3 ms·

Even copycat competition might help in that it can lower prices for consumers. I use a Penguin mouse and they cost a lot for what is just generic electronics in

Even copycat competition might help in that it can lower prices for consumers. I use a Penguin mouse and they cost a lot for what is just generic electronics in an unusual-shaped housing. But I can't find any other ambidextrous vertical mouse.

passwordoops 3y ago
I agree, more competition is generally better but the unfortunate reality of accessible tech is margins are usually already very low, and real market not that big [0]. So if a price war starts the result is usually a company deciding to leave the space entirely. [0] Yes, there is a huge population of people who will benefit from accessible tech, unfortunately very often they cannot afford the technology and the funding is often limited
agileAlligator 3y ago
> I use a Penguin mouse I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw what it looked like. I'm curious, what are the advantages to using this over a regular mouse?
- codethief 3y ago
  > I'm curious, what are the advantages to using this over a regular mouse? The advantages are probably similar to those of any vertical mouse: There's much less stress on the wrist, which is important if you're suffering from e.g. RSI. But since in this case the mouse is also ambidextrous, you can switch hands, too. (-> Useful for ambidextrous people and, also, even less stress on the individual wrist.)
  - overthrow 3y ago
    For a cheaper setup, I have a right-handed vertical mouse (Amazon $20 special) to the right of my keyboard, and a second left-handed mouse on the left, and I switch between them throughout the day. It makes my desk look a little silly, but it works great!
    - RulerOf 3y ago
      I've adopted a similarly-inspired setup with a tradtional mouse on the right and a touchpad on the left. I initially added the touchpad to assist with vertical scrolling on Mac OS, but now I move between the two depending on the task and it keeps my wrists happier.
      - npunt 3y ago
        Same setup here. Hoping for even more input devices in more places to spread the load. For instance there's also some folks building ergo keyboard with trackpads near the thumbs to replicate the MacBook experience of a trackpad below spacebar for the occasional pinch zoom or scroll. And having various buttons/knobs for specialized tasks would also be great.
    - throwaway049 3y ago
      Good idea.
  - throwaway049 3y ago
    Exactly that. It has a flip switch to swap the left/right buttons when you change hands, but I never use that as I'm used to thinking of right click as index finger and left click as middle finger on either hand.

passwordoops 3y ago

I agree, more competition is generally better but the unfortunate reality of accessible tech is margins are usually already very low, and real market not that big [0]. So if a price war starts the result is usually a company deciding to leave the space entirely. [0] Yes, there is a huge population of people who will benefit from accessible tech, unfortunately very often they cannot afford the technology and the funding is often limited

agileAlligator 3y ago

> I use a Penguin mouse I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw what it looked like. I'm curious, what are the advantages to using this over a regular mouse?

codethief 3y ago
> I'm curious, what are the advantages to using this over a regular mouse? The advantages are probably similar to those of any vertical mouse: There's much less stress on the wrist, which is important if you're suffering from e.g. RSI. But since in this case the mouse is also ambidextrous, you can switch hands, too. (-> Useful for ambidextrous people and, also, even less stress on the individual wrist.)
- overthrow 3y ago
  For a cheaper setup, I have a right-handed vertical mouse (Amazon $20 special) to the right of my keyboard, and a second left-handed mouse on the left, and I switch between them throughout the day. It makes my desk look a little silly, but it works great!
  - RulerOf 3y ago
    I've adopted a similarly-inspired setup with a tradtional mouse on the right and a touchpad on the left. I initially added the touchpad to assist with vertical scrolling on Mac OS, but now I move between the two depending on the task and it keeps my wrists happier.
    - npunt 3y ago
      Same setup here. Hoping for even more input devices in more places to spread the load. For instance there's also some folks building ergo keyboard with trackpads near the thumbs to replicate the MacBook experience of a trackpad below spacebar for the occasional pinch zoom or scroll. And having various buttons/knobs for specialized tasks would also be great.
  - throwaway049 3y ago
    Good idea.
- throwaway049 3y ago
  Exactly that. It has a flip switch to swap the left/right buttons when you change hands, but I never use that as I'm used to thinking of right click as index finger and left click as middle finger on either hand.