Mice: A question of ergonomics?

The first computer mouse was invented over four decades ago and was chosen to be the pointing device of choice at that time due to its simplicity and convenience, and ever since that fateful day, computer users all over the world have been using mice of all shapes and sizes in performing their everyday tasks. Back in 1970 when the mouse was patented by its inventor, Douglas Engelbart, he foresaw his version of the future where computer users will hold the mouse continuously in one hand. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why the mouse came in a bulky, rectangular shape that will definitely cause repetitive stress injury to users faster than you can say "Razer Boomslang". The early mouse evolved to include a ball at the bottom that replaced the former's external wheels, enabling the ball-mouse to rotate in any direction the user wishes. As this happened in the early 70s, you could say that the same mechanism had stuck all the way to the turn of the millenium, where most, if not all, standard mice came with a ball as well as perpendicular wheels within the mouse's body to detect the motion of the ball. Ball mice became all but extinct in recent times as optical technology evolved to such a degree that made it possible to produce precise, optical mice at the same cost as the higher-maintenance ball mice.

What always got my goat was the fact that computer mice retained their basic oval shape throughout the years with manufacturers paying very little heed to users and their RSI woes. Most of us can identify with the sharp pain that we feel when working at the desk for an entire day, using both mouse and keyboard for hours at a stretch. Although there are a handful of companies that developed ergonomic mice to help ease computer users' woes, these are few and far in between. Most interesting is the fact that ergonomic mice, more often than not, come in strange alien designs that would not even pass off as a mouse at first glance. To back up my case, I present to you the Glider Mouse, the Wow-Pen, the Perific mouse, and the Combi Mouse prototype as examples.

If the above mentioned generation of ergonomic mice are actually good for us, why aren't mice manufacturers moving toward that direction? Why do our mice still come in the same RSI-inducing design? Is the production cost really that high to get their respective factories smoking and going? I suspect that the lack of ergonomically-designed mice in the market is due to the high research and development costs as well as the fact that ergonomics is something that companies can patent, so you can't really rip off somebody else's design to market your own device. Correct me if I'm wrong here, as I am out on a limb at the moment.

On the other hand, since manufacturers already know that the present design of computer mice will not do us any good in the long run, how can their conscience continue to allow them to mass produce oval pointing devices day after day, knowing that there are consequences to pay many years down the road? Of course those consequences are of no significance to them since they are not the ones who need to fork out money for the bill, but surely it takes a pretty thick hide to go to sleep at night knowing full well that your customers will suffer just because you can't give two hoots about their health and focus more on immediate profits instead.

I would love to see the day where most devices come in a human-friendly design, one that will not land us with hefty hospital bills when we've retired due to picking up Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after spending the better part of our youth clicking away in World of Warcraft. In closing, what are some of your favorite ergonomic mice that you've used so far? Drop a comment or two and share with the rest of our readers.

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