked up to 30-40% when speaking; but for a tool that is most useful when dictating e-mails and documents, that’s okay.

The question that we have to answer here at RSSstuff.com is will this program help and how frustrating is it? I believe that if you speak clear English, the MacSpeech Dictate will surprise you. Now we still find that we want to use the keyboard and mouse for certain tasks such as surfing the Internet, document editing, and typing things that we don’t want to say out loud.. But for dictating e-mails and documents, MacSpeech Pro is exactly what we’ve been looking for. For $200, this program packs a very mature engine under the hood. Since MacSpeech Dictate uses the same engine as Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, you can expect the same level of quality from both products.

Although the Logitech g11/g15 keyboard was designed for gamers, we found huge potential for people who use the computer a lot for document editing and web browsing. The key is on the left hand side with 18 additional buttons that are completely programmable. By mapping the keys to common keystrokes you can greatly reduce how many keys you hit. This will not only help you work faster, but reduce how many keystrokes you make overall.

Lets start with the keys. The pressure needed to push a key down on this guy is rated at 50 KOF (grams of force). Most keyboards range between 40-120 KOF which means that the g11/g15 registers a keypress very lightly which is very good for you hands. Why does this matter? The grams of force per key push is very little, but accumulated over time, the difference of how hard your finger has to work to press the key can have a huge affect on your hands’ overall fatigue.

About the layout.. The g11/g15 does not have what we stereotypically consider an ergonomic layout. It’s just a high quality traditional keyboard with extra macro keys. Some people (in particular those with wrist pain) need a slanted/natural keyboard layout, and if that’s you, then perhaps this keyboard isn’t for you. If the pain is in your fingers from making too many keystrokes, then this keyboard presents a way to continue your normal work uninterrupted, and simply automate things to minimize it.

A typical use case and how you might set up your macros. Lets say your day primarily consists of document editing and surfing the internet. If you look at the image above, you’ll see how I mapped my macro’s out.

g1-g6 correspond to ctrl-1 through ctrl-6. This is for switching tabs in firefox. Now you have single buttons to switch b/t the first 6 tabs of firefox without using the mouse.

g9 is a shortcut for save (ctr-s)

g12 is a shortcut for refresh (refresh the page in firefox ctr-r)

g13 is a shortcut for copy (ctr-c)

g14 is a shortcut for cut (ctr-x)

g15 is a shortcut for paste (ctr-v)

g16 is a shortcut for undo (ctr-z)

g17 is a shortcut for select all (ctr-a)

g18 is a shortcut for alt-tab (to switch between applications)

Every time you can cut 2 keystrokes down to one, you’re making progress. There’s infinite variations on how you could map your keys.. This is just an example of how I have mine set up. The bottom line is that setting up macros will make you faster, reduce # of key presses, and reduce mouse movement, all of which are good for your hands. One of my favorite work flows is to use this keyboard for the macros, but set it up as a DVORAK keyboard.

Have you created any good key mappings on your g11/g15? Post below:

The QWERTY keyboard layout may be what you’re used to, but it’s not the best for your repetitive stress injury. DVORAK and Maltron keyboard layouts are designed to reduce overall finger movement and relieve stress on your hands. For some people, alternative keyboard layouts have been key to their recovery.

Lets start with a brief history lesson on how the QWERTY keyboard layout was created. In the 1870’s when typewriters were being invented, the biggest problem was the tendency of the typebars to clash and jam if struck in rapid succession. In other words typing too fast would jam the typewriter, so the inventor rearranged the letters until he found the perfect layout that spaced out the commonly used characters away from each other, thus reducing how often things get jammed. Some people say it was designed to make typing slower.

The Dvorak layout is a completely different key layout designed to address the problems of inefficiency and fatigue which characterized the QWERTY keyboard layout. The idea is that reducing hand movement when typing which will make us not only type faster, but cause less stress on our hands over time.

DVORAK places the most commonly used characters on the home row. Words like ‘the’, ‘has’, ‘do’, ’so’, ‘no’, ‘to’, ‘and’ can all be typed without moving your finger up or down a row. The next lesser common characters are on the upper row, and the least common are mostly on the bottom row. The idea is that reaching up to the next row is less stressful than reaching down a row. It’s also designed so that typing often alternates each button push alternating between hands, thus evening out the load a little bit better. I should note that for those who type with one hand, they also have single handed versions of the DVORAK layout that put the common characters all to one side.

There was never strong enough of a movement in society to shift everyone from the QWERTY to the DVORAK layout like some had hoped. Fortunately for you, you don’t have to live with the de facto standard (QWERTY) because every modern operating system including Windows & Mac have native support for turning you current keyboard into a DVORAK keyboard. You can even buy a keyboard with the DVORAK layout if you so choose, but it’s not crucial if you learn to touch type. Here’s instructions on how to set up DVORAK on a Windows PC or Mac OSX.

So what is the Maltron layout? Maltron Keyboards is a manufacturer of specialty ergonomic keyboards. They’ve been around since the 70’s and became well known for a concave keyboard design that follows the contour of your hands. Interestingly, their engineers invented a completely unique keyboard layout that’s specifically tailored towards reducing stress on your hands. This layout is best illustrated on their executive keyboard.

[.. The use of the Maltron letter layout reduces the amount of individual finger movements required to type and the vertically aligned keys reduce the sideways micro movements which are very stressful on the fingers. ..]

Unfortunately we don’t yet have a Maltron keyboard for testing yet, but we did procure a DVORAK keyboard and put it to the test.

The question we always ask at RSI Stuff is will this make a difference with my RSI? I went under cover to answer that question and at the time of writing, I have been on DVORAK for 6 months now. Since I was a very fast QWERTY touch typist, I have to say learning DVORAK was miserable. You just about have to give up your QWERTY skills to switch because your muscle memory really only has room for one layout per keyboard form factor.

It’s an all in or all out type of proposition, but if you’re very dedicated to learning, it’s worth it. I’d describe the impact to RSI as a small to medium difference depending on how exactly you hands hurt. You still have to push the same number of keys with the same pressure per push as before, so getting the right ergonomic keyboard is still very important. DVORAK simply reduces overall movement, which has a subtle and pleasant impact over time. Now that I’m over the learning curve I can see myself being pretty content to stick with using DVORAK.

After a full day of typing every day for 8 hrs, my hands don’t ache near as much as they used to. The change is subtle enough that I didn’t notice anything different 3 months in. However after ~6 months, it’s becoming evident that there’s something to DVORAK. I’ve read dozens of stories from people with RSI who made the switch such as this one and the consensus is that the learning curve is frustrating, but that long term the benefits are well worth it. Some people claim it cured their RSI, and others say it just helped a good bit. Results vary from person to person.

If you’ve already found the right keyboard, still feeling pain from the muscle movement, and you’re willing to do whatever you can to relieve the pain from typing, then switching to an ergonomic focused keyboard layout is quite likely a good move for you. For those who suffer from RSI, there’s dozens of small things you can do to make it better from stretching to massage to better keyboards to a better chair. Learning a different keyboard layout is one change you can make that often goes overlooked due to the learning curve, but it certainly has a positive impact.

Here at RSI Stuff we’ve tried several vertical mice from the Joysticks to the Plastics, but neither of them treated us as well as the Evoluent Vertical Mouse. The concept is simple, take a normal mouse, and turn it on it’s side so that you hold your hand in the handshake position. For some people, tilting their wrist to use a normal mouse makes it ache over time, and that’s exactly what this mouse aims to solve.

With a normal mouse your wrist sits on the table with your hand bent up, using your fingers to move the mouse around. With the Evoluent Vertical Mouse, your wrist no longer sits on the table because you hand sits on the mouse with you thumb as a brace. You actually move the mouse by moving your arm, thereby no longer stressing you wrist. Simply put, if your wrist on your mousing hand hurts, this is a good alternative mouse to try out and at < $70 on amazon, it's pretty affordable.

Here at RSI Stuff, the question is always: Is this the cure to my repetitive stress discomfort. As always it's neither black or white, although in this case we're pretty impressed. Let's talk about it:

For this review I'll mention two common types of pain from using a mouse. One is called trigger-finger where the mere act of clicking has made your index finger sore. The vertical mouse won't help you there because you still click just like any other mouse. The other common pain is from sitting your wrist on the hard table all day while you move the mouse. A common solution is to elevate your wrist to the same height as the top of the mouse (so your wrist isn't bent) with a mouse pad hand rest. Some people find those comfortable, and some don’t. If thats You, you should most definately consider giving the Evoluent a shot.

Yours truely has been on the Evoluent Vertical Mouse for 8 months and counting, and I’m pretty happy with it. It’s reasonably well made, lightweight, and comfortable to use for 8hrs a day. The scroll wheel leaves a little to be desired, but if your hand hurts, then the pros outweigh the cons. It does take a little getting used to, but it’s no where near as foreign as say an alphagrip and it feels fairly natural after just a couple days’ use.

The AlphaGrip is one of the most unique keyboards on the market, taking the form factor of a gaming controller. It has all the keys from a standard layout and a trackball to use with your thumb. Comming in at $100, it’s not the cheapest keyboard we’ve seen, but compared to some of the other specialty keyboards on the market, it’s not too shabby either.

So here at RSI Stuff, the big question is: Is this the keyboard I’ve been looking for to help with my typing injury? The answer is neither black or white, so lets talk about it.

When using the AlphaGrip the first bit of relief I felt was being able to hold my hands in a completely different positon than a traditional mouse and keyboard. It also enables you to kick back in you chair, stand up, lay down, or choose any position for you body you’re in the mood for. One of the best things you can do for repetitive stress injuries is, well, be less repetitive about it; and this device enables you to move around a lot more easily while you work. While there are several keyboards and mice on the market that put you hands in a vertical position, this is the first usable device we’ve seen where it’s all in one unit.

The keys are pretty easy to push. The pressure needed to push a key down on this guy is rated at 80 KOF (grams of force needed to push the key in). Most keyboards range between 40-120 KOF so that puts the Alphagrip right in the middle. Why does this matter? 80 grams of force is very little, but accumulated over time, the difference of how hard your finger has to work to press the key can lead to fatigue. Too low of a number and the keyboard will feel unresponsive and a number too high will be clunky and strenuous. For our sake, and given the form factor, a rating of 80 is pretty decent and has a very natural feel to it.

How hard is this keyboard to get used to? I’m a computer programmer, so on a slow week I brought it into work and forced myself to learn trial by fire. It took ~5 days before I knew where all the keys were. It took another 3 weeks before I built up much speed. I ended up using it for 6 months, and although I never got as fast as I am on a normal keyboard, I was able to get fast enough that I was satisfied. The nice thing is that the odd form factor is different enough from your normal keyboard that learning it doesn’t have a huge impact on your normal typing abilities.

I’m going to get very subjective for the long term use part because everyone’s RSI is a little different. I used the device for about 6 months and it was a good 6 months. The welcome change up to my normal setup nearly saved me from having to take a leave of absence, but after 6 months, I found that I’d traded one set of pains for another. If you ever played halo on the original xbox for hours on end, you may have noticed your hands got cramp just because of how large the controller is. The alpha grip is even bigger and holding it in your hands for 8 hours a day was a little much for me.

If you’re is search of the magic bullet and you have enough will power to learn a completely new keyboard layout, I say the Alphagrip is a good candidate, and they offer a 30 day return policy. For casual use it’s wonderful. For heavy use, I suggest combining it with an ergonomic keyboard & mouse and swapping between the 2 setups throughout the day. Some people use the alphagrip to surf the web and their normal keyboard for typing a lengthy email for example. And yes, you can have the Alphagrip and another keyboard plugged in at the same time. Switching between the 2 is merely a matter of putting it down, and if you’re lucky, the added variation to your daily computing routine might be what makes the difference for you.