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Two-fisted mice

Look Ma -- both hands!
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A GUI that can control two different pointers via two mice. Useful for many tasks: left pointer on source, right pointer on destination, simultaneous click for easy sorting/reordering or graph editing. Grab two graphics handles at once; resize and move rects or windows simultaneously. Or one pointer controls brush, other pointer controls widget for brush size or paint color. Defaults swappable for lefties, natch.
rmutt, Mar 25 2000

Toolglass and Magic Lenses http://www.parc.xer...ses/93Siggraph.html
Xerox PARC has done some research into two-pointing-device interfaces. Interesting stuff. [baf, Mar 25 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Handykey Twiddler http://www.handykey.com
A chording keyboard. It's expensive, but neat since it requires one hand. I get about 4 wpm on it. [dan, Mar 25 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004]

No hands mouse http://www.footmouse.com/
I saw this thing a while back...sort of relates [gniterobot, Aug 24 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

PyxlPoint Two Handed Input Device http://www.pyxlpoint.com
After trying many types of input devices, using both hands for mouse input is the one thing that has allowed me to continue the amount of point and click commands I input. Going back and forth between a two hand input device and the keyboard is easy. Lessening some of the work on my mouse hand by using two hands really helped alleviate some CTS type pain. [Pyxlpoint, Sep 07 2005]


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Annotation:







       Way back when, before mouses became the only way to work with a computer <bleah>, I saw a show on experimental keyboards. One of them was a 'petal' thing, where your palm sat on a pad in the center and your fingers went into holes. Left, right, up and down of your finger were little piano-key type petals, and straight down was another button, all corresponding to the various positions you would move your fingers to when 'touch typing', and your thumbs hit a space button. One of these for each hand. The cool thing about them was if you shoved down, they became mouses; left hand coarse movement, right fine. Didn't call them 'mouse', just 'pointing device'...
StarChaser, Mar 25 2000
  

       The "petal" keyboard described above sounds like a chording keyboard. Chording keyboards take less time to learn and reduce repetitive strain injuries, but are usually a little bit slower to use and cost more (being a specialty item). I could see chording keyboards becoming popular with gamers, especially if one hand incorporated a mouse and the other a joystick.
mj, Mar 31 2000
  

       This particular thing wasn't a chording keyboard, as the guy did mention it was similar, but not the same. The idea was that the position would mimic the 'rest' position of a touch typist, and the petals were in the direction of the keys that the fingers would normally hit, so a TT could use it without training. Me, I'd think that pushing on a key with the side of your finger would eventually hurt...
StarChaser, Apr 01 2000
  

       This is a great idea and would be extremely useful for the race of three-handed humans I am about to gene-splice in my lab.
mar, Sep 03 2000
  

       may God have mercy on us all
panthaz paradise, Aug 03 2002
  

       The most useful place for two mice would be games where you control an avatar. Various combinations of button presses and movements could let you manipulate objects with both hands, walk and use a weapon, dance, step very precisely, jump, etc.
TomRC, Aug 23 2002
  

       u can sorta do this by using a ps2 mouse and a usb one only get one pointer though maybe u could get special drivers/software to seperate them it would be cool for quake/ut freaks
starman, Nov 18 2002
  

       I found this page while searching (unsuccessfully) for a windows patch that would allow just that! I find that i'm more and more frustrated that i cant move my mouse fast enough while sifting through photoshop, afterfeffects, and Avid! This is the answer! Does anyone else agree with me or should i just lay off the coffee? Now.. to find me a programmer who knows the windows source code.....
nolanpro, Feb 09 2003
  

       I have been looking for something like this. A left mouse with a left pointer and a right mouse with a right pointer simultaneously operating on the same screen. If you have a lot of mouse work to do it would at least double and probably quadruple (or more) your output because the mouse would not have to swing from one side of the screen to the other for each selection.   

       The original problem is that "dexters" think you can only use one hand at a time. "Sinisters" also follow the same thinking but with the left hand. Many operations (driving, typing, etc) required ambidexterity, so why not use two pointing devices together? The concept is simple but does not seem to have been even thought of. We actually have a race of two handed people that could use this. (Look down at the end of your arms and most people have two hands.)
mariposaman, May 13 2003
  

       Ultimately, the pointing device should track eye movement. A click could be a double eye blink and a double click could be a triple eye blink.   

       And if you suddenly scan down and to the right all the way off screen, and linger for a while, the computer wolf-whistles.
FloridaManatee, May 14 2003
  

       I'm not that coordinated!!!!
JesseOQ, Aug 10 2003
  


 

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