Just back from the physio today. Been informed that my old CTS injury has flared up from overuse of the mouse. (Skritter is addictive!)

Just wonder if there is a more 'natural' input device that can ease joint strain and also works with Skritter?

I use a tablet, a wacom in my case. Once you start using it you're not likely to ever want to use a mouse again for Skritter.

Thanks for the pointer, took a look at the website and can't tell which one would be best. Which model are you using?

Anyone else also have an experience with alternatives to the mouse?

I can't imagine drawing characters with a mouse on a regular basis. The few times that I tried it with Skritter, was when I tried practicing on a computer where I didn't have my wacom tablet with me. I only got through one or two characters before giving up.

smhom, in order to use the mouse so much as to result in injury from overuse, you have my respect.

I agree with mw, using a tablet is a lot more 'natural' for inputing characters, not to mention a lot faster. Thou, because Skritter is so addictive, you have to be careful of getting pains in your forearm due to writing too many characters. :)

I have had carpal tunnel for years and find the mouse painful if I use it for more than an hour. For general computer use I use a trackball instead and it's much less stress on my wrists as you only have to move your thumb. For Skritter I use a Wacom tablet and it seems to be fine although you have to position it correctly so your arm isn't too stretched out.

James

Was searching around and Wacom seems to have no close second in this field of tablet input devices.

Of the various products the Wacom - Bamboo Pen & Touch looks nice, but the reviews say it lacks the sensitivity of the more expensive models. If this is the case, then it is better to bite the bullet than to regret and suffer months down the line.

Any comments from current users?

Bamboo Pen (save a little, you wont need touch) is fine for Skritter. Unless you're also a graphics artist you will gain no benefit from a more expensive model.

The smallest Bamboo Pen (not touch, you do not need that) should be fine for Skritter. I have one of them. As for worries about resolution, you can set it up to only use the part on your screen where skritter is at and you will have more resolution than you need. Note that if you wanted to try the tablet to replace your mouse entirely doing other things besides Skritter you probably would need a bigger tablet!

As for generic computer use for people with RSI I have heard a trackball recommended but have no experience.

Personally I have also tried switching back and forth between left and right handed mouse use (right at home, left at work, I am right handed and use computer at work more than at home). Think about it you have another hand to abuse! And that is exactly what might happen eventually you might have problems with both hands/arms if you do not change the underlying habits. However, it does help a little to spread the load.

I actually have recently bought myself a wacoom, but I find I'm having problems with writing quickly. My mouse is "gamer" mouse with high sensitivity which means I can move it really quickly and have also got used to writing characters like that.
Have I just not set my bamboo properly yet? (tried the settings mentioned somewhere in the forum recently, but I can seem to find the "control panel" mentioned and went via the "pen and touch" menu and wasn't able to find everything).

Is anyone else having that problem?

should maybe mention that often my cursor does move, but it doesn't draw the line. In order to let it do that, I really need to wait for a second and then move the pen.

Yes, that's due to bad default settings, 白发没中. If you've downloaded the Wacom drivers, there should be a "Pen Tablet Properties" program on your computer--I think lowering the double click distance might help? Although it still sounds like the press and hold or spatial tolerance are weird -- are you sure you've disabled / minimized them?

CONTROL PANEL settings (Pen and Touch)
press and hold - disabled
double tap - speed fast
- spatial tolerance small
flicks (at the suggestion of the wacom tech – I don’t know if makes a difference) - off

BAMBOO settings (Pen Tablet Properties)
double click distance - small
pen tip feel - controls pressure sensitivity when you've enabled it on Skritter; play around with it

I have a bamboo fun. It is about EUR70. Absolutely no issues with it what so ever. Accuracy and speed with a mac leave nothing to desire when using it with skritter.

haha....
thanks nick

I'm not 100% sure what exactly did the trick, but I did now download the new driver (not sure whether it was a different one from what I had) and I did find the pen and touch in the control panel (each version of windows does it a bit differently...).

anyway, now it seems to work quite well....no excuses anymore ;-)

what´s up with the iphone app?
still working on it?

Yea bring on the iphone app! (:

i have the sneaking suspucion that I am the only person on this planet without an iphone..... :)

@百发没中 Apropos of the original post, touchscreens like the iPhone and some other devices have seem to be very bad for my carpal tunnel and so I plan on never having to use one.

James

I've used Kensington Expert Mouse trackball series since forever despite the USD $100 price tag. I still remember doing amazing jumping/falling railgun shots in Quake, and never running a mouse off the edge of a desk.

However, I've found the trackball to be a poor input device for Skritter. I have to hold down a fixed location button and stretch or contract your hand to draw strokes with the ball. I usually end up with strokes that are too short and crooked.

A mouse is actually better than a trackball for Skritter since the mouse button moves with the mouse, and you can draw longer strokes using arm movements. (or wrist, but that doesn't really help the CTS folks...)

I should have probably just posted this in this thread, but anyway - I just bought a Benq S6 ($150-$200 tablet MID) for Skritter, and it's working quite well! Here's more info:

http://www.skritter.com/forum/topic?id=26357402