Why You Should Care About Your Keyboard and Mouse >> The Far Side of Tech

It has occurred to me that despite being some of the most heavily used devices in our daily lives, not enough people pay attention to their mice and keyboards. I’m not just talking about dirt and grime, although you should regularly clean them to prevent the “dirtier than a toilet seat” scenario. What I’m more concerned about is usability. In my experience, too many people continue to use the cheap and oftentimes barely-usable keyboards and mice that come with their computers. And if, perchance, they get the opportunity to purchase something different, they often just settle for the cheapest thing they can find.

The “Logitech Revolution” (Courtesy of darkphoenix939)

This seems to me a serious case of misplaced priorities among general computer users. After all, these are our main sources of interaction with our computers! They should get as much consideration as the hardware living inside your computer. It seems as if people just tend to settle for a lesser user experience either because they don’t know there’s something better available, or simply don’t care enough to make a change. If something is “good enough”, why bother to change it anyway?

I would argue that there are many reasons not to simply settle for the default or cheapest input devices that you can find. Choosing the right ones for you can offer many benefits, including those of the medical, productivity, and aesthetic variety.

Medical Benefits

Anyone using a keyboard and mouse regularly is at risk for Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI), the most common of which includes tendonitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. While many things can contribute to RSI, for example, bad posture and lack of regular breaks, your choice of input devices certainly plays an important role.

Think about it: How often do you use a keyboard and mouse every day? If you use a computer at work, you’re probably working on it a majority of the time. And if you’re an internet addict like myself, you’re probably using them a great deal at home as well. It seems obvious that we should be putting in at least a bit of thought into these devices that we rely so heavily upon, especially when the costs for ignoring them can be so high.

If you’re worried about the medical hazards of keyboards and mice, your best bet is to go ergonomic. There are a wide variety of ergonomic input devices available, but the most popular are undoubtedly Microsoft’s line on ergonomic keyboards and mice.

Personally, I’ve been a huge fan of Microsoft’s “Natural” line of keyboards for the past several years. These are the keyboards that look as if they are split down the middle–they basically allow you to type while your hands are in a more naturally ergonomic position. The picture to above (kindly snagged from hufse on flickr) depicts one of these keyboards in their natural environment.

Don’t be scared away by the seemingly high price tags, you can often find them on the cheap at sites like Newegg and Zip Zoom Fly. Look for the “OEM” version of the product, which usually come in a white box and without the usual fluff of retail packaging.

For some reason, Logitech, the other major input device manufacturer, does not offer much in the way of ergonomic keyboards. They do have a couple ergonomic mice, however, and I have come to prefer their mice to Microsoft’s these past few years.

The best thing about considering Microsoft and Logitech devices is that you can usually find them on display at major stores like Best Buy. This allows you to actually get a feel for a particular keyboard or mouse. If you’re feeling a bit brave you can also try searching for other ergonomic devices online. There are quite a few sites like Ergo-Items.com that offer a host of exotic ergonomic devices that look more like instruments from Star Trek than a traditional keyboard and mouse.

Productivity Benefits

In addition to ergonomic options, both Microsoft and Logitech offer a wide range of general-use keyboards and mice. One thing you may notice among their offerings is that they tend to have many more buttons than the average keyboard or mouse. Keyboards tend to come with volume management and various shortcut keys that makes accessing frequently used applications a snap. Mice usually include “back” and “forward” buttons that allow you to quickly access the same functions inside your web browser.

This gaming oriented keyboard from Logitech is a good example of the added productivity that including more buttons can provide:

The Logitech “G15″ Keyboard (thanks to William Hook)

While such an unwieldy keyboard may be more than you need, lesser ones should still contain some helpful extra buttons. The key is finding what suits you.

Aesthetic Benefits

While this may seem like a more superfluous category compared to the rest, I believe it’s more important than most might think. You don’t have to believe in feng shui to realize that the look and layout of your surrounding environment may influence your behavior. If a cluttered desk or messy room can make it harder for you to work, how hard is it to assume that an ugly keyboard or mouse can affect it as well? It’s not as if I’m pulling this out of thin air either, just ask anyone studying environment-behavior relations.

Think about it: Don’t attractive looking things sort of beg you to use them more? This happens to me even with something simple like a shiny new pen–I basically find any excuse I can to use my new toys. Consider it an extra bit of motivation that can keep you working when facing writers block or the procrastination bug. In that way, this benefit sort of ties in directly with productivity benefit above.

The Logitech “DiNovo” series of keyboards embodies the aesthetic spirit I’m talking about:

The Logitech “DiNovo Edge” (Thanks to saschaaa)

If you can seriously look at that keyboard and not want to sit down and write the next great American novel, I would simply have to call your humanity into question. Of course, the DiNovo is a $200 keyboard, but pretty much everything Microsoft and Logitech offers will be an aesthetic upgrade to your default Dell keyboard.

Wrapping Up

As always seems to be the case, this post has gotten much longer than I originally intended. What I want you folks to take away is this: Give some thought to your keyboards and mice. After all, they are some of the most-used devices in your daily life! Not only are there medical benefits, but you’ll be more productive and feel better about working at the computer as well.

Also, I know I basically spent this entire article talking about Microsoft and Logitech products. This is simply because I have come to prefer them over the years. If you have any recommendations beyond what I’ve mentioned here please feel free to leave a comment!

The Far Side of Tech

Design, Hardware, User Interface