Keyboards: 2nd Day of Christmas

On the 2nd Day of Christmas, your true love - or whomever - sent to you. . . . a keyboard to make your writing life easier.

Here are a few suggestions that address the issues most common to those who sit at a computer all day. I'll give one example and a place to buy it, but just use the name of the keyboard or its descriptive phrase as a search string if you want to try to find it cheaper.

My Money Scale

For all the gifts suggested, I use the following scale:

0 to $20.00 is low.
$21.00 to $40.00 is medium.
$41.00 to $100.00 is high.
$101.00 and above is someone really, really loves you.

Reduce Mouse Abuse

Price Range: Medium.

Frequent reaching for the mouse strains the neck/shoulder/back complex of muscles and can send them, and you, into spasms of pain. This keyboard is one solution. The Ergonomic Multimedia Keyboard with Built-in Optical Trackball comes in USB or Wireless versions. The USB is $79.95 and the Wireless is $99.95.

Use the onboard trackball to reduce strain on those muscles.

For Writers In The Dark

Price Range: Low to Medium

I work at night a lot, but I hate to turn on a lamp because I don't want to wake the rest of the household who are all light sleepers. An illuminated or backlit keyboard is the solution. You can find several options on the website.

Cold Hands, Warm Typos

Price Range: Low to High

My hands get awfully cold in the winter. I find a lot of women have this problem. The solution is a heated wrist pad ($19.95) or a heated keyboard like the V8WK001 Heated Computer Keyboard ($55.40).

Takeaway Truth

Write better by working smarter with better tools.