What are Quads using for controlling their PC? Looking for better solutions..

[Yor]

I use a Quha Zono gyroscopic mouse with sip and puff switch for left clicks plus the voice control features that now come standard With MacOS Catalina and IOS 13. So I use this with both a Mac and iPad.

https://www.quha.com/products-2/zono/

I never thought I would find an adequate replacement for the great but discontinued Headmaster Plus but the Quha Zono is just that and even better in some ways.

I also have a Quadstick that is primarily used for gaming but can serve as a back up mouse if needed.

-PN

[Scaper1]

Resurrecting this old thread to ask what other high quads with no hand and little neck movement are using for computer input these days? Thank you!

[rob1]

Scaper1 I know the tracker pro headmouse has software that allows you to amplify your head movement, so if you move your neck a bit it translates into a larger cursor movement on the screen.

I don't have one as they no longer sell it, you might be able to find one second hand though.

I do think there might be a way to get the same effect if you use another headtracker like a headmouse and software called Custom Curve https://mouseacceleration.com/.

It is used for adjusting mouse settings for gaming, but I think there is a setting for getting the same effect as the tracker pro with its software.

There is a free version of custom curve, but I don't know if it includes that setting. The custom curve pro license if needed is $14.99.

I have not tried it but it might work.

There is Dragon for voice input and sip puff or dwell clicking for clicking like many have suggested here.

There is also a software called speech productivity http://www.speechproductivity.eu/SPS...html#image2-f8 you can use along with dragon speech recognition that includes a much better speech controlled mouse than the dragon one.

They have a lot of demos on youtube of the different features in speech productivity but not of their mouse grid.

I do use speech productivity and it is good, but I tend not to use the mouse functionality as I prefer to use a headmouse for moving the mouse along with sip / puff switch for clicking or dwell click software.

[rob1]

Scaper1 Let me know if any of that is of any use.

[Lewis]

Does anybody use a QuadStick to enhance their mouse and keyboard capabilities on a PC or Mac? I know that they’re designed for gaming, but I wonder if they might also be useful for productivity.

Hell yes! I use my QuadStick for productivity all the time. I can't imagine using my computer without it now. I bought a second one just so that I have a spare if my primary breaks.

Life-changing.

[ejl10]

Hell yes! I use my QuadStick for productivity all the time. I can't imagine using my computer without it now. I bought a second one just so that I have a spare if my primary breaks.

Life-changing.

Holy moly, what a strong recommendation! I bought one a while back but haven’t set it up because I do pretty well with a rollerball And don’t want to add unnecessary clutter around the computer. Maybe it’s time to experiment!

[Lewis]

Holy moly, what a strong recommendation! I bought one a while back but haven’t set it up because I do pretty well with a rollerball And don’t want to add unnecessary clutter around the computer. Maybe it’s time to experiment!

I have a trackball too. I actually use it alongside often. Trackball to move the mouse and QuadStick to left/right click while using the joystick to scroll pages up and down. Really efficient! When I'm being lazy or my arm hurts, I use the QuadStick only. I actually underutilize the power of the QuadStick. my favorite part which I need to do more of is configuring hotkeys for different apps to the QuadStick. Trading? How about a puff to sell and a sip to buy! Coding? How about a sip to select all occurrences of the highlighted word! So much power.

Lastly, I don't think the setup is complete without Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

[ejl10]

I have a trackball too. I actually use it alongside often. Trackball to move the mouse and QuadStick to left/right click while using the joystick to scroll pages up and down. Really efficient! When I'm being lazy or my arm hurts, I use the QuadStick only. I actually underutilize the power of the QuadStick. my favorite part which I need to do more of is configuring hotkeys for different apps to the QuadStick. Trading? How about a puff to sell and a sip to buy! Coding? How about a sip to select all occurrences of the highlighted word! So much power.

Lastly, I don't think the setup is complete without Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Ahhh… It occurs to me that maybe it is an especially good fit for a Windows PC. I wonder if it is as useful on a Mac…

[Lewis]

Ahhh… It occurs to me that maybe it is an especially good fit for a Windows PC. I wonder if it is as useful on a Mac…

Yes, works with a Mac. Macs are limiting for quads. Just saying.

[MagikLair]

I'm using a sip and puff headset along with a microphone for Dragon. That I can do both typing and clicking.
Headset https://www.orin.com/access/sip_puff/
USB microphone, I can get the particular model.

[Scaper1]

Scaper1 Let me know if any of that is of any use.

Sorry, for some reason I never get the email notifications that I sign up for, so I'm late to reply.

I have a C1-C2 complete injury, with a full cervical fusion, so by very little movement I really mean a tiny nodding ability. I'm familiar with voice recognition, but being vent/ phrenic pacer dependent, my voice and general speech endurance can get sketchy. My writing brain also balks at thinking about what I want to say beforehand, I like to work out my thoughts *as* I write.

That's why I've always preferred sip & puff inputs. I recently found this explanation by another high quad (Jim Lubin - does anyone know him?) that explains it perfectly.

Morse code has a number of advantages over other alternate computer access strategies. It is usually faster, requires less fine motor control and is less likely to produce fatigue than other methods. Perhaps its most important advantage is its ability to become a sub-cognitive process. After using the code for a period of time, the Morse code user no longer thinks about the code they’re entering. This is the same process as is used by touch typists and it has a significant impact on speed, accuracy and the quality of the work being produced. Morse code is the only alternate access method that can become a sub-cognitive process.

The problem with using sip and puff, at least the hardware that I've been using for 25 years, is that it relies heavily on mouse key protocols, which are rapidly becoming obsolete. I've been stuck using Windows 7 because with any of the newer versions of Windows there's a long lag between what I input and what happens on the screen. Microsoft no longer supports the older versions, so I'm typing on borrowed time, haha.

Anyway, it's really hard to find help with this as it sometimes feels that I'm one of the only people in the world who still uses (quite happily) nothing but sip and puff.

[rob1]

@scaper so do you use sip and puff switches to move the cursor and to click the mouse buttons?

If you wanted to move the mouse without any neck movement have you tried an eye gaze system along with sip/puff for clicking or using dwell click?

I think this is the main eye gaze product on the market https://uk.tobiidynavox.com/products...37068958793887 not tried it but you should be able to check out reviews online and there are some demos on youtube.

[Scaper1]

Hi, thanks. The system I use (Darci) allows me to both type and click (drag the mouse, etc) via one sip & puff switch. It's very efficient and fast. One quick sequence takes me in or out of mouse mode. Hence my hesitation to try any other method.