Our tools are crippling us. We users can no longer afford to delegate responsibility for creating body-friendly interface devices to someone else. The final design decisions must be made by the same folk who get the comfort or the pain      us!

Everyone's body is different, and every body deserves interface devices tailored to its unique measurements and preferences.

The User-Built Ergonomics site offers examples of various designs, hacks, and other inventive measures taken by users to shape interface devices for their own bodies' comfort and pleasure. Study them and become empowered to the possibility that you too can stop the pain and live in harmony with your pointing device, keyboard, and chair.

Contents

Inverted "V" Keyboard Design (Bob Horn)

Sawing a keyboard in half (bcboy)

Recumbent Typing System (David Wilkins)

Key Carving and Mouse Mutilation (Lakin, in progress)

THE USER BUILT ERGONOMICS PRAYER. Enough of this Serenity crap      pain is Unacceptable. If it hurts, have the Courage to change it until it feels good. And have the Wisdom to recognize pain, for it is often subtle or disguised.

And, yes, off the shelf equipment is getting better      but for the forseeable future, we consumers still need to know how to modify anything that causes pain, even if in fact we don't actually do the modifications but instead use the knowledge to evaluate commercially available devices. With this in mind, the Typing Injury FAQ is one good place to survey the state of ready made input devices, both keyboard and pointing:

http://www.tifaq.org

... and, note the site is "sponsored" by the manufacturer of a split keyboard that cannot be fully separated      a feature which may be very desirable as so aptly demonstrated by bcboy's insightful severage experiment      so caveat empor as always (but to tiFAQ's credit, it does have a link to bcboy).

Due to legal considerations, we must mention that the designs presented here are AEO: For Adults and Entertainment Only, use at your own risk.

No claims are made that these designs will help any injuries you are currently experiencing, nor is it claimed that these designs won't hurt you if used excessively or even moderately. You're on your own, here, bubba.

(... ie the same conditions as for your current chair and input devices!)

© Copyright 1996, 1999 PGC

Special thanks to Jo of Cyberstars for Photography and Photoshopery.