Mind your hands, part 2
Well I went to the doctor with my left hand, which is still uncomfortable. Apparently the problem is most likely mild synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane), or early-onset inflammatory arthritis. I’m told that taking anti-inflammatories (in my case ibuprofen) and taking it easy should clear it up, but if not then I’ll have to get my hand scanned to see what’s going wrong.
Anyway, after a couple of ibuprofen tablets it is hurting somewhat less, which is a good thing because I’ve been feeling pretty miserable about it over the past few days.
One thing that has happened because of all this is that I’ve been out and bought myself an specialised ergonomic keyboard. Not the kinds of things that you see in the shops, sadly, which seem to be stocked primarily with Microsoft and Logitech products (and the cheaper ones at that) as well as various cheap far-eastern units from firms like Mitsumi.
I’m somewhat amazed at the variety of things that are available, especially the more outlandish models from manufacturers like Maltron and Kinesis. In the end, I settled on a Goldtouch for Mac Adjustable Keyboard, which Keytools, Keyovation’s U.K. distributor, who happen to have offices close to where I live, were kind enough to let me try out before purchasing.
Here’s a quick snap, showing the keyboard and its floating keypad:
It’s quite compact compared to a standard keyboard, which is nice because it means my mouse is closer to the main section of the keyboard than it would normally be. It also gives me more desk space. The really odd part is that there’s a ball-joint connecting the two halves of the keyboard, which lets you adjust it according to personal preference.
In a month or two, when I’ve got used to the new positions of some of the keys on the keyboard, I’ll write a more detailed post with my impressions of actually using the keyboard. I may also write a bit about some of the other keyboards I own…
You may also want to try a true zero-touch keyboard. Fingerwork's TouchStream LP was particularly spectacular, as it is a multi-touch zero-touch keyboard that acts as a keyboard *and* a mouse on the same surface. Unfortunately these can only be found used now that Fingerworks has closed (and their inventors now work for Apple, on ... multi-touch technology ;-))
You may snap one on eBay. I highly recommend it.