How many buttons?

[Rhakios]

Sooo... those nice people at OpenOffice.org have released their own specialised mouse with umpteen programmable buttons. It's called the OOMouse.

I liked this bit, "the user is flying through the cells of a large spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel..."

In what, sorry?

Hey ho, as one comment i the above link has it, you can already get a thing called a keyboard with only slightly more buttons.

[Bazza]

Hi Rhakios...

Wonderful, about as much use as a fart in a spacesuit for
our silver surfers with arthritic fingers...

> In what, sorry?

MS Excel, can`t you read? ;oD

> Hey ho, as one comment i the above link has it, you can
> already get a thing called a keyboard with only slightly
> more buttons.

And easier on those silver surfer arthritic fingers... ;)

[nelz]

A keyboard also has the advantage of being able to be used by the left-handed among us.

[Ram]

A keyboard also has the advantage of being able to be used by the left-handed among us.

Strange, I manage perfectly with a mouse in my right hand...

[Bazza]

Hi Ram...

>> A keyboard also has the advantage of being able to be
>> used by the left-handed among us.

> Strange, I manage perfectly with a mouse in my right hand...

But what are you doing with your left hand?,,, ;oO

[LeeNukes]

If its real, as although its supposed to be its a stupid idea, I'll get one if its cheap enough.

Seems like a contender for worst IT invention which get drawn up every year.

[nelz]

Strange, I manage perfectly with a mouse in my right hand...

That hardly counts as left-handed use

[MartyBartfast]

If its real, as although its supposed to be its a stupid idea, I'll get one if its cheap enough.

Well on the OOmouse website they say it'll be $74.99

If it was April I'd say this was a joke but it looks real enough.

[Ram]

Strange, I manage perfectly with a mouse in my right hand...

That hardly counts as left-handed use

True, but it does leave my left hand free to scribble notes down.

Hi Ram...

>> A keyboard also has the advantage of being able to be
>> used by the left-handed among us.

> Strange, I manage perfectly with a mouse in my right hand...

But what are you doing with your left hand?,,, ;oO

ah that would be tell.... oh I have already said D'oH!

[nelz]

True, but it does leave my left hand free to scribble notes down.

Hmm, I've not heard that euphemism before...

[AndyBaxman]

True, but it does leave my left hand free to scribble notes down.

Hmm, I've not heard that euphemism before...

Have you heard of ohomohok?

[nelz]

Yes, but the k doesn't refer to scribbling or whatever the euphemism referred to

In fact, using the mouse in the left hand makes ohomohok easier, especially when working with spreadsheets (which OOo includes so we're back on topic now) as you have easy access to the numeric keypad.

[Ram]

Now, what about a left handed keyboard, number pad on the left.

They do exist

[nelz]

I looked at those, then realised that it made sense to have the numpad and mouse on opposite sides.

[Rhakios]

I looked at those, then realised that it made sense to have the numpad and mouse on opposite sides.

Indeed, with the main keys of the keyboard nicely central. When I first tried using a modern computer with a mouse I thought I could get away with using it right-handed, after all it didn't seem to require too much dexterity (no pun intended). But as soon as I tried with the mouse on the left, I noticed how much less reaching was involved and how much more comfortable it felt overall.
Now I quite fancy one of those Wacom Touch pads, that's be nice if it can be made to work with Linux. And certainly far preferable to an umpteen-button mouse.