Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994 16:59:28 -0400 From: G Martin Subject: Evaluation of DataHand Keyboard To: Multiple recipients of list C+HEALTH Comments: To: C+HEALTH@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU I am a computer programmer/analyst by profession. I became injured on the job, and was diagnosed with tendinitis in both arms. As part of my physical therapy, we (my treatment team and I) decided to try out some of the new ergonomic keyboards to see if they'd be helpful. One of the keyboards we selected was the DataHand. They loaned it to my occupational therapist for a 30- day free trial after she filled out an extensive survey form. I used it under the close supervision of my occupational therapist. After 1.5 weeks, I had to stop using it because my symptoms were getting progressively worse at a rapid rate, even though I was using the keyboard only 30 - 50 minutes per day on the average (in 10-minute increments with breaks and other activities in between). Since I've stopped using the DataHand, my symptoms have been decreasing. This posting is a summary of my personal observations of the DataHand keyboard. I want to emphasize that the information presented here is not the result of a controlled, scientific evaluation of the product. These comments are based on my personal observations, and the experiences I had with the DataHand. They may or may not similar to the experiences that others have had with the DataHand. Summary ------- The concept behind the DataHand is creative and innovative, and possibly has good potential. However, it needs some re-design before it will be useful to me. Strengths --------- 1. It allows for neutral position of my arms (with slight modification of how it sits on the desk top). I found that the most comfortable position was when each DataHand unit was angled about 15 to 20 degrees away from center position (tipped to the left and right respectively), and tipped slightly forward. The data hand units had no built-in methods for doing this, so we had to place paper towels under each unit to achieve the best angle. 2. Minimizes tendon excursion (reaching with fingers to reach keys). 3. According to manufacturer, increased typing speed. This is probably true for people who typed slow to begin with. I wonder about this for people who already type fast (approximately 65 words per minute or higher). I type between 70 - 80 words per minute, and have a hard time believing I could maintain that kind of speed on the DataHand. Having to frequently shift between three different modes can make for a lot of extra key strokes. 4. Adjusts to fit multiple hand sizes, but did not adjust to the very small hand size of another person who I saw trying it. 5. I would give their customer support department a grade of "B-". The people who I talked to were always patient and courteous, but were not as strong technically as was needed for the kinds of problems we encountered. Having a toll free number available for all technical questions was a plus. 6. Eliminates the need for a mouse on some computers because DataHand acts as both a mouse and a keyboard (although we couldn't get the mouse to work on the computer at my rehabilitation center; it did work on my home computer). Use of DataHand mouse feature is optional, and the keyboard feature can be used along with an existing mouse. 7. You can adjust how far apart the two sections of keyboard are. 8. From what I could tell, it requires only slightly more surface area on the desk (approximately 30% more than standard keyboard) for me. For others, it could require as much as 50% more surface area on the desk. 9. Easy to transport from one location to another. Light- weight. Comes with a cardboard carrying case. However, this will wear out after prolonged usage. Should probably come with a sturdier carrying case. This is especially important when you consider that approximately 30% of all American households have computers in the home. It is quite likely that people who use computers both at work and at home will want to use the keyboard in both locations. 10. You can quickly return the DataHand to your own customized ergonomic position if someone else was using it and changed your settings. This makes sharing it with others easier. This would be even easier if there were some kind of numbers printed where the adjustments are made so you could write down those numbers, and return the settings to them when needed. Weaknesses ---------- 1. Price - VERY EXPENSIVE ($2000.00). Its benefits are, in my opinion, are not enough to justify this high price. It is almost twice as expensive as most other ergonomic keyboards that I have seen on the market today. I personally wouldn't be willing to pay this price, and believe that this one factor alone may scare away many potential buyers. 2. Current design did not allow me to fully relax my arms and hands when my fingers were on the home keys. This factor alone resulted in a rapid increase in my symptoms during the almost two weeks that I used the unit. Specifically, here are the problems that I found: - poor palm support (one size fits all). Small circular rubber palm supports that come with it can help this problem, but not enough. - keys were too sensitive to the touch, especially the ones that are pushed straight down and that you pull towards you (i.e. C and V keys). Because the keys are so sensitive, the weight of my fingers on the keys constantly activated them. We tried experimenting with a variety of setting for the depth of the keys. We also used putty to try a variety of palm support positions. Nothing that we tried allowed me to keep my hands and arms in a relaxed position while I was typing or while I was resting between typing strokes. The only way I was able to keep my fingers from inadvertently activating the keys was to keep my hands constantly tensed so as to draw them back and away from the keys. This tensing of my arms and wrists very rapidly aggravated my tendinitis symptoms, and was the primary reason I've had to rule out the DataHand for consideration for use on the job. - no built-in method to adjust the angle of sections on desk surface (they just lay flat). We were able to get a good adjustment using paper towels and other such items. The palms straight down position is not the most neutral hand position, but this unit forces your hand into that position unless you put something under it to lean it. We had to lean it both sideways, and back to get a better neutral wrist position. The primitive looking diagram below shows where we placed the paper towels to angle it the way we needed to: L| |R _ _ 3. If too much pressure is applied to the keys, they pop off and are difficult to re-install (my 9-year old accidently did this when I had it at home to try on my PC). There are no instructions in the manual for how to put them back on. Three people weren't able to figure it out. We finally had to seek the assistance of an electronics expert who figured it out after 5 - 10 minutes of looking at it. 4. Units seem highly susceptible to damage from liquids/food being dropped into them. Circuit board seems to be poorly protected. 5. Can be used only on PC's. Can't be used on mainframe dumb terminals. 6. The documentation we received was far out-of-date, and contained errors. As a result, we needed to call customer support for almost every question we had. 7. It was not as adaptable to our PC as we would have preferred. It uses a serial port for the mouse and our computer doesn't. We couldn't just unplug the mouse and plug in the DataHand. We never were able to get the mouse function to work on the PC at the rehabilitation center. I did get it to work on my PC at home (which also uses the serial port for the mouse). 8. 40-50 hrs. to relearn keyboard and be proficient. 9. I found the mouse tracking speed is very slow compared to a regular mouse, even after I adjusted the tracking speed to the maximum speed using the Windows control panel. I personally would not want to use this feature because of how slow it is.