As part of preparing for future, I started exploring software and hardware solutions which can help me to use a computer after my hands give up. There are various tracking devices (mouse alternatives) available in the market. The one I’m looking at is a headmouse variety. You control the mouse pointer by moving you head. One of such devices is SmartNav from NaturalPoint. It costs $499 and provides basic mouse pointer functionality. There are two other brands (you can see them here), but they are way expensive.
So headmouse takes care of moving the mouse pointer, but what about clicking? It turns out there are both hardware & software based solutions for it. The software solution is called dwell clicking and the software ‘sends’ a preset click if you dwell over a region (like icon) for an adjustable time (like 1 sec). These software range from $99 to $199. You can see them here. There is a free version as well. It’s called Point-N-Click. The hardware solutions are called ‘switches’. You can connect the switch to your computer and it can then ‘send’ the click when you press it. Again have a look at them here. Prices for switches range from $30 to over hundred.
How about typing? Well there is a software for it too. It’s called On-Screen-Keyboard (OSK). You can see comprehensive list of such software here. Over last couple of days I have looked at each one of them and haven’t found one which I like. The one that comes close to my liking is be-Key. All of them are costly, they start around $199 and can go anywhere up to $500. I think these OSKs are just priced too high and don’t provide functionality that measures for the price charged. I mean you can buy a operating system for $199, but if you want to buy an OSK then be prepared to shell out lot of cash. If you are interested in writing a functional OSK, then let me know, I’m all for it. There is a free version as well, it’s called Click-N-Type. Bottom line: pay lot of money to just be able to type one or two words per minute.
