My wrists have “barely carpel tunnel” according to the one doctor I went to see. I find not having to move the mouse all day with my wrists (as well as a split keyboard with risers) has eliminated my wrist problems at work.
In the past my wrists used to hurt, my father had carpal tunnel and I didn’t want to risk it, so I switched to a keyboard centric WM and switched to a trackball. I haven’t experienced wrist pain in years, although I think it might be mostly related to the keyboard centric WM since I went back to a mouse for gaming a while back and when my trackball broke I didn’t bother getting a new one.
That being said trackballs are amazing for working on limited spaces or soft surfaces (e.g. a couch or bed), once I’ve gotten used to it I could work on the sofa just as efficiently as I would on a desk without extra monitors, but now my desk has two large monitors and plenty of space for the mouse, so it’s less of an issue.
How do you find the twist-scrolling? I have the Orbit Fusion for my laptop because the ring is still my preferred scroller on trackballs, and the god-damned scroll-ring Orbit still doesn’t have a third button. I actually remapped a different button to be left-click so I could use a flatter hand position like most of their older designs (even the SlimBlade Pro) allow.
Twisting the ball to scroll is phenomenal, with very little learning curve. They added audible clicking noises when you scroll, which was a really nice touch.
I really like my trackball mouse, though I had to buy it myself.
What do you find is the advantage of these over a mouse?
Easier on my wrist, less arm motion, and my hand doesn’t lock into a claw shape after using it all day.
My wrists have “barely carpel tunnel” according to the one doctor I went to see. I find not having to move the mouse all day with my wrists (as well as a split keyboard with risers) has eliminated my wrist problems at work.
In the past my wrists used to hurt, my father had carpal tunnel and I didn’t want to risk it, so I switched to a keyboard centric WM and switched to a trackball. I haven’t experienced wrist pain in years, although I think it might be mostly related to the keyboard centric WM since I went back to a mouse for gaming a while back and when my trackball broke I didn’t bother getting a new one.
That being said trackballs are amazing for working on limited spaces or soft surfaces (e.g. a couch or bed), once I’ve gotten used to it I could work on the sofa just as efficiently as I would on a desk without extra monitors, but now my desk has two large monitors and plenty of space for the mouse, so it’s less of an issue.
I bought a SlimBlade Pro for productivity work and never looked back. Best purchase.
How do you find the twist-scrolling? I have the Orbit Fusion for my laptop because the ring is still my preferred scroller on trackballs, and the god-damned scroll-ring Orbit still doesn’t have a third button. I actually remapped a different button to be left-click so I could use a flatter hand position like most of their older designs (even the SlimBlade Pro) allow.
Twisting the ball to scroll is phenomenal, with very little learning curve. They added audible clicking noises when you scroll, which was a really nice touch.