Wave keyboard is easy on the wrists

What would be a computer user’s worst nightmare? If I had to rank them, I would say the most benign would not being able to get online for whatever reason. Moving on up the nightmare chain, I’d say that some kind of software malfunction would be next in line. There you are typing a Word document when all of a sudden, the formatting begins to go out of whack. Your margins don’t line up or paragraph indentations go awry.

But worst of all would be a hardware crash. If it’s your memory, then all you would lose is the current information you didn’t save to your hard disk. But what if your hard drive crashed? That means a loss of some or maybe even all of your precious data. That certainly would be the worst thing that could happen using your computer, right?

Maybe not.

No, I think that the worst nightmare a computer user could face would be to not be able to use any computer ever. I’m not talking about some kind of court order banning an unscrupulous hacker into oblivion. I’m talking about not being able to use a computer due to health reasons.

Imagine not being able to type on a keyboard because when you do, you feel mind-numbing pain shooting through your hands, wrists and arms. This nightmare has a name and it’s called carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or repetitive strain injury (RSI).

From bad to worse

Untold thousands of computer users everywhere suffer from this affliction. In its mildest form, your fingers tire easily and you feel some slight tingling and numbness in your hands and fingers as you begin to type. In its worst case, the pain is unbearable and you just can’t type anything anymore.

There are many therapeutic products available to the CTS sufferer such as wrist rests, ergonomically designed desks, wrist braces ... the list goes on and on. But the best thing for CTS is prevention. There are a wide variety of ergonomically designed computer devices currently available that help by placing your arms in a more natural position. Using these devices has been shown to help those with CTS as well as preventing it from ever happening in the first place.

The most common objection with many of these devices is that they take some getting used to before you can productively use them But I recently tried a new keyboard from Logitech that is of an ergonomic design, yet it’s really comfortable and easy to use right out of the box.

More natural position

Logitech’s Wave Keyboard ($49.99) is aptly named. The entire keyboard sports a commonly seen organically molded curved design with a large wrist rest area directly below the actual keys. The Wave also has a wide variety of extra buttons and rocker switches for added functionality. But that’s where the similarity ends. It’s the position of the actual keys themselves that make the Wave stand out.

Try placing your hands in front of you as if you were ready to type. Place your fingertips directly on the table surface in front of you. But now rotate both of your hands so that your thumbs are slightly higher and your pinkies lower. Notice how the tension on your forearms is now reduced.

That’s because this position is a more natural one. Forcing your hands to be perfectly horizontal is a strain, and typing that way day after day, year after year can be the cause of injury. The Wave keyboard has its center key pairs (the T and Y, G and H, and the V and B keys) slightly elevated above the others. The other keys extending out to the left and right begin to slope down and then come back up at the outer edges.

This configuration makes the keyboard look much like a W or a wave, hence the keyboard’s name. This shape’s gentle sloping causes your hands to remain in that same slightly tilted position I had you place you hands. And since the wave is really only a slight one, it’s learning curve is about the same. And although I don’t suffer from any form of CTS, I did find the Wave to be extremely comfortable to use.

The Logitech Wave keyboard also comes in a cordless version called the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave and includes a cordless mouse ($89.99).

Only a qualified doctor can determine what’s best for you when it comes to any kind of health matter and if you suspect you may be suffering from CTS, make sure you seek out proper medical attention.

XCraig Crossman is a national newspaper columnist writing about computers and technology. For more information, visit his Web site at www.computeramerica.com.

© 2007 McClatchy Tribune