As for extenden periods of time... we're all PureBasic programmers here (or aspiring ones, in my case ) why can't we cook up a little tool that displays a 'pie chart' style of clock in the icon tray, that's adjustable, and can be configured to, for example, stay out of sight for 45 minutes, then bother the user for 15?
THat way we'd be FORCED to take our breaks.
For Fred, we'll put in some different settings, of course, no need for him to take breaks
<edit>
Just browsed a little, looking for a freeware app for this, and most of the stuff is simple basic countdown timers for which they charge (!) from $25 (!!) to $169 (!!!)... amazing...
Currently I use an A4 sheet of paper as my mouse pad and so far it works good, although quite often there are problems like the mouse "sticking" to some point and needing readjustment to make the cursor glide on the screen again. It is however a temporary solution till I either get the Razer Kabuto or one of the Logitech mice with Dark Field tech.
Try a a4 pad instead, the optics of the mouse may not be reflcted enough through the one sheet.
Plus, when it gets dirty, you just rip off the top sheet.
I used to suffer from horrendous wrist pain in my right wrist which would come and go as a result of programming. After some examination, the doctor explained that through repetetive strain one (or more) of the small tendons which hold the many many wrist bones in place had worked loose. There was an operation I could have had to tigthen the aforementioned tendon(s), but the risk was high that the cure would be worse than the ailment itself!
In the end he prescribed a wrist strap and a larger keyboard (I was using an IBM thinkpad which has a very small keyboard and an integrated pointer device). He reckoned that the injury was due to my wrist constantly hovering over the keyboard.
As soon as I switched to a bigger laptop with a proper touchpad mouse, the pain thankfully stopped. This was a few years ago now and the pain has never returned.
I may look like a mule, but I'm not a complete ass.
Isn't wrist fatigue directly proportional to the type of sites visited?
Try lying on your right hand, until numb, then it will feel like someone else is using your mouse
SFSxOI wrote:Believe me, once she heals up completly from the surgery life is going to be much better. After I had mine things vastly improved. You'd be suprised how something like that affects your entire life.
That's where all my hopes are.
It's really something that affects her life as she is a teacher for small children and need to constantly pick them up all day.
I cured my wrist and arm pain by taking a 5 to 10 minute break from the computer every 1 or 2 hours,
Proud registered Purebasic user.
Because programming should be fun.
; timeout v0.01x EJN (blueznl)
; RSI / wristproblems avoider (FOR FREE obviously)
; bluez@xs4all.nl
;
#timeout_version = "v0.01x"
#timeout_copyright = "c2009 EJN"
;
; IncludeFile("..\x_lib\x_lib.pb")
;
Declare main()
Declare init()
;
; x_init()
init()
main()
End
Procedure history()
;
; 0.01x
;
; - concept :-)
;
EndProcedure
Procedure init()
;
; windows and gadgets
;
Enumeration
#w_main_nr
#g_loadindicator
EndEnumeration
;
Global w_main_h.i
;
; the lastinputinfo structure is used for getlastinputinfo_()
;
Structure LASTINPUTINFO
cbSize.l
dwTime.l
EndStructure
;
Global load.i = 0 ; load indicator
Global oldload.i = 0 ; load during the previous sample (used to verify if a screen update is required)
Global sampleperiod.i = 1 ; sample period in seconds, default 60, change to 1 for debugging
Global alertlevel.i = 40*60 ; level of load indicator that triggers a warning, 0 = off
Global stoplevel.i = 50*60 ; level of load indicator that blocks the user, 0 = off
Global cooldown.i = 15*60 ; enforced cooldown period after crossing stoplevel treshold, 0 = off
Global credittreshold.i = 2*60 ; minimal period of inactivity before crediting rest to the load indicator, 0 = no crediting
Global credit.i = 2*60 ; credit after a period of inactivity, 0 = no credit
Global status.i = 0 ; 0 do nothing 1 normal 2 alert 3 stoplevel aka enforced cooldown
Global countdown.i = 0 ; seconds of enforced pause after which load indicator will be reset
Global loadscale.i = stoplevel+cooldown ; calculated max level of load (stoplevel+cooldown)
Global lasttick.i = 0 ; last tick
;
EndProcedure
Procedure main()
Protected event.i
;
lastinputinfo.LASTINPUTINFO
lastinputinfo\cbSize = SizeOf(lastinputinfo)
;
w_main_h = OpenWindow(w_main_nr,10,10,200,200,"TimeOut "+#timeout_version+" "+#timeout_copyright,#PB_Window_ScreenCentered|#PB_Window_SystemMenu|#PB_Window_SizeGadget)
ProgressBarGadget(#g_loadindicator,4,4,WindowWidth(#w_main_nr)-8,32,0,loadscale)
;
Repeat
event = WaitWindowEvent(sampleperiod*200)
Select event
Case #PB_Event_SizeWindow
ProgressBarGadget(#g_loadindicator,4,4,WindowWidth(#w_main_nr)-8,32,0,loadscale)
Default
EndSelect
;
; check user activity every sampleperiod.i seconds
;
If GetTickCount_()-lasttick > sampleperiod*1000
GetLastInputInfo_(@lastinputinfo)
If lastinputinfo\dwTime > lasttick
;
; some activity during the last sample period
;
; load = x_min(load+60/sampleperiod,loadscale)
load = load+60/sampleperiod
If load > loadscale
load = loadscale
EndIf
lasttick = GetTickCount_()
ElseIf ( credittreshold>0 ) And (GetTickCount_()-lasttick > 1000*credittreshold*sampleperiod/60 )
;
; sufficient pause, credit a little
;
; load = x_max(0,load-credit)
load = load-credit
If load < 0
load = 0
EndIf
lasttick = GetTickCount_()
Else
;
; didn't wait long enough yet
;
EndIf
EndIf
If load <> oldload
SetGadgetState(#g_loadindicator,load)
oldload = load
Debug load
EndIf
;
Until event = #PB_Event_CloseWindow
;
EndProcedure
( PB6.00 LTS Win11 x64 Asrock AB350 Pro4 Ryzen 5 3600 32GB GTX1060 6GB)
( The path to enlightenment and the PureBasic Survival Guide right here... )
naw wrote:Isn't wrist fatigue directly proportional to the type of sites visited?
Try lying on your right hand, until numb, then it will feel like someone else is using your mouse
You have to be careful, you never know what a stranger might bring with them.
srod wrote:I used to suffer from horrendous wrist pain in my right wrist which would come and go as a result of programming. After some examination, the doctor explained that through repetetive strain one (or more) of the small tendons which hold the many many wrist bones in place had worked loose. There was an operation I could have had to tigthen the aforementioned tendon(s), but the risk was high that the cure would be worse than the ailment itself!
In the end he prescribed a wrist strap and a larger keyboard (I was using an IBM thinkpad which has a very small keyboard and an integrated pointer device). He reckoned that the injury was due to my wrist constantly hovering over the keyboard.
As soon as I switched to a bigger laptop with a proper touchpad mouse, the pain thankfully stopped. This was a few years ago now and the pain has never returned.
I used a wrist brace for a while to keep the wrist at a more stable natural angle, got in the way after a while but it did relieve the pain some what.
I went ahead and had the surgery for a permanent cure. The problem is once this happens its always there and the damage is done in that it has produced a weakness that will always be there even if it doesn't continue to hurt. Unless you get it permanently corrected, later on in life as you get older it will return and be worse.
You might want to take a look at the comments listed. It seems very good so far
Paul Dwyer
“In nature, it’s not the strongest nor the most intelligent who survives. It’s the most adaptable to change” - Charles Darwin
“If you can't explain it to a six-year old you really don't understand it yourself.” - Albert Einstein
Interesting thing I read is one of the big problems here is that people make a minor change, (posture, keyboard usage, mouse type) and the pain does go away and they breath a sigh of relief and go back to work.
They have addressed one effect but not the root cause so it comes back months later, another change and it goes away again.
meanwhile, it's getting worse in the background.
Do some reading and learn about the facts rather than just guess and make little changes that put it off. If there is a good doctor then go see them but they seem to be rare and too quick to assign drugs and hand braces which don't address the root causes.
Paul Dwyer
“In nature, it’s not the strongest nor the most intelligent who survives. It’s the most adaptable to change” - Charles Darwin
“If you can't explain it to a six-year old you really don't understand it yourself.” - Albert Einstein
Maybe you missed something in this thread, I consulted a specialist doctor, who diagnosed and analyzed my PC usage patterns as well made X-ray of my hand and knew the exact root cause of this problem. Before any surgeries or the like are need to be addressed, I am being investigated in a timeframe to see the negative or positive effect of just changing my posture. Sorry I'm bad with this type of English, I mean medical language and such, so maybe I just don't know how to express it the correct way if you can't understand me
) why can't we cook up a little tool that displays a 'pie chart' style of clock in the icon tray, that's adjustable, and can be configured to, for example, stay out of sight for 45 minutes, then bother the user for 15?
