Random Synapses

I’m counting weeks until my graduation, yet I haven’t started writing my paper yet. University graduation means passing a comprehensive exam from several subjects, and presenting an individual research paper — theory and case study, about 50 pages long. The subject I have chosen is the management of electronic documents, forms and signatures. Pretty interesting stuff, but very little used here.

I’m in no mood to get it started. I’ve done some research on it, and everything seems simple and straightforward. But then, I’m supposed to have references and theoretical papers. Where in the world will I find abstract papers on such a practical subject? It will also touch subjects like cryptography and law, even that it’s a paper focusing on management.

To top this, even that the graduation paper is probably the most important thing in the four years of undergraduate studies, it is pushed aside by the abnormal level of work for classes. Every subject has at least two or three major assignments this semester, which we didn’t know of until a couple of weeks ago. I only hope that somehow I’ll manage to get through all this and finally graduate!

Anyway, I’m on vacation next week (Easter holiday) and I’d better roll up my sleeves and get some work done. Don’t expect much activity here for the next two months or so, I’ll be focusing my energy and keystrokes for assignments and other stuff.

Happy Easter.

HID stands for Human Interface Device. Until the Borg assimilate all of us, we need some sort of devices to enter our commands into machines. Keyboards and pointing devices (mice) are most common, although there are some specialized interfaces such as cameras watching airfighter pilots’ eye movements, or sensors catching brainwaves of handicapped people.

The problem with these HIDs is that prolongued use leads to a number of health problems. Muscles and tendons aren’t too happy with repetitive movements without taking sufficient breaks. A friend in the US worked as a secretary for almost 40 years, mostly typing at a typewriter. She developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and now she can’t even use her thumbs and hands to grab a cup of coffee without constantly gulping down strong painkillers.

Luckily for the consumers, such health problems are now known and investigated, and there are known ways to reduce the risk of not being able to use the hands later on. HID manufacturers acknowledged the problems and started designing peripherals that try to diminish the risks. Some products look really weird and take some time to adjust to, others don’t really improve anything. Just use your head and common sense when considering buying such HIDs. Look around for the most comfortable one, not the most expensive or the most weird-looking. Most manufacturers have samples on display for you to try out. Keep in mind that some manufacturers also have models in different sizes; Logitech, for example, had a mouse model designed and built into 5 different sizes — so much easier to pick the one that fits your hand.

I’ve always used the PC cautiously, trying to take 10-minute breaks every 50 minutes, resting my eyes, using proper body position, controlling ambiental light and other things. However, a few years ago I found out that I was not holding the mouse in a proper position and whenever I wasn’t paying attention to it, my hand would go back to that bad position. And it started to ache within 5 minutes of using the mouse. Shopping around for alternative pointing devices I found out about trackballs. Basically, a trackball is an upside-down mouse; you hold your hand relaxed on it and rotate the ball with your fingers, without moving your hand on the desk. From the Logitech trackballs available at that time, some had a weird shape, placing the oversized ball (nearly the size of a tennis ball) in your palm. This kind was comfortable, but it really took a bit of time to adjust your hand in the proper position on it, which is annoying if you constantly switch your hand between keyboard and trackball. Another kind still looked like a mouse, but the ball was located under the thumb. What a stupid idea! Your thumb was designed by Mother Nature to grab things, to be strong and opposable, not to make fine movements on a ball in all kinds of awkward positions! Many people have complained about this kind of trackballs. Logitech and other manufacturers still market them, so beware!

The model I picked is Logitech Marble Mouse. It has a simple design, it’s more comfortable than a mouse yet easier to adjust to and use. I’ve become fully accustomed to it in two or three weeks and used it for a few years already. My hand no longer hurts, I can use it as fast and precise as a regular mouse, and for day-to-day activities like surfing the web or word processing it is absolutely great. It’s not an appropriate input device for 3D games, though; fortunately, I don’t waste my time with computer games

A couple of years ago I have also switched from a regular keyboard to a Microsoft Natural Multimedia one. Microsoft doesn’t fool around when it comes to hardware. It took two weeks to adjust to the key layout, but now I can’t imagine why others still crunch their wrists in hurting positions instead of trying a keyboard in the Natural series. The multimedia buttons help, but more importantly I am more productive with this keyboard yet I don’t abuse the well-being of my hands.

Two days ago, I bought a Microsoft Trackball Explorer. It matches my Microsoft keyboard, has 5 buttons instead of just two, and — most important — a scroll wheel. This little wheel is really, really helpful. I could scroll with the Logitech Marble Mouse by pressing down both buttons at the same time, thus enabling scroll mode, then moving the ball in the desired direction. But this didn’t work in Mozilla Firefox for about a year, Mozilla and Logitech blame each other, and I waited enough for them to clear out the problem and allow me to scroll easily. The Microsoft trackball is a little larger, the ball is bigger (almost the size of an egg) and nicely surrounded by a glowing red ring. I was expecting an easy transition from one trackball to another, but to my surprise I do need some time to get accustomed to the correct position of my hand over the trackball, to left- and right-click with my thumb. Even the longer distance (we’re talking fractions of a millimeter here) and different force needed to push the buttons asks for a few days of practice. But I’m 90% accustomed to it in only two days.

As long as my hands will be working well 40 years from now, the investment of $40/peripheral and two weeks of practice is definitely worth it.

Oh, and having such odd-shaped HIDs can also keep your data safer; unable to operate the trackball is one step towards discouraging intruders. It sure is funny to see people grabbing the trackball and trying to move it across the desk, then clicking by reflex with their pointing finger on the ball instead of using the thumb on the buttons. Ha!

European Union doesn’t like Microsoft’s monopoly on the software market. Neither do I. It’s bad for the consumers to get Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger pre-installed with the operating system, giving Microsoft’s products an advantage over the competitors’ similar products. Consumers are lazy; they will not bother with researching, downloading and using alternative browsers, e-mail clients, media players and instant messengers, just as they don’t do as much as a few clicks to get to Windows Update once a month. This keeps third party software authors at a constant disadvantage over Microsoft’s (crappy) products. So, EU’s antitrust order to force Microsoft to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player seems a good step towards the best interest of European consumers, right?

I’m not too sure about that, and the reason is simple. The companies sustaining this decision and trying to provide alternatives to Windows Media Player are Apple and Real Networks. Eeek!! As much as I respect Apple, QuickTime is a different kind of bloated piece of software with someone else’s label on it, but it’s still garbage! There is a reason why QuickTime Alternative exists. And Real Networks’ Real Player?! As someone once put it, “there must be a place in hell for Real Player, right next to Hitler.” Enough said. Both alternatives are as bad as what they are trying to replace!

Little fishes, such as BSPlayer, are no match to Microsoft Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime and Real Networks Real Player because they are specialized tools and don’t integrate Digital Rights Management or online shopping for media. They can’t promote themselves, so they remain niche products for experienced users. Joe Anonymous only hears about the big names.

According to a recent piece of news from Reuters, the biggest two PC makers in the world — Dell and HP — have decided to follow the market instead of legislative regulators. According to their studies, too few customers will request the stripped-down version of Windows, without Windows Media Player. This seems the most reasonable approach so far; EU’s regulations cannot change consumers’ preferences. If what they want and demand is Windows with Media Player, why would anyone refuse them? Instead of seeking legal debate on taxpayers’ money, Apple and Real Media should instead focus on improving their products and determining computer buyers to switch to one of them just because they would be so much better. Real competition takes place on the market, not in court. Firefox is living proof to that.