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General => Other => Topic started by: aetios on February 20, 2016, 04:46:13 PM

Title: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 20, 2016, 04:46:13 PM
So I've been thinking about switching my mousing over to the left for a really long time. Why, you ask? My #1 reason for switching is ergonomics. Most keyboards (including mine) have those really bulky numpads and "EXTRA KEYS" on the right of the keyboard. This causes the mouse to be out of your comfortable reaching zone causing repeated stress on your shoulder and wrist. However, on the left side of your keyboard you have a good 15 centimeters less to reach! This is quite significant. Now you might say 'Y U NO BUY 10KEYLESS KEYBOARD M9???!?!? XDXDXD XD LOLOL"; However, I like having the numpad and in fact i use it quite a lot. When not in use so, it's a bit... bulky. Now I'm a leftie myself so I finally pulled the trigger and I'm going to try switching to my left hand for browsing (thank god I have an ambidextrous mouse... ;D)

My experiences so far:
T+00:00:00 Okay, let's do this thing!
T+00:00:00.00000000000000000000001 OH MY GOD THIS IS SO AWKWARD
T+00:00:05 Accidentally closed window instead of maximizing it.
T+00:10:00 This is actually going quite well.
T+01:30:00 Going slooow but stead -- DAMMIT I CLICKED ON THE WRONG THING AGAIN
|
|FAST FORWARD A COUPLE HOURS>>>>
|
T+24:00:00 Accidentally switched my mouse to the right.  Woops!
T+25:00:00 I'm at work and I notice a lowered attention. I'm not sure if this is because I pulled an all nighter, or because I have to focus on left handed mousing, or a combination of both.
T+26:00:00 My whole body is crying and I get the idea something broke.
T+27:00:00 I see :walrii: flying all over the place. (...) The lab boys are telling me this is not caused by the left handed mousing, but rather due to the use of /walrii in WIRC. Whatever. Continue testing.
T+28:00:00 Getting more muscle memory. Sometimes it almost seems like I'm starting to get used to this.

(To be continued)
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Snektron on February 20, 2016, 04:48:21 PM
Are you ambidextrous? because i'd never be able do that :P
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 20, 2016, 04:49:09 PM
Quote from: Cumred_Snektron on February 20, 2016, 04:48:21 PM
Are you ambidextrous? because i'd never be able do that :P
It's really a matter of getting used to. It's SO awkward at first. (In fact, I tried multiple times before and failed)
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Dudeman313 on February 20, 2016, 04:55:55 PM
I actually tried this once, then gave up because I couldn't shake the habit of using my right hand. Hopefully, you'll get farther than I did, and maybe I'll try harder to be ambidextrous.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Snektron on February 20, 2016, 04:57:36 PM
QuoteI fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times
i'll stick to right
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Yuki on February 20, 2016, 04:59:56 PM
I did that sometimes, when my desk was on the left side, watching my TV on the right side, and was too lazy to handle my mouse on the right side. I wasn't that bad. I even attempted to use my mouse with my feet once, now it was kinda weird. Also note that I'm a rightie.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: catastropher on February 20, 2016, 05:05:50 PM
You'd be surprised what you can do when the need arises. When I got tendinitis is my right foot, I had to drive with my left foot for 3 months  O.O
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Ivoah on February 20, 2016, 05:06:36 PM
Talk about awkward mouse placement, My desk's keyboard slidy tray only had enough room for my keyboard, so I used my mouse on the far right side of the desk.
(https://sr.ht/qXSH.jpg)
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: catastropher on February 20, 2016, 05:08:42 PM
That's terrible, it would totally kill my wrists. Could you get a smaller keyboard without the numpad?
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Ivoah on February 20, 2016, 05:11:05 PM
Quote from: catastropher on February 20, 2016, 05:08:42 PM
That's terrible, it would totally kill my wrists. Could you get a smaller keyboard without the numpad?
The mouse was actually further over to the right, more where the GBA is. I would frequently grab other objects without looking, like my iPod or a calculator.
That was the only keyboard I had, plus I liked that that one had a builtin trackpad, handy when I just need to click the mouse if my hand isn't on the mouse. I got used to it pretty quickly, it wasn't too bad.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: novenary on February 20, 2016, 11:28:46 PM
I don't use my keyboard tray because my legs keep hitting it so I took it off. I also find myself too far from the desk with the tray.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Araidia on February 20, 2016, 11:57:54 PM
I could probably never use the mouse left-handed...
Did you make the right mouse button the main click and the left mouse button the secondary?
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Travis on February 21, 2016, 12:34:24 AM
I actually experimented with switching to left-handed mousing (or a trackball, in my case) quite a few years ago, just to see what it would be like. (This was probably around the time I learned and started using the Dvorak keyboard layout just to see what all the fuss was about. :P) I don't remember everything very clearly, but I did get adjusted to it after a while. I would use it that way for a while and then switch again for a change in pace. :P Today, I just use it right-handed for now—my current desk layout and current type of trackball doesn't really support anything else, and I no longer seem to be the type of person to change things for change's sake as I once was.

As for ergonomics, though, the perfect case is a pointing device like the IBM Trackpoint which allows mouse usage without even removing the fingers from the home row keys. I once bought a Unicomp keyboard with such a thing thinking it would be great, but they screwed the design up so it works more like a joystick than a proper Trackpoint, so it's hard to use, and the buttons are crap and double-click all the time with a single press. Durability is also really poor. (Also, they lack basic scroll wheel and middle-clicking!) If they had designed it properly, it would have been perfect. Then I might not curse at poorly-designed GUIs that force me to constantly switch between keyboard and mouse so much.

Trackpoints were once common in a lot of laptops. Sadly, these days they almost all seem to be touchpads. I don't understand why. I hate them! I'm pretty sure they slow me down a lot more with their consistently rubbish accuracy and glitchiness than switching my desktop mouse/trackball back to lefthanded use would.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Dudeman313 on February 21, 2016, 03:49:13 AM
Touchpads slow you down?
Only an old-timer would say that. :P

Also, maybe you should look for an old Lenovo x61, a pretty cool business-made laptop created when Vista was the latest Windows OS. It features a neat little fingertip sized joystick with an easily gripped surface. The actual clicking buttons are where a touchpad would be.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 21, 2016, 10:48:27 AM
Quote from: Dudeman313 on February 21, 2016, 03:49:13 AM
Touchpads slow you down?
Only an old-timer would say that. :P

Also, maybe you should look for an old Lenovo x61, a pretty cool business-made laptop created when Vista was the latest Windows OS. It features a neat little fingertip sized joystick with an easily gripped surface. The actual clicking buttons are where a touchpad would be.
I disagree. A touchpad is pretty crappy. And not only old Lenovos have the clit mouse. New ones do, too.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Hayleia on February 21, 2016, 01:35:24 PM
I agree with people saying touchpads suck. From everything I tested, only the touchpad on my Macbook was something usable (on OS X and a bit on Linux too, but not on Windows though), they did a very great job on that. And I'm not advertising for Apple because the touchpad is probably one of the very few things I like :P

Now, I already used mouses with my left hand and didn't get a lot of problems (sometimes when I start eating with my right hand, then I have to use my PC with the left one only :P), but I would probably never consider switching completely since I am now used to the "right-hand layout" for FPSes and stuff (even though I don't play a lot of FPSes). Plus the fact most of my mouses aren't symmetrical :P
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: p4nix on February 21, 2016, 01:37:57 PM
Touchpad is only a matter of getting used to it. When I used to have a laptop, I always brought my mouse with me, since I set it up in a dock like a desktop computer and was used to the mouse, which I still am. However, my father works 24/7 on his laptop and don't seem to have any problems with the touchpad: being an apple fanboy (ewwwww) he even bought this magic touchpad thingy for use on desktop setups...
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: utz on February 21, 2016, 01:52:33 PM
Quote from: Travis on February 21, 2016, 12:34:24 AM
Trackpoints were once common in a lot of laptops. Sadly, these days they almost all seem to be touchpads. I don't understand why. I hate them! I'm pretty sure they slow me down a lot more with their consistently rubbish accuracy and glitchiness than switching my desktop mouse/trackball back to lefthanded use would.

Ahhh thanks heaven, I'm not the only one. I actually even prefer trackpoints over a regular mouse. They're more accurate, don't glitch out because the laser hit some piece of surface it can't handle, and you never have to reposition them either. Well, nothing's worse than a smartphone touchscreen though. :D
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Ivoah on February 21, 2016, 01:53:07 PM
Quote from: Travis on February 21, 2016, 12:34:24 AM
As for ergonomics, though, the perfect case is a pointing device like the IBM Trackpoint which allows mouse usage without even removing the fingers from the home row keys. I once bought a Unicomp keyboard with such a thing thinking it would be great, but they screwed the design up so it works more like a joystick than a proper Trackpoint, so it's hard to use, and the buttons are crap and double-click all the time with a single press. Durability is also really poor. (Also, they lack basic scroll wheel and middle-clicking!) If they had designed it properly, it would have been perfect. Then I might not curse at poorly-designed GUIs that force me to constantly switch between keyboard and mouse so much.

Trackpoints were once common in a lot of laptops. Sadly, these days they almost all seem to be touchpads. I don't understand why. I hate them! I'm pretty sure they slow me down a lot more with their consistently rubbish accuracy and glitchiness than switching my desktop mouse/trackball back to lefthanded use would.

Yeah, I love trackpoints, me and only a few other people I know like them though. An ideal laptop would have a trackpad and a trackpoint, I'd use the trackpad for most things, and the trackpoint when I just need to move the mouse a little to click something.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Hayleia on February 21, 2016, 02:26:25 PM
Quote from: p4nix on February 21, 2016, 01:37:57 PM
Touchpad is only a matter of getting used to it. When I used to have a laptop, I always brought my mouse with me, since I set it up in a dock like a desktop computer and was used to the mouse, which I still am. However, my father works 24/7 on his laptop and don't seem to have any problems with the touchpad: being an apple fanboy (ewwwww) he even bought this magic touchpad thingy for use on desktop setups...
Obviously, being used to it helps, but it's not just a matter of that. For example, I used a crappy touchpad on a Linux PC, and it was awful. Then I tried the touchpad on my Macbook and it was magic. Because they either have good hardware or good software or both (I am only talking about the touchpad here).

For example on the Linux PC, sometimes when I just move the mouse, it detects a click+drag. And when I am on an icon or something, it moves it. Which is annoying when I want to copy paste a lot of files to another place (so I select them, then move the mouse to go to the other window opened in the destination place, but it detected a drag so I'm like "no, don't do this" so I let go... on a folder, and it moved everything in that g*d**mn folder instead of just moving the cursor :banghead:). On my Macbook on OS X, no, it always does what you want. Especially since "drag" is "move three fingers", so the software can't confuse it with "double tap and drag".

What's more, on the Linux PC, when dragging is really what you want for once, sometimes you have problems with the touchpad being too short (you hit the end of it before reaching your destination on the screen). Well, on OS X, you don't care, you can let your three fingers go for a short period of time then put them back on the touchpad and start dragging again, it works.

So that touchpad is so awesome you don't even need to be used to it to like it. And the Linux PC touchpad is so stupid no one can like it, even after years. But then yeah, probably for "normal" touchpads (not awesome and not stupid), then it's just a matter of getting used to it.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: novenary on February 21, 2016, 02:30:49 PM
Last time I've used a trackpoint I found it unwieldy. I personally have a compact keyboard so I don't have the problems aetios is having with comfort. I'm not a huge fan of touchpads either, in fact, the less pointing I do the better. I prefer keyboard-driven software when it's available. The only things a mouse is really good for is browsing the web (and even then with something like pentadactyl you don't need it much) and gaming.
As for smartphone touchscreens, good UI/UX design privileges buttons that are large enough and has a way to figure out where you clicked (chrome zooms on the area when it's uncertain which link you wanted).
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: c4ooo on February 21, 2016, 04:16:27 PM
Well, it possible to operate your computor without a mouse at all :P
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 21, 2016, 06:15:13 PM
Quote from: p4nix on February 21, 2016, 01:37:57 PM
Touchpad is only a matter of getting used to it. When I used to have a laptop, I always brought my mouse with me, since I set it up in a dock like a desktop computer and was used to the mouse, which I still am. However, my father works 24/7 on his laptop and don't seem to have any problems with the touchpad: being an apple fanboy (ewwwww) he even bought this magic touchpad thingy for use on desktop setups...
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that apple pad! At least that stuff's got some quality...
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on February 22, 2016, 01:39:00 AM
I never saw the need to switch so I never tried, but I assume it would take me a while to get used to it (although my mouse only has three buttons including the scrollwheel button so it would probably not be as bad as I expect)
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Araidia on February 22, 2016, 03:20:46 AM
Quote from: c4ooo on February 21, 2016, 04:16:27 PM
Well, it possible to operate your computor without a mouse at all :P
But it would take excruciatingly longer to operate it than if you just had a $10 mouse
[spoiler]And I have a knack(pretty annoying one) for noticing typos[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 22, 2016, 02:11:05 PM
Update: Been mousing like this for 3 days now, I'm actually starting to quite like it. My accuracy's a bit off though, so I plan to play a couple shooters today in an attempt to up it a bit.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: novenary on February 22, 2016, 03:39:55 PM
Quote from: Araidia on February 22, 2016, 03:20:46 AM
Quote from: c4ooo on February 21, 2016, 04:16:27 PM
Well, it possible to operate your computor without a mouse at all :P
But it would take excruciatingly longer to operate it than if you just had a $10 mouse
It depends on the software you use. Most software nowadays makes heavy use of the mouse but luckily some people still care enough to make things work nicely without. When it's done well, after learning how it works you can work much faster in a mouseless environment than with a mouse.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Dream of Omnimaga on February 22, 2016, 05:28:15 PM
Quote from: Araidia on February 22, 2016, 03:20:46 AM
Quote from: c4ooo on February 21, 2016, 04:16:27 PM
Well, it possible to operate your computor without a mouse at all :P
But it would take excruciatingly longer to operate it than if you just had a $10 mouse
[spoiler]And I have a knack(pretty annoying one) for noticing typos[/spoiler]

in elementary school, most computers didn't have a mouse here.
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 24, 2016, 03:36:13 PM
Update: Because I started getting pain in my left index finger, I switched back to right-handed mousing. I'm not sure what causes it but I blame holding it too tight because I still have to focus on clicking in the corrects spots etc.  At least now I know that I can use both hands when one hand gets sore :)
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: Dudeman313 on February 24, 2016, 10:37:41 PM
Quote from: aeTIos on February 24, 2016, 03:36:13 PM
Update: Because I started getting pain in my left index finger, I switched back to right-handed mousing. I'm not sure what causes it but I blame holding it too tight because I still have to focus on clicking in the corrects spots etc.  At least now I know that I can use both hands when one hand gets sore :)
Well done. You did better than me-I stopped trying due to force of habit. :P
Title: Re: Switching over to left-handed mousing: My Experiences
Post by: aetios on February 25, 2016, 09:28:31 AM
Yeah, I noticed I was so focused on doing it well that I was tensing up too much causing way more stress on my hand than would be healthy so in the end this would not have been any good I guess. But at least my right arm got some rest ;D