Needed --- Recommendation on Trackball !

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pg

Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.

There are many types of trackballs available, unfortunately most are
made for the able-body people. I am looking for something that can be
used by the disabled with ease.

Our objective is that the trackball must be big enough, and easy
enough to be used.

One of the things we have found is the BIGTRACK trackball made by
infogrip ( www.infogrip.com/product_view.asp?RecordNumber=98 )

I want to know if there are other types of trackball similar or better
than the BIGTRACK that I list above?

If you have any experience on which type of trackball that will be
easy for the disabled, please share with us.

Thank you all in advance !!


Sincerely,
Lee
 
pg said:
Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.

There are many types of trackballs available, unfortunately most are
made for the able-body people. I am looking for something that can be
used by the disabled with ease.

Our objective is that the trackball must be big enough, and easy
enough to be used.

One of the things we have found is the BIGTRACK trackball made by
infogrip ( www.infogrip.com/product_view.asp?RecordNumber=98 )

I want to know if there are other types of trackball similar or better
than the BIGTRACK that I list above?

If you have any experience on which type of trackball that will be
easy for the disabled, please share with us.

Thank you all in advance !!
Click to expand...

It is a surprisingly difficult thing for an able bodied person to decide
what system would suit a disabled person best. The reality is that you just
don't have the necessary experience or qualifications. I have even seen
examples of so called 'disability facility consultants' get it totally
wrong.

The best solution (and probably the most impractical) would be to provide a
variety of mouse/trackball devices and allow the user to decide which one
will suit him best. Disabled people are often able to adapt to something
that although not ideal, comes close.
 
pg said:
Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.

There are many types of trackballs available, unfortunately most are
made for the able-body people. I am looking for something that can be
used by the disabled with ease.

Our objective is that the trackball must be big enough, and easy
enough to be used.

One of the things we have found is the BIGTRACK trackball made by
infogrip ( www.infogrip.com/product_view.asp?RecordNumber=98 )

I want to know if there are other types of trackball similar or better
than the BIGTRACK that I list above?

If you have any experience on which type of trackball that will be
easy for the disabled, please share with us.

Thank you all in advance !!
Click to expand...
I purchased one of the BIGtrack trackballs for a 70 year old relative who
has limited dexterity in his hands due to an industrial accident.

He tends to loose his temper while playing computer card games and gets a
little ruff with things, not that anyone could ever get him to quit playing
the games. He never used a computer until he was 65 and has become quite
addicted to the games available to him.

Prior to purchasing the BIGtrack trackball he had either worn out or broken
three other trackballs. The Kensington trackball lasted the longest before
suffering a fatal break in one of the roller guide supports. He was always
complaining that even when the other trackballs worked he had a hard time
keeping the pointer where he wanted it.

It has been 6 months with the BIGtrack unit and he has not complained once
about controlling the pointer. He has commented that he liked the larger
sized trackball that the unit provided. It has withstood his somewhat
physical temper tantrums with no breakdowns, so far.

There is one thing about the BIGtrack trackball that takes a little getting
used to. The mouse buttons are on the top of the trackball, away from the
person rolling the ball. I thought the button placement to be a little odd
at first but it does help in reducing most accidental button triggering by a
random hand or arm movement.

For those who have even more severe limitations I suggest getting the
BIGtrack unit that supports external buttons. That way you can place the
buttons anywhere convenient for the user independent of the trackball. Be
they foot activated or strapped to the arm of a wheel chair.
 
Mobility reduced mice problems are a "niche" products. Both Microsoft and
Logitech offer trackball. There were add-on touch pads offered. I found,
years ago:

Mouse "joystick" -- Big, similar to the plane "flight" stick
Foot controlled mouse
Eye-tracking cam for mouse controls
Breath mouse control

Every mouse controller has their own "quirks" and you need to evaluate each.
 
pg said:
Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.
Click to expand...

Check out the links for Kid-TRAC, PC-TRAC, Max-TRAC, Max-TRAC - Beige
and Max-TRAC - Black at http://lila.godel.com/html/hardware.htm.

With any model you get

1. two equally sized left and right buttons for ease
of use by left handed people and right handed people
2. a middle mouse button which works as toggle button
to turn scroll lock on and off
(With this feature text can be blocked by just
rolling the ball.)
3. a curved base that may confirm to your hand better
than the base of other devices
4. a large ball for easy control
 
Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.

There are many types of trackballs available, unfortunately most are
made for the able-body people. I am looking for something that can be
used by the disabled with ease.

Our objective is that the trackball must be big enough, and easy
enough to be used.

One of the things we have found is the BIGTRACK trackball made by
infogrip ( www.infogrip.com/product_view.asp?RecordNumber=98 )

I want to know if there are other types of trackball similar or better
than the BIGTRACK that I list above?

If you have any experience on which type of trackball that will be
easy for the disabled, please share with us.

Thank you all in advance !!


Sincerely,
Lee
Click to expand...
Why post HERE? This is a pure preference question that has absolutely
NOTHING to do with the OS.

Ask elsewhere.
 
It is a surprisingly difficult thing for an able bodied person to decide
what system would suit a disabled person best. The reality is that you just
don't have the necessary experience or qualifications. I have even seen
examples of so called 'disability facility consultants' get it totally
wrong.

The best solution (and probably the most impractical) would be to provide a
variety of mouse/trackball devices and allow the user to decide which one
will suit him best. Disabled people are often able to adapt to something
that although not ideal, comes close.
Click to expand...


Many of the disabled have hands that keep shaking uncontrollably. The
limited "experiments" that I've done with them --- with all kinds and
sizes of mice/trackball/tablets --- I found out that the new crops of
"cute" mice, the one they call "ergonomic", are NOT suitable for them
at all.

That is why I searched and searched the Net for something with a
bigger ball, something that is more stable, that they can use.

That 'BIGTRACK" is the one I've found.

I post this question because I need to find out if there are any other
types of trackballs out there.

Thank you for replying.
 
Thanks for replying !!

I searched the net for days, and the only one so far that I've found
is BigTrack. The ball is big enough for those who have frail hands,
and for those whose hands keep shaking uncontrollably.

I'm glad that BigTrack works for your uncle.

Again, thanks for replying !!!
 
I used to use a Kensington trackball for many years, the one with big
ball. I agree with you, it's a good trackball.

Unfortunately, Kensington doesn't make trackballs with big ball
anymore.

What they are making now are those "cute-cute" stylish trackballs.
While those might be okay for the able-body people, disabled people
with hands shaking uncontrollably just can't use those "cute"
trackballs.

Thanks for replying !!
 
pg,
If the disabled people who will be using this computer lab have clear
speech, consider adding speech recognition software to some or all of your
computers. This is particularly easy to do if you are using Windows Vista,
as the operating system has a fairly comprehensive Microsoft compatible
speech recognition program built right in to it. Look in the ease of access
section of the control panel. It provides multiple ways to position the
mouse including both "Show Numbers", which assigns a number to each icon on
the desktop or web page, and also a traditional Mouse grid option.
Susan
 
We already have the speech recognition thing installed. It's the hands-
on input device that we need to take special care of.

One of the aim for the computer lab is to encourage the disabled to
use their hands, however frail their hands may be.

Encouragement is the key, not frustration. The current crop of "cute"
mice just frustrated the disable too much.
 
Check out the links for Kid-TRAC, PC-TRAC, Max-TRAC, Max-TRAC - Beige
and Max-TRAC - Black athttp://lila.godel.com/html/hardware.htm.

With any model you get

1. two equally sized left and right buttons for ease
of use by left handed people and right handed people
2. a middle mouse button which works as toggle button
to turn scroll lock on and off
(With this feature text can be blocked by just
rolling the ball.)
3. a curved base that may confirm to your hand better
than the base of other devices
4. a large ball for easy control
Click to expand...



Thank you for the link. I'll check it out !

Thanks again !!
 
Oh, computers to sugar coat physical therapy.
pg said:
We already have the speech recognition thing installed. It's the hands-
on input device that we need to take special care of.

One of the aim for the computer lab is to encourage the disabled to
use their hands, however frail their hands may be.

Encouragement is the key, not frustration. The current crop of "cute"
mice just frustrated the disable too much.
Click to expand...
 
Hi, all !

I am setting up a computer lab for the disabled. We are looking for
equipments that might aid the disabled (mainly those who are not that
good in movement), and one of the things we are planning to get them
is trackball.

There are many types of trackballs available, unfortunately most are
made for the able-body people. I am looking for something that can be
used by the disabled with ease.

Our objective is that the trackball must be big enough, and easy
enough to be used.

One of the things we have found is the BIGTRACK trackball made by
infogrip ( www.infogrip.com/product_view.asp?RecordNumber=98 )

I want to know if there are other types of trackball similar or better
than the BIGTRACK that I list above?

If you have any experience on which type of trackball that will be
easy for the disabled, please share with us.

Thank you all in advance !!
Click to expand...

At RS Componets they sell trackball mechanisms for industrial use.
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/...)&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=4294957317&Nty=1
They should be easy to mount into a custom enclosure with buttons
added as required.

Regards
Anton Erasmus
 
Bill in Co. said:
LOL. My question is, what does "Farad'n" have to do with the OS????
Absolutely nothing!!
Click to expand...

Or put another way: what has Farad'n (or any previous posting name)
contributed to any usenet newsgroup? Same answer.
 
Check out the links for Kid-TRAC, PC-TRAC, Max-TRAC, Max-TRAC - Beige
and Max-TRAC - Black athttp://lila.godel.com/html/hardware.htm.

With any model you get

1.  two equally sized left and right buttons for ease
     of use by left handed people and right handed people
2.  a middle mouse button which works as toggle button
     to turn scroll lock on and off
     (With this feature text can be blocked by just
     rolling the ball.)
3.  a curved base that may confirm to your hand better
     than the base of other devices
4.  a large ball for easy control
Click to expand...

Micro-speed trackballs were one of the _worst_ rolling larger
trackballs I ever used. At work and home I have 2 Kensingtons Expert
Mouse - nice because its very easy to clean the ball after little
kids, and 3 Mouse-Traks by Itac. WAY expensive but very well built but
super when I got 3 on eBay for $15 each. Micro Speed is frustration
(lots of it) in waiting.

GG
 
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