Here's something I've written to help people struggling with hands-free computing. I just updated it today to included an admittedly convoluted solution (read the entire message) that enables me to use a Macintosh hands-free. Good luck!

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Adaptive technologies for Windows users (updated 9/9/2005)

I have been doing hands-free computing and programming for three years now, using an entirely different approach to hands-free cursor movement and mouse button clicking. The solution is to use the best technology for the job, and let's face it--voice-recognition technology is very bad at moving the cursor and clicking mouse buttons.

The solution I use is called SmartNav ($200 and up), which uses body movements (in my case, a small gray dot attached to the bridge of my glasses) to move the mouse cursor. I also use a homebrew switch to click the mouse using a sideways motion of my left knee. (I had some problems using a foot switch, but you may be able to do so without problems yourself.) The company that sells SmartNav also sells several add-on products that address the problem of clicking mouse buttons. Some versions of SmartNav include "dwell-click" that automatically clicks the mouse if the cursor hovers over the same location for a set period of time.

A key element of my (almost) hands-free computing setup is a zero-force keyboard called a TouchStream; it has the ability to be used as a mouse and can be highly customized to perform various actions. All you have to do is barely touch the surface with your finger, and the keyboard generates the correct keypress. Unfortunately (and this is a major tragedy for me, because I never bought a backup keyboard from them), the company, Fingerworks, has gone out of business. If you can find one of these keyboards on sale at eBay, I highly recommend that you pick it up.

I also make use of numerous software utilities that reduce the amount of typing and dictation I need to do. Two of the best are QuicKeys (around $80) and ClipCache (a steal at $20). (URLs to the various products mentioned here are listed at the bottom of this message.)

Two other products that I use occasionally come to mind. The Cirque Cruise Cat touchpad (around $50) is a useful replacement for a mouse. Also, the Wacom Graphire3 graphics tablet (around $90) is also a good mouse replacement. (One thing to keep in mind is that it's not good to use the same tool all the time. All these tools create wear and tear on different parts of the hands and arms; by alternating among different tools, you spread out the damage and give different muscle groups a chance to recover.)

Of course, if you have certain disabilities, these solutions will not work for you. But I think many of the people reading this list could benefit from these products.

--greggw

http://www.naturalpoint.com/ (SmartNav no-hands pointing device)

http://www.fingerworks.com/ (TouchStream keyboard)

http://www.xrayz.co.uk/ (ClipCache)

http://www.cesoft.com/ (QuicKeys)

http://www.cirque.com/products/cons-prod.html (Cirque Cruise Cat touchpad)

http://www.wacom.com/graphire/index.cfm (Graphire3 graphics tablet)

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Adaptive technologies for Mac OS X users (updated 9/9/2005)

I have always been an Apple fan (after all, I worked for Apple for 10 years), but my disability in 2002 forced me to move to the Windows platform in order to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which is the only product good enough for day-to-day use. I recently (Summer 2005) tested the latest version of iListen (version 1.6.Cool, from MacSpeech.com, and found it woefully inadequate for daily use. Its largest flaw is that it has separate dictation and command modes; for many useful commands, you must interrupt dictation with "switch to command mode," say the command, then switch back with "switch to dictation mode." IBM ViaVoice for Mac OS X is even more limited, and I think that IBM is no longer improving the product.

Fortunately, I have found a solution that gives me the best of both worlds. The technology that makes this possible is called VNC. Here's a description of it:

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VNC (Virtual Network Computing) software makes it possible to view and fully-interact with one computer from any other computer or mobile device anywhere on the Internet. VNC software is cross-platform, allowing remote control between different types of computer. For ultimate simplicity, there is even a Java viewer, so that any desktop can be controlled remotely from within a browser without having to install software.

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Essentially, this means I operate a Windows PC, using its keyboard and mouse (and, in my case, various adaptive technologies), but what I see on my screen is the Mac OS X desktop and mouse pointer! The only drawback is that you see ugly screen artifacts when large amounts of the screen change at the same time (e.g., action games and line-at-a-time scrolling). But I can live with that (full-screen-at-a-time scrolling works just fine) when it enables me to run both Windows and MacOS X programs and utilities at the same time and (seemingly) on the same desktop. One key feature of RealVNC is that it has a full-screen mode that hides the window frame around the image of the Mac desktop, thus completing the illusion that I am running on a Macintosh, not a PC. (Also, by setting the NaturallySpeaking taskbar to floating mode, you can see the Mac OS X menubar.)

Here are the requirements for getting this solution to work. You must have both a Macintosh computer and a PC running on the same network. (I share my DSL connection among several computers using a router; doing this sets up a de facto network.) In addition, you must run a VNC server program on a Macintosh computer (I use OSXvnc, which is said to be faster than the VNC server included with Mac OS X), and you must use a VNC client program on the PC side. Several implementations of VNC exist for Windows, but RealVNC is the only one I've found that has a full-screen mode; also, the client portion of it is free. Amazingly, my Windows versions of NaturallySpeaking Professional 8, QuicKeys, and ClipCache work correctly with the remote Mac, as do my TouchStream keyboard and my SmartNav no-hands pointing device!

NOTE: If you decide to buy a SmartNav device, buy it from R. J. Cooper. His company is the only company that makes a Mac OS X driver for the SmartNav. He charges $169-$199 for this softare, but he includes it for free if you buy the SmartNav hardware from him. You can download the Windows driver for SmartNav from the naturalpoint.com web site. You don't need the Mac OS X driver if you are going to run the SmartNav from Windows, but you might as well get it, and Mr. Cooper deserves your support for providing the Mac OS X version of the driver.

This solution is not cheap to implement or easy to configure, but once you've got it working, it's very stable and requires virtually no upkeep, except that you must be inventive in finding workarounds and accept small system idiosyncrasies when you must. (If you're not very technical, you may want to find someone who can help you set this up.)

This solution is invaluable to me because it allows me to use a Macintosh again, and it dramatically decreases the amount of time I have to spend on keeping my @#$%$@! Windows XP system working. This *is* a real-world solution. I can do virtually anything with this set up, even some programming. Good luck!

--Gregg

http://www.realvnc.com/ (RealVNC client program for Windows, free)

http://www.redstonesoftware.com/vnc.html (OSXvnc; free)

http://rjcooper.com/smartnav/index.html (R. J. Cooper, seller of SmartNav with Mac OS X driver)

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