Trackball

We conclude this series on productivity with the effectiveness of a trackball for individuals with paralyzed hands or reduced dexterity. To begin, we looked at old-fashioned writing by pen with my writing splint, examined the evolution of voice-to-text software and weighed the pros and cons of touch screens and styluses.

I mentioned in the discussion about touchscreens how complex some of the gestures are becoming for different apps and functions on various touch screen devices. The same can be said for many of the touch pads or track pads of current laptops. Many of the gestures require greater dexterity than many of us have. Thankfully, being a computer with a full keyboard, there is most often a fairly easy workaround. However, when it comes to standard input where precise navigation or movement is required I still find  working with a trackball, two-handed, to be the most effective.

In a pinch I can work quite nicely with a mouse for simple actions. I can point and click with reasonable accuracy, even if slower than I would prefer. When it comes to needing the precision of selecting an area one pixel in size, such as resizing a window or column in a spreadsheet, using a mouse is tedious to line up exactly where the cursor needs to go and hold it there while attempting to click without moving the mouse. The rocking my hand to add pressure to the mouse button until it clicks is where the mouse may be moved away from that precise spot before the click occurs. When it comes to using a photo editing program, be that Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop, precision is essential and without a trackball my photo editing would be significantly less sophisticated.

Trackballs are becoming less common and harder to find. In the last 15-20 years they began few in number, grew to a much wider selection and are now tapering off. Thankfully, Kensington is still around and still your best bet for a company that produces the best quality trackball. If you are planning on purchasing one double check the compatibility. Some of their older and best models do not play nicely with newer operating systems and some of their newer models do not play nicely with older operating systems. Read your reviews and check compatibility before you order one.

One final note. Many trackballs have more than two buttons and a scroll wheel. Some have up to seven buttons, all of which can be programmed to perform the function you want. That means if you need to be able to hold control or shift while clicking, reprogram those buttons for gaming or whatever other function you may need to make your computer work easier, you should be able to.

Source: Staples Business Centers have a reasonable selection but online is your best and most affordable source.